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Ken Norton

There is a report on 43rumors of patents being filed on a new lens adaptor for the Micro FourThirds cameras.

What is specifically significant about this adaptor is the 0.5x optics which effectively halves the focal length of a legacy lens placed on the camera. I've been asking for this specific type of converter since the introduction of the FourThirds system. If this is true, and if Olympus were to bring this adaptor to market, I personally will be one of the first purchasers of it at most any price.

The other thing I have been asking for is an aperture stopdown actuator built into the adaptor. This actuator would be controlled by the camera via the electronic contacts as on every FourThirds lens. The mounted lens would be selected via menu in th camera or potentially, cross-licensing of the technology used by Leica to identify mounted lenses on the M8/M9 cameras could be used. Unless all the mechanical engineers at Olympus have been retired, this shouldn't be that difficult of a project--I've even threatened to tear apart a FourThirds lens to build my own.

We have had  teleconverters in 1.4x, 2x and even 3x sizes for decades. There has even been one 0.5x converter in the past by another company, so the technology exists. Obviously, the most difficult part is to fully intercept the exit rays so the front element of the converter will need to be extremely close to the rear-element of wide-angle lenses. It is likely that a 0.5x converter will only be usable with longer focal-length lenses. The location of the rear nodal-point of a lens will determine whether it can be used with this adaptor or not. There are several optical options which can be used to distance the adaptor's optics from the lens' optics, but the balance of distortion, vignetting and flexibility of mounting wide-angle lenses will dictate the exact format.

One could dream about the E-OM4Ti in Micro FourThirds mount with this adaptor. Imagine a digital OM-4Ti. Olympus has proven that this is possible with the E-P1, but what I'm wanting is an exact formfactor of the classic OM system but with electronic EVF instead of the mirror. By producing a 0.5x adaptor, it's a start in the right direction.

I wouldn't ask for it if it wasn't feasable. Olympus, are you listening?

43 Rumor on Adaptor

Ken

Sun reflecting in pond - Jacob Krumm Nature Preserve, Grinnell, Iowa.

Olympus OM-3Ti, Zuiko 35-80 F2.8 Zoom, Fujifilm 100SS processed in Ilfotec DD-X.

A new digital camera is introduced. The standard reaction is to get rid of the camera you currently own and get the latest one. Along with the new camera comes a set of new lenses as the older ones don't work well with the new camera. Even accessories like battery grips aren't compatible from one model to the next. System approach? Hardly.

Can a lesson be learned from the past? Of the three following cameras and lenses, which replaced which?

Olympus OM-4T with Zuiko 35mm F2.8, Olympus OM-2S with Zuiko 35mm Shift Lens, Olympus OM-3Ti with Zuiko 35-80 F2.8. The three cameras cover nearly ten years of the OM system, yet each has unique strengths which make all three valuable in a film-based system.

No explanation required.

OM-3Ti with Motordrive 2, Zuiko 35-80 F2.8 and T45 Flash.

OM-4T with Motordrive 2 and Zuiko 35mm Shift

Another camera ordered and deeper in debt*...

As previously stated on these pages, the new standard for 2:3 sensors is 18MB. Canon's 7D, 550D, Rebel T2i are the latest incarnations in the reduced-sized sensor world with this pixel-count. I have been predicting that the next Four-Thirds and Micro Four-Thirds sensor to be released will be around 14.7 MB.

I am still holding to this projection and believe that Panasonic and Olympus will be releasing cameras in February and March with pixel counts in the area of 15 MB with it being as low as 14 MP and as high as 16 MP, but most likely a usable 4:3 format of 14.7 MP. Actual usable pixel-count will vary due to the multi-ratio format of the newer sensors, as seen in the GH1, which are oversized and allow for 2:3, 4:3, 16:9 and 1:1 ratios. The sensor is likely to grow a little larger as well as the throat area in front of the sensor to accomodate a larger 2:3 and 16:9 surface area and greater sensor-shifting. The Four-Thirds lenses have a larger projected area than is currently being used by a static 4:3 image.

The timeline is sound and I see no reason for Olympus and Panasonic to break from historical trends now. The E-3 replacement, E-P3, E-340, E-40, E-630 will all use the newer sensor as will the Panasonic GH2 and L2. All should make their appearances in 2010.

Due to the greater pixel density on these new sensors, the trend towards weaker anti-aliasing filters will continue and the new sensor is almost certainly to be fully AA filterless with only electronic means of correcting moire and aliasing.

*Apologies to Merle Travis

Ken

If you follow the 2X equivalents for simplicity, 14mm is equivalent to the 75 degree view of the 28mm focal length on full-frame 35mm. However, that comes with a more squarish view of the world so the coverage is actually a little more expansive on the short-side dimension of the frame, a little less on the long-side dimension. That said...

The 28mm focal length has been considered to be about the widest focal length that you can use when shooting people. Any shorter of a lens and you start getting stretched faces and other uglies showing up. The 24mm focal length proved to be quite a bit more usable for many photographers because it allowed for more cropping options and allowed for square or 8x10 crops without losing too much of the image. The 21mm focal length was the absolute limit for human photography and just like the 24mm focal length, it allowed for cropping options with good angular coverage in image height. But without cropping the image, rarely were any focal lengths shorter than 24mm usable for photographing human activities except for the rare expansive whole-room shots. The majority of close-in shots of people are taken in the one body-length distance. To get the same subject size with an extreme wide-angle you have to be so much closer to the subject that you've now invaded their sphere of comfort.

I preface all this for a reason. The E-System was originally launched as a professional camera system primarily for photographing human activities. Even the 4:3 image format is conducive to this instead of landscape photography. The 14-54 lens has proven to be an extremely usable lens for the wedding/event photographer and it is not uncommon for some of us to shoot entire weddings or events exclusively with this lens. The 14mm wide-end is just wide-enough most of the time because the image is already more squarish so the angular coverage of the image height is similar to that from a 24mm lens on a full-frame 35mm camera.

Is 14mm a bit cramped?  Sometimes with event/wedding photography it is because it just doesn't get wide enough to show the architecture of the room. But whenever I'm actually working around people, it tends to not only be wide-enough, but I will usually bump the zoom forward just a touch to get back in my comfort zone of 35mm equivalent. This reduces the face-stretching that occures at the widest angles.

Now keep in mind the original premise of the E-System design and you can see why the 11-22 lens was created. This lens is the near-perfect event/wedding photography lens where you are working close and you also need the occasional room-wide shot. A wide-angle, for the wedding/event photographer, is really less for the entire-room shots and more for allowing close-in photography. The widest angles are for the rare room shot, and you end up shooting most of the time in the mid-point of range. Think of it as a nominal 17mm lens with zooming function to tweek the coverage.

The 9-18 as well as the 7-14 are not "normal" lenses. These are typically not lenses that the event/wedding/portrait photographer would use for more than just a handful of shots. As such, they really have a different purpose. As a complete imaging solution, the E-system has to satisfy not only needs of the working event/wedding photographer, but that of the landscape, sports, wildlife and casual-use photographer. This is why it is critical that the entire range of focal-lengths be covered.

I've been quite entertained about focal-length trends. Back in the film days, rarely was anybody concerned about extreme wide-angles. It was mostly about telephoto lenses. Then with digital we got the dreaded crop factor and suddenly we were all concerned about wide-angles. People who never shot wider than 28mm in their life were up in arms over the fact that they couldn't get extreme wide-angles in their digital cameras. The "awareness" of the limitation became a demand for such lenses. The 7-14 lens is a good example of this--OK, Olympus built the lens, but honestly, how many of us actually ended up buying it and using it at the 7mm focal length for more than a handful of "gee look at how cool this is" pictures? As a working pro, I can think of a few shots where it would be nice to have, but those shots won't bring in any additional income and I can always present alternatives and the clients are no less satisfied. Extreme wide-angle shots are an effect. Not unlike Cokin filters are effects and the "Shindlers" where we destaturate the entire picture except for a flower or something like that. Extreme wide-angle shots are just a phase many people are going through, but as always, it eventually passes. Not to say they don't have valid uses for the landscape and architectural photographer, but for general use, they aren't what you typically are going to use.

Ken

Years ago when I was just starting to shoot professionally, I was trying to build up the "biggest" and "baddest" kit I could.  It was one of those "size matters" situations and I wouldn't go anywhere without sticking a winder or motordrive on the cameras.  I even bought one particular lens because it looked the biz.

I was part-timing in a camera store at the time and would chat with all the pros that came in. This one old grizzled pro (probably only in his forties) tried to mentor me on the finer points of equipment selection, but it fell on deaf ears. Image (mine, not the photographic one) was important and only big, black and budget-busting equipment would do. I don't recall exactly what he shot--it was probably just a pair of Nikon FEs, but the guy said that eventually you'll get to the point where mobility and freedom were more important than gear.

Through the years I have always approached camera bag packing from the perspective of "how much can I carry?"  These days I've been reversing that into "how little can I carry?" Maybe it's because I'm now an old grizzled pro (only in my forties) with back and neck trouble, carpel-tunnel and getting tired of running around with 20 pounds of equipment hanging from bags, packs and straps on my body.

In a recent thread on the myolympus forum there is the discussion of wide-angle lenses. My "normal" lens on FF 35mm is the Zuiko 35mm F2.8. This lens is nearly perfect for event/people photography as it forces me to get closer to the subject. I'm no longer a sniper shooting across the room with some massive F2.8 zoom or telephoto the size of a magnum of champagne. Other than the occasional special-effect shot where an ultra-wide comes in handy, the money lens is in this focal length. Portraits may use telephotos, but again, these are the exception, not the rule.

As I look towards my next digital camera I look at what I'm carrying now, which is the E-1 with battery grip and 14-54 zoom. My film beast is an OM-4T with motordrive and 35-80 F2.8.  Combined with a stroboframe and flash or the T45 it gets pretty weighty and big. This doesn't include the second camera hanging from a shoulder holding the 100-300 F4 zoom lens. However, there are times when you need all that mass to make it obvious in a crowded room who the official photographer is. But when doing all the PJ style photography, I very much prefer a camera that is small, light and disarming--not the type of camera that makes your subjects duck for cover.  I love the palmability of the E-P1/P2. It is a very comfortable camera to hold and use, but just as I've outlined in my review of it, the camera is just a hint short on a couple critical things. Things which would drive me to immediately replace the cameras the moment the better ones came out.

Just like that grizzled pro told me in 1989, I'm starting to value mobility and freedom more than options. Sure, I can and should use the biggest/baddest camera around, but I'd rather just shoot with a roll of Portra 400NC in an "old" OM camera with the 35mm F2.8 lens and the end results are remarkable in that my pictures are almost always better in ways the customers notice. Give me a digital equivalent to that type of kit and I'm in heaven.

The Leica M9 plays on this exact need. The camera is compact (although heavy for its size) and the jewel-like lenses are tiny. The camera is highly palmable and every control is operated by feel. With the tabbed lenses, you can prefocus to the common one-body length distance and just nudge focus with the rangefinder for critical focusing. It is so small, quiet and non-threatening and the shutter-response is instant. You can raise the camera to the eye for framing, point and click before the subject has a chance to respond. You blend in instead of becoming the point of attention. Best of all, your back, neck, hands and arms don't wear out during a long day of shooting.

All of the primary camera manufactuers have lightweight and compact DSLRs, but without exception these are not intended for professional use. They CAN be used for professional use, but with the hassles of poor control layouts, knobs that turn accidently, horrible viewfinders and clacky shutters not to mention shutter lag that rivals the average television commercial break.

We may be starting to see the start of the trend towards high-end small cameras with the Leica M9 leading the way and Panasonic following closely. The Panasonic GH1 and forthcoming GH2 are actually very close to being viable professional cameras but with the mistaken focus on general consumerism. The Micro Four-Thirds camera predicted here on these very pages from Olympus is still expected to arrive shortly and will be similar to the E-330 in shape and design. I am highly pleased with the E-P1/P2, but Olympus has failed to include basics for professional photographers like locking mode dials and of all things--the ability to fire a flash of any form while using the viewfinder. Talk about a Cheech and Chong moment--this is like removing the steering wheel from an automobile!  An oversight which is, to be frank, unforgivable.

As a professional photographer I want a professional camera, but I don't want to buy a monstrocity to get the basic features. A small yet professional package would be exactly what I'm wanting and I have a hard time believing that I'm the only grizzled old goat looking for it.

Ken

Zone-10 is being quiet on predictions about upcoming Four-Thirds and Micro Four-Thirds cameras. Does this mean anything?

The rumors about upcoming Sony, Nikon, Panasonic and Olympus cameras are starting to pick up, some are true, some are fantasy, some are misguidings intended to fool the public and competition as well as build interest. We will soon see the cameras and I'm quite confident that we won't be disappointed.

Just keep this in mind when you view product rumors of soon-to-be-released items:

1. Those who REALLY know aren't talking,

2. The leaks with valid information usually come from one of four or five locations in the world and proceed official announcement by about 72 hours. In almost every case, the leaked information is not in English, Japanese or French. Which language the leak is presented in is carefully chosen and not some form of mistake. Once in a while the "source" will mess up and jump the gun or sometimes be confused and not release the leak, but 48-72 hours is the norm.

3. No prototype is ever tested in final form. All final field testing is performed on variants--some with features to be included, some not, some for other products. Those who spread rumors based on field-tested items are usually right about some stuff, wrong about others and the wrong information is used to identify the source of the leaks.

4. The manufacturing runs for each introduced product has been scheduled months and sometimes years in advance. Of the majority of camera products, the release schedule is highly predictable. As has been mentioned previously on this site, increases in megapixels is also predictable.

5. See #1.