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M8 Competition?


wilfredo

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Ken,

 

Are you saying there is an adaptor allowing the use of M lenses on the Oly PEN?

 

Hi Wilfredo

 

Take a look at this post over on theonlinephotographer. People are already using M-mount lenses on the EP1, although I haven't seen so many example images yet.

 

I agree that this is more of a complement than a threat to the M8. However, I don't understand Leica's unwillingness to embrace the m4/3 idea with a lower-cost digital CL: they've stated explicitly that they're not interested, and this may be due to their lack of success with the Digilux3, but they're in danger of missing yet another promising boat imho. Others may step into what could otherwise be a nice revenue stream for the company.

 

Mani

 

PS: just found this example shot using the EP1 and Nokton 1.1.

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Interesting little camera for sure. Pity that it has no built-in VF though. The original Pen F was a half frame body as well but it was a true SLR with a very flat, although prone to dust, optical viewfinder. The next one will have at least an EVF :eek: hopefully.

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Ken,

 

Are you saying there is an adaptor allowing the use of M lenses on the Oly PEN?

 

Yes: Panasonic offers Leica M and R mount adapters: Digital Photography Review

Also at Cameraquest: Adapters: Micro 4/3

And there is one from Rayqual too; they all look remarkably similar.

 

I read in the GET-DPI forum that the Novoflex adapter gives problems.

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This new Olympus is generating a lot of interest. Will it pose a threat to the M8? There is a nice half case for it that has the look of Luigi's work.

 

Olympus Pen EP-1 sample images to download (Four Thirds User)

 

It's about the lenses after all, isn't it. And the M8 is still the best digital lightbox onto which M lenses can be mounted. As a compact, versatile, excellent IQ producing camera, for which I can find spare batteries or chargers (or even a spare body in the worst case) in many places in the world, the EP1 could be an attractive "travel camera" alternative.

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This new Olympus is generating a lot of interest. Will it pose a threat to the M8? There is a nice half case for it that has the look of Luigi's work.

 

Olympus Pen EP-1 sample images to download (Four Thirds User)

 

Wilfredo, ¿has visto el follón que has montado? Pero, tío, ¿cómo se te occurre decir cosas así... aquí? Hereje, que eres un hereje... ya te lo decía yo...

 

:D :D :D

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The camera is very interesting, but...

 

The lenses aren't very fast (and the zoom is too big)... the manual focus mode needs some work (I love the pre-focus working mode with my M8, or the manual focus wheel of the Sigma D-P1)... the shutter needs too many actuations (close, open, close, open)... the LCD screen hasn't high resolution...

 

... but, the stabilized sensor in such a small camera is amazing, the dusk removal filter is great, the camera is very small, you can use an optical viewfinder, etc... You can use it like your M camera...

 

It is the first generation of a new type of cameras, half reflex, half compact...

 

Very interesting... and very promising...

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It's about the lenses after all, isn't it. And the M8 is still the best digital lightbox onto which M lenses can be mounted. As a compact, versatile, excellent IQ producing camera, for which I can find spare batteries or chargers (or even a spare body in the worst case) in many places in the world, the EP1 could be an attractive "travel camera" alternative.

 

Not all M-mount lenses do well on Micro4/3 systems. See Sean Reid's PanaG1 review on http://www.reidreviews.com

 

Wide angle lenses show QA fall-off in the corners. Lot's of corroboration on the GET DPI forum: 4/3rds Cameras - The GetDPI Workshop Forums

Also demosaicing problems have been noted, i.a. with Lightroom: see same forum.

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This new Olympus is generating a lot of interest. Will it pose a threat to the M8?

 

I'm amazed (but not surprised) at how many people are swallowing the Olympus marketing hype. Take a pedestrian, emasculated DSLR, skin it some retro looking metal, make allusions to a 35mm classic, and it becomes a rainmaker. :eek:

 

Olympus can be a truly innovative company. But they also drink a bit too much of their own Kool-Aid. Remember the hype, when the E-1 came out, about how compact 4/3 DSLRs would be? By the time they got the E-3 on the street, they were only one generation behind the market leaders, and the E-3 turned out to have the same volume (comparing both with and without the battery grip) as Nikon's D300. (I owned an E-1, E-3, E-500, & E-510. All are gone now.)

 

Any savings in weight/volume don't come into play until you start getting into telephotos. Micro 4/3 is supposed to solve some of the problem at the wide end, but you can bet that most of the marketing emphasis will be in consumer grade zooms. As for sticking RF glass on the thing, if the EP-1 behaves like the G-1, having good lenses only at 100mm (35FF equivalent) or longer doesn't charm me.

 

And notice that even Oly isn't marketing this thing as a camera anywhere remotely resembling a good RF.

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I think Olympic is smart to post images you can download and play with. I was sold on the M8 because of its unsurpassed ability to produce B&W files. I played with a couple of the Olympus images converting them to B&W. Based on what I got here, I think this is a very serious camera.

 

How are these images different/better than any other professionally produced 4/3 image?

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I am actually a bit suprised and impressed by the quality of the test images. My LX3 is a nice camera but I'm not buying another Panaleica point and shoot. It really does give up at anything above iso200 indoors. But I could see owning this Oly for the occasional bit of indoor event-type work (mostly for my school). Easy to tote about and good looking images straight out of the camera. I was a bit shocked at the iso6400 samples. With a bit of tweaking I actually think you could use these (as opposed to the iso1250 upper limit on the M8).

 

LouisB

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Hi Wilfredo

 

Take a look at this post over on theonlinephotographer. People are already using M-mount lenses on the EP1, although I haven't seen so many example images yet.

 

I agree that this is more of a complement than a threat to the M8. However, I don't understand Leica's unwillingness to embrace the m4/3 idea with a lower-cost digital CL: they've stated explicitly that they're not interested, and this may be due to their lack of success with the Digilux3, but they're in danger of missing yet another promising boat imho. Others may step into what could otherwise be a nice revenue stream for the company.

 

Mani

 

PS: just found this example shot using the EP1 and Nokton 1.1.

 

Here is an example with my 50 lux. It is very easy to focus. There are two ways at the regular viewing size or zoomed in for fine tuning.

 

http://forum.getdpi.com/gallery/files/3/7/_7030214.jpg

 

Adapter from Steve Gandy at Cameraquest. I like my M lenses on the Oly better than the Panasonic. I think it has to do with the body size/shape and the way I hold the camera.

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The M lenses will be a waste of time on the thing. You wont be able to focus them quickly enough and probably not accurately enough unless you are on a tripod. Whether you mix it up with panasonics (or anyone elses) 3/4 AF lenses is another thing but what is the advantage there does anyone know?

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The M lenses will be a waste of time on the thing. You wont be able to focus them quickly enough and probably not accurately enough unless you are on a tripod. Whether you mix it up with panasonics (or anyone elses) 3/4 AF lenses is another thing but what is the advantage there does anyone know?

 

Have you tried it? actually more accurate and just as fast as I can focus an M8.

 

I'm not trying to say it is a replacement for an M8 but just another way to use M lenses and a disappointment that it seems like a miss for Leica to ignore it.

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In what situation? Are you telling me that you hold a camera at arms length manually focusing a lens off the LCD through your sunglasses out in the sun? Fabulous if you tell me you can. Are you very fast on the M8? Why arent you accurate on the M8?

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