New Olympus E5

[Godfrey]

... Before this gets out of hand lets get back to the cam itself folks.

You have missed my point entirely. I am fully aware of all the marketing foofawraw, and market dynamics, and "I can't get the camera tailor made for me." etc etc.

I don't see the point of discussing marketing bs ad nauseam on a PHOTOGRAPHY forum. I'd rather discuss THE NEW CAMERA and what that means in terms of PHOTOGRAPHY, the appropriate province of discusson on a PHOTOGRAPHY forum.

That was my entire point. I wish the discussion had been about THE CAMERA in the first place, not whether it was "blowing anyone's skirt up".

All it takes it a jet of air to blow up someone's skirt.

 

[Godfrey]

... Why can't Olympus make a weatherproof E-620 with a large viewfinder?

The optical viewfinder system on a single lens reflex is a very expensive part of the camera and has its impact on the cost and design of the entire camera.

If you want a large, bright optical single lens reflex viewfinder with a 13x17.3 sized format, it requires a very large (relative to the format size), expensive prism and top-notch optics to do it. Which is out of the price bracket of an E-620 class camera.

The E-30 is a watershed in this regard. It has about the same size and magnification viewfinder as the E-1, a little brighter, and costs substantially less than the E-1 did when it was new ($1100 vs $1800). Note that the camera is about the same size as the E-1. You can't fit that optical system into a camera the size of the E-620 without raising its price and enlarging the camera substantially.

The E-3/E-5 reflex optical system is substantially larger, more efficient, and much more expensive to manufacture than the E-1/E-30's reflex optical system. It's the reduction in cost of the other electronics components and the lack of a weathersealed, magnesium body/chassis that allows the price of the E-30 to be so reasonable.

(I've just about made up my mind to order the E-5 instead of the E-3 I was going to buy now, even though it will cost a hefty premium. Just have to wait for RRS or Kirk to have the tripod plates and Adobe to update Lightroom and Camera Raw before I buy.)

 

[Guy Mancuso]

You have missed my point entirely. I am fully aware of all the marketing foofawraw, and market dynamics, and "I can't get the camera tailor made for me." etc etc.

I don't see the point of discussing marketing bs ad nauseam on a PHOTOGRAPHY forum. I'd rather discuss THE NEW CAMERA and what that means in terms of PHOTOGRAPHY, the appropriate province of discusson on a PHOTOGRAPHY forum.

That was my entire point. I wish the discussion had been about THE CAMERA in the first place, not whether it was "blowing anyone's skirt up".

All it takes it a jet of air to blow up someone's skirt.

Why not discuss it since we can't get what we are really after unless we let the OEM hear the issues at hand and what the public is looking for that is what photo forums in part are about is to discuss gear that we are after and see if a OEM feels it would fill the market with such a product. I work with these folks a lot and there are many back end conversions about this very thing on what WE are looking for.

BTW since I am the OWNER of this forum we talk about about whatever we want to talk about and this is a very good subject and if it is NOT to YOUR taste my friend than don't participate in the discussion. You are borderline insulting a lot of folks here including me. Maybe it's time you READ the RULES again.

 

[Jonas]

There is nothing stopping Olympus from making a mirrorless camera in a dslr format that fully utilizes their excellent lens line up. They could make a camera like the Sony A55.

Maybe something like that happens. I hope Olympus HG and SHG lenses can be used for a long time.

I'm sure you disagree. And as "many" is relative you can safely do so. Maybe the situation is different in the western parts of the USA than here. I haven't met a single professional using Olympus here.

I know quite a large number of professional photographers using Olympus equipment. (...) 2000 members (...)
While a drop in the bucket compared to the enthusiast marketplace, that's quite a solid professional group.

Well, there you are then. I said this camera is aimed at enthusiasts rather than to professionals or to beginners. I'm pretty sure you understood I was thinking of sale figures.

(...) I'm not a marketing analyst. Nor do I enjoy a hobby as a market analyst.

But maybe you sometimes, in the dark, think about such things also if it for a few short moments only?
Godfrey, as there is very little to discuss about the E-5 per se it wasn't hard to predict a discussion touching "the market" here. You could have avoided taking part in the thread.

Well, I guess you'll eventually discover no one makes a camera for you. They make a camera for a market.
(...)
Belittling those looking further ahead than you with trite lines like "bidden by vox populi" isn't adding to the discussion, it only reflects negatively upon yourself.

I liked to read your post. I agree with much of it and you put it so much nicer than I can do.

regards,

/Jonas