Canon IXUS 240 HS
Canon PowerShot SX240 HS
Nikon D800
Samsung DV300F
Olympus OM-D E-M5
Nikon Coolpix P510
Canon PowerShot SX260 HS
Panasonic Lumix DMC-TZ30
Nikon Coolpix S9300
Olympus Announces E-1 Digital SLR
Olympus have announced what they have billed as the “World’s First 100% Digital Interchangeable Lens SLR System”, the new Olympus E-1, which is based on the Four Thirds open standard.
Specifications
The E-1 will have a 5 megapixel sensor with a 4:3 aspect ratio, magnesium-alloy body, 1.8” LCD, ISO range of 100-3200, and interestingly a “Supersonic Wave Filter” which cleans the CCD when the camera is switched on.
A range of Zuiko digital lenses, a flash unit, battery grip and other accessories will also be launched at around the same time as the E-1.
Pricing
DCRP have a handy table of prices for the camera and lenses here; in short, the E-1 will retail for $2199, body only. Digital Photography Now are reporting body-only prices at around €2,000, or GBP£1,384 (US$2,312).
Availabilty
The Olympus E-1 will be available for sale in September 2003.
Press Release
Here are some snippets from the Press Release that particularly caught my eye:
“Unlike most digital cameras, the Olympus E-1 utilises a Full Frame Transfer CCD sensor, a type specifically developed for the capture of still images. In comparison to Interline Transfer counterparts found in the majority of digital models, the FFT-CCD is distinguished by a larger pixel area, with bigger photodiodes and transfer channels. This means more electrons can be captured. A high signal/noise ratio can therefore be achieved together with a wider dynamic range. Final images benefit from more exposure latitude, greater detail and less noise.”
“For many photographers, speed is the key. That’s why the Olympus E-1 is equipped with three powerful ASICs. This ensures extremely fast image processing and playback. No matter which quality mode or resolution is chosen, thanks to an impressive 128MB buffer and high-capacity working SDRAM memory, up to 12 frames of sequential shooting can be captured at 3fps in every format (JPEG/TIFF/RAW).”
News Websites:
Here’s a list of websites that are all reporting the Olympus news:
A lot of these sites are due to post detailed full-looks of the E-1 at 9am eastern time (they are all under embargo until then), so check back later for more info.
Canon IXUS 240 HS Review
Canon PowerShot SX240 HS Review
Nikon D800 Review
Samsung DV300F Review
Olympus OM-D E-M5 Review
Nikon Coolpix P510
Panasonic Lumix DMC-TZ30
Canon PowerShot SX260 HS
Fujifilm X-Pro1
Sony Cyber-shot DSC-HX200V
#1 Willaim C. Bert
Over priced! I bought the battery grip for my E-10 a few ago cost me close to $500. Guess what the battery grip for this camera is going to cost almost the same. I guess Olympus does not want to compete with Canon 10D. First time buyers of DSLR will probably scratch this camera of their list of camera they might buy because of the cost.
Bill
9:38 pm - Tuesday, June 24, 2003
#2 noah
Cameras like this and the pentax *ist (which seems like it would be comparable as a small / light camera) are extremely tempting. A couple of things:
1) the price is way too high -- this camera ought to be marketed to people entering the slr scene (and so don't have a large collection of lenses built up). All the other serious photographers have lots of lenses and have already bought a cheaper canon or nikon (or pentax even).
2) I thought the whole point of the 4/3rds exercise was now you could have a full frame ccd with no magnification factor? I noted the benefit of the more perpendicular light path, but I thought the real story was cheaper, better 35mm equivalent lenses. Instead of having to get soaked for a 17mm lens for 35mm performance, you could buy a much cheaper 4/3rds 35mm lens. I guess I misunderstood.
Anyone want to clarify? from the web site there's two major benefits: Increased perpendicularity of the light path, and some as-yet unspecified lens / body communication for digital correction of particular optical conditions. Is this worth a whole new format?
11:01 pm - Tuesday, June 24, 2003