I just came across this camera review of one of the rather early-generation digital cameras, the Olympus C2000 Zoom. The camera was launched at CeBit 1999 and was available in May 1999. The review is in German only, but it made me chuckle several times, both since it's so yesterday – and because it's soooo today!
Listen to this:
"The new camera finally breaks a boundary in terms of resolution, as it tops the 'magic' 2-million pixel mark."
"The battery proves to be quite durable: You will rather fill up two 32-megabyte memory cards with pictures than run out of battery."
"Taking pictures is a pretty speedy process: Given individual focus and exposure values, the camera can shoot a new picture after only 3 seconds."
"Whoever wants to ensure highest quality can skip the JPEG compression and record directly in uncompressed RGB-TIFF format. In this case, images result in 5.6 Megabyte files."
So far, so good. But doesn't this sound familiar:
"Generally, the new high-resolution 2-megapixel CCDs demand remarkably higher optical quality from the lenses than it is the case with the 1.3 to 1.7 megapixel cameras. With the C2000 Zoom, we could observe light chromatic aberrations in the image corners if the motive had strong contrast in those areas."
So let me sum it up:
With the new C2000, we've arrived at a point where the sensor resolution is so high that it exposes all the weaknesses of the current lenses. It's the glass that becomes the limiting factor. But: Both the camera manufacturers and third parties have already announced to release new-generation lenses specifically designed for delivering excellent quality also with the 2-MP sensors!
Did I say C2000? I mean D800, of course. ;-)
