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Olympus E-1 Digital SLR
Date: Sunday, August 3, 2003
Author: Jsgolfman
Provided By: Olympus
Page: 1 of 1
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Introduction
On June 24th, 2003 Olympus announced the introduction of the world's first digital interchangeable lens SLR system. Some may be asking, "So what is so important about that?". It is so important because nothing like this has been done before. Imagine the ability to exchange lenses to suit your specific photographic needs, all in digital format. The other reason this announcement is significant is the introduction of the 4/3 standard. The "4/3" refers to the CCD sensor and the lens mount. You can trace the history of the 4/3 system back to February 2001 and another announcement by Olympus and Kodak, jointly, to develop the digital camera technology. The definition of the standard mean that you should be able to use any 4/3 lens on any 4/3 camera, whether it's from Olympus or any other manufacturer.
Specifications
Size - 141x104x81mm
Weight - 23.2 oz. (sans batteries/flash card)
Magnesium alloy construction w/splash proof design
5 Megapixel Full Frame CCD (hint: much better than Interline CCD at capturing the full image)
ZUIKO lenses! (The Cadillac of lenses)
USB 2.0/IEEE1394 connection
Noise Reduction
RAW format/RAW and JPG support
Supersonic Wave Filter (cleans CCD of dust)
I will cover more of the specifications in the rest of the preview. There are too many to list here and it's tedious for a review to consist of primarily a grocery list of items.
What you get
At the time of this preview no production models were available yet, the expected launch is October 2003. I was offered a unit minus the lenses, I declined. Olympus asked that no photos taken with the E-1 be shown yet, so although it would have been nice to have one on hand I didn't think it would detract from the preview. Add to that the fact I would be out of town for two weeks and the timing was unfortunate. I do have knowledge of what the pre-shipping box contains though:
E-1 (duh)
Manuals
CD's w/software
Video cable
IEEE1394/USB cable
Battery pack (rechargeable)
Battery charger
Possibly an eyecup, I can't confirm this but it sounds reasonable
Lenses are purchased separately and I will list them also, along with the flash and power battery holder. As of now, this is what is planned for this year. There are discussions concerning additional lenses in 2004.
E-1 Camera (body only): $2199 MSRP
14-54mm f2.8-3.5: 28mm-108mm equiv. for 35mm film camera ($599 MSRP)
50-200mm f2.8-3.5: 100-400mm equiv. for 35mm camera ($1199 MSRP)
50mm f2.0 1:2 Macro: 100 Macro equiv. for 35mm film camera ($599 MSRP)
300mm f2.8 Super Telephoto: 600mm equiv. for 35mm film camera ($7999 MSRP)
TC14 1.4x Teleconverter: 1.4x-1 stop equiv. for 35mm film camera ($549 MSRP)
FL-50 Flash and Accessories: $499 MSRP
Power Battery Holder set: $549 MSRP
Later this year expect to see an 11-22mm f2.8/3.5 zoom, Ring flash and Twin flash as well as a consumer model for introduction in 2004. I understand this is a truckload of cash for those interested in shooting junior at the Teacup ride in Disneyland. The market for this model is the professional/semi-professional photographer.
Zuiko
Many of you might be wondering what Zuiko lenses are and how they fit into the picture. Well, Zuiko is the name given to the first lenses produced by Takachiho (the forerunner of Olympus). Takachiho is Japanese for "Olympus" and Zuiko translates as "light of the gods". They are lighter, more compact and faster than equivalent 35mm film lenses paired with digital cameras. These lenses are "smart lenses", they communicate with the camera their specific design and characteristics. Shading compensation is built into each lens to inform the camera of the shading factor for that lens and correct for it before the problem occurs. Similarly, each lens has distortion compensation information built in so the camera can correct and eliminate distortion. One of your concerns might be firmware, not to worry. Simply connect your camera to any internet enabled PC, press one button and the software does the rest. Only the highest quality glass is used in the lenses and the manufacturing is top notch. According to Olympus, the lenses are manufactured in a 16 million sq. ft. "clean room". The tolerances are so tight that if the front element of the 300mm lens were the size of a football field the deviation on the lens surface would be less than the thickness of a human hair.
Conclusion
Since this is simply a preview, I won't go into any detail on the functions of the camera. It wouldn't be fair to discuss until I acquire the working model since features and operations may change. Let me say that I am eagerly anticipating this camera, as well as the consumer model next year. If it pans out as expected, the digital camera field will never be the same again. It may even eclipse the film market and finally make negatives obsolete. At roughly twice the cost of existing 5 Megapixel digital cameras, it can be intimidating. The anticipated improvements should more than make up for any qualms you have, if you are a serious shutterbug.
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