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05/14/2004 06:30:42 PM · #1 |
I went to a small show today and there was an Olympus E1 on display with graphs and images of it's technology. I am a Canon girl, but I learned something interesting. Most lenses (all that canon use) are not necessarily great for digital photography. The Olympus lens has an added refractor to straighten rays of light to hit the digital chip head on and produce a more perfect image. After looking at the charts and graphs for a while, I was fascinated by the technology. I don't remember the name of it, but Fuji also uses it and so does Sony I believe.
I was wondering if any of you pros or lens-owls (wise about lenses) know enough about this to explain it to the rest of us. I would love to hear your opinions and read more about these lenses. I am not sure if Canon is planning a line of lenses strictly made for digital SLRs, but I really want to learn more about the technology.
One of the reasons I chose to buy a 10D was to use my old lenses from my 35mm Canon. But this changes a lot of my ideas about how great it is. Perhaps Olympus is stepping up in "my world".
Any thoughts? |
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05/14/2004 06:44:25 PM · #2 |
Eh...
You better watch it at those trade shows. Before you know it those slick marketers can have you believing that your life cannot ever be complete without you selling your soul to their products.
There is possibly some merit to their claims of specially designing lenses for digital cameras, but you shouldn't take their word or their direct demonstrations as the gospel.
Trust me on this. I work as a Purchasing Agent for a sheet metal prototype manufacturer and have had the "fortune" to visit more then a few trade shows.
Through one of these trade shows, the old purchaser, got the company into purchasing a 2000watt Industrial 3D Laser. The company officers went down to the demonstration lab and saw the laser cut out parts so fast it was amazing. Of course they ended up buying the same model with the same features, but they have never been able to get it to cut anywhere near that speed or nearly as acurrate and they won't.
Our environment isn't a specially environmentally controlled plant. We have higher ambient temperature, our floor isn't 'perfectly' even and we have a 300 ton mechanical press that occasionally shakes the building.
The analogy is similar to how you would be using those lenses. Their tests are so tightly controlled and ran until they get the results they want to get. They use those 'perfect' test results to make the sale.
Trust me on this. Either wait until these new lenses are on the market for quite some time and read some reviews by photographers like you or see if they will provide you with a trial period to use their product. You might be surprised at what they say, they might lend you a lense for a day or two. |
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05/14/2004 07:06:30 PM · #3 |
Arielle,
Adding another element to a lens would more likely degrade the image striking the sensor rather than make it more perfect. Increasing the amount of glass the light has to pass through increases the chances for the light to be refracted away from the sensor or distorted.
What they are actually doing is decreasing the size of the image that strikes the sensor. They do this because the sensor is smaller than the 35mm negative that the lens was really designed for. In other words, they are making the size of the image arriving at the focal plane closer to the size of the sensor. A much better solution would be to make the sensor itself larger. Ideally, it would be the same size as a 35mm negative. That is what Canon did with the 1Ds, and I believe that is where the future of digital cameras is heading. I read somewhere that Canon has no plans to manufacture Ă¢€˜digital cameraĂ¢€™ lenses.
--Mick
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05/14/2004 07:11:42 PM · #4 |
| Thanks for your comments. It wasn't a trade show. It was a student show (with stores and discount cards). Anyhow, the guy was from a store, not an olympus company store, but a camera store. He brought other things as well, but the comparison information was pretty impressive. I must say! I loved the feel of the camera too (great grip). I think I'll always be a Canon girl, but it was a very nice camera! I wish I could afford a 1D. Maybe when I am rich (or win one somehow). Haha!!! Any Olympus E1 owners care to share their thoughts.... ? |
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05/14/2004 07:22:20 PM · #5 |
Mirdonamy, I don't know much about the optics of the Olympus E1 but let me throw this out there just for the sake of the conversation.
The Olympus lens has an added refractor
This is usually NOT a selling point for high end optics. Most would say less glass is better. The higher price lenses often have "fixed" focal length to eliminate the additional glass.
Also; lenses have been dropping images to a flat surface of film for a long time? Some lenses have more distortion than others, but I wouldn't think of an additional refractor as much of a cure, or at best, a minimal improvement to correct distortion with a huge sacrifice to clarity/f-stop.
I'm not sure, I'm also interested to hear other opinions on this.
Message edited by author 2004-05-15 08:58:59. |
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05/17/2004 04:48:44 AM · #6 |
You are talking about the 4/3 format DCs. Their sensor is smaller than Canon or Nikon's. It means inferior, less dynamic range and more noise.
All CCDs or Cmos have micro lens in front of each pixel to focus the light and make them straight on. You most likely to notice color fringing only when you shoot with a superwide lens, with a small f-stop and enlarge the picture alot. Otherwise you can't see it. There are a lot of sites of digital photography have articles about the topic.
In terms of lenses, that is all about execution. In theory, digital optimized lenses is better for digital, super multi-coated lens is better for color film, and older lens is better for black & white. In real world, it is not that simple.
You should get your 10D body and enjoy it with your Canon lenses now. IMHO that E-1 is over price! I bought my D70 because I already have a Nikon system. That body costs less than a lot of point & shoot! |
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