Good product photography - sure looks dainty doesn't it?

For those of you not already in the know, Micro Four-Thirds is a new interchangeable lens system developed by Olympus and Panasonic which is the first mirror-less digital camera system to feature interchangeable lenses.  The removal of the mirror (and associated prism and optical viewfinder) and the exclusive usage of live view for image preview enables a drastic size reduction for both cameras and lenses, and as you can see here, the new Olympus E-P1 is tiny tiny tiny.

How tiny?  The exact specs on the E-P1 are 121 x 70 x 35mm (4.7 x 2.8 x 1.4 in) and 335 g (11.8 oz) – body only, with no batteries – which firmly plants it in compact camera category.  Of course, you’ll need to attach a lens at some point before shooting, which will add some bulk, but as of now the E-P1 indisputably offers the most compact interchangeable lens solution.

The following is a run-down of things you might have already picked up from other news sources or blogs. The real interesting stuff is the size and equivalent aperture/focal length comparison, at Size Comparison.

A rundown of some other specs (and be sure to check more in-depth reviews at imaging-resource and dcresource)

• 12.3MP Four-Thirds sensor, which appears to be based off the same sensor used in the E-620 and E-30.  If that’s the case, I wouldn’t hold out for any revolutionary leaps forward (and Olympus isn’t advertising any either), though the E-30 sensor’s a solid performer given it has 1/4 the area to work with compared to Nikon’s and Canon’s best, and still thoroughly trounces anything coming out of Sony’s factory.
• A standard 3fps continuous shooting, as if you’ll be doing any serious sports shooting with it.
• Sensor-shift image stabilization.  Panasonic left this out of their first G(H)1 Micro Four-Thirds cameras in lieu of lens-based stabilization.  This was more or less a no-brainer for Olympus, which doesn’t have strong development in lens-based IS and lens IS would have completely defeated the purpose of Micro Four-Thirds with its added size, weight, and cost.
• SD format.  How many out there breathing a sigh of relief (or perhaps shedding a tear?) that it isn’t xD exclusive?
• MF-2 adapter for Olympus OM mount lenses.  An interesting option, particularly since the range of Micro Four-Thirds lenses is fairly slim at the moment.
• 1280×720, 30fps video (720p).  As one would expect, video is definitely a feature of the E-P1.  There’s nothing very extraordinary about it – the resolution is middle of the road, though you will get aperture-priority control and stereo sound.  Unfortunately, maximum recording time is limited to 2GB files and/or 7 minutes at 720p resolution.
• Lack of a built-in flash.  Though it’s not quite a dealbreaker given that its high-ISO capabilities will be far superior to that of a normal compact camera, the E-P1 does noticeably omit a built-in flash of any sort.  Olympus wants to sell you their FL-14 flash attachment that essentially does the same thing, and while it is custom-designed to match very well with the E-P1, having to carry another attachment for full-functionality somewhat defeats the purpose of a making a camera as compact as the E-P1.

The E-P1 and ridiculous flash attachment they want you to buy for basic direct flash functionality.

Oly seems to have gone all-out with the retro design, which does look different and not quite as Spartan or industrial as something like the Sigma DP1.

With the E-P1 announcement comes a couple of new lenses designed for the E-P1 in mind: a compact 14-42mm kit lens and a 17mm pancake.

M.Zuiko 14-42mm f/3.5-5.6

The new M.Zuiko isn’t so much of a special lens – it’ll provide the equivalent of a pretty much standard 28-84mm equivalent view.  What’s interesting about the Micro Four-Thirds kit lens is that it uses a drastic retractive design that makes it really compact – 43.5mm (1.7in) to be exact.  This compared to the 61mm length of Olympus’ regular Four-Thirds 14-42mm and the 70mm length of a lens like Canon’s 18-55 kit.

M.Zuiko 17mm f/2.8

The 17mm f/2.8 pancake is probably the most interesting Micro Four-Thirds lens to come around yet.  The lens is thin – a depth of just 22mm (0.87in), and results in a camera thickness of just 2.3in when attached.  It’s also an f/2.8, which will help with low-light, though I wouldn’t hold out for amazingly shallow depth of field capabilities at this focal length on a 2x crop sensor.  As a first and only Micro Four-Thirds pancake lens, though, I find the 17mm focal to be a bit conservative – it gives a 34mm equivalent in that no-man’s range: it’s not a 50mm equivalent portrait lens, and it isn’t as versatile as a 28mm wide-angle either.  Hopefully Oly or Panasonic remedy this soon.

Amazon has the E-P1 listed at $750 for the body only, $800 for the 14-42 kit, and $900 for the 17mm kit.

Size comparison

Retro-styling aside, the name of the E-P1 game is size.  It is undoubtedly the key point of interest for many consumers, who up to this point have not really had quite a solution like the E-P1 for a high image quality camera which has almost the portability of a compact camera.  We’ll take compare the E-P1 in its two lens kits to several other high-quality compact cameras.

• Canon G10: Not a very compact camera, and it doesn’t produce very high-quality images either, but it’s included for reference’s sake since it seems to be the most popular camera in this class.
• Fujifilm F200EXR: The only true ultracompact in the bunch, the F200EXR and its SuperCCD EXR sensor is about as good as it gets, though it has a variety of tradeoffs and achieves high resolution, noise performance, and dynamic range in different modes.
• Panasonic LX3: The current king of premium compact cameras, due to both an excellent sensor and a superb lens.
• Sigma DP1: A now-aging but still unique large sensor, fixed lens camera using Foveon’s innovative X3 sensor.
• Sigma DP2: A variant on the DP1 which uses the same sensor but features a more mid-range lens.

The following table displays the size of the various cameras, along with 35mm equivalent focal lengths and apertures (for purposes of depth of field).  These equivalent specifications normalize high ISO performance (based on sensor size – this doesn’t take into account differing sensor technologies).

Olympus E-P1 size comparison

We can see here how clearly inferior cameras like the Canon G10 and Fuji F200 are, though to Fuji’s credit, its superior sensor will give it much more of a leg up on the G10 than the simple sensor size implies, and to both their credit, they pack significantly more versatile zoom ranges than any of the other setups on this list.

Panasonic’s LX3 is an interesting camera – while its sensor isn’t that much larger than other compacts such as the G10 or F200, it makes up for it with an impressive lens which packs an f/2-2.8 aperture in real terms.  While the f/9.4-13 range isn’t going to turn any heads, it really isn’t so far off from the f/7-11 range of the E-P1 (or any other Four-Thirds camera) paired with the 14-42 lens, and carries with it the advantage of a much, much more compact size (half the thickness of the E-P1 setup).

The Sigma DP1 and DP2 is where the competition gets a bit more interesting.  Ignoring the intricacies of the Foveon sensor for the moment, we can see that when paired with the 17mm pancake, the E-P1’s 34mm f/5.6 equivalent is sandwiched right between the wider-angle, smaller aperture DP1 and the narrower-angle, larger aperture DP2.  The 17mm pancake really is in a no-man’s land – not really wide enough for landscapes and not really narrow enough for portraits.  Size-wise the E-P1 is nearly the same as the DP1/DP2, though a fair bit larger area-wise.

Of course, the Foveon sensor throws a bit of a wrench into the image quality equation.  Say what you will about the Foveon vs. Bayer debate, but in its present (or more precisely, now three-year old form), the 4.6MP DP1/DP2 sensor simply doesn’t stack up with the 12MP E-P1, from a resolution standpoint and definitely from a noise standpoint.

On top of this, the E-P1 has a number of other advantages over the Sigmas, namely a video mode and the ability to switch lenses (though this somewhat throws the portability comparison out the window).

Of course, there’s really nothing like the E-P1 and 14-42mm, which provides a camera with a full 28-84mm standard range, and weighs in at 3.1 inches thick.  At this size, it’s far beyond the pocketability threshold, though it’s still far smaller than any of the regular DSLR kits out there.

So what’s the verdict on the E-P1?  Olympus and Panasonic have struck on a really innovative system here, but they’ve got a narrow window to capitalize on building the premier high-quality compact system, before Samsung’s NV system rolls around and before Canon/Nikon finally bite the bullet and buy into the mirror-less EVIL system.  The 17mm pancake is a step in the right direction, and really plays to the strength of the Micro Four Thirds format – small bodies with small lenses that bring large sensor image quality just to the very edge of portability.

There’s little to no point in trying to turn a camera like the E-P1 into a full-fledged SLR-like platform – even with the most compact kit lens they could make, the camera is far beyond pocket portability, and at this point if you’ll have to carry a camera bag around it may as well be something full-fledged like a Panasonic G1 or Olympus E-620.

Nikon 50mm f/1.4G AF-S lens

Nikon 50mm f/1.4

Press release

Nikon users (and particularly all those D40/60 owners) have been waiting for this one for a long time, and it’s finally here: a (semi) affordable large aperture prime lens with a sonic motor that will focus with decent speed (or focus at all).  Previously Nikon users have had to deal with a slew of ancient lenses from the screw-driven era of autofocus – they weren’t really fast enough for fast action, didn’t even autofocus with the newer D40/60 bodies, and on top of that the optics really didn’t compare to more modern designs like Canon’s 50mm f/1.4 or Sigma’s monster 50mm f/1.4.

Nikon is promising a “newly developed optical system” with this one, so there’s at least the potential for it to perform much better than the current 50 f/1.4, and given how old the optical design is on that, it should.  Whether it stacks up with Sigma’s 50mm f/1.4 is the big question – initial pricing seems to be $440, which would undercut the Sigma’s current $500 price.  Given that it’ll be the “brand name” Nikon, it will sell bucketloads, and for a lower price and much more compact size (73.5mm diameter, 54mm length, 280g vs. 84.5mm, 68.2 mm, 520g on the Sigma) would be the more appealing option anyway for most users who aren’t obsessed with having the absolutely top-flight image quality.

More on the Nikon 50 1.4, Olympus Micro Four-Thirds mockup, Panasonic G1, Leica S2 MF dSLR, and Samsung HZ1 compact ultrazoom.

What does this mean for the market?  First of all, watch for the resale values of the old Nikon 50mm designs to plummet – it’s been clear for awhile that Nikon is shifting away from and will eventually abandon their screw-driven lenses, and it appears that they’re finally getting a move on it (now let’s have an affordable sub-$100 50mm f/1.8, shall we?).  This also snatches away a significant profit opportunity for Sigma, who only a few months ago introduced its own 50mm f/1.4 and had  the opportunity to seize this market segment as the only maker of a fast-focusing, large aperture midrange prime for the Nikon mount.

The last thing I have to say about this – manufacturers, please jump onto the IS bandwagon already.  The first of Canon or Nikon that starts pumping out 50 f/1.4 IS or 24-70 f/2.8 VR lenses is going to make me hop ship (or stay aboard) instantly.

Olympus Micro Four-Thirds camera mockup

Olympus Micro Four-Thirds camera mockup

News story

Olympus/Panasonic made quite a splash last month with its announcement of the Micro Four Thirds system.  The original Four Thirds system, which is used by Olympus and Panasonic cameras today, was set up as the first (and to this date only mainstream) mount system built from the ground up for digital SLRs.  The concept behind the system was that by using a smaller sensor (roughly a quarter the area of a 35mm film/digital sensor) and freeing itself from the limitations of backwards-compatability with legacy lenses (an issue that Nikon has had to deal with, in particular), the Four Thirds system could leverage the image quality of larger sensor cameras while condensing the size of their camera systems to make them much lighter and more compact than other camera systems.

While Four Thirds cameras have been somewhat smaller than their APS-C or full-frame counterparts, the size and weight reductions were never as dramatic as hoped.  Part of this was due to the Olympus and Panasonic business strategies, which quickly dumped the unique original designs of cameras such as the Olympus E-330 and Panasonic L1 in favor of more mainstreamed body and lens designs that were beefed up.  The larger issue was that, despite being built from the ground-up as digital systems, Four Thirds still held over many mainstays from the film era, most notably a mirror assembly box to provide a view through the viewfinder.

The newly announced Micro Four Thirds system seeks to finally achieve what the original Four Thirds system promised to be, by eschewing the mirror assembly entirely and using live view exclusively for providing an image preview (through the rear LCD or an EVF).  What this basically gives is a camera very similar to the non-SLRs available today, but with far larger sensors and interchangeable lenses.

The mockup Olympus presented here is just that, but it gives a sense of scale for how much the system can be downsized in comparison to today’s “full size” SLRs.  The body here is listed as 120×65x32mm (4.7×2.6×1.3 inch), which is a fair bit smaller than  most “compact” cameras are even (though those specs don’t include the size of the lens, which is surely going to increase thickness by a large amount).

Panasonic Micro Four-Thirds G1

Panasonic G1

Press Release

While the Olympus mockup has been making a big splash, Panasonic has been at work on an actual production model for the Micro Four Thirds system.  The G1 is a bit more of a conservative design – it definitely looks and handles just like a conventional SLR, except that it’s noticeably slimmer (45mm, or 1.8 inch thick) and of course has no optical viewfinder.  Still, the micro Four Thirds system has a long way to go realize its full potential – notably the G1 isn’t leveraging its mirrorless design to provide a fast continuous shooting mode (just 3fps) or a video recording capability, and paired with the current lenses in the lineup, the final camera setup still ends up the same approximate size as most regular SLRs (bring on the pancake lenses!)

Leica S2 37MP dSLR camera, system

Leica S2

Press Release

Following the introduction of the M8, Leica continues forging ahead into the world of digital with its new S2 and S digital SLR system.  This isn’ Leica’s first digital SLR – the company did introduce an S1 back in 1998, but it’s design was a bit more…. outside of the mainstream.

The new S2 is actually a medium format SLR (30×45mm sensor – that’s 1350 mm² compared to the 864 mm² of a 35mm sensor), and packs in a whopping 37 MP, which is pretty sweet if you’re in the high-end landscape or portrait/product studio photography business, although it’s still dwarfed by Phase One’s newest P65+ 60.5MP back on an even bigger 2178 mm² sensor)

Leica is claiming “twice as fast performance as Hasselblad H-series” cameras, and improved high-ISO performance.  Perhaps most surprisingly of all, unlike it’s autofocus-less M-series rangefinders, the S2 does autofocus, and what’s more Leica is also introducing 9 autofocus lenses as well.

How will it actually stack up to the Hassys and Mamiya’s and phantom Pentax’s of the world, not to mention the Canon (and possibly Nikon, soon?) ultra high-res 35mm SLRs that Leica is angling to compare itself to?  Just by the looks of it, it should handle much more conveniently (its ergonomics are much more like a 35mm SLR than a clunky digital MF box), but don’t expect performance (especially in the AF or high-ISO departments) to come anywhere close to the versatility that the 35mm (or even APS-C) SLRs provide.

As for the cost?  Well, it’s a Leica.  With a 30×45mm sensor.  And medium format glass.  So I’d start in the range of a half a milion.

Samsung HZ1 24-240mm (10x) ultrazoom

Samsung HZ1

Press Release

To date, Samsung’s entry into the digital camera market has been feeble, at best.  While the company’s a beast in the semiconductor industry, to date the image sensors it’s produced for its cameras have been disappointing to say the least – high noise combined with heavy-handed noise reduction processing that renders some of the worst quality images among the major players.

The sensor issues won’t really be revealed until some hard reviews come in (which won’t happen until review sites start showing some love for Samsung, which really requires them to come out with flashy high-end products, like Nikon does despite their long track record of horrendously vanilla non-SLRs), but the newest HZ1 stirs up the pot with some interesting features, most notably a 24-240mm (10x) lens in a small 1.4 inch body, placing it directly competition with Panasonic’s long running and highly succesful TZ-series of compacts.  Panasonic had long been the most versatile compact ultrazoom camera, and until now was still the only one to feature a highly useful 28mm wide-angle lens.  With the only other competitors (Sony H10 and Canon SX110) pushing out boring lenses in the 36-360mm or so range, consumers will finally have some choices if they’re looking for a versatile compact ultrazoom with wide-angle capabilities.

Samsung is still a relatively newcomer (heh, remember the days when we used to say that about Panasonic?) and really isn’t hyping any sensor technology advances with this one, while Panasonic’s 3rd-generation TZ4/TZ5 is a well-polished product at this point, so I wouldn’t expect this to be Samsung’s breakout camera that dominates the competition.  Nonetheless, it’s an interesting option with a 24mm starting point, and my guess is that Panasonic will once again start pushing the envelope, especially now that 28mm wide-angle is somewhat standard/rapidly becoming so.