Focus Numerique interviewed Haruo Ogawa from Olympus. And here are just some of the key info he spilled out:
More Megapixels? For most of our clients 16MP is sufficient. But in certain situations, this is not enough.
The issue with Full Frame: With a 24×36 sensor, the optics are still very impressive and heavy enough. We believe that at Olympus housings must be compact, but the optic must also be more consistency.
New lenses: We will focus on very bright optical lenses.
What needs to be improved with the EVF: We have to go below 6 milliseconds for the human eye can not be bothered. If we can improve the response time, then the electronic viewfinder will be better than the optical viewfinder.
Autofocus: In the near future, we will further improve this hybrid (AF) system.
4K: In the near future, we will try to have a camera with a video mode 4K.
I am particularly excited to learn more about the fast primes!
137 Responses
I am hoping for a professional grade, fully sealed 25mm, f1.2. I don’t care about the size so much, the E-M1 does not have the smallest footprint anyway and its grip allows for some weight on the lens.
45mm FoV is covered with the PL42.5
M43 as a whole has room for three native “very bright pro apo asph kitchen-sink AF” prime spread more or less evenly across 12mm and 30mm range I say. No hair splitting required. 15mm instead of 14mm, I’ll be fine with it.
The PL42.5 (Nocticron) is overpriced. Yes, it is a fantastic performing lens, but at $1,600 retail, there is room in this market for an Oly version that hits a proper under $1,000 price point (much like the Fuji 56mm f1.2 is $899).
I’d be fine with either a 15 or 14mm f1.2… or even a 17.5mm f1.2. 12mm would likely be useful for nighttime landscape shooters, so that would likely be a good choice (even though I have no need for it). 25mm would be the least useful, since it is already covered so closely by the PL25 right now (and you can get one for under $400).
Of course I’d be happy with lower cost. Now, if they are going to make them “pro” I am not all too optimistic that Olympus would break Panasonic’s price a whole lot.
It would not have to be so big.
Should be possible to make that focal length and aperture with same size as the 75mm f/1,8
1.2 is 1/3 stop faster than 1.4. How would the 1/3 stop diff improve your photos over PL25? the one grand cost difference aside.
Agreed. I don’t really see a need for another 25mm lens since f1.2 isn’t that different from 1.4. Plus, the PL25 renders very nicely already.
Seems to be very much in line with what we already know (ie the previous rumours,) let’s have something more concrete!
Fast prime should be weather sealed.
And what about that reimagined Pen?
Definitely it has to be weather sealed!
I think the biggest mistake Sigma did with its impressive new ART line is forgot to weather sealed it! The 18-35mm would be near a perfect lens for aps-c dslr user with tropicalisation..
I imagine any new super fast primes (I assume f/1.2 or faster) will be part of the PRO line-up. So bigger, heavier, more expensive, weather sealed, excellent optically, bundled with a lens hood and with all the features you would expect from a PRO line lens. That’s my guess at least.
Agreed
Make it fast, make it wide!
Hope they can also release a 8mm reasonably small, priced and bright that can take filter.
I would not mind a 8 or 9mm F/2.8 around 800 USD.
yes! Even 3.5 or 4 8mm or 9mm would be acceptable for a lower price (choice between a 12mm style or a 45mm style lens). The basic prime range needs one wider, and perhaps a slightly cheaper long lens (100mm in 45mm style would be great).
I also like the better evf promise; faster refresh rate would help me in certain situations.
“In the near future” sounds promising, but all that should have been here a year ago. If it is in another year, Oly will lose a lot of money.
Hope that their use of “Near future” is faster than the 300mm experience…
Okay. Nice. Okay.
– Yes, 16Mpix is more than enough for most cases. We can make excellent 40″ prints or very fine art 32″ prints. Or then simply crop in those ratios. And in those cases the HR mode is excellent if it can just get to work in that 1/30 or 1/60 time. Handheld isn’t even requirement but if on tripod and get that 1/60 speed, then it is excellent capability.
– Fast primes, but please not to Pro line. Make them to Premium line like the 45mm f/1.8 and 25mm f/1.8 are by body. Weather sealing is not required as those lenses can be used even in bad weather, but of course those doesn’t withstand quick submerging under water by wave or very bad washrain like Pro lenses do, and not needed!
– E-M1 successor probably has that PDAF/CDAF mode. But instead that, really focus to improve the CDAF with better prediction for C-AF. It is fine then.
– Viewfinder. Bring that your presented 4.5Mpix viewfinder (CP+ 2015) and make it 0.84x size and it will be more than enough. Keep up the same excellent optics that makes Olympus EVF best out there (E-M1 has better than in GX8, A7rII than by resolution and magnification).
– 4K. Okay if you can squeeze it in for production. I don’t care. I am happy with better 1080p (sharper).
“- Fast primes, but please not to Pro line. Make them to Premium line like the 45mm f/1.8 and 25mm f/1.8 are by body. Weather sealing is not required …”
I am not willing to bet on that. If Olympus is going to duplicate those FoV, the difference will be more than stop measurements I am afraid.
Yes, 1.6EV difference is bet for Pro models. But then the premium ones needs to come down.
Like now they are forcing to buy a silver from 25mm f/1.8 if wanted to get for 225€. But if you want black, you pay 310€. (This is with the current 75€ off from the price and special deals in many places for 299€ for the silver one, and the normal 385€ for black one).
When I say it will be more than “stop measurements” I mean, I expect premium build quality and glorious design with all kind of exotic elements galore. And a price tag that comes with it.
I don’t say it’s a good thing or not, I say this is what will happen.
My take:
Oly will definitely use sensors with more than 16MP. For other uses there’s also pixel shift.
The answer about FF is nearly unintelligible.
The translation doesn’t mention primes, only bright lenses.
EVF continues to get better. Very good.
Currently only the EM1 has a hybrid AF. Contrast and PD. I hope Oly uses this tech and no DFD.
Wasn’t the EM1 supposed to get 4K via Firmware?
There were two things. One was a fake claim that there was a 4K firmware for the E-M1. The other was that there were people testing 4K in an E-M1 – which might actually have been legitimate in that it might have been an E-M1 mule with upgraded internals that was a test bed for technologies destined for the E-M1 II.
There will shortly be a firmware 4.0 that adds a lot of things to the E-M1 including more video options like frame rates.
I hope we get 1080p improvements out of the deal. The original EM5 is embarrasingly poor quality when panning at highest quality settings, and the EM5 2 is now decent but not good or great. Reducing rolling shutter, improving codec quality, and video autofocus are my three biggest on the wishlist to make an EM1 m2 the camera I upgrade to.
On the photo side, just enable radio flash control. That’s all I’m missing.
A VF with 0,92x like the original OM1 and very fast primes. What else? 🙂
Olympus bring RF type cam (with corner EVF) with everything EM1 Mk2 gets but smaller than GX-8. This is the only reason I would buy Oly.
Then you won’t be buying anytime soon. 🙂
Probably yes. Than I will look on Fuji (X-Pro2/X-E3) or Sony (A7000). I hoped GX-8 is the cam for me but only in samll GX-7 body. I do not need 4K, no camera IBIS, just RF styled small cam very good featured and with exellent AF in low light. GX-8 seems have them most but its big size is not for me. I still hope Oly will make such one as the ansfer for GX-8…
They won’t, they understand there are plenty of people in the world who are left eye dominant.
Left eye dominant will use a corner EVF as a central EVF. There is no prejudice for them. It will be a huge advantage for right eye dominant!
+1000
Everything Mr. Ogawa sounds promising, but most of what he says is veiled in vagueness. I could not care less about video…and I do not want to pay for 4K…but it would appear that the market thinks that there is supposed to be a video camera inside my still camera. It also takes up resources that could be used to make “important” improvements. 🙂
Why do the corporate guys always say…”bright lenses”???? What does that mean exactly. LOL!
You are the head of a photography company for God’s sake…can’t you talk in technical terms that address your customer base????????
The comment about the MegaPixels is a dog chasing its tail.??????? LOL!
So…we really don’t know any more than we did yesterday. Right? 🙂
In what way is a ‘bright’ any less meaningful than ‘fast’? Both terms have been used for decades. Then of course there is the question of accurate translation, given he might have been speaking in Japanese, which was translated into French and now English.
“Bright” means that the sensor will receive more light, so it can be used to lower the ISO.
“Fast” means that the lens is transmitting so much light, that fast shutter speed is needed or faster shutter speed can be used with same ISO.
Two different terms, two different meanings.
Of course the extra light can be used for all of the two things: 1) Faster Shutter Speed or 2) Increase the dynamic range by lowering sensitivity (ISO).
Fast comes from the days of film and refers to the ability to use a a faster shutter speed for any given situation. Bright was just a term used to indicate the transmission of more light. As I said, these terms have been used for decades – long before digital photography so there was no ancillary meaning attached to ISO (ASA), because with film, that was a fixed metric once you had chosen and loaded the film.
The term: fast or bright “lens”, has NOTHING to do with shutter speed or the carmera. The term fast refers to the lens, not the camera. Yes it interacts with the camera and the sensor, shutter whatever..
Its about with the lens does or has.
You are wrong: http://www.dpreview.com/forums/post/17912267
(topic) Why are they called “FAST” Lenses?
(Replies) :
“I think it is because with wider apertures, you can use a FASTer shutter speed…”
“Exposure = aperture+shutter speed. Larger aperture, faster shutter speed.”
“Yes. When one refers to a fast prime here they generally dont mean fast
auto fucus, they mean large aperture available like f1.8 so you can use
faster shutter times (esp if light is low).”
…and so on.
Whatever.
Are you guys really sure you disagree?
They are completely interchangeable terms because they mean functionally the same thing.
Lets hope the very bright optical lenses won’t be very impressive and heavy enough…..
Just work harder and ask for more overtime. 😉
No no no, no thanks 😉
I mean, I was looking at ‘issue with full frame’ vs ‘new lenses’. Seriously bright lenses might turn out looking like full frame lenses if they’re not careful.
We can’t expect any manufacturer to be in front in any area of development. I’m happy as long as Oly is a few years behind in video and Pana a few years behind in IBIS. Competition results in faster progress.
This sounds like the next E-M1 will have 4k, more than 16MP and improvements in all other areas. I’m expecting the next GH5 to be again better in video but not in IBIS.
I don’t believe in the “one size fits all” story.
Looks like Olympus has addressed most of their weakness in their cameras. Hope they improve their menu system and give us 14bit raw as well. A new BSI sensor with copper wiring is also welcome.
Frankly I don’t care less for 4K video, but the marketing people think is important to the masses. I rather pay 9 bucks to watch a movie than watching any friends vacation home movies. 🙂 Please don’t tell any of my friends that.
+1 I’m yet to see a video anyone has shot which is worth my time sitting down to watch.
I won’t tell you what your friends think about your still photos. 🙂
Fast Primes? 12, 14, 17.5, and 25 please? I hope that “near future” for the 4K camera, E0M10 II?, is not Photokina, that is too far away.
The law of karma is unmerciful.
I don’t want fast primes. 1.8 is good enough. In fact, I like the fact that it’s 1.8 on an M43 sensor. Now let’s talk about the build quality of lenses like the 25 and 45. I’ll give you an additional 200 bucks per lens to put it in a better shell. Notice I didn’t say metal- although I’d prefer that. The plastic on those lenses is rubbish.
Other than that, can we have a 17mm replacement since that lens sucks. Also, why do we not have a 7mm or 9.5mm prime?
If you want to compete with fuji- which I think Olympus more than does- all we need is a little attention here and there. Plus, more 9 bladed standard FL lenses. Stand out from the crowd Oly- your cameras already do that so why not the rest of your lens line up.
A couple of compact PRO primes, yes please. I’d prefer 1:1.4 for the 17, 25, and 45, but it’s not a deal breaker. How about limited edition manual versions in the style of the PEN-F lenses?
Maybe they will deliver such lenses (17mm and 9mm) in second turn (2017). The first on the list are these FLs: 12, 25 and 50mm.
Fast is overrated unless you photograph underground and flash is not allowed. Very few lenses reach peak performance before f/4.
Hi Bengt.
A fast lens is useful (to me) when shooting in dim light in theaters or clubs. The depth of field of m43 sensors helps in having enough part of subject on focus. (And of course a fast lens keeps iso value lower)
Agreed, especially in smaller clubs. When possible I fill a bit to bring down aperture, ISO and red.
I hope for 4K firmware not only for EM1 II but for EM5 II too
14 and 42.5 fast primes. Get them under $1k (like fuji) and we’re good to go.
I want AF f/0.85 lenses that are sharp in the far corners wide open and are the same size as current f/1.4 M4/3 lenses, and are $500 each! Oh wait. Back to reality.
Olympus could make a 12mm, 17mm, 25mm, 45mm, 70mm f/1.0 lenses with good AF that are sharp and weather sealed. Combine that with in body IS, and you have a flawless win. They would need to be priced not according to their aperture, but according to their overall worth compared to Fool Frame lenses.
The rumour from Simon was there would be 12, 25 and 50mm f1 primes.
I think 25mm F1 will be popular.
I’d have a hard time understanding that choice. People who really need maximum sensitivity should pick other systems, while m43 thrives on well balanced camera/lens combinations that cater to its strengths.
The problem is that other people ARE picking other systems, so m43 should go after those customers too, and keep them in system.
Trying to be all things to all people, regardless of the system’s properties, is a waste of resources.
Perhaps you are right. Still, as a professional, I would prefer to have one system, as it simplifies things on location, or under duress.
You don’t have to buy them. 😎
We’ll see what transpires and how tempted I am =P
What I can say is that the Voigtlanders tempt me greatly, but I know large and heavy lenses are not my thing at all, and putting good glass behind glass neither.
It is a question of DOF – not ISO. Fast elektronic shutter + open aperture
Lot’s of users want that.
I would go for 12mm f/1. Would prefer 10mm, but can live with 12.
I really only need one lens like that. So it would be a bit of a waste to buy into another system for just one lens. Not to mention that apart from 35mm format systems, only Fuji has a 16mm f/1.4 prime. And I’d rather pay Olympus $1200 for that lens, than $2000 for a Fuji body and a single lens. FF alternatives are even more costly.
Surprised no question re. hand-held high-res mode, no question re. global shutter, etc. The interviewer had velvet gloves on, everything asked here is almost the repeat of what’s said before.
I’d place much greater value at super-clean, ISO-less, sensor readout at 16-18MP than increased MP count. Especially as we allegedly have handheld hi res mode coming anyway. Best of both worlds in a small, light system. I’d be all over that.
Fast primes sound great.
An easy way to participate in the MP race would be to use [larger] square sensors.
That is actually kind of brilliant and would be useful.
Theres no easy way to print square shots.
Except…with a printer, or by ordering online?
Presumably someone with a $300 photo printer can also buy a $15 paper cutter.
So, every print requires 4 cuts, sounds like fun. And your online prints are cropped how? With an edit? With an arbitrary center cut? Please educate me as to how to make this less labor intensive.
When I ordered mine, I chose dimensions I wanted (30x30cm in my case), uploaded my image (square aspect ratio), got my print the next day, framed it (in a square frame) and finally hanged it on my wall. Very straightforward and zero extra work on my end.
Cutting would only be required if I printed myself.
BTW, the biggest benefit of a square sensor would not be making square photos, but making them in portrait orientation without rotating your camera. But I can’t imagine anyone putting larger sensor just for that.
I see. Thanks for the explanation. I don’t post process my images as part of my artistic zeitgeist, so an edit to square is out. The only way I get square is my LX100, which has it on the switch. A very pleasant experience that LX100, choosing between 1:1 and 16:9, in camera, is quite exciting.
Eh? Are you serious? Do you only print out images that are already at an 8.5×11, 11×17, or 13×19 aspect ratio with no cropping? Because that’s the only way you’re going to get borderless prints right out of a printer without cutting.
Also, how many images do you print? I’m not printing hundreds, so a few cuts is hardly much work.
And with online ordering, it’s super easy to just specify the dimensions you want. Mpix will send you square prints up to 20″x20″. Do you often print larger than that?
I print hundreds if not thousands of photos a week when I work, as proofs for wedding clients. To answer your first question, yes, and normally at 4*6. Anything other than 3:2 is almost unusable commercially, because I cannot give my clients cheap proofs, or photos that haven’t been arbitrarily cropped.
Obviously you’ve never shot medium format 6:6. It’s not rocket science.
There was an article advocating for a ROUND sensor; and I really like the idea.
You can pick any aspect ratio you want, possibly after the fact if you have a raw, and make more use of the glass.
I wonder how Tony Northrup would resolve his sensor size “logic” with total light gathered and exposure if a crop sensor was just able to use more of the lens light.
I’m pretty satisfied with the output from the current sensor though less noise across the iso range and improved dynamic range are always welcome. A 16mp sensor with improved DR and cleaner output would be fine for me Indeed, But I think from a marketing perspective Oly is going to have to move to higher mp sensors. Every time a body is released we here the refrain about the same old sensor. And we hear it over, and over, and over. A higher resolution sensor screams that it’s new and new must be better. My sense is that there’s not much more room to improve with the current sensor technology. The Canon sensors have largely been stagnant. The Sony sensors have improved but not dramatically over the last several years. Until some radically new sensor tech is developed and ready for prime time I think incremental improvements in sensor output will be the order of the day.
Do the m43 Olympus sensors use all the latest technology on them? I am sure they don’t since they are what 4 years old. Olympus needs to pressure Sony.
I think they should leave the Megapixel race to the A7r. Keep the sensor at 16 mp and improve noise. The perfect model for this is the Sony A7s as 12MP. If they could do something nearly as good for micro four thirds it would be amazing considering the size of lenses in micro four thirds world.
I am wildly anticipating the E-M1ii. But I wonder if the comment on 16 mp being enough indicates an improvement to the 16 mp sensor or if he’s preparing us for a new PEN and OM-D with the old sensor class.
As intriguing as Olympus’ cameras are in terms of features nobody else has (IBIS, live composite, etc), there seems to be a singular path to better IQ for the m43 shooter – that is buying a Sony a7x.
That is very true and I don’t think these systems are mutually exclusive. APSC seems to be the odd man out. I just purchased the Sony A7 and I will use it with the 55mm lens. However I still love my GM1 with 12-32, 35-100, and 45mm 20mm primes. Full frame will never be able to make something this small. I think the GM/or LX100 series are the perfect compliment to full frame.
Agree. Just snagged a GF7 for a compact option to run with my PL15 and 42.5. I love the compactness of the system and will always have a m43 setup.
But I am always open to something more substantial. The a7 series fits that bill, but there’s the cost and lack of affordable telephoto options. That’s why I am putting a lot of anticipation on the E-M1ii.
Lenses are too big.
Some are too big, like the superzoom. Some are just fine, like the 35, 55 and F/4 zooms.
“For most of our clients 16MP is sufficient. But in certain situations, this is not enough.”
…and so ….your solution is????????????????????????? LOL!
Is he a politician?
Sensor shift high res mode.
Handhold 🙂
In certain situations the high-res mode will come in handy. Needs quite the bandwidth to handle the large files though, on any device that touches the photos
Improved hybrid autofocus (PD + CD), quicker High Res capture, and WiFi control for High Res capture are my top wishes. How about an 8.5mm shift lens, and an all-metal weather-sealed adapter for 4/3 lenses?
Since everybody is posting their wishlist I’ll add mine to the list. Please make:
– a compact, affordable long prime, say a 100mm f/2-2.8 the size of the 60mm macro <500$
– make a semi-pro 4K videocam: like an updated Panasonic AF100 with 5-axis IBIS
– larger batteries in all your cameras!
For me on the E-P5 with manual primes, battery capacity is more than sufficient.
How about small batteries that last at least as long as big batteries? Sensational battery innovation rumors have been around for quite some time, I wonder when we’re really going to see them.
Currently the biggest gap in lenses for M43 that needs to be filled is a wide prime. Both the Olympus and Lumix 7-14 are extremely expensive, and if there is no need for zoom I think many would be happy with a fixed 7mm prime with AF at about F2.8 with or lower. I’d buy that in a heartbeat!
While I agree to some extent, I think that a zoom is actually more important with ultrawides than with most other focal lengths. The difference visually between 7, 8, 9, 10mm is huge. And 7mm is extremely distorted, in some ways looking even less natural than a fisheye with a wider field of view because of edge stretching.
Primes are not very common in this focal range, and it’s because once manufacturers figured out how to make zooms, there wasn’t much demand for them.
Samyang is only outlier here, and it’s because they are strongly focussed on a value offering.
I would also prefer 9mm or 10mm for a prime rather than 7mm. So picking the right FL is tricky.
I agree that the difference between 7mm and say, 12mm is a lot and that a 9 or 10mm f2 or 2.8 would be a great compromise. I love my 9-18, such a useable range… Add tilt/shift to a 10mm and I’m sold…
Do any autofocus tilt/shifts exist? It would definitely make it a much more impressive and versatile lens, but I imagine it would also double the price instantly…
Probably not…but the wider you go, the more you’d appreciate perspective control. Manual focus would be okay… 10mm f2.8 T/S over 10mm f2 autofocus for $1000 -1500?
Can you link to photography using a wide angle lens that is original? I know wide angle photography is extremely popular, but I can not find anything that suits me. Most shots are played out landscape/sunset shots or architecture.
What’s out there that will make me want to get a wide angle zoom or prime?
Great photo.
Ty so much.
I could say if you don’t already know, then you won’t ever care, but I’m not sure if you disagree or are genuinely asking 🙂 I’ll just say there are shots that can be done with no other lens. Even though it makes an unrealistic stretching of the image, it’s a similar compositional need to shooting with a Fish-Eye. Nothing else will get that shot, capture so much of the scene. The surreal angle is either something you’re looking for or you’ll just flat out hate it. It’s dramatic and artistic, but it has practical applications too, for exactly what you mentioned: landscapes, real-estate, architecture, live music. https://flic.kr/p/zjszLx
Shot above is by “Pingz Man” and he submitted it to “weekly readers pics” about 14 days ago.
I sense an ongoing implied assumption that a UWA prime must be comparatively cheaper and better than it’s zoom counterpart. How else would you always read people asking all the time for an UWA prime as if it were a holy grail. It’s obviously not going to be for bokeh, it’s hardly going to be for speed, why? Even portability has it’s limits, UWA shooting begs for a tripod, not for stabilisation, but for composition.
My feeling is that the only gain to be made is on size. Again, won’t be much compared to the Olympus 9-18 which not overly expensive, is nifty small, takes filters and has decent IQ for its price.
I’d like a 9mm 2.8 prime. I don’t like the image quality of the 9-18 and if I’m shooting landscapes its parked at 9mm. I don’t care about speed as I rarely shoot below f/5.6 on an ultrawide. If they made a slow and light 9-18 with pro quality optics that would be ok too.
I believe a prime 7mm can be smaller and cheaper than the zoom counterparts. Zooming requires additional mechanical moving parts, it requires expensive development to ensure that the glass performs somewhat equally across the whole range, since moving the internal elements affects the path of the light. That in turn requires compromises in light sensitivity and possibly even sharpness/CA. Without moving parts (zoom) it should be much easier (cheaper) to achieve decent image quality.
Also, I’m not calling it a holy grail, I’m just saying I want it, and it doesn’t exist yet. I really don’t care much about size, since it will certainly be smaller than full-frame counterparts and I’ll be able to mount it on cameras that are generally much smaller too.
Have you broken an MMF-3 before? I just don’t see Olympus making yet another adapter for lenses that almost no one uses anymore. The lenses that need it already have a tripod foot on the lens, anyway.
can do it,but we need new line PD lens,Zuiko & Lumix?
Who do it?
Hybrid AF still worse than SLR Phase sensor detect,they made something like Dual Pixel AF or Better AF.
16mp but super clean output, high dynamic range.
Hand-held hi res at any aperture and hand-held focus bracketing.
17.5mm f/1
10 bit 4:2:2 4K
Job done, last camera I’ll ever need 😉
17.5mm f/1.2 is all I want.
I’d like to see a move towards smaller, faster lenses. At this point, the 20mm 1.7 is practically a miracle of optical engineering. Surely, given the size and image quality of that lens, it’s possible to make a 25mm 1.2 (or a 50mm 1.2) that’s acceptably small. I’m even happy to accept plastic housing or some vignetting, if it’ll keep the cost low enough to increase sales (in order to make it economically viable to build, that is).
Megapixels. 16mpx is plenty. Same say barely. Bah. I do not wish for a 20 or 24mpx sensor with more noise.
Size. Compact is better
Apertures: Very bright optics. In the days of film, the f1.2 55mm Zuiko was a light gathering monster, one that few could afford. Most OM cameras sold with an f1.8 50mm. The f1.4 50mm sold well too, as the most bokelicious for those of modest means. That was when we used 100-400 ASA film for the most part. We can shoot 100-1600 ISO, essentially noise-free and tack sharp on the OM-D cameras, though 3200 ISO is quite good also. We are already shooting quite a lot faster than previously possible. The question is, how wide open is “very bright optics?” f1.0, f1.2, f1.4? The lower the number, more dear the cost. Purpose: more bokeh on the format?
EVF: faster response is good. The current EVF is very nice, very usable.
AF: The current CDAF scheme is very fast. I never have any trouble getting a fast AF lock when I mount f1.8 primes, only when I mount a slow-poke f3.5 zoom.
4K: Need to update TV first, same as most….
One limitation w 16mp is not much room for cropping, that’s more relevant to people shooting w primes than zoom lenses.
For those who say 4K doesn’t matters,…. I think it’s very usefull to pan&zoom a 4K video and get a good FullHD result.
I just imagine 75 1.8 in a theatre/concert and then just do a digital zoom/pan and get quality videos.
I must say I didn’t bought EM5 MKII cause it lacks this feature. I think I’ll go to EM1 MkII if it has 4k, or GH5 if it has IBIS.
Olympus needs to get on the 4k train sooner than later, as Panasonic promised to get to 8k by 2020. By then the photo/video boundary will practically disappear, the only difference is between choosing a few frames vs. a few segments, from recorded data.
5K photo/4K downscale for better,don’t worry GH won’t use IBIS.
But new GH will develop super fast readout and new video focus.
Just release the 67.5mm f/1.4.
Give me a 10-30mm F1.0 zoom SHG quality 77mm filter size & I’m sold!! 😀
http://thenewcamera.com/olympus-e-m1-ii-and-our-expectations/
sound like this.
Pro primes do not need to be fast. An updated 17mm 1.8 with optimized optics, good weather sealed housing could be pro too. If I could get a perfect f1.8 prime I’d be happy to call it pro and to pay a bit more. And btw, I dearly miss a 14mm (28mm equivalent): In the Oly lens line there is a gap between the 12 and 17mm.
“Pro primes do not need to be fast.”
This depends entirely on the type of photography the pro is doing.
I don’t know if google translate does a better a job than me, but hey, I have a break and 10 minutes to spend, so here’s a translation of the first part…
Focus Numérique: With the E-M5 MkII you introduced a new technology allowing to reach 40Mpx via sensor shifting. Is it, for you, the only way to give high resolution, or are you going to work on sensors with more than 16Mpx?
Haruo Ogawa: For the majority of our ustomers, 16Mpx is enough and allow us to get a great image quality. However, you may sometimes, in particular situations, need more. I think about phtographers working for advertising. You may need to print wide images with lots of details? That’s why we developped this technology. It doesn’t mean that we stopped our work on sensors. But we have to be careful about sensor noise. We need to find an excellent comprise between Mpx and sensor noise.
The truth is that Panasonic already uses a 20Mps 4/3 sensor, but there’s still some problemes from our point of view. When we’ll be satisfied with the management of sensor noise, then we’ll consider using it.
Nowadays, many photographers show their pictures on tablets or smartphones. Near in the future, we’ll see pictures on 4K tv screens, tabs and smartphones. 4K resolution is “only” 8Mpx. So we have 2 times this resolution with our actual sensor. If you wan’t to print big, then you need more information. But we also emphasize a lot on camera’s body size. If it’s too big and heavy, you don’t want to take it with you for a walk.
Focus Numérique: Indeed, Olympus’ bodies are more compact and lighter than Canon or Nikon DSLR, but Sony also offers very compact FF bodies with its A7 serie. What’s your opinion about this?
Haruo Ogawa: That’s really interesting. Snoy offers a new way for FF cameras. At Olympus we believe that bodies should be compact, but that optics have also to be compact for more consistency. With a FF sensor, optics are still big and heavy. If you’re in safari and a lion attacks you, you won’t be able to run with your telezoom and tripod… With an Olympus body and light lenses, you have a chance to escape!
Focus Numérique: Talking about lenses, what can we expect in the years to come? Lighter and brighter optics?
Haruo Ogawa: For the past 2 years, we have been working on “pro” lenses. We will work on very bright lenses and tele. We wan’t to keep a great image quality while keeping low size and weight.
Focus Numérique: For some years, Canon and Nikon have been using diffractive technologies (Canon DO, Nikon PF) to reduce lenses size and weight. Is this an approcach to consider for you?
Haruo Ogawa. Indeed, these 2 brands are working to reduce the size of optics, but their lenses are still too big. Those 2 brands also have to deal with OIS, and that’s another problem when you wan’t to reduce lens’ size. On top of this, you still have vibrations due to the mirror. Even if you use a tripod, you have vibrations.
More the next time I can take a break 🙂
Thanks! I hear great IQ for very bright lenses that remain small and light!
And here comes the second part.
Focus Numérique: Now let’s talk about viewfinder. Olympus doesn’t use OVF any more. Do you now think that OVF is history?
Haruo Ogawa: One more time, we proned EVF to reduce body size. The 2 technologies have their pros and cons. You can print more informations on an EVF, but response time is still a bit too long. We have to work on this. We have to go under 6 ms so it doesn’t bring discomfort to the human eye.
Focus Numérique: So you think that this is the only thing to work on?
Haruo Ogawa: Yes, of course contrast is also a point, but response time is our priority. When using an OVF, you always have that black curtain when mirror is up. If we can get better response time, then EVF will be better than OVF.
Focus Numérique: E-M1 is the only body using hybrid autofocus with phase and contrast detection. Why is it so, and what is the next autofocus system?
Haruo Ogawa: Soon we’ll improve this hybrid system. It’s not the best solution for every situation now and we’re working on making it more polyvalent. We want the best system for all situations. Once we succeed, then yes, we will bring it to all the line up.
Focus Numérique: You have to face a great competition coming with a clear strategy in video, especially 4K video. What’s your position?
Haruo Ogawa: We’ll try to bring a camera with 4K video soon. We still have some problems to solve with 4K video, especially on the stabilisation point. Hand held, it’s still difficult. With a tripod, Panasonic or Sony’s 4K videos are really interesting with beautiful images, but hand held, stabilisation is a real problem for user experience. We need to develop our stabilisation system before we bring 4K.
Focus Numérique: What’s the most impressive technology for the past 2 years?
Haruo Ogawa: Without any hesitation and for Olympus, it’s our 5 axis IBIS. But I’m impressed by Sony’s A7s and its low noise and high dynamic range 12Mpx sensor. We can’t get such results. We would have to use a 4/3 3Mpx sensor to do so!
Focus Numérique: In 2014, you brought the Air system to the market. What’s your vision?
Haruo Ogawa: After a big slow down, photographic camera’s market is stabilizing. Nowadays, people using smartphones to take pictures probably don’t wan’t to use bigger cameras to take pictures, but we believe that internet connextivity is a key feature. We’re working on easing connectivity. Cameras need to be lighter, more compact, and connected. We also want to collect data like GPS coordinates, temperature, atomospheric pressure, etc.
Focus Numérique: Last year, Panasonic launched the CM1. It’s compact and networked. What do you thing about it?
Haruo Ogawa: It’s really interesting. Obviously it didn’t bring a real break thru to the market. Some problems reamain before we can see CM as a real alternative. It’s a fun camera, but with prblemes. You have to work on user experience and create a real community around this product. I have the same feelings about the Theta from Ricoh. Those a really astounnding cameras, but they have to be improved.
Focus Numérique: From our point of view, we see 2 prosumer categories. One who want to get every new technology. The other only wanting a high level camera, but easy to use. Leica, with its M Typ 60, even released a screenless camera. What do you think about this?
Haruo Ogawa: That’s really interesting indeed. You have to know what’s your aim, what’s your community. In the last 5 years, smartphones have offered a new user experience: take pictures and share them on the internet. We now need to innovate. What will the next user experiences be? We’re working on different ideas, but we need more time.
sounds good
They would have the edge in mirrorless systems if they developed a good strobe and speedlight system. I dont thing any of the Mirrorless manufactures do yet
They have one, but the signaling isn’t always reliable. Otherwise, its similar to CLS.
http://www.lightingrumours.com/olympus-rc-system-test-4640
Btw, it is a really instructive and amusing interview.
First, the way Ogawa talks about Sony (“impressed by the A7s sensor performance”) and the way he talks about “the other brands” (trying to reduce size and weight but can’t achieve it). It’s clear that he (Olympus?) is quite happy to see Sony challenging Canon and Nikon in FF territory.
Second, how he says, almost shuttering, that 20Mpx GX8 sensor and 4K video with IBIS isn’t that good… It’s like saying “we may seem a bit late, but when WE will produce a >16MPx camera with 4K video, it REALLY will be a usable >16Mpx 4K cam”.
The Art of War somehow 🙂
Yes, let the super fast primes (PRO line please) come in. Hopefully not super huge.
And the Safari/Lion example is the best example “eval” 🙂