OLYMPUS TECHNOZONE Vol.70 2008-4
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Listening to the Views of E-1 Users
Into Preparations for "Chapter 2"
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---- Would the leader be kind enough to introduce those present here today.
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OLYMPUS "E-3" Lens: ZUIKO DIGITAL ED12-60mm F2.8-4.0 SWD
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This is Kazuya Kobayashi, who was involved in designing the new E-3's AF from the perspective of both the camera body and the lens drive system. He also worked on digital image stabilization functions, as he did with the earlier E-510.
This is Kazumi Itoh, who was in charge of the AF optical system, including the lens-side AF system. He was also involved in the viewfinder optical system, which achieved the largest magnification yet for a digital SLR that uses the Four-Thirds system.
Tetsuya Toyoda specializes in image processing. Olympus's digital images have had an excellent reputation for beauty since the E-1. Olympus has constantly sought better image quality for the E Series, especially with regard to reproducing natural colors and atmosphere as faithfully as possible.
Setsuya Kataoka was involved in designing all the E-3's mechanisms. He took charge of everything, from planning and development to the start of production at our plant.
Many other people were involved and, as leader, I worked on pushing forward the overall development process while advising the people in charge.
---- First the E-1, now the E-3. Why the name?
We are proud the E-3 has reached a level of perfection worthy of the absolute confidence we should have in the successor to the E-1. Between the two, we put in the time and effort one would expect for two different models. We named it the E-3 to convey our sentiments on having at last delivered a new model that represents more than a generation's progress.
---- It's four years since the E-1 was launched. When did you start working the E-3?
We believe Chapter 2 started the moment we launched the E-1, but probably began to see it take concrete shape in the last two years.
We needed time to prepare by asking the opinions of E-1 users to identify any shortcomings. We gave a great deal of thought to what the next flagship model should look like while preparing the AF, the image pickup device, digital image stabilization technology and so on. It took us until two years ago to reach the stage where we thought it all might work.
During this time, we also received some severe comments from professional photographer who used the E-1.
We spent a great deal of time on the AF and the digital image stabilization editing unit.
The E-1 represented the crowning point of Olympus technology at that time. With that objective in mind for the new camera, we worked to create a package that would satisfy the demands of professional photographers. For that very reason, professionals gave us the benefit of their tough opinions.
Although the E-1 was well-received by many of its users, in some respects there were still many issues to be resolved.
---- The complete switch from conventional film cameras to digital must also have been pretty hard for professional photographers.
They often told me not to make more work for them. Although digital is convenient in many respects, one has more things to learn. It used to be enough to simply take the exposed film to the developer and wait for the results. Now you have to import the photographic data into your PC and work on it, and the software is not always easy to use.
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