Olympus OM-D

I got sent one of those notes about the upcoming new Olympus camera a couple of days ago. To be truthful I've only just got around to reading it, and it was only when I noticed that the O and M in the wording had been slightly emboldened that I paid more attention.

Anyone that reads my rather occasional photography blog rashbre snapped will know I'm quite a fan of the Olympus OM SLRs, which were a range of film cameras. The original cameras were created back in the 1970s and are something of a design classic with simple controls in just the right place and a huge selection of good quality prime lenses to accompany.

I've tried fixing the OM Zuiko lenses to modern Canon bodies, with good effect and still take an Olympus OM-2 out for walks sometimes.

So the recent Olympus note is quite intriguing, although my suspicion is that the rumoured new camera will be somewhat different from the original form of the Olympus. I doubt they will use a mirror, more likely an electronic view finder and probably micro 4/3rds format, something like the Lumix GF-1 example I show in the picture above.

So ahead of any formal announcement of the new camera, I'll review a few design pointers from the original.

1. The pyramid shaped prism area
2. The shutter speed ring around the lens
3. Full Frame (it was 35 mm)
4. An aperture ring on the lenses
5. Compatibility with the OM lens system
6. Largely (simple) manual controls

Beyond the overly silvered-up and strangely copy-written 'artists impressions' like below, it will be interesting to see how much of this could be preserved in a commercially viable update for the 21st century?

Fuji X100 form factor - analogue digital?

I noticed this camera a few days ago.

Its a brand new digital design, but looks like an old Trip 35 or rangefinder. It has a fixed wide-ish angle lens and has the analogue style aperture and shutter controls.

I've been musing about this form factor for a while because the latest generation digital cameras have moved the most basic parts of photography to somewhat less intuitive control surfaces. Thats reasonable for a phone where the photography is a secondary component, but I'm less convinced for proper cameras.

By comparison, this high specification camera is very traditional in the way it uses the main controls (it looks like a repackaging of the considerably more expensive Leica X1), and I suspect it will be easy to use.

But the camera seems to have divided opinion between those that like the idea of simple controls and those who think this looks like a throwback to the 1970s.

I like the idea of the simpler interface and can't help wondering if someone needs to take the old Olympus OM2 or an equivalent as a new design point for a modern SLR. But I suppose that would be contrary to the modern direction towards digital mirrors and even more ways to insulate the photographer from the photographic process.

Actually, I realised I'd better put a picture of this type of SLR camera next to a modern one, to help get an idea of the difference in relative size. I've put a zoom lens on the Olympus to make it bigger.

Update: I spotted the DigitalRev tabular comparison of the X100 vs a couple of the digital Leicas and thought it's worth a link: Click the picture below for the jump.