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A long article about Micro Four Thirds (1 Viewer)

pshute

Well-known member
Australia
"If 2010 is Micro FourThirds' Year, 2011 is the Year of Olympus"
http://zone-10.com/cmsm/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=584&Itemid=1

One interesting quote:
"The significance of the decline of FourThirds might not matter as much these days since everyone shares the opinion that it’s best to let it die."

And another:
"Optical viewfinders are gone, just about for good."

I don't know whether the opinions in the article are based on fact or just made up, but the gist is basically that Micro 4/3 is booming, and 4/3 isn't. It looks like it will be an interesting year with all these lens manufacturers supporting Micro 4/3, but I won't even guess at the fuure of 4/3.
 
A very long article indeed!

After reading it, the title seems optimistic, I did not get the same sense of progress for Olympus that the author tries to sell. Probably in part because he elsewhere states that Olympus cannot let regular 4/3 die due to the PR effects, and between the lines, it does not seem that Olympus has very much capacity to put into R&D. You can make the best mechanical item in the world, but if you don't follow the trend and move forward, it won't stay the best and your company might die.

Niels
 
A very long article but interesting too. I don't know how much of it will come to pass but it does seem as if m4/3 has a much brighter future than regular 4/3 ever did. I will be interested to see what transpires in the next couple of years.

Out of interest I had a look at the price of Olympus adapters to fit a 4/3 lens to a m4/3 camera. £163 was a bit of a shock! I suppose if someone has a few thousand pounds worth of Zuiko lenses that is a small price to pay to stop them being redundant.

Ron
 
Out of interest I had a look at the price of Olympus adapters to fit a 4/3 lens to a m4/3 camera. £163 was a bit of a shock! I suppose if someone has a few thousand pounds worth of Zuiko lenses that is a small price to pay to stop them being redundant.

Ron

hehehe that was the reason why i was going to stop buying the EPL1 but when the dealer saw that he was going to lose the deal he gave it to me for free 8-P as i took the body and the ultra wide zoom 9-18mm.

otherwise Olympus m4/3 here made a good start they are already sold out here in Jeddah, don't know about Ryiad and Khobar.
 
A very Out of interest I had a look at the price of Olympus adapters to fit a 4/3 lens to a m4/3 camera. £163 was a bit of a shock! I suppose if someone has a few thousand pounds worth of Zuiko lenses that is a small price to pay to stop them being redundant
That's interesting. A 4/3 adapter for my Contax Yashica mount lens is about $15 on eBay, but the same adapter for Micro 4/3 is $30, yet the main difference should be that it's a little longer. More expensive because of higher demand? Or is it the other way around, and they're expensive because they aren't producing that many yet?

I see a 4/3 to Micro 4/3 for $99 on eBay. Expensive, I assume, because it must also have pins for the AF. I assume you were quoting for a genuine Olympus one?

I was once offered a genuine Olympus OM to 4/3 for $200, but bought one on eBay for about $25.

So one must shop around. Mind you, I would bet an Olympus adapter would come with the screws holding the two halves together done up tightly. I was lucky my cheap Contax Yashica adaptor fell apart as I was picking the camera up off the car seat, rather than when I was walking around.
 
After reading it, the title seems optimistic, I did not get the same sense of progress for Olympus that the author tries to sell. Probably in part because he elsewhere states that Olympus cannot let regular 4/3 die due to the PR effects, and between the lines, it does not seem that Olympus has very much capacity to put into R&D. You can make the best mechanical item in the world, but if you don't follow the trend and move forward, it won't stay the best and your company might die.
True, but they seem to have made real progress with EVFs:
"the Epson-technology VF-2 remains an excellent EVF; certainly the best there is today." (that's from p8)
The comments I've read about the VF-2 indicate it's extremely well regarded. The EVF was always going to be a decider for many people, but I hear people in manual focus forums raving about it. Those people are likely to be very fussy about their viewfinders.

That doesn't necessarily mean it competes well with SLR for bird photography, where finding the bird in the viewfinder is a challenge, not just focusing on it, but it's a very good sign.

Initially I thought having an optional EVF was absurd, but now they can concentrate some R&D effort on just making a VF-3 if they want, and have something to sell to existing camera owners. Detachable viewfinders - that's what we had in the 35mm days.
 
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