Olympus and Panasonic

I use Olympus digital cameras for many years. I would not call it brand loyalty. When (occasionally) people ask me what camera they should buy I generally recommend other brands (there are exceptions like XZ-1). Anyway, I am very interested in the latest m3/4 Olympus camera, OM-D E-M5, but I suspect the Australian price will be inhibitory for me: E-P3 with 14-42mm lens costs here ~1k AUD, and I would not be surprised if the price of E-M5 will surpass the price of Panasonic GH2. On other hand, price of Panasonic G3 with similar lens is 900 AUD, and it is already available. In many aspects Olympus OM-D E-M5 is somewhat better than the G3 but the image quality should be more or less similar. But Oly will cost more, and I would rather spend money on lenses. Sp, for me the G3 is quite attractive alternative to the OM-D E-M5. Nikon V1 is also quite attractive with its' size and price (but it has no buttons:)). Kirk Tuck recently posted very interesting description of his experience with the G3, and it seems that he was "condemned" even for suggestion that G3 is a good camera. Now he published his response/follow-up post.

I don't have plans for immediate upgrade. My Olympus E-30 is still working fine, and I shoot a lot with the Fuji X10 since I bought it. I can wait and see what would appear on the market. Unfortunately, the megapixel race is still going on. The pixels become smaller, and low contrast regions have no details. The files are huge. I guess for me Panasonic G2 will be even better alternative because right now it is nearly twice cheaper than G3, but the quality should be close to current Olympus PEN cameras. It is even cheaper than some advanced compacts:

G2+14-42mm: 500AUD
Nikon P7100: 600AUD
Fuji X10: 700AUD

Are all Fuji X10 cameras created equal?

The dpreview have published interesting analysis of the orbs issue in the Fuji X10. They confirmed that the firmware update 1.03 does not prevent or reduce the orbs appearance (but that's old news). However, they discovered that the orbs size varies a lot between different X10 cameras (check the second page of the dpreview test). So, it seems that not all X10s are equal (at least in term of the orbs). The difference in orbs size between cameras is very pronounced. The guys at dpreview are very pedantic with their tests.

The "batch effect" can explain at least partially why some people so upset with the X10 while other are quite happy. It is hard to say for sure what kind of the X10 camera I have, Mother of All Orbs, or its modest sibling. I generally do not shoot in conditions favorable for appearance of the white discs, so the orbs are not a problem for me. I just don't have orbs in vast majority of my images from the X10.

I doubt that anyone outside of the Fujifilm company can say what's going on with the X10. Is it assembly/quality control problem or some chips/hardware was replaced to address the orbs? Are the orbs smaller in current batch of cameras? What is the range of difference?

While this "batch" issue did not change my attitude towards the X10 (I love this camera) I became more suspicious about the company. The situation around the orbs issue in X10 cameras looks increasingly similar to the shatter/sticky blades issue in the X100. It is unclear how the company resolved this problem. According to rumors the lens/shutter design was changed some time ago but I do not recollect any official message from the company. Yes, the company had fixed cameras with sticky blades but what would happen after the warranty?

The tragedy is that both cameras, the X10 and X100, produce very good images.

I hope that the company will eventually overcome such technical problems. There is always a light at the end of a tunnel. Unless it is a night time :)

 Fuji X10, cropped | February 24, 2012 | flickr

Sunset, bats, and the Fuji X10

Flying foxes over Brisbane | Herston, February 23, 2012 | flickr

The best camera is a camera you have with you. This light lasted just for few minutes, and fortunately the Fuji X10 was with me that day. Sunset mode, 1/110 sec, F2.5, iso 100. I have not noticed that the exposure compensation dial was moved to +0.3. The image was cropped in GIMP, resized and the unsharpen mask was applied. Click on image to see the flying foxes.

In past several days the sunsets around Brisbane were very spectacular. Right now it is raining for several hours, and some suburbs already got over 50mm since 9am, and our place got about 30mm. I am curious to see if it will match overnight the January 25 rainfall when the city got about 170mm in 24 hours...   

back to photos :-) The image below was cropped on one side: there was a light pole. I probably can clone it out, but I like such long image. Araucarias are very tall trees with characteristic branches. 

Hoop pines at sunset | Herston, February 23, 2012 | flickr

Interesting link

 Young leaves of Plum Satinash, Syzygium cryptophlebium | Herston, February 20, 2012

I follow several blogs about cameras and photography. Recently Kirk Tuck have published several very interesting posts about photography, life and the forthcoming Olympus OM-D E-M5. Highly recommended.


As for picture: Fuji X10, iso 100, 1/56 sec. F2.8 (at max focal length), exposure compensation -0.3. Minor crop, resize and sharpening in Olympus Master. I don't like the background here.

Traditional lunch walk with the Fuji X10

Young leaves | Herston, February 20, 2012 | flickr

The Fuji X10 is a quite unusual camera. People have very polarized opinions on it. Some are very happy with the pictures from the camera while others are extremely dissatisfied. I bet members on both sides would be happy not to have the sensor blooming issue but for many people the orbs do not create problems. Here I am talking about my personal experience, and I would like to repeat that many people are genuinely unhappy with the orbs in their images. Because majority of my pictures taken with the X10 do not have orbs, I am very pleased with the camera. In last few months I took more images with the X10 than with Olympus E-30. I really like colors in OOX JPEGs from the X10, and the size and weight of the X10 are the obvious advantages over DSLR. In most situations the quality of images from X10 is very good for me. For the web or monitor 12MP are more than enough.

I do prefer the quality of images from the X100 (it is just in different league) but the X100 costs twice as much. I bought the X10 as a family camera, and for us it suits this role better than the X100 (video, zoom). And I am scared by sticky blades problem in the X100....

As for pictures... On the top, I guess it is Syzygium sp, from Myrtaceae family. EXIF: iso 100, 1/100 sec, F2.5, 17.3mm, resized in GIMP + unsharpen mask.

Callistemon | Herston, February 20, 2012 | flickr

The Callistemon picture was taken at iso 200 (accidentally) 1/1100 sec, F5.6, Supermacro mode. 

Grevillea | Herston, February 20, 2012 | flickr

ISO 100, 1/1700 sec, F4.0, Supermacro mode. It was windy.
I usually use spot metering with exposure compensation if needed and central focal point.

on orbs and psychology, again

Casino Tower, Brisbane | January 20, 2012 | flickr

 I decided to write one more post on Fuji X10, orbs and human psychology. I am not an expert in cameras or psychology but it does not prevent me from expressing my personal opinion. I can say that the X10 is the best compact camera I ever used. But I have not used compact cameras for several years, so the same can be said about any other advanced compact. I cannot compare the X10 to other cameras. I mean practical tests, handling, and stuff like that. But I can share my experience and opinion about the X10. I like handling and control of the camera, and the manual zoom on lens is just very pleasant. The most important parameters (for me) can be accessed by pressing a button, so the control is very fast. The camera is very small and very light compared to my DSLR, so the DSLR very often stays home just because of it's size and weight. The photos from X10 are very good (keep in mind that we are talking about compact camera with small sensor) and the colors are very pleasant. It seems that now it is impossible to say a word about images from Fuji X10 without mentioned the orbs. There are so much interest in the orbs that I would not exclude the possibility that Merriam-Webster at some point will include "orbs" to official English vocabulary.

I stated many times that for me the orbs are rather irrelevant. The orbs are quite common in images taken at night but the orbs I got are small compared to the whole image. I doubt that the orbs in that image will be noticeable in this image displayed on screen. Moreover, shooting in ERT mode suppresses appearance of the white discs with sharp border. It does not resolve the issue completely but it does help. The orbs are clearly visible in my pictures of cars taken at bright day. I suspect that for street photographers this might be an issue, and one reader of this blog have confirmed that the orbs do appear quite often in his images. I may do some test shooting in the city but at the moment I am under severe time constrains. Also, my interest in this is rather limited because the orbs do not appear in my "nature" photos including pictures of very glossy leaves under bright sun.

So, the orbs do appear in my images (see the 100% unedited crop from the original JPEG below), but I do not consider it as a problem. Isn't it amazing psychological phenomena? Or may be I am just arrogant person and do not care about anyone else? I came with several explanations. First, I think that my job has a very strong effect on my psycho. I should explain about my job. I solve problems. Just in case: my problems are quite different from the problems of Winston 'The Wolf' Wolfe. But I got used to idea that i) nothing works as advertised ii) I need to make it work. So, I am always looking for a solution for a problem. In case of the Fuji X10 I may not shoot in orbs-prone conditions, or change the composition, or switch to EXR mode. I will try to overcome the white discs problem. Second, the orbs are absent in majority of my (nature-oriented) photos. In my night photos the orbs are relatively small and do not show up in images displayed on screen. So, why should I bother? I learned about the orbs problem on the dpreview forum, examined my night photo, and found the orbs. I have not noticed these white discs earlier, and I was happy with these images. This reminds me a joke about an old lady who said to her husband after her visit to a doctor: "Darling, it seems that what we thought was an orgasm for last thirty yeas is in fact called asthma". Do I really want to know the truth?   

One more remark on my psychology. I like to image "what if" things. I asked myself: will I buy the X10 now based only on opinion of other people (no personal experience with the camera)? The answer is: most probably not. I will be scared by the orbs problem. I have not bought the Fuji X100 because I was scared (and I am still scared) by problems with the lens/shutter. And I am very happy with the X10 now. So, I am glad that I bought it before I learned about orbs.

Get me right: I do understand that for some people the orbs represent the serious problem. I guess I am lucky that in conditions I use the camera the orbs do not appear. Do not consider this post as an advertisement for the camera. I cannot give any advise: all people have different needs. For some people the X10 might be very lovely camera (I am in that boat), and for someone it might be better to wait for the next model or buy something else. At the price of the X10 it is possible to buy a nice camera. It seems that this sensor blooming issue cannot be resolved by firmware update because the orbs do present in images taken with the latest firmware 1.03.

Samsung NX20 and NX1000

Just a short post on Samsung rumors. There are big expectations for February 16-17, so tomorrow might be a big day for Samsung :) There are also rumors about cheaper model, NX1000, and it is expected that both models will be available before summer. It is also possible that NX200 will get Wi-Fi and released as a new model. It seems that many people are quite confident that the new cameras from Sumsung will be in shops before the summer, but nobody is sure when the cameras will be announced.

I guess Wi-Fi can transfer live view (monitor preview). If so, than technically it is possible to get remote control with live preview. Might be a blessing for nature photographer. You can put a camera in front of hole, and wait for animal to come out at comfortable distance (think trapdoor spiders:)). Next step will be a remote control of camera movements...

PS. I am very busy till Friday.  

Olympus XZ-1 and Fujifilm X10

The proper title for this post probably should be something like this: why I recommend Olympus XZ-1 to other people if I have Fuji X10 :-)

When XZ-1 was released I was very tempted (with such lens!) but have not bought it. Several month ago I bought Fuji X10 but I cannot say that the X10 was bought instead of XZ-1. The X10 supposed to be a new camera for my wife. She had used Fuji camera before, and we decided to buy Fuji. It turned out that we both love this cam.

For me Fuji X10 has the following advantages over Oly XZ-1: manual zoom lens, ability to add filter on lens (with step-up ring) and better controls. Just in case: it is possible to add filter on XZ-1 using adapter but the camera will not fit into pocket anymore. At time of purchase I also valued an optical viewfinder on the X10 but it turned out that I use mainly LCD monitor. IMHO, in term of image quality all advanced compacts are quite similar. I have impression that Fuji X10 has somewhat better control of chromatic aberrations than the XZ-1. It might be a little bit better at higher iso, too. I am very happy with OOC JPEGs from the X10.

But recently I recommended Olympus XZ-1 to my friends. Why? First, it is nearly twice cheaper in Australia at the moment. Second, my friend will use the camera in Auto mode, so the external controls are not really important. Third, it is a pocketable camera (very important). Fourth, the lens is better than on Canon S90/100 (also pocketable camera). I also warn my friend about the orbs issue. 

And in the same time I tried to buy a second Fuji X10 on ebay for myself... The auction was canceled.

Fuji X10 at sunset

 Sunset in Herston | February 13, 2012 | flickr

Both pictures were taken with Fuji X10 at Sunset settings/preset, OOC JPEGs were resized in GIMP and unsharpen mask was applied. I have posted several other pictures from the same day on flickr.

The pictures were taken under the rain, and I had an umbrella in one hand, and the camera in another. I screwed up the ID of the tree:  it is Hoop pine not Bunya pine. It is different Araucaria species.

Hoop pine | Herston, February 13, 2012 | flickr

Olympus and Panasonic

So, Olympus now has OM-D E-M5 camera. It is still unavailable, and Australian price is unknown. The rumors say it will be here around April.

On other hand, Panasonic has G3 and GH2 available right now. GH2 is expensive, and it seems that the viewfinder is better on Oly. Fully articulated monitor can be very useful.

Alternatively it is possible to buy a PEN camera with VF-2 viewfinder on ebay for a fraction of GH2 price (and I would say for a fraction of E-M5 price). The viewfinder is tiltable. The image quality will be similar to Oly E-30 I have or even a tad better. Depends on lenses, of cause. 

Also, with PEN cameras Olympus had very fast turnover for the bodies in last couple years. Considering that the Olympus websites refer to OM-D cameras (plural) it is possible that we will see more similar cameras (as Panasonic?) in the nearby future.

Coomera river

Coomera river,  Lamington national park | January 1, 2012 | flickr

This is Coomera river in the Binna Burra section of the Lamington national park. I went to Coomera falls circuit that time. The photo was taken with Olympus E-30, on tripod, with 14-52mm Zuiko lens + polarizer. The RAW file was processed in Olympus Master and the image was edited in GIMP. I've darken the boulders a little bit.

Since I bought Fuji X10, Olympus E-30 didn't got a lot of use except for long walks. Fuji X10 is considerably smaller and lighter, and generally I am very happy with pictures from this camera.

I generally shoot in RAW on E-30 and process the files either in Olympus Master or GIMP/UFRaw. GIMP gives me a few extra pixels, and Olympus Master handles chromatic aberrations somewhat better. So, it depends on image. I gave up to shoot RAW on Fuji X10: I cannot match the OOC JPEG with supplied RAW converter.

 Below is the photo of Land mullet, one of the biggest skinks from Scincidae family, taken on the same walk. The lizard is shine black, and without polarizer the highlights on the skin will be clipped.

 Land mullet, Egernia major, in Lamington national park | January 1, 2012 | flickr

Firmware update for Fuji X10

The Fujifilm had released a firmware update 1.03 for Fuji X10 camera. The company statement says "Blooming (White disk) phenomena, which can be observed in EXR AUTO mode, is reduced." I have an impression that in the EXR AUTO mode the blooming (orbs, white disks) was quite well controlled with previous version of firmware compared to standard 12 megapixel mode at iso 100, at least in images taken at night. Anyway, I updated the firmware (my Fuji X10 came with version 1.02) and did a quick test at iso 100, 12 megapixel, Aperture priority mode. The light was harsh. I am talking about sunny Australia here. It was hard to look at cars even through sunglasses. Top picture has a couple very nasty orbs, and none were visible on another image at the bottom of this post. I have not tested EXR mode, it might be better. Make your own conclusion.

I probably should voice my opinion on the orbs issue. These are test pictures. Generally I do not take pictures of cars in bright sun. I am posting/doing this test because of traffic on this blog: post on orbs got the highest number of visitors. The orbs are irrelevant for my photography which is nature-oriented. I took some pictures of Brisbane at night, to see the orbs "first hand". Indeed, the white disks were appeared in some photos, but the images were acceptable for my taste. In these night images the white disks were quite small, and switching to EXR mode helped to some extend, too.

I understand that people have different standards, and for some the orbs are totally unacceptable. If you in this category be aware that the firmware 1.03 did not fix the orbs issue for 12 megapixel mode. To balance this statement I would like to remind that the X10 is not prone to blooming/white disks on natural objects such as glossy leaves in bight sun. IMHO, the orbs issue is grossly exaggerated (unless someone insists on taking pictures of cars in direct sunlight). I took over 3000 pictures with the X10, and the orbs issue is probably the last in my list of complains about this camera. I don't know how big is this issue for street photographers.  

The firmware adds several other useful things including customization of RAW button (~ten option to chose from). Kudos to Fuji. Unfortunately it is impossible to set it for the control of image stabilization but there are other useful options.  

New versions of Sigma DP1 and DP2 big sensor compacts

Definitely this year is very prolific for digital cameras with big sensors. Sigma just announced the revised version of their DP1 and DP2 compacts with unique Foveon sensor. Now the new versions of these cameras, DP1 Merrill and DP2 Merrill, have 15x3 megapixel sensors.

Just a brief intro to Foveon sensors: essentially all camera makers use sensors with one layer of photoelements. Unfortunately, the photoelements record only intensity of light, and cannot identify the color. Because of this, the standard sensors have a color filter on top of each photoelement, and the color in final image is interpolated from information recorded in several adjacent "pixels". In standard sensor each photoelement receives only fraction of light passed through the color filter. The Foveon sensors have three layers of photoelements stacked together, with color mask on top of each layer. In this case each pixel in the final image is made of three individual photoelements, and the color information is decoded based on the intensity of three photoelements in the same location. Foveon sensors do not require anti-aliasing filter, and generally produce very sharp images. The images from the Sigma SD1 with the same sensor are just stunning. The price for these compacts are still unknown but it cannot be higher than Fuji X-Pro1 (with lens). I suspect the price will be higher than Fuji X100, otherwise Sigma will not be able to cope with the demand.

Local news: the Photo Continental, my favorite camera shop in Brisbane, advertises Fuji X-Pro1 body for ~1,700 AUD, and the kit with 35mm F1.4 lens for 2,345 AUD, but the camera is not available yet. Again, kudos to the Fujifilm: the price of the camera in Australia is very similar to the price in US. I am curious to see the price of new Olympus E-M5.


Well, with all these announcements, I may resort to very strict budgeting...

My best supermacro with Fuji X10

Forktail damselfly, Ischnura sp | Herston, Brisbane, February 8, 2012 | flickr

I am not really happy with the implementation of supermacro mode on Fuji X10 because in order to get decent magnification the camera should be positioned very close to the object. It is not a big issue with flowers and other inactive objects but with insects it is a big problem. It can be done, as you can see, but it is somewhat complicated. I was lucky today with the weather (early afternoon, just before the rain), and the damselfly apparently was not in a flying mood. Shot with Fuji X10 in Supermacro mode / Aperture priority, F4.5, iso 100, 1/180 sec. I also used a reduced focusing area. I generally use a single spot focusing and spot metering, and on Fuji X10 the size of the focusing spot can be changed by user. I am not sure if this change also affects the metering but it seems that it does improve focusing in macro mode.

The image above was rotated, cropped and resized in GIMP, and unsharpen mask was applied for final picture. Below is unedited 100% crop from the original JPEG. Click on the images to see a bigger picture.

Unedited 100% crop from the original OOC JPEG

Tussock Moth caterpillar after molting

Tussock Moth caterpillar | Brisbane, February 4, 2012 | flickr

We have a tiny blackbean (Moreton bay chestnat) tree growing in a pot on our balcony. Under one leaf we found what I identified as the Tussock Moth caterpillar just after molting. Because insects and their larvae have external skeleton they need to change it (molt)  in order to grow. Caterpillar eats a lot, than it molds and makes a new skeleton, which is bigger than the old one. So, it grows only immediately after molting, when a new skeleton is still elastic/not hard. On the photo above the old "skin" is on the left, and it is visibly smaller than the new caterpillar. Two white "cords" on the old "skin" apparently correspond to remnants of the nerve system. I was surprised to see the difference in color between larvae stages (different caterpillars). The caterpillar was on lower side of the leaf, and I bent it to get a better light.

The picture was taken with Fuji X10 in Supermacro mode, F7.1, iso 200, 1/120 sec. The image was cropped in GIMP. Below is unedited 100% crop from the original image. Click on images to see the bigger picture.

Two days before Olympus E-M5 announcement

The days when I used to read about the cameras have gone. Now I read rumors about forthcoming cameras. Sad days indeed. Frankly speaking, I do not plan to buy a new camera right now. I've bought a new compact camera, Fuji X10, just a few month ago, as a family camera, and my Olympus E-30 is still relatively new.

Nevertheless I am curious to see the new camera from Olympus. If the rumors are correct than it might be very capable camera. I hope the camera will focus fast with 4/3 lenses, with rumored new weather-sealed 4/3 to m4/3 adapter. If 50-200mm SWD will focus reasonably fast on the E-M5,  than it will be really tempting....

However, if the price on Fuji X100 will go down after release of X-Pro1, that it will be even more tempting. And I am also waiting for tech review of X-Pro1. I probably would not be able to justify the price (photography is my hobby), but I am curious to see the images from this camera. I like images from Fuji X10, but it is a compact camera, with pluses and minuses of compact camera.

This bring us to Nikon 1 system. It seems that Nikon got a nice balance between quality of the image and sensor size, making the whole system potentially very attractive for (amateur) macro shooters like me. Hopefully Nikon will release the macro lens for Nikon 1. Or, even better, I hope that Nikon (or someone else) will produce a compact camera with such sensor.

May be I should learn how to stop looking for cameras and take some pictures instead.... 

Supermacro on Fujifilm X10

Yep, that is how I use supermacro mode on Fuji X10. Why camera makers insist on putting Supermacro mode on wide angle? The Triangular spider, Arkys lancearius, is not dangerous, and it's bite may cause just mild local pain, so I don't mind to work at short distance.

All images below were cropped and edited in GIMP. The last image was posted just to give an idea about spider's size.
 

flickr

One more post on Pentax K-01

I am still scratching my head after the K-01 announcement by Pentax. It is good that Pentax decided to keep K mount in their mirrorless cameras. Many people will love the camera just because of Pentax lenses. The sensor in the camera is one of the best available assuming that Pentax have used the same sensor as in K-5. It seems that Pentax has very powerful battery in K-01 sufficient for over 500 shots per charge. But I was very disappointed by lack of a viewfinder in the camera, especially considering its weight and size. It seems that the K-01 is the biggest camera in it's class (see the table below).

I do not understand what is the target group for the camera. The presence of K mount makes the K-01 very attractive for Pentax DSLR users, but I bet the DSLR users prefer to have a viewfinder on DSLR-like body. People with tripod / landscape shooter probably would not mind to have a camera with K-5 image quality, but the K-5 is weather-sealed camera while K-01 is not. On other hand, the K-5 is ~200 g heavier. For some Pentax DSLR users the K-01 might be a very handy back-up camera, but people who use compact camera probably prefer something more portable for upgrade. There are quite a few cameras to choose from, as can be seen in the table below. Obviously, the lenses are quite different, but I decided to use the available pancake in this table, in order to illustrate the minimal weight for mirrorless cameras. I have not included Nikon J1 (body only ~300 g, with build-in flash  and 10mm pancake at 77 g).

Body	Weight, g	Tilt	Flash	Pancake	Weight, total, g
Pentax K-01	561	No	Yes	40 mm/52 g	~610
Samsung NX200	223	No	No	30 mm/85 g	~310
Olympus E-P3	369	No	Yes	17 mm/71 g	~440
Olympus E-PL3	313	Yes	No	17 mm/71 g	~380
Panasonic DMC-GX1	318	No	Yes	20 mm/100 g	~420
Sony NEX-5N	290	Yes	No	17 mm/74 g	~360

There are other factors, such as a price. Pentax has many pancakes, while other manufacturers offer only one or two. I suspect that without viewfinder many long Pentax lenses will not be very useful.  Moreover, K-01 body weight is very similar to K-r (598 g), and the cameras are similar in size, so I suspect that for some people the K-r might be more attractive because it is cheaper, with fast autofocus (I suspect faster than K-01 at least with some lenses) and a viewfinder.

I hope that the company will continue development of this type of cameras. I mean K-01 type, not Pentax Q.

Pentax K-01

OK, the new Pentax mirrorless camera with K-mount will be announced within hour or even less. I am quite excited about this camera right now, for several reasons. Actually, I was really amused when the rumors about the K-01 appeared. You gonna be kidding: SLR mount on mirrorless camera! It will make the whole thing big. So, what is the point? Now I think it actually do have a certain pluses.

In SLR cameras the flange focal distance is essentially limited by mirror movement, so the rear end of the lens would not go deep into camera body. However, mirrorless camera have no mirror (by definition : ) ) so technically the rear end of the lens can protrude from the lens mount into camera. At least, I don't see any reason why it cannot be accomplished. In this case the lens mount might be in the middle of the lens, as on my  home-made cartoon in which brick-like rectangles represent camera bodies : )) It is a view from the top : )  In this case the whole camera (body + lens) can be very similar in size to other mirrorless cameras.

I can see several benefits of such design. First, from the start, the system will have many lenses available. In meantime Pentax can produce new lenses by shifting position of the lens mount. Considering that the SLR mount (K mount) is quite wide, design of such "in body" lenses will be quite flexible. If part of a lens will be inside a camera, it might be easy to make weather-resistant lens, especially if the moving part will be in a camera. The bigger body can use standard tripod plates, and probably can be more balanced on tripod, especially with medium-sized lens without tripod collar. 

Of cause, it is just my speculations, but I hope that Pentax will show serious commitment to this system.

I am also very curious about new Olympus, E-M5, OM-D, or whatever it will be called. What a great year for mirrorless camera! :-)

UPDATE. So, the camera was announced on time : ) I think it is the first DSLR-looking camera without any viewfinder. The camera weight is > 500 g. Add 50-200 mm lens, at about 300 g, and the total weight is over 800 g. Or add 55-300 mm, and you end up with about 1 kg. Try to shot handheld with the camera in straight hands (no viewfinder). On top of it, the rear screen is fixed. I afraid the company had shot itself in the foot (second time). Of cause, it is possible that I missed the announcement of the viewfinder... I bet the camera with long lens will be quite usable on a tripod. I wish the K-01 had a Minolta A2-like body with tiltable viewfinder and screen.

Saving Hibiscus Harlequin Bug

Hibiscus Harlequin Bug, Tectocoris diophthalmus, was caught in the Golden Orb-weaver spider web, and the spider went to rescue the bug and released it from the trap. Either the bug was big for the spider, or it was too stinky/ uneatable for the predator, or it was act of a female solidarity (both are females). The Harlequin Bugs are quite big, over two centimeters in length, so, it gives the idea about the spider's size. It was happen so quick that I took just one picture. Fuji X10, Aperture priority mode, iso 200, 1/100 sec, F6.4.

Below is the picture of the same Golden Orb-weaver spider, Nephila sp., from Nephilidae family. I think it is a female of Nephila plumipes, or N. ornata (old name for the same species?). Fuji X10, iso 200, 1/170 sec, F5.7. The original image was cropped a little bit in GIMP and resized.

Just in case I posted the 100% crop of the spider's body. Click on image to see a bigger size. All picture were taken in Victoria park, Herston, Brisbane, on January 31, 2012.