the rumor mill

[Paul Shields]

Lots of this in the air at the moment. Current speculation is that Leica will release a 4/3rds system soon, and an almost cast-iron bet that Panasonic are to release a 4/3rds DSLR at PMA. Is this the start of a revolution (sorry, as Olympus would say, 'evolution'), or the last gasp effort to break the N/C duopoly? Should be interesting times over the coming weeks.

[Mr. Pickles]

Hopefully the start of an evolution. Hopefully they can muster enough steam to make Canon step back and retool another monster hit that is designed to kill everybody. I hope they don't, but it would be good in some ways.

I'm still surprised that Sigma doesn't do a 4/3. They need to do a 4/3 or do a better Foveon. Smart choice is 4/3. Neat would be a 4/3 with foveon layers. If Sigma quit making Canon and Nikon mounts,a nd just made 4/3 mounted lenses, that would shake up some stuff too. Lots of folks can't afford just Canon or Nikon lenses.

So is Oly just releasing one camera, or what? Would the Leica or Panasonic be rebadged versions of an Oly?

[BigB]

I hope they announce something great soon. As some of you may recall, I was about to pull the trigger on the 14-54 and 50-200 but have hesitated since the non-announcement of something substantially better than the E-1. I know I haven't come close to reaching the full potential of the E-300 yet, but I know that time will come and I don't want to be stuck with "old tech". Then I see photos from people that actually know what they're doing with the E-1 and E-300 and don't think that I'd be stuck in a bad place anyway.

If only I could see the future ...

[Paul Shields]

Originally Posted by BigB

I hope they announce something great soon. As some of you may recall, I was about to pull the trigger on the 14-54 and 50-200 but have hesitated since the non-announcement of something substantially better than the E-1. I know I haven't come close to reaching the full potential of the E-300 yet, but I know that time will come and I don't want to be stuck with "old tech". Then I see photos from people that actually know what they're doing with the E-1 and E-300 and don't think that I'd be stuck in a bad place anyway.

If only I could see the future ...

I was hesitant to spend too much money on lenses initially, but in the end I thought that even if this 5 megapixel E-1 is as good as Oly ever produce, it's still exceeds my expectations in most areas. Tied in with my belief that there will definitely be an upgrade path when I'm ready in a year or so, and it was an easy decision to make. In fact, the E-330 looks really interesting and I'd be quite tempted by that, except they've slapped a £900 ($1600) price tag on it

Roll on PMA (and Photokina) .

[benherrmann]

that regardless of what other brand cameras are released in the 4/3 format, I would still view those models as just "another DSLR" if they didn't include a dust buster feature.* The reason I say this is because we've become so accustomed to having no dust on our Oly models - not even a worry at this point - that getting another camera may be difficult at best without that one feature.* I've been the route of many DSLR's and I can tell you that I didn't care for the dust cleaning scenario.*

So it doesn't make a difference if Panny, Sigma, Fuji, Leica...or whoever...comes out with a 4/3 model, it will just be another DSLR IMO if they don't include an internal dust buster feature.

Yes, we're all chomping at the bits in speculating about who will release a 4/3 sensor based camera next - but stop for a moment and look at the other features which make our Oly cameras stand out:* internal dust cleaner, pixel mapping, and I'm sure a few other unique items (especially on the E330).* The only positive I can see here is a wider acceptance of the 4/3 system, which means more Oly cameras and lenses sold.

Just thought I'd throw this into the mill for discussion.* *

[BigB]

Yeah, I realized after I posted that I was being silly and that by the time I'd "need" a better body I'd be better off and could afford something else if need be. Looks like the good old plastic card is going to be dented once I get out of NJ and back to Chicago.

[matteo]

Hi
I report a new from Steve digicam Forum

"Industry watchers have been discussing if Nikon Corp., Tokyo, Japan, will come out with a 35mm full-size image sensor in pro-oriented digital SLR. A Nikon top official denied the possibility of making new full-size sensors, Photo Trade Express reports.
"35mm is a film format, which I do not think is necessary in the digital era," says Makoto Kimura of Nikon. "We have been exploring the possibility of commercializing a 35mm full-size sensor, but it's not clear at this moment if we go for it. We feel that the 'DX' format or APS-C size will be the best for the DSLR and interchangeable lenses. Based on the assumption Nikon has been bringing up in number the lenses for the DX format, change in the size of the sensor would possibly puzzle some users in finding effective focal length related to angle of view," he says. confirm
He repeats that Nikon thinks the DX format will be the best for the DSLR, adding CMOS sensor "LBCAST" is also in preparation, reports Photo Trade Express."

Under these words there are the same thinks or observations who moved Olympus to choose the 4/3 sensor format over 3 years ago.

.....