M4/3的未來發展---專訪Olympus SLR部門產品規劃經理Akira Watanabe

http://www.dpreview.com/news/0906/09061600watanabeinterview.asp
談話重點:
1. Electronic viewfinders and more lenses (which could include more pancake primes) will be developed. We are now preparing for a future product with an EVF.

2. We know that more than 20% of compact camera customers have thought about buying a DSLR but are put off by the size, weight and complicated operation. And this is a market with huge potential - compact cameras outsell DSLRs by around 10:1, so 20% of the compact camera market is more than double the current number of DSLRs sold.

3. Watanabe concedes that other manufacturers are likely to enter the mirrorless system camera market however: "Within five years more companies will come, but we believe that, as these manufacturers enter the market, the market will grow." And when it does, he says, the Micro Four Thirds System will still have an advantage: "Logically, we can make cameras smaller than the competitors if they are using APS-C-sized sensors."

4. Optical quality is still fundamental to the system, though he said: "When it comes to picture quality - it's not about the sensor - it's the optical performance of the lenses that is most important to us. We are serious about improving noise - with this model we brought in a new image processing engine that allows us to extend the sensitivity range to ISO 6400." And this isn't the only change it has brought: "The new engine is improved in terms of jaggy and false-color reduction, so we have been able to use a lighter anti-aliasing filter."

5. In Spring, we will launch at least a wide zoom or a high magnification zoom after that we will listen to voices from the market. If customers request prime lenses first, they'll be first on our priorities list."
The 25mm was very well accepted - better than we expected, so we will follow customer requests."