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Re: [OM] Long-term support

Subject: Re: [OM] Long-term support
From: Moose <olymoose@xxxxxxxxx>
Date: Tue, 07 Aug 2012 04:32:35 -0700
On 8/5/2012 5:31 PM, Bob Whitmire wrote:
> So, I know I said I was going to wait and see how things played out, but a 
> question occurred to me today while working down at the craft Co-op: with all 
> these new wonder cameras such as the X-Pro-1 and the OM-D, where is the 
> long-term support going to show up. Olympus has a history of support that 
> borders on crap. Fuji is a little better. If the OM-D turns out to be the 
> camera of the age, will Olympus have enough sense to keep supporting it

I think they will support anything that sells. Clearly, they plan other cameras 
in the series. It's clear from their web 
site that "OM-D", like "Pen", is viewed by them as a group or class of cameras, 
reviving the look and spirit of the OM 
series. The E-M5 evokes the "E-" electronic predecessors, the original M-1 and 
the next in the (O)M-1-4 film cameras. 
The next camera would logically be E-M6.

I doubt if Oly's slow abandonment of the E-series of 4/3 cameras is due to 
anything other than declining sales and 
commercial failure after a relatively promising start. If the E-5 had been a 
first class camera, especially in the 
sensor system department, there might have been a chance, although momentum was 
already in decline.

Although for somewhat understandable reasons, Oly designed and built a series 
of world class, fast, pro type lenses to 
go with a series of otherwise pro bodies that simply couldn't deliver image 
quality to compete with the existing 
leaders. My guess is that there are piles and piles of those lenses from first 
production runs, E-5s, maybe even E-3s 
sitting around waiting to be sold.

> , particularly in regards to glass?

The existing situation is all µ4/3. there is quite a lot of glass already 
available. Perhaps you have not really looked? 
<http://www.four-thirds.org/en/microft/lens_chart.html> I'm sure there are 
others to come, but what's there already is 
pretty extensive.

For now, there is plenty of fast glass in the traditional single focal lengths, 
from 24 - 150 mm eq, even a couple of 
f0.95 MF lenses. And there are relatively slow zooms covering pretty much 
everything.

Fast zooms, the backbone of much "pro" equipment? I think we will not see much 
of that very soon. If Oly had designed 
their fast 4/3 zooms for CDAF, they could simply redesign the 
electro-mechanical back ends to fit µ4/3. As it is, the 
amazingly fast focus performance of the E-M5 is dependent on their new, MSC 
designs, with very small focusing components 
and new, tiny, quiet motors. New, fast zooms would require ground up design, 
tooling, etc.

The other reason I can see is that µ4/3 is so much about small and light. Until 
you at least hold one, it's hard to 
imagine how small and light these cameras and lenses are. Fast glass means big 
glass, and that means heavy.

The time may have finally sneaked up on us where high ISO performance makes 
fast glass unnecessary for anything but 
shallow DOF. Even in viewfinders, the loss of the mirror and pentaprism in 
favor of electronic viewing means fast glass 
for wide open viewing and focusing isn't necessary.

If µ4/3 gains enough higher end cameras out in use, someone may take the gamble 
of some fast zooms, but I'm not sure who 
might do that.
<http://www.four-thirds.org/en/microft/lens_chart.html>
> Fuji?

Here's Fuji's stated plan for lenses. 
<http://www.fujifilm.com/products/digital_cameras/xf_lens/roadmap/index.html> 
Pretty limited, in my view. Fuji has a great history as a lens maker, but 
hasn't been making interchangeable lenses for 
a system for a long time, so this all requires up front investment. My bet is 
that those future lenses will only 
materialize if sales of the camera are good - and you can't tell that from the 
reviews, blogs, etc. A lot of ordinary 
folks are going to have to pony up quite a few shekels tor that to happen.

This is a quirky camera. You have to want to like it, and take extra effort to 
get what you want. First shot after 
turning on overexposed, NO IS, slow AF, messed up MF, and a few other quirks 
mean it will not be mainstream, high volume 
camera. Take a good read of reviews before leaping. Dpreview rather liked the 
camera, giving it a silver award, in spite 
of several sobering cons in their summary. AND, they somehow failed to mention 
IS anywhere in their summary, a serious 
failing in my opinion. <http://www.dpreview.com/reviews/fujifilm-x-pro1/26>

Perhaps it doesn't matter much with the current focal lengths, and the longer 
planned zooms are to have IS, but it's 
something to think about.

> My guess at the moment is that the smart money will place on Fuji,

Depends on what one wants, of course. It looks to me, from the pricing and from 
their choice of the first three lenses, 
that Fuji is playing for a limited, niche market, as they have done with their 
other, recent, high end cameras.

> as the OM-D could be no more than a very bright flash in the pan.
>
> Time will answer the questions, but I'm really looking forward to getting 
> shed of a super heavy kit for something much lighter and more versatile and 
> also able to meet my needs.

If you are available sometime in late Sept.- early Oct. you could get a chance 
to see and try such a kit. :-)

Travelin' Light Moose

-- 
What if the Hokey Pokey *IS* what it's all about?
-- 
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