My comparison is really between an advanced compact (G11, S90, LX3) and a micro 4/3 camera. Moving up to a m4/3 should feel like an upgrade, but the lack of a zoom feels like a compromise. I believe that's why Olympus doesn't have a 17mm kit for their EPL-1.
I think Sigma is following Olympus' lead here: small, collapsible zoom lenses. I'm not arguing that this is the right/wrong decision or the best use of the format. It's just the market segment for which they are aiming and see the most potential.
Thanks for the clarification. What you say makes good sense, if one assumes -- as Olympus and Panasonic appear to -- that the target audience for m4/3 cameras is P&S owners wanting to "move up" to a more capable camera with interchangeable lenses. I'm more persuaded by the argument put forward by Thom Hogan (Nikon expert and E-P1/E-P2 user) that there's a strong demand coming from the opposite direction i.e. high-end DSLR owners wanting to "move down" to a small, capable supplementary/alternative camera with interchangeable lenses.
This view is supported by a
DPreview interview with Seung Soo Park, Samsung’s Vice President, Strategy Marketing and Digital Media, who admitted that:
...the company had been ‘very surprised’ by the popularity of the 30mm f/2 pancake lens. "For every 100 kit zooms we sell, we sell 50 pancakes," he said and pointed to the NX10’s light weight and small body as a key to the success of the tiny lens.
One in three lenses they sell is a prime lens. The fact that Samsung admit to being "very surprised" suggests to me that, like Olympus and Panasonic, they don't really understand the prospective buyer for this kind of camera. Hint: it's not P&S shooters who are buying all those prime lenses.
I want well made luxury lenses, as explained in
this thread. Not many agreed...
I meant to agree but allowed myself to be distracted by a troll in that thread. That's exactly what I want too. Well-made, high-end (albeit expensive) AF
prime lenses. I have all the well-made, luxury MF lenses I'm ever likely to need.