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UPDATED -> New Tilt-Shift adapter from Hino (MicroFourThirds)
micro 4/3 adapter for enlarger lens (Rodenstock-Schneider-DURST...)
Tilt lens adapter for MicroFourThirds!
(FT4) HOT! Panasonic GF2 with Built-in EVF?
(FT3) Olympus E-460 coming soon? DxO Optics pro software leak(FT4) UPDATED->Olympus plans model both above and below the E-P1?
According to Mr. Watanabe (which has been interviewed by amateurphotographer)Olympus is working on camera above and below the E-P1.
I never heard anything over a more basic camera. How could they do a more basic camera than the E-P1?
Something below E-P1 may miss video recording
Let’s see, the Eepy One has only a useless-in-daylight LCD finder and slow autofocus.
The “below” model could have NO viewfinder (just a shoe for the optical viewfinders) and NO autofocus — just zone focusing, like the original film Olympus Pen cameras (not the Pen F SLRs.)
The back-to-basics crowd would love it. Better yet, Olympus could make it default to the grainy-black-and-white “art” mode, and they’d love it even more.
The “above” model could have a built-in flash, an eye-level electronic finder, a swivel LCD, and time-unlimited video recording… oops, somebody is already making THAT camera, and it isn’t Olympus!
zone focusing?
maybe with below he means the price and that it will be a good deal lower but somehow with the same feature set but maybe with less valuable appeal to differentiate it from the more expensive ones (that then will maybe cost the same as E-P1 does today).
but I really don’t think this will happen already in the next year.
but above, yes, I hope they don’t force the design of the bigger model to be too D-SLR-like, but instead design so that it works really well.
something rectangular would be great.
Quite to ðe contrary, he ſays ðe Olympus E-P1 is already ðe baſic model:
To me “below” means cheaper and “above” means bigger (a la G1/GH1).
That’s fairly simply. To the world of non-camera geeks (a market I’m sure Olympus would love to tap into with m4/3’s) $800 is a bit steep for a camera. They could basically create an E-P1 in a plastic shell, then when the E-P2 is ready next year sale last years tech in a slightly different wrapper for $400-500. That would be their basic model, the E-P2 could be their midrange. Then a third option could be slightly larger, weather sealed, and have an EVF. There you go, small, medium, and large.
A lower model could have fewer dials and buttons, more auto.
A lower model could use the same sensor but have a fixed, non-interchangeable lens
I’m with Eric all the way on this. the body will be plastic and the video will be gone.
so is the auto focus really that slow? are there any videos showing how slow?
I don’t know it, but according to this one guy it’s snappy and NOT slow:
http://forums.dpreview.com/forums/read.asp?forum=1008&message=32179213
I imagine the difference between the E-P1 and lessor model might be similar to the one between the E-520 and E-420: No IS and fewer dedicated controls. Perhaps they’ll remove the HDMI output as well.
AARRR!! You’re right Dylan. they’ll totally take out the IS for the cheaper one. dang. well. I guess there’s no reason to wait then.
I would imagine a lower end model will simply be a fixed lens (zoom most likely) camera with lower price. My wish is a camera with a fixed 35mm (f2.8 or faster), built in flash, and basic OVF. That would finally replace my Yashica T4.
Oh yeah.. and a plastic body…
AF is not slow with the pancake.
Cheaper could be: plastic body instead of with metal parts (it would be lighter!).
- Fixed lens? – no way. Then It wouldn’t be a camera under, it would be out of the system.
- no IS? I’m afraid this could be.
- No video? Well, if they are aiming for compact users, I don’t think they will take it away (now that it is attractive for compact users to step up because the DSLRs,GH1 and EP-1 have video…). Not having video is what kept many of my friends from stepping-up from their compact to a camera that “only shoots pictures”.
For most, I agree with Eric. What he says sounds really reasonable.