Moose thus snorted:
> OTH, I can let the scorn of the AG crowd wash over me without damage.
> The 5D was 5 years as primary body...
Whoa, Moosie. You know I'm not going to let this one slide.
You should remember than my scorn of things Canon had to do with
several distinct issues:
1. The plasticy look that so many of the early Canon DSLRs had.
Whatever it is that caused it is of much debate, but it is generally
accepted now that they were a bit "off" and that today's cameras are
"much better" without giving any reason why.
2. Control interface and general ergonomics. Again, in retrospect, it
is recognizable that the early EOS digital cameras had some issues.
But at the time, image-quality was so good that we all just looked the
other way. At the time, the reviewers and general opinonators wouldn't
trash talk the body design because that would be admitting that their
"perfect camera" wasn't so perfect. Some of us were crying foul and
getting shouted down. When the Nikon D3 and D700 came out, suddenly,
there was a vocal recognition of how bad the Canon ergonomics were.
(It's not that they really are all that bad, but they definitely
weren't as good as they could be--and now Nikon has reshaped the grip
so much that the ergonomics of their bodies are actually pretty bad).
3. Attitude of the Canon Zealots. The general attitude among many was
that they did a careful analysis of all the cameras on the market and
"the Canon ____ is the best. Therefore if you don't buy what I buy
then you are an idiot."
That last point is what really sticks in my craw. This type of
statement was both blatent and subtle. Blatent, if you ever hung out
in the DPReview forums, subtle from you and Chuck. You guys applied
selective logic to your decision which made your choice the "best
possible choice" and you weren't encouraging of us that used a
different set of criteria in our logic. Whatever things that Olympus
did get right didn't matter since "image quality", etc. was the more
important thing to you. Your reasons weren't our reasons and our
reasons weren't your reasons.
Now, that all said, I will acknowledge my own brand bias as well as
the selective logic that I had/have. I disagree with many of your
assessments because they are of different value to me than my own.
What is important to me is not what is important to you. I will also
acknowledge that in the grand scheme of things, the original 5D
remains one of the best imagers out there and has a tonal smoothness
and extensive dynamic range which none of the newer cameras have. A
true classic and turning out to be a one-of-a-kind camera. However,
the body is substandard to the imager. But this is part of the
selective logic. What was important to me, at that time, was not what
was important to you. And what is now important to me at this time is
not what was important to me then. Different stages in life.
So, to see you come full circle back to Olympus is quite interesting.
I actually agree with you on your reasons and your logic. My own
personal lens choices would be a little different, but that just
illustrates that photography is a wide world. I'm probably headed a
different direction (from Olympus to Canon) because of very specific
reasons related to lenses. I also have concerns about Olympus as a
company. One successful product (at least so far because Panasonic has
withheld the GH2 replacement for a litle while yet, Sony is
struggling, Nikon screwed up and Canon is delayed) does not a company
make. Olympus has shown the middle-finger to the customers so many
times that it will take quite a while for some of us to forget that.
(besides, I'm waiting for the encore which might contain a certain
feature that would make it nearly impossible for me to say "no").
So, yes, I'm acting a little bit like the snotty brother that is upset
because daddy killed the fattened calf when you decided to come back
home. But at the same time, I'm glad you did. I'll give you a hard
time, but know that I do actually agree with you when our logic paths
cross.
AG deScorn Schnozz
--
Ken Norton
ken@xxxxxxxxxxx
http://www.zone-10.com
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