Sigma had its chance — and plenty of time to get it right — and fluffed it. Soon, everyone will be making point-and-shoots with big sensors.
a href=”http://news.cnet.com/8301-13580_3-10187287-39.html?part=rss&subj=news&tag=2547-1_3-0-20″>Olympus will have its first out this summer, using the the Four Thirds standard, which was designed for crossover DSLRs and offers a much larger area than those usually found in concealed carry cameras.
Putting it inside one, then, is a very attractive idea: great pictures in a small body, especially in situations where small digicams typically fail, such as low-light and indoor shooting. [CNET]
Yes, please. I’ve been shooting Nikon APS-C for a long time, but lately I’ve been thinking about going full-frame (D700) on my main rig and using something like this (EVIL — electronic viewfinder interchangeable lens) for my sidearm and ‘every day’ shooter. The G1 is close but the aesthetics aren’t right, and the lenses aren’t there yet.
Olympus did something similar to this, many years ago. A half-frame film SLR.
http://www.cameraquest.com/olypenf.htm
That looks like a saucy little camera.
For what it’s worth, I am pretty sure this will be using the Micro Four Thirds standard: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Micro_Four_Thirds_System
Apparently you can use lenses from your 4/3s cameras with an adapter, sweet. Might push me to sell my G10!
This is precisely why I compromised and got the Canon G9. The smaller sensor and bayonet lens adapter aren’t quite up to “true” DSLR snuff, but the Sigma DP1 was just soooo slow and soooo expensive by comparison. And unlike a full-size DSLR, I’ll actually carry my G9 with me.
I’ll think about that when all this shakes out in about 5 years, and when we have a better idea of how dire the econocalypse is.
Now if only Olympus would start using SD cards so I could EyeFi this thing…