Olympus E-3 announced

I

Iron Flatline

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Press Release via DP Review

Looks fabulous... except that they're still using a sensor with a 2x crop factor. I think that's a problem at a time when Canon and Nikon are going Full-Frame.
 
I've got to say it: are Leica full-frame? ;)

I can see that not having full-frame might be a problem for image - not image quality, but brand image, for not doing what the big two are doing.

On the other hand I would be very surprised to see full-frame in a body this well featured, at the listed price of £1099. :)
It seems to me to be competitive with something like the D300, rather than any full-frame camera.
 
I know, I know....

...and if you search the forums, you'll see that I'm one of the people who feels strongly that FF is not actually necessary... but that it is inevitable. The market still describes lenses in focal-length "equivalents" and now the major manufacturers are actually bringing out FF models. The consumer just feels like he's getting his money's worth if he can use "the full width of the lens" regardless how good the resulting image is.

Regarding Leica: I hope it will be. Everyone's waiting for Leica's "rea" dSLR, probably to be named the R10. They have a dSLR called the Digilux 3 that is based on the 4/Thirds mount via Panasonic, which is also a 2x crop sensor. There's nothing that says that particular mount is limited to a certain-size sensor though. The Digilux 3 looks great design-wise.
 
Thanks for the heads up.

This system is interesting. It is small and lightweight.

I have a friend who uses the Olympus E1 and is very happy with the results. The lenses, from what I can tell, are superb.
 
Yeah I agree FF is probably inevitable. Odd thing is there seem to be plenty of people who have never touched a film camera, but are still convinced a 50mm isn't "really" a 50mm on their camera because of this business of "equivalents" :confused:.

Of course while lots of us would like FF, very few of us can afford FF... both the big two have full-frame models, but they're not exactly within the means of most consumers... the exception, Canon's 5D, is not much more expensive than the initial price for this Olympus... but then while it has a sensor half the size the E3 seems to beat the 5D on other features.

Personally I think that as long as people are happy with 1.5x-crop sensors they will be happy with 2x-crop sensors (as long as they keep up on quality). By the time Olympus bring out their next high-end body I suspect full frame will be closer to "affordable" for more of us, and then they might have to go that way... but not just yet :)
 

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