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It looks a terrific camera but it's really expensive - about £1150 with the kit lens. Considering that it's basically a G3 in drag (and G3s can be bought for about £400) that's way too expensive. Still I suppose it'll come down quite quickly.
I think it is a bit more than a Panny G3 in drag. It will be interesting to see the reviews.
I would guess that the 16Mp sensor will be seen in the next iteration of Pens also. So, if a built in EVF is not particularly important, it may be worth hanging on for the Pens. They will likely be much cheaper.... and you can buy a swivel accessory EVF.
Quote: It looks a terrific camera but it's really expensive - about £1150 with the kit lens. Considering that it's basically a G3 in drag (and G3s can be bought for about £400) that's way too expensive. Still I suppose it'll come down quite quickly.
For once we agree. The alloy construction and twin dials are points above the G3, but then the latter has a touch screen - and one that fully articulates to boot. The price differential is the kicker here though. Will be interesting to see how they compare performance-wise.
Quote: It looks a terrific camera but it's really expensive - about £1150 with the kit lens. Considering that it's basically a G3 in drag
The G3 has no weather sealing, in body IS, or wireless flash control, its very basic.
Quote: but then the latter has a touch screen - and one that fully articulates to boot
Articulated screens are not so great on pro grade bodies, there too prone to damage.
Quote: but then the latter has a touch screen
They both do.
I can't wait to get my hands on this. I use Canon DSLR's. they do the job but are they so boring, just like all the others DSLR's on the market today. I remember i used to have a pentax MZ50 in the days of film. I also had a couple of Nikon f100's for work which were far far superior. However i when not taking photographs professionally i always took the MZ50 on holidays and days out. the reason was i really enjoyed using it. I also took better photos with it too. I would rather have a little less function and have a camera i really enjoyed using. The more pleasure you get out of using a camera the better your photographs will be. If it feels as good as it looks then i want one. I hope it feels solid and a little robust. Olympus could be on to a winner here which will put them back up there with the big two. i hope so.
Quote: It looks a terrific camera but it's really expensive - about £1150 with the kit lens. Considering that it's basically a G3 in drag
The G3 has no weather sealing, in body IS, or wireless flash control, its very basic.
but then the latter has a touch screen - and one that fully articulates to boot
Articulated screens are not so great on pro grade bodies, there too prone to damage.
but then the latter has a touch screen
They both do.
Didn't know that. I also agree that moveable screens aren't a great idea on 'Pro grade' bodies. Even ones that only tilt...
Bottom line is the IQ - if the G3's is comparable [or better - I wouldn't be surprised] it does make the Olympus look very, very expensive. All the Panny lenses [except the short primes] have IS built into them. If you prefer you could compare the GX1 to the Olympus - it would still look a steal in comparison.
Quote: All the Panny lenses [except the short primes] have IS built into them
If you prefer your lenses 30% bigger its not a problem 
I use a G2 and from a personal point of view prefer this to the G3, and in turn I prefer there Pens to the Panasonic's.
Image quality Panasonic V Olympus there`s very little in it, if anything at all.
This new IS could be very interesting.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6i2dlKvv170
I used to have a GF1 [nicked] and eventually got an entry level PEN as a walk-around. Can't say I like it much and I'm contemplating replacing it as a carry around with something else compact. In terms of the lens issue for size there's nothing currently to touch the Panasonic X series - almost as small as a pancake [I still have one of the excellent Panasonic 20mm f1.7s], so I'm not sure where you're getting your 30% bigger from. You pay a large premium for the X lenses, but big, they're not.
The new IS system on the Olympus looks good on paper, I agree; and it is a fine looking camera. It just looks very expensive.
Never had a g3 as it;s never appealed to me.
however the olympus range does appeal to me i got the pen ep3 and at the mo i am on a skiing trip in Austria right now and i got with me the pen ep3, canon 5d mark ii and 24-105mm f4 l is usm lens and for video i have the gopro 2 which will be attached to my ski pole, helmet and ski.
Image will be uploaded as and when from this trip.
There's really only one thing i would really like in my kit bag and that's the beautiful looking retro oly om-d for something awesome and something small.
My first serious camera was an Olympus OM-1, bought in the summer of 1973 just after it had been introduced. Nikon was the market leader then, although Canon were catching up fast. Olympus, a company that had been in existence since 1919, were in the doldrums. Established brands, like Topcon and Petri were going out of business and they could have gone with them. Their answer was the OM system. Unlike the market leaders, it was small and lightweight, but it had a huge, bright viewfinder, was durable and the lenses were right out of the top drawer. To this day, they are some of the best lenses I have ever owned. The rest, as they say, is history.
At least it was until autofocus, and later digital, became all the rage and Olympus began to get it wrong. The E-series, handicapped as it was by four-thirds' inherently small optical viewfinder, was never going to set the world alight. Now, I suspect that their fortunes might change for the better. By using Micro Four-Thirds and an EVF, they may just have produced the camera that they really need, by identifying a gap in the market, just as its forebear did in 1973. People who call it a glorified G3 have rather missed the point. For one thing, it is made of magnesium alloy, not plastic, and it is weather-sealed. This is a serious camera, hence the price tag. If it sells in sufficient numbers (and I suspect that it will), cheaper versions will surely follow and the E-series will be quietly buried.
Much will depend on the quality of that viewfinder and the new sensor. I await reviews with anticipation.
Quote: People who call it a glorified G3 have rather missed the point. For one thing, it is made of magnesium alloy, not plastic, and it is weather-sealed. This is a serious camera, hence the price tag. If it sells in sufficient numbers (and I suspect that it will), cheaper versions will surely follow and the E-series will be quietly buried.
Agreed. But I wonder how many people want a mag alloy body and full weather-sealing. It's also got the latest generation in-body IS but, in this age where stills and movie cameras are converging, in-body IS is becoming a bit of a liability (because of heat build up mainly). And I seriously doubt that its IQ will be any better than the G3. It seems to me that Olympus are basically in the financial mire (as the business pages regularly state) and they need a cash cow. I'd guess they've had a brainstorming session and someone brought up the idea that they could make a retro camera that looks like the OM-1 - and charge for it like a wounded bull.
Don't get me wrong - it's a great idea. Even at the inflated price they'll sell a few to people who loved the OM-1 and many more to people who just love retro stuff. When those buyers have bought the camera I'd expect a fairly precipitate drop in the camera's price. I might even get one myself - I've got an immaculate OM-1 (plus 50mm f1.4) which I inherited and it is like a work of art.
Quote:
Don't get me wrong - it's a great idea. Even at the inflated price they'll sell a few to people who loved the OM-1 and many more to people who just love retro stuff. When those buyers have bought the camera I'd expect a fairly precipitate drop in the camera's price. I might even get one myself - I've got an immaculate OM-1 (plus 50mm f1.4) which I inherited and it is like a work of art.
Agreed as well. As long as it turns out to be as good as hoped, I don't mind - and I shouldn't think Olympus will either. My view is that they should never have abandoned the OM system in the first place. I don't know if there is a technical reason why the OM mount could not have been developed for AF and, later, digital use. After all, Nikon and Pentax both did it (although Canon and Minolta changed theirs, come to think of it). It would have been interesting to watch the OMs of old gradually evolve into the forthcoming camera. It would have involved a mount change at some point, but that is not necessarily insuperable (ask Canon).
Quote: Don't get me wrong - it's a great idea. Even at the inflated price they'll sell a few to people who loved the OM-1 and many more to people who just love retro stuff
Why do you think this is at an inflated price, the X100 sold for about £1000 and the latest Fuji for even more.
Quote: The E-series, handicapped as it was by four-thirds' inherently small optical viewfinder, was never going to set the world alight
It has and in more ways than you can imagine
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