tomcat
Senior Member
That's the way it should be... I don't tell her what shoes/bags she can buy and she don't tell me what cameras I can buy.
What Made you choose the Panasonic GF1 or Olympus Pen?
- Thread starter Ninja23XX
- Start date
- Status
Wow, chill man. Lets get back to topic.That's the way it should be... I don't tell her what shoes/bags she can buy and she don't tell me what cameras I can buy.
There can be no greater compliment for what you have just said.
To me, I think Olympus is a courageous company. They are not afraid to make the RIGHT decision when crunch time comes. And to me, CRUNCH time for Olympus was when the abandoned OM and went on to the 4/3 sensor - to build a digital SLR from the ground up. Instead of doing what all the other companies did, which was to shoehorn a digital sensor into their pre-exising film DSLR bodies. The cost to Olympus was truely great. But, that is the leadership and the courage that I admire. Short term loss for long term gain.
And yes, I really feel that they innovate for photography. Not for marketing gimmicks. All the innovations which they have introduced so far, are really of practical relevance, and helps bring photography down to the masses. ie. makes photography easier and less hassle free.
Take for example, when Olympus said 10-12 MP is enough ..... that statement stirred up a storm among those megapixel chasers. But I have come to realize, to me, 10-12 MP is more than enough. Why do we want to shoot at 15 or 20 MP? HDD space is indeed quite cheap now, but the issue really is handling, not of storage. A large image file takes longer to open, slows ur slideshow down, slows down PS, slows down picasa, and is slower to edit. I dun need that. In fact, I have learnt, 5MP is really sufficient. 10MP, is more than sufficient for me with a lot of redundancy.
The other point is that to most people, they all think that Canon and Nikons are the leaders. But really, does selling the most cameras, or spending the most money on marketing, make u a REAL leader?? For eg. Toyota is the #1 selling car brand in Singapore. Are they really the leader? Canon and Nikon has got like a million lenses to choose from. Does that make them a leader in photography?
I learnt this from microcosm recently, but Olympus Camera is truely a photographic company....by photographers, FOR photographers. This is also the company, where the more well known camera companies pay (microcosm edit : $$$ quite alot of) a year in licensing fees, to use the patents which Olympus has produced. People who use Canon and Nikon RAVE about TTL flash. They din know, and until recently, I also din know that TTL is technology that Olympus invented decades ago! Is this clear enough who the leader is?? So you are right, Olympus does not care about what Canon and Nikon does. In fact, Canon and Nikon has been following Olympus, and in recent years, u can see how many times Canikon have been made to swallow their words and implement innovations which they have initially boohooed. (Dust removal system, live view, etc.)
But dun get the idea that Olympus is fighting against Canon or Nikon for market share. I think, Olympus actually wants Canon and Nikon to do well. Because, in reality, in every Canon or Nikon sold, Olympus is making money at the same time through licensing fees. Maybe that is why, Olympus is focused so much on R&D and so weak in marketing. Perhaps it feels that its money is best spent in R&D, and let Canon and Nikon, which are really GOOD in marketing, do the selling. LOL!!
Last edited:
I know all of these. But i still own a canon. I do wanna go back to Oly. That's why i'm planning for the Pen. Even my dad has an Oly OM series film SLR. Very nice camera.
Sorry, I was elaborating on innerzen's comments. Not specifically telling you. But, if u DID already know everything that I said, congratulations! I am very surprised! U are most knowledgeable about a company that u currently do not own a single peice of equipment from. Compared to you, I feel ashamed, in a way, cos I got a number of digital cameras from them, for quite a few years, and only until recently, knew about some of these things that I wrote about. The only persons that I am aware, who knows so much, and more, about Olympus is microcosm, and perhaps drakon. Perhaps, u are not such a newbie after all and probably have done a lot of your own research. Everyone should take that into account when they discuss photography with you. In the same breath, if u knew so much about Olympus, your breadth and depth of knowledge about Canon the company, must be enormous.
Haha, no worries. I was just sharing what i knew. Hmm, thanks for the praise. Appreciate that at least in this Olympus community, people appreciate me. I got condemned over at the Canon side.
Well, i do know about some stuff about Olympus, because partly they are the underdog brand. Most people wouldn't even want to consider that into their choice. As for me, when i first sourced out for my camera, back then, i kinda forgot Olympus. I was doing all my research, but at the back of my head, it kept telling me i forgot another important brand. It's only after i bought my camera, then my dad showed me his Olympus OM film SLR, that i remembered, that i forgot all about Olympus.
Since then, i went to read more about them to get rid of the guilt. Haha
As for Canon, nothing much about them. They started out with imaging products, then cameras, then now they're venturing into almost everything. Printers, copiers, projecters, etc. I feel that a camera company, should only deal with cameras or optics. Something like Olympus is doing. By focusing in so many sectors, you can never be good in any one of the sector at all. Olympus focused mainly on cameras and optics, and they prove to be good at that. Another company, would be Nikon. They make cameras and optics too. And they focus only on that since very long.
Just read up more. Information is there to be obtained. I wasn't born with it. I just read up on it. Haha. I'm not the best out there, but i appreciate truely that my advice is helpful. At least i didn't get condemned.
I guess too much OT already. Haha. :bsmilie:
I think one reason why i will choose the PEN 2 for my first m4/3 camera, is because i found some really nice hand made leather cases.:bsmilie: Pardon the lame reason. Just something to share
http://www.clubsnap.com/forums/showthread.php?t=612745
http://www.clubsnap.com/forums/showthread.php?t=612745
My dad pass me his Pen camera a few years back. I think he choose the Pen coz:
- it doubles the size of the storage
- it saves up on storage cost
- halfs the development cost
- can carry half the storage when go overseas
- portrait camera
- automatic mode
- wide angle
- can put flash
- works everywhere
- very well-made and durable
- pana dun have something similar at that time
- it doubles the size of the storage
- it saves up on storage cost
- halfs the development cost
- can carry half the storage when go overseas
- portrait camera
- automatic mode
- wide angle
- can put flash
- works everywhere
- very well-made and durable
- pana dun have something similar at that time
Last edited:
He's refering to the old Legendary Olympus Film Pen
Point 3: "halfs the development cost"
Because it the old pen uses half film to take a picture. So you have more pictures for one roll of flim.
Point 4: "can carry half the storage when go overseas"
Since it uses half film to take pictures, it needs lesser rolls of flim.
wildcat
Senior Member
Hello bro microcosm
Actually I find that you do tend to be biased towards Oly and you do put down the other brands (more towards Panasonic maybe coz that's the only "competitor" to Oly at the moment). You may not even realize you're doing it but sometimes I find you may not be as objective as you mean to be. It could be an unconscious thingie, but if you find that sometimes I post really pro-Pana posts, it could be in response to a bad Pana-bashing posting you did.
I have some gripes about G1 that I own but I also think it has it's good points; yes the problems you mentioned about Pana are there, but whilst I am willing to use workarounds to make it work (namely coz I don't really have a choice - although I almost got a E520 recently for 4/3 lens choices and try out in-body stabilization).
Do remember, Pana may NOT be the competition; it is more of an ally. My list of lenses include an Oly 14-54MkII. So will Samsung when they join m4/3. The competition may not even be Canon, Nikon (or it may be; I may soon be a Nikon convert). Maybe the competition are all the PnS users who are not moving to DSLR. Maybe the competition are every person who do not own a camera.
When Coke started thinking out of the box and put a vending machine in every publically accessible corner, Pepsi didn't matter anymore.
Last edited:
microcosm
Senior Member
Thanks for the honesty... But I think I have a reason for my gripe against Panasonic, don't I? Publicly posting this without basis for my dislike for a company like Panasonic, wouldn't that jeopardise any possible working relationships with them in future? But a good company listens to what their customers and more importantly, reviewers have to say about the system to improve and win people over.
Do point out to me which part of my post is untrue about Panasonic cameras, and I will humbly apologise for them. (And I do admit that I am still human and I might have overlooked or made a mistake). I don't bash just for the sake of bashing, because a particular brand is good, oh no, I don't. Please don't reduce me to someone like that.
I don't have to defend myself here, and there is no need to. If you have followed me in all my postings, I will always praise a system for what it is good at. (I am all praise for Nikon being a camera system, and they suck mega for ergonomics as compared to Olympus, can someone from Nikon care to dispute this claim?) And vice versa. I ask, was Panasonic right to screw their 4/3 customers? Using reduced sampling to achieve a fake faster AF is a right thing to do? I cannot sleep in peace should I turn a blind eye to what is right and wrong. And that right and wrong is what I feel, and should you (or even Panasonic) thinks I have gotten my facts wrong, I think I am still man enough to be corrected. Show me what is right and I will then change to support it.
I have never been paid by Olympus to write these reviews. And please, everyone in the media industry gets loaners, so it is nothing special that Nikon or Olympus or Leica or Mamiya has done to "win" me over. Olympus provide gear for hands on for this community, not for me. I am the stupid guy who have to spend his own money to go do these things for the community. (That said, what has Panasonic done for the photographic community? Provided their latest lenses and cameras for hands on? See, another thing for me to bash... Nikon does that, even the high and mighty Leica does that...)
And please, I am not starting a flame thread here. I must be mad being a moderator and trying to start a flame thread. I am standing by my understanding and non biased experience in handling cameras and giving my two cents' worth on what is good and what is not. I do praise Panasonic, for their GUI and stuff, just that overall, the best product that they have released is a vacuum cleaner that I have been using for the past three years. They are simply too diversified to really pay attention to anything to get things right. Asking me to say Panasonic is all right, is like saying Toyota's ergonomics in car design is better than BMW's. Are you kidding me?
Panasonic has some really good stuff, and LX3 is one of them. I think it is one of the most brilliant camera product that they have made. No question about it. But to me, they got many things wrong with the G-series.
As a reviewer, I have to give my honest two cents' worth based on my experience as a photographer. Just because other reviewers say something is good, that does not mean I have to agree. Everyone is different and so, the only way to change my mind is for Panasonic to come out with a more convincing hardware next year. That is all there is.
Do you see me praise Olympus E-4xx and E-5xx cameras? Do you see me praise Standard Grade Lenses? Come on, good is good, bad is bad. White is white, black is black. My yes is a yes, and my no is a no. I think that is why I am a good reviewer. I am honest to what I feel. And what I feel might be wrong to some, that I can accept. People may not agree, that is why while I might support Manchester United, it is completely cool that you might support a rival football club. We are all different.
Example, headfonz hate the white finish of the GF1, and prefers the silver, but I do like it, so you see, I can have a different opinion from even my mates. We have to agree that we are different. What works for you, might not work for me. At least I am honest enough to point that out.
Same thing when I make a decision to buy a BMW X5. Why that premium over a Toyota Fortuner, or over a Audi Q7? Ergonomics. That is most important to me. My friends would argue that the Toyota has better bang for the buck, but to me, ergonomics is still the most important factor. How is the drive is more important than how is the minute build details or fuel consumption. So we are all different, and being different means we have to agree that we are different and sometimes have a different point of view. Or else there wouldn't be so many different brands and makes out there in the market. All they need is to build one model for humankind.
I hope this clears things up about my reviews. I don't put the brand down. I put their model down when it fails to deliver a photographer's tool. The only mistake that I might have made is to take the G-Series camera too seriously. Maybe Panasonic is indeed making a m43 system with a consumers' mind. But again, that cannot be because they have decided to use Leica to supply their lenses, which ups my expectations.
Given my explanation, I hope you have a better understanding why I like, don't like, support, or put down a particular camera model.
(Over the last three years, I have put down Olympus' products too, just that you have not been around this section of the forums long enough to read those).
So while I treasure you as a friend in the forums, and enjoyed your company, I do not apologise for my reviews.
Last edited:
Well said.
tomcat
Senior Member
What did you think it was? :think:
I was thinking it was a F1.7 like the Panasonic lens. :bsmilie: But i have to say, the colours produced by the Pen and the Olympus 17mm F2.8 are just beautiful.:heart:
Olympus Pen will be sold at $1698. Unsure of which kit. But that's quite expensive.
The price does holds me back, I was considering to buy but was worried if there will be a better system released few months later like the EP-1 which launched about 6 months ago only. This will be my first upgrade from PnS. Any suggestions?
tomcat
Senior Member
See here:Olympus Pen will be sold at $1698. Unsure of which kit. But that's quite expensive.
http://www.clubsnap.com/forums/showthread.php?t=613658
These are RRPs and should be at least $100 less at Street prices.
Considering that they are inclusive of the EVF, they are not really that expensive.
- Status
Similar threads
