> 2. A small body will need small lenses (a new M-series). > If Pentax is prepared to produce k-mount lenses with a reduced > image circle > (FA-D anyone?) then there shouldn't be a reason why they can't be > just as > light as the Olydak lenses. Would I buy a lens that I can only use > on a > small sensor digital? Why not, if it is good enough. And wouldn't the > proportionally (to the sensor size) larger lens throat allow for > fasterlenses?
As I read about the Olympus E-1, their mount is twice the size of the image circle, and that means their mount size is comparable to existing 35mm SLR's. Their film-to-flange distance, I have no way to check, but from what I have read sensors are not happy with light coming in from an angle anyway, and even if the mount is very far away you could still make the rear element protrude because the mirror is still smaller. Their lens mount communicate distortion and vignetting data, but Pentax has been communicating even the MTF of lenses to the body, it would be possible to communicate that kind of information to a DSLR too. What I wanted to say was, mount-wise, there is no compelling reason to have a digital-only lens mount. A conventional 35mm lens mount can always be extended to do what Olympus is doing. Looking at the FAJ 18-35/4-5.6 Pentax is going to introduce I guess they do not plan to introduce a digital only lens line yet. Maybe when they will have their second DSLR they will start doing it, but this is of course pure speculation. It makes perfect sense to me, in order to be able to compete with Olympus. For all of you Pentax 35mm only users, how many of you have bought a 645 lens for your camera ? It makes sense only if you also have a 645 body. Therefore, using 35mm lenses on a digital body will only make sense if you use both film and digital. I don't know why Olympus didn't make the E-1 even smaller, like an Olympus Pen F, or like a Pentax 110. That way no one would be able to even think about competing with them. But they left themselves wide open (no pun intended) to attacks from the big 35mm camp. They have a weight advantage, but only slightly so, which would be lost totally if the 35mm camp starts introducing digital only lenses which only covers a small image circle. Of course the real question is when the 35mm camp will start doing just that.
