micro four-thirds

Compact-camera manufacturers have begun testing the waters with a wealth of high-end features as they search for new ways to gain revenue, market share, and recognition.

In earlier digital photography days, a camera with an extra megapixel of resolution, face recognition, or image stabilization could stand apart from the herd. But now that herd has grown larger, most folks who'll buy a digital camera already have done so, the economy has put consumer spending on ice--and camera makers are making some bolder bets with high-end features.

Among them: Nikon's built-in GPS support to record where a photo was taken, Casio's high-speed video, and the Micro Four Thirds camera system from Panasonic and Olympus.

Premium features aren't an easy sell. They tend to appeal to market niches rather than the mainstream. Early implementations are often rough around the edges. And it's hard enough to convince people to buy a new camera, much less one with the higher price of premium features.

But winning those customers can have a good payoff with better profit margins. And that's critical in this day and age. Market research firm IDC expects that after years of growth, the shipments of digital cameras will decline in 2009.

"It's crowded, and it's getting crowdeder," IDC analyst Ron Glaz said of the digital camera market. "We're anticipating that with the slowdown in economy and disposable income, we'll start seeing consolidation of the vendors." In other words, even though something in the neighborhood of 38 million digital cameras are sold annually, some companies will throw in the towel. … Read more

Panasonic's $670 G1 and Olympus' $540 E-520 and $450 E-410--that show both the advantages and disadvantages of the Four Thirds standards the companies use.

The Four Thirds system governs image sensor sizes and the mounting mechanism for interchangeable lenses on the companies' SLR cameras, and the companies announced a new variation called Micro Four Thirds for smaller cameras that have SLRs' interchangeable lenses but not SLRs' "reflex" mirror, which directs light through an optical viewfinder before a shot is taken.

Four Thirds SLRs have a smaller sensor than lower-end SLRs from market leaders Nikon and Canon, which poses image quality challenges because there's less surface area to gather light. However, the sensor size is the same for Four Thirds and Micro Four Thirds, which means that cameras using the latter have a much larger sensor than typical compact cameras have. … Read more

When Panasonic announced its first interchangeable-lens camera, the Lumix DMC-G1, it said the camera would cost less than $800. Today it's official: $799.95 with the 14-45mm f3.5-5.6 (28-90mm equivalent) lens.

That price puts it in direct competition with inexpensive dSLR models like the Nikon D60 and Canon Rebel XS; it's a bit smaller compared to those, but lacks an optical viewfinder, which is a significant disadvantage. And it's significantly more expensive than more compact, fixed-lens enthusiast competitors like Panasonic's own LX3 and the Canon PowerShot G10. As yet, performance is a big unknown.… Read more

update 9/26:  It turns out that the product will not be named E-A1; that was just a random name that appeared in a graphic accompanying the press materials. So mentally replace each instance of "E-A1" in this post with "Olympus 4/3rd's DSLR concept."

Of all the major camera manufacturers, Olympus stands out as lacking a prosumer model. Between the approximately $600 E-520 and $1,500-ish E-3 lies a huge gap for competing with the likes of the Canon EOS Rebel XSi and 40D, the Nikon D90, and the Sony Alpha DLSR-A700. And … Read more

We've seen stock images of the Lumix DMC-G1, but just how small is this camera that's the first in the world to use the new Micro Four Thirds Standard? Panasonic and Olympus (which jointly developed the new imaging format) have mentioned that this new system will shrink the size of dSLR-like cameras to make them more portable.

According to its specifications sheet, the DMC-G1 measures 124mm x 83.6mm x 45.2mm (about 4.9 inches x 3.3 inches x 1.8 inches), but nothing speaks louder than images.

Flickr user Luc Saint-Elie has posted several images … Read more

While it's too soon to tell whether it'll be good, or popular, or both, the Panasonic Lumix DMC-G1 does seem to be one of the more interesting camera announcements this year--and that's saying a lot, given how many innovative midrange and high-end dSLRs we've seen (and still have yet to see). The first non-dSLR camera to offer the flexibility of interchangeable lenses, at the very least the G1 promises to shake up the enthusiast compact market now dominated by models like the Canon PowerShot G9.

With the G1 specifically, and the Micro Four Thirds standard in … Read more

The bits have barely dried on the press release for Olympus and Panasonic's Micro Four Thirds standard for interchangeable lens point-and-shoot cameras and a competing announcement has already emerged from an unexpected source: Samsung. In an interview with the U.K.'s Amateur Photographer magazine, Samsung Techwin Executive Vice President Byung Woo Lee revealed that company's plans for a similar standard based on APS-C-size sensors--albeit not until 2009.

I suppose it's not that surprising that the announcement comes from Samsung. It certainly wasn't going to come from any Canon- or Nikon-driven initiative, since both of those … Read more

How badly do people want interchangeable lenses on compact cameras? We're going to find out soon enough: Panasonic and Olympus have announced a variation on their Four Thirds camera system designed specifically for non-SLR cameras.

On one hand, this will facilitate interchangeable lens cameras more compact than would be possible in a dSLR. By jettisoning the mirror box and through-the-lens optical viewfinder, the two companies hope to make thinner and lighter cameras--thinner than the Olympus E-420, the smallest dSLR on the market. The new lens specification allows the lens to sit about 50 percent closer to the sensor and … Read more