"I've not been a fan of the 4/3 system introduced by Olympus and Panasonic but the presence of Panasonic at this show is hard to ignore. And I guess when you team a technical giant such as Panasonic with an optical wizard like Leica, you really can't ignore them. But with everything else in visual technology moving wide-screen (HDTV is 16:9), the 4/3 format seems at best anachronistic or a blatant nod to those telephoto freaks out there that just can't get enough reach (you guys on this forum know who I mean .)"

Hey Jim,

I love the idea of Olympus - and have been watching them with interest. Never in the past willing to go back, but watching with real eagerness. I would really like the idea of a Oly camera with 1000mm FOV equiv. lens. The new Leica lens is also quite interesting to me. Curiously, Michael Reichmann's recent comments about the 4/3 system is that he perhaps had been wrong when he initially called the E-1 at an 'evolutionary deadend.' Olympus has really been working hard to innovate the product line and seems to be pushing hard to get other manufacturers to produce material for the 4/3 system. I am eagerly anticpating the e-1 replacement, though the proof ultimately is in the pudding. Can the sensor produce?? Can they beef up the AF performance as well and improve the flash system? The lens line-up is really coming along...and that is huge.

-JM