Give me just a little more time....

[badpickev]

from the BJP

Olympus 'needs more time' as launch date for flagship digital camera is postponed

Olympus has delayed the launch of its new flagship digital SLR, the much anticipated successor to its E-1 camera.

Speaking at the launch of another camera in the system - the E-400, which is aimed at enthusiasts - Heino Hilbig of Olympus revealed that a top-end addition to the range would not be introduced in time for the Photokina trade show next week.

'We need more time,' he admitted. 'We are not ready but we are not giving up on this product'.

Despite this, he laid out the company's ambitions to bring in 70% of its income from digital cameras in the next five years and become the world number two brand. He said that Olympus has put the financial difficulties of the past 18 months behind it and now believes its recovery lies in the DSLR market, where it hopes to take a 30% share. A pro-oriented follow-up to the E-1 will be part of this campaign, he said, adding: 'The demand (for imaging products) is at its highest in the industry's 70-year history. The consumer has more interest than ever in photography, and Olympus wants to be "the" photographic company.'

New DSLR

The E-400 is the company's latest camera built to the FourThirds standard, and is also Olympus' lightest camera body - and one of the smallest models on the market. It has a new CCD, which promises lower noise levels and a lower power consumption than its predecessor, the E-300, as well as a wider dynamic range, resulting from the CCD's improved amplifier circuit. This chip supports sequential shooting at up to 3fps with a five image raw buffer in burst mode.

Like its predecessor, it has a 'supersonic wave filter' dust protection system, which has now been improved with a higher frequency of vibrations. It also features the same 'Real Live' preview capabilities seen the DMC-L1, launched earlier this year by Panasonic (with whom Olympus has entered into collaboration), as well as a depth-of-field preview. It also offers customisable AE and AF modes and 31 scene modes, including underwater and macro.

As a FourThirds camera, the E-400 is compatible with a selection of both Leica and Sigma lenses, as well as Olympus' own range of E-system optics. Olympus announced additions to this range, which will be detailed in next week's issue.

The camera accepts both CompactFlash and xD-Picture Cards.

It will be available in November. A price has yet to be announced. Visit www.olympus.co.uk for further details.

[Raist3d]

Kev, thanks for posting that. I got it this morning also from the BJP. I can give Oly more time but would be nice to know exactly what we are all waiting for at this point!

- Raist

[badpickev]

you sound like a fuji or sigma owner.

[Raist3d]

Originally Posted by badpickev

you sound like a fuji or sigma owner.

Well you know I like the DR of Fuji, but we'll see. I would love an actualized E-1.

- Raist

[Paul Shields]

The E-400 sounds nice, but it also sounds like just a variant of the E-300/E-500. I hope they don't spread themselves too thin by releasing cameras with small improvements (and sometimes small reductions) in design and construction. I'd like them to be more radical and daring, and show something that sets it apart from the crowd.

[Paul Shields]

Originally Posted by badpickev

Like its predecessor, it has a 'supersonic wave filter' dust protection system, which has now been improved with a higher frequency of vibrations. It also features the same 'Real Live' preview capabilities seen the DMC-L1

That's interesting but I presume was a typo by BJP - or can the E-400 can do 'Live View' with a CCD ?

[Raist3d]

Originally Posted by PaulS

That's interesting but I presume was a typo by BJP - or can the E-400 can do 'Live View' with a CCD ?

I think some powers of the cosmos have told me that apparently the e-400 was supposed to have it but it was dropped or something. I can only imagine that if the sensor could handle it, the battery wouldn't.

- Raist