The new Olympus "E-30" announced

[rigel]

From cnet's Crave blog:

"With a price gap of about $900 between the Olympus E-520 and the E-3, Olympus has long had a pretty big hole in its dSLR lineup--a hole populated by extremely popular competitors like the Nikon D90, the Canon EOS 40D, and the Canon EOS 50D. But with the announcement of the E-30, it looks like Olympus is entering the ring swinging."

Click here for the complete story.

They've misquoted the E-3 continuous shooting though; the table shows 6.5fps, instead of 5fps.

[Atomic2]

Oh man, oh man, oh man....

I need a change of pants...



Still no word on movie mode though, this upsets me. And that street price seems a bit steeper than I had hoped it would be. Lets hope its not that high in actuality [used E-3s are cheaper]

[Greg McCary]

12.3 megapixel........Sweet. I am sure the $1200.00 is MFSR as well. Probably be a little cheaper than that.

[rigel]

12.3 megapixel........Sweet. I am sure the $1200.00 is MFSR as well. Probably be a little cheaper than that.

Ye, was surprised at that pricing too. If the price difference to an E-3 is only $200, might as well go for the E-3. The [marginally] bigger LCD and [slightly] higher resolution isn't enough to sway me in its direction
Not to mention my major gripe with the E-30's ergonomics, i.e., I much prefer the forward-facing shutter release of the E-3.
Now if it were around $999... that would be a different story

[rigel]

Just checked the Crave link again, just for kicks... is it my PC, or did they just pull out the article?

Doing a search on the cnet Crave website brings up the article title, but clicking on it leads to a blank page

From cnet's Crave blog:

"With a price gap of about $900 between the Olympus E-520 and the E-3, Olympus has long had a pretty big hole in its dSLR lineup--a hole populated by extremely popular competitors like the Nikon D90, the Canon EOS 40D, and the Canon EOS 50D. But with the announcement of the E-30, it looks like Olympus is entering the ring swinging."

Click here for the complete story.

They've misquoted the E-3 continuous shooting though; the table shows 6.5fps, instead of 5fps.

[rigel]

Just checked the Crave link again, just for kicks... is it my PC, or did they just pull out the article?

Doing a search on the cnet Crave website brings up the article title, but clicking on it leads to a blank page

Cnet UK still has an article on it here. It refers to the cnet (US) article that was pulled.

A discussion over on the fourthirds-user forums says the US site may have jumped the gun with the article, posting it a day too early

[Sushigaijin]

Bah, olympus shooting short again. It seems like every thing they have released in the last few years has fallen short - the wait from the E1, E500 and E3xx series to the current crop of cameras was WAY too long, and the E510 should have never been released - it should have been the E420 to start with. the E30 should have been the E520, and the E3 should be the E30. I don't understand why olympus doesn't realize that they have to exceed the competition in order to sell cameras. The E3 is the weakest "pro" camera on the market, The E420 would have been much more successful with the E520 feature set, and the E5xx series is a good deal but should have been competitive with the canikon 40d/d80 like the e30.

In any case, $1300 is WAY too much for these specs. I'll take a used E3 - the weather sealing is a deal breaker for me, and I'm not overpaying for scene modes and goofy stuff like face detection and AF points (I use just the center AF point anyway - I prefer to choose what I want in focus rather than letting the stupid camera decide). The much rumoured "secret" feature that is supposed to be on the E30 better be pretty amazing, because right now I'm pretty unimpressed - not with the camera, which looks solid, but with the olympus marketing scheme. Why put it at odds with your flagship? Why constantly cripple yourself by releasing uncompetitive feature sets? Why overprice underfeatured cameras(E3)? Why underprice overfeatured cameras (E520)? Why di something at all if you aren't going to do it right (E420)? Olympus sure makes some nice stuff, but I can't wrap my head around what they are thinking.

[rigel]

EDIT: and now it's back

Now cnet UK have pulled the article as well

Cnet UK still has an article on it here. It refers to the cnet (US) article that was pulled.

A discussion over on the fourthirds-user forums says the US site may have jumped the gun with the article, posting it a day too early

[rigel]

OK, so it's finally official.

New 14-54mm announcement here, too.

[Photo-John]

Yes, CNET spilled the beans. Here's our article on the Olympus E-30, including photos, the press release, and full specs:

Olympus E-30 Announcement >>

With 12-megapixels, built-in image stabilization, a tilt/swivel LCD, Live View with auto focus, the level gauge, and the same auto focus system as the E-3, I think this is actually looking pretty good - especially for people who want to upgrade from an E-510 but don't need the build of the E-3. $1300 is competitive and it will probably cost less, once it's actually available. I'm curious about the image quality from the new sensor and wonder if it's the same sensor that's in the Panasonic G1. Regardless, I think it's an interesting and potentially effectively positioned new Four Thirds camera.

[Greg McCary]

Thanks John for putting the rumors to rest with the info. The pitch and roll correction looks interesting. I am also curious about IQ with the new sensor and the 12.3 megapixel size. If any more advancement in noise reduction has been made. I look forward to PR's Pro review.

[Sushigaijin]

I'm still skeptical about paying $1300 for the E30 when an E3 is available for $1150 at multiple places today..that will be even less in six months.

Maybe the E5 is just around the corner?

Edit: and admittedly, weather sealing is the single biggest factor for me to buy another body. Weather sealing is also stopping me from buying the sigma 105 macro or 150 macro - I'm patiently waiting for the zuiko 100 macro because it will be weather sealed. When most of your photography is in the field with wild animals, splash proof starts to look pretty good...

[Photo-John]

If weather-sealing is one of the most important features for you, then the E-30 isn't for you. It's that simple. I wasn't aware that anyone was selling the E-3 for less than $1300. I checked last night and all the prices I saw were over $1400. Maybe those were all kits, though. It was late

[Sushigaijin]

A shame too, saying that the reason I didn't get an E3 to start with is its behemoth size. What I'd really like is an E3 in E400 clothing...

In any case, we'll see what the future holds. If there is one thing I've learned about cameras, it is that you never know what to think of statistics and numbers until they actually are shipped and in-hand.

$1150 is a like-new used E3. Olympus has refurbs on Ebay for around the same price all the time. Amazon has an E3+12-60 kit for under 2k, which puts the camera at about 1250, assuming 750 for the 12-60. In any case, the E3 is getting very affordable. I'd assume that 1100 or less is a good price once the E30 is shipped.

[Photo-John]

I got some more images from Olympus today and added a few details about the E-30's Art Filters that I thought were important.

Olympus E-30 DSLR Announcement >>

[Greg McCary]

I think the Artistic modes are interesting. There are many that are not big on post processing an image. Another part of the review I will check out. You got your work cut out for you PJ, good luck.

[rigel]

I think the Artistic modes are interesting. There are many that are not big on post processing an image. Another part of the review I will check out. You got your work cut out for you PJ, good luck.

What I personally find interesting are the multi-exposure and multi-aspect ratio shooting. Granted these can also be done at PP, but I'd rather be out shooting than sitting at my PC

The promise of better DR is encouraging. This may be a turning point for FourThirds if Oly has managed to improve overall IQ even at a higher resolution.

I find the size (& weight) of the E-30 a good compromise, seeing as how my E-510 is just a wee bit small, and despite my affection for the E-3 ergonomics, it is reportedly a beast [based on at least 2 reviews by Caucasians]. Given my average-sized, Asian hands, its size & weight may prove unwieldy (have yet to see one in person).

My wish is for a weather-proof E-30.
MSRP of about $1500 is OK, but WITH the 14-54mm II Zuiko

[Photo-John]

I don't think the E-3 is that big. Sure, it a lot bigger than the E-510 and E-520. But if you compare it to the Canon EOS 40D / 50D or the Nikon D300, it's just about exactly the same size. You want to see a big camera? Try carrying a Canon EOS-1D Mark III with a 70-200 f/2.8L all day. That's a big rig! After shooting with a Mark III all day, the E-3 will feel like nothing in your hands

[rigel]

I don't think the E-3 is that big. Sure, it a lot bigger than the E-510 and E-520. But if you compare it to the Canon EOS 40D / 50D or the Nikon D300, it's just about exactly the same size. You want to see a big camera? Try carrying a Canon EOS-1D Mark III with a 70-200 f/2.8L all day. That's a big rig! After shooting with a Mark III all day, the E-3 will feel like nothing in your hands

OK, but you gotta understand where I'm coming from. The E-510 is my first dSLR, and compared to the E-3, it's miniscule!
The E-3 is almost twice the weight of the E-510!

I have no aspirations of dealing with full-frame sensor cameras; I'm content with my current occupation, thank you. I'm just glad to have the privilege of enjoying photography on my down time :thumbsup:

[Atomic2]

The E-3 is pretty large when coming from other E-series cameras. Its also very different, when I went to try it, I felt a bit lost. Hopefully the E-30 will be more intuitive for Eseries owners.

[dannn]

It is confusing, but I guess they have a plan???. I also don't see why they would compete with their own e3. The e30 has a nifty double exposure mode. We'll see...

[Atomic2]

well hopefully this means theyre planning a successor to the E3 pretty soon, seeing as the E3 now sells for less than the E30.