All the best Olympus E-M1 tech explained by TheCameraStoreTV
In an interview at with Olympus president Sasa confirmed at JP (Click here) that Sony and Olympus will tighten their relation ship in the mirrorless camera business. In Short this means that they will share components between their cameras to lower the costs. And also integrate the distribution network.
In short, what are the tech Olympus can hand over to Sony? Here is a list:
– The great 5 axis on sensor stabilization (likely coming on the new generation A-mount cameras in February)
– Their contrast autofocus tech
– Their Zuiko Lens design epxerience
– Their JPG engine (which is a tiny bit better than the Sony engine)
– The freezproof body design (see the new Olympus E-M1).
I have to say this is a nice list of things we need to get built-in in our future Sony cameras!
73 Responses
I see only two things to share: Lenses and IBIS
Olympus just kills itself.
As a OLY shooter before Nikon. ALL the points are things SONY can learn from and NEED. The Senor clean is great too.
But, the 14-35 (28-70) f2 zoom Lens .. This is GREAT !
And looks to cover FF.
Sony NEEDS to do a 24-70 f2 ZA SSM. Internal Focus/Zoom … this lens was not that long. or they need to do a Zoom Lock like Canon v2.
The weather seal was also very good.
24-70 f2 ZA SSM?
+1!!
I would enjoy most, if they make those 3 lenses:
14-40
40-140
140-400
I call these my dream team – all f/2.8, pro lenses. I hope I can see my dream come true some day.
This way we have the perfect landscape/architecture lens, the perfect portrait lens and the perfect tele-zoom for wildlife.
I’m speaking about FF lenses.
+10
And a 16-35 f/2 ZA with weather sealing!
Ok a f/2 – 2.8 would also a good compromise.
Nobody
What do you suppose the maximum “acceptable” size of this lens would be for you?
In the size and price range of the Oly 14-35 f2. Then the moaning begins.
Same for the other features. How much is the new flagship Oly? Just a bit below the A7 you say?
Once the best weather sealing and IBIS techs are incorporated into the new A mirrorless lines, the price won’t be so friendly.
Yep. The existing ZA is 2000USD and weighs 1kg.
Guess it’s the only way we’ll ever see Full frame Zuikos again. Here’s hoping.
How about digital OM1? I mean true optical VF,manual focus only(to maintain 100% light to the VF),36mp…
guys, as son as there is an optical viewfinder you are at least at the size from the nikon DF
no sense to go back to that old stuff, if you want this, there are plenty of dslrs out in the market
hope sony keeps designing their own cameras, because the olympus cameras look awful to me.
If so, then what is Sony going to offer to Olympus? Sony has a better distribution network, so maybe we would start seeing Olympus cameras in Sony stores? Olympus cameras in Sears?
If Olympus were to give up all that technology in exchange for retail outlets, that would seem like a bad trade. If you share your best technology with Sony, then you won’t be able to compete at the retail level anyway.
Maybe sensors who knows
😉
Money.
Sony has invested $644 million in Olympus last year for a 11% share of the company. Olympus needed the money after the fraus scandal from 2011.
http://www.imaging-resource.com/news/2012/09/28/its-official-sony-to-invest-642-million-in-olympus-two-companies-launching
http://www.nytimes.com/2011/12/09/business/deep-roots-of-fraud-at-olympus.html?ref=olympuscorporation
I have a hunch that the EM1 EVF is supplied by Sony
Epson, not Sony.
Sony can offer sensors, as they already do. Plus, Sony can share some knowledge on the video front, something that Olympus is kind of weak, even more if Olympus halps with the engine – Admin was too kind to Sony on his statements, Olympus’ engine is much better than Sony’s.
I think admin was referring to Bionz X which looks to be on par as CaNikon image processing engine
One of the best. But the recent Sony jpg engine is quite good. It’s probably Olympus’.
It would make sense… hehe…
But the colors from Olympus really pops out.
LIVE BULB!!
Above all other Features, That’s the one I want in my A7! Just amazing!
+1 A neat feature indeed.
Abasof@&kinglutely!
This has to be the next Sony App.
+1!!! This feature is amazing. I wanted it from the time I first heard of it, when someone came up with an iPhone app that did it(in video res only)
LIve BULP to the people, yeah!
Unfortunately, with a debt/equity ratio of 2.77 (vs 0.52 for Sony: http://www.macroaxis.com), Oly needs to act more like the consumer electronics business that Sony is. However, Olympus will likely lose its brand/product distinction in the process.
I think Olympus 135 sensor camera is very very close.
Also I would not be surprised if the a7/r was not an original oly design taken up and modified by Sony for Sony with Oly looking over the shoulder.
How to explain that it *has* E-mount then?
“Design” is insignificant, it’s implementation that matters.
If it has Sony’s CDAF, Sony’s jpeg engine and so on?
“I think Olympus 135 sensor camera is very very close.”
That would be excellent – but I bet there is a secret handshake against it.
I would love to see an Olympus XA digital preferably in the size of the film camera.
If the NEX 7 successor could just have the same CDAF performance than any current generation m4/3 camera, it would bury the competition…
Speaking as a dual system user FF and mFT { soon to be three when I decide between the A7 & A7r }I was initially very interested in the Nex 7 when it came out but the lens choice at the time put me off. Though the choice has improved the overall quality compared to similar priced mFT lenses hasn’t really got there yet. I am only referring to native mount AF lenses.
When the Sigma 18-35mm F1.8 came along I thought about getting it to use on a Nex the range of the lens suites my landscape uses just fine.However as a Nikon user it would be cheaper and easier to just buy a D7100 rather than a NEX 7 + adapter + 18-35mm. At base ISO especially the NEX 7 delivers great results better than any mFT.
Sony can give an exclusive sensor to Oly … high dynamic range, better ISO
They kind of did that already. Apparently the sensor in the e-m5 is a Sony one.
They talk about sharing parts for production chain optimization and not technology which is quite a different thing.
Obviously none of the interesting Olympus components can be shared as they would have to be redeveloped for different sensor sizes. I guess it will really come down to small internal parts that we will never get to see or notice in the first place.
Btw. in the article, they explicitly say that they are already sharing lenses (and sensors). So, Olympus were probably manufacturing lens ELEMENTS as OEM and not lens designs. No Zuiko designs for Sony.
If what you said was true, Olympus had just given away its entire camera division to Sony.
By combinig resources SONOLYMPUS can better compete against CANIKON.
OlympusSy
HAAA!! Iseewhatyoudidthere…
Sony is more of a sensor leader than a camera leader.
By sharing tech both companies can concentrate on thier oun respective innovations without needing to inovate every detail of the camera.
If the two systems become interchangeable it will definitely benefit us as consumers as it will reduce cost and improve quality/features.
It will also give Sonolympus users a bigger selection of compatble products/lenses.
Though for a second there I accidentally clicked on 43rumors.com 😉
You are too generous to Sony to say that Olympus engine is just tiny bit better.
Apparently the A7/r engine has improved dramatically, to a point where lots of reviews claim its right up there with the top players..
Noticed it also. It’s almost from zero to hero improvement.
Lol, you got that right. I almost exclusively shoot RAW with my NEX 7, looking forward to the A7r 😀
5 axis IBIS isn’t notably better than the normal Sony steady shot, least I can’t see it having used both makers bodies.
Olympus’s jpeg engine isn’t great either, sure better than Sony’s but what isn’t?
This is more about marketing than any substance IMO
in the list, you forgot the livebulb functionnality
Finally Sony might get what they just haven’t been able to manage themselves — quality firmware with a decent Jpeg engine. Just don’t mess with it Sony!!!. Lets hope they quickly roll it out to existing A mount users.
The stabilisation and autofocus tech will also be most welcome, all this combined with Sony’s technology could finally work to let them seriously compete with CaNikon.
Hey give us adapter to mount m43 lenses to NEX with full electronic support.
Like, LA-EM1.
Haha.
I know that post was just a joke but just in case it wasn’t or somebody thinks you were serious 😉 , the m43 image circle would not cover the entire APS-C NEX frame just like E mount glass doesn’t cover the entire FE frame.
How bad would a small teleconverter affect IQ?
If you make the image bigger, any blur from lens aberrations or diffraction will likewise get bigger. This happens with any tele extender that goes between lens and camera.
But people have been happily using tele extenders for decades, and most of these have more enlargement (and so worse image quality) than you would need in a 4/3 to APS-C converter.
So I think it would be a useful device optically. How well the electrical functions could work, I have no idea.
I was serious.
1. doesn’t cover full image circle? no problem. Just call this “multiaspect sensor” and you have greater freedom where to crop from.
2. marvellous lomographic vignette
3. some lenses (e.g. from sigma) DO cover APS-C
4. for some lenses (e.g. samyang 7.5/3.5), irrelevant
5. some telephoto lenses might cover APS-C as well — because Olympus uses IBIS, their lenses actually have somewhat more coverage than just m43 sensor.
6. for trolling m43 trolls.
What Sony absolutely NEEDS is Vibration Reduction (of 3 or 4 stops, by whatever name) for the A7r in E-mount, even if this adds a little weight. Without it, a light body of this resolution is of no use for any lens over 135 mm, especially, of course, ‘legacy’ glass.
Add an in-camera engine that removes this terrible W/A colour fringing: I for one do not wish to add CornerFix to the workflow.
It’s super easy to do great stabilization and contrast phase detectionwith the tiny M4/3’s format. The same principles don’t apply in larger formats. I like the freeze proof idea but it’s not a deal breaker for me.
Personally, I find Sony’s jpg engine to be just fine in the latest camera’s. Sony’s images are far more pleasing than anything out of an Olympus. This also has been true for years.
With lenses, once again it’s really easy to make high quality lenses for smaller formats. This is one of the main reasons Olympus created the M4/3 format. They wanted to offer world class lenses at an affordable rate marketed towards pros. Making the sensor smaller alleviates much of the issues associated with lens design.
I think what Olympus can share with Sony legitimately is their flash system expertise. Olympus has the easiest and best flash system of everyone including Nikon.
I have had good results from a 200mm lens hand-held, but you do have to take care.
The trouble with a built-in CornerFix for JPGs (I don’t think anyone would want it for raw) is that you need a vast database of lenses. It also makes Sony responsible for problems anyone may have with a legacy lens. At present they can say “You can use a non-Sony lens if you like, but it is nothing to do with us. You’re on your own.”
There’s sort of an app to fix distortion and color fringing that links to the lens profile. Though I’m not sure if it works with RAW as well. Anyone else care to confirm this with their NEX 5T or 6?
Oly mirrorless uses IBIS, Panasonic mirrorless uses OS,
Sony mirrorless uses OS, Sony SLT uses IBIS – why would they change their established strategy at this point?
Actually Panasonic did introduce a m43 camera with IBIS: namely, the GX-7.
If Sony would add IBIS to A7R, everyone would cry how good it is. IBIS would be a major competetive advantage against CaNikon. If you want get 36 mpx resolution, a little of stabilization won’t hurt.
Not paying attention (myopic on Sony) – thanks for the correction.
No use??? some of us still shoot off tripods!
It would be great if Olympus made E and A mount lenses. Good for Sony users (and maybe even Sony). I can be branded Sony, but Olympus can design and manufacture them.
It’s a pity that a company like Olympus having extensive experience in opticals and camera design (since decades) was stuck with the m43 format. Now the sensors supplied by Sony, it would not be a far dream to expect some innovative range of cameras out of this cooperation and more than that, a number of new lenses that Sony lacks. I am glad that besides Zeiss we might enjoy some Olympus lenses too..
Well, Olympus made the choice to go m4/3rds. Took them a long time to prove that m4/3rd as a viable alternative, it started with the PEN series and the EM1 seem to be the height of it. I doubt Olympus would ever make a full frame camera ever but with this partnership, I do see Olympus lending their expertise to Sony into making smaller full frame lenses, their OM series (not to be mistaken with OM-D) lenses are generally smaller then the competition and I can see FE lenses to benefit from it.
Sonympus? I began my career with OM-1 thru OM-4. Switched to Maxxum with the 9000.
This is perfect. Now they just need to revive the 350/2.8, 250/2, and 180/2. They will be better on EVF. Using them on Oly OM caused a great deal of focus draft traveling through the prism to the viewfinder. Couldn’t use them long because the draft dried out the eyes… Yep, focusing those lenses caused draft to blow out the eyepiece.
Talk is good. Now prove it by making better cameras in cheaper prices.
i see so many Olympus haters but why… they just make fine camera… sony line up is in a mess now… and some of the lenses cannot cope with the number of pixels in their body… though i find sony lenses are more reasonably priced.
Sony lenses are more reasonably priced what? Almost a £1000 for a 50mm lens is not what I’d called reasonable.