Sony DSC-R1 may have the right idea and will
> probably steal sales from Oly. What is interesting to me is that Oly
> could have held that down by doing a cheaper version of the E-330
> with one viewing system instead of three, minus the traditional slr
> viewing hardware. A camera with a kit lens not much more money that
> the Sony, but with interchangeable lenses could have killed the Sony.
> But Oly is slow.
I'm seriously hoping that Sony does a DSC-R2. All they need to do is improve
the EVF and put in a bigger buffer for raw files, and I'll probably put down
the bucks, assuming that Olympus doesn't come up with the E whatever.
Otherwise, I'm thinking the Panasonic version of the E300 could be the
thing. I'm not sure what the direction of EVF cameras is, however. It's
looking more and more like that's a dying breed. Based on where things are
today, I'll bet that in 5 years, digital cameras will either be totally
without VF's (like the 16:9 Panasonic I'd already have if it had a VF and
not just a screen), or SLR's. Thanks mostly to Canon, it's obvious that
people will buy low end mostly plastic SLR's without hesitation. It's a bit
silly, as surveys have shown with low end film slrs that most owners get a
name brand body with a cheap 28-300 lens that never comes off the camera.
That's why some Rebels have plastic lens mounts. for the average Rebel/D50
buyer, something like the Sony would be a better deal.
> I really don't thing viewfinder quality is any more likely to grab
> money now than it did with the OMs. Autofocus won that race.
If people were worried about the VF,, OM would be the camera most owned.
> I will not be surprised if the other makers follow Sony's DSC-R1
> lead, like they did with the 8MP 2/3 sensor cameras. I also would not
> be surprised if one of them, maybe a Canon, had their standard lens
> mount instead of a fixed lens, justifying that Rebel logo.
this would be interesting, if better EVF's are available. I'm not sure what
Sony's motives were with this camera. I just don't see it as a big volume
item. I wondered when it was introduced if they had misjudged the number
that would mark the end of the MP race, or if they were using it to
introduce a new line of OEM sensors. It wouldn't be far fetched to think
that they thought that it would improve their place in the sensor
manufacturing pecking order, and bring them more business.
Bill Pearce
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