photoblogography

Not much news

Well I promised to post everyday, so here it is... but, due to horrible weather and saturday domesticity contraints, the E-1 has been untroubled... One thing that might be interesting - it would have been for me - is what is actually in the box. Well the Europoean E-1 kit includes: - E-1 body with body cap - 14-54mm lens with lens shade and soft case, front & back caps - Li-ion battery and charger - Getting started manual (full manual is PDF only, on CD-ROM, and can be found also at the E1 website. The quick reference guide can also be found there but strangely is not in the box or on the CD. The manual is some 170 pages long. - Software CD with Olympus Viewer 1.0 and Olympus Studio Trial 1.0. As far as I can tell Viewer is quite adequate if you already have Photoshop. - Firewire, USB and Video cables - body strap with "I'm an expensive OLYMPUS camera, please steal me" written on it. The 50-200mm lens ships with lens shade and a very nice case. The booster/grip does not include the hand strap, which seems a bit cheap... So, all pretty much what one would expect. FIRST GLITCH: I'm using Mac OS X 10.3.2. I installed Olympus Viewer, and immediately applied the patch to version 1.0.1, which seems to be recommended. However, Viewer 1.0.1 crashes on launch, whatever I do. Luckily there's an uninstaller, and it works. Unistalling 1.0.1 and re-installing 1.0 gave me a working program. Of course this may be a local problem.

No the HLD-2 Power Battery Holder doesn’t include the hand strap, and it should.  But it is a wonderful accessory, well worth the $30 (USD) it costs, very nicely made, and makes carrying the camera much more secure.  It also smartly has it’s own place to affix the neck strap.
Ever since I first got a Minolta XK Motor back in 1978, I’ve been sold on the wrist or hand strap idea.

Yes, and the two battery types requires two different chargers….  stupid really.

I don’t see the different battery types and required chargers as being a problem. 
I mean, do you go to a shoot, and then decide you want to lighten the load?
Plus the power gained by the Power Battery Holder is tremendous. It basically eliminates the need to carry the smaller battery and charger.
Olympus gives us the ability to remove the big pack and holder and lessen the mass and size, I don’t see that with the other brand’s top of the line.
Edwin

Well the Canon 10D, for example, uses the same batteries in the body or the grip.  Having two battery types isn’t a mega issue, but it would have been nice if Olympus could have designed a single charger which takes both (the grip battery may be longer lasting but I guess it doesn’t go forever…if I’m on a two week shoot I’ll need the charger).  I can imagine a situation where I accidentally take the wrong one with me (ok, maybe I’m careless, but still…).  It is more noticeable when you consider they really thought about everything eslse. For example the interlocks on the camera are so well thought out that usability was obviously not a foreign concept to the design team.

And two chargers looks untidy on my desk

Well, David, you’re right about that, they probably should have done something different, considering how well thought out most things are.
But maybe they decided using 2 of the bodies batteries in the grip wasn’t a viable solution for them, and I’m fine with that, but yes, the two different batteries should use a common charger.
Or, they should release a “travel” charger, that can be used with either battery type, US or EU voltage, or 12 volt car current.
Hey, maybe we’re on to something.
Cause you are right about traveling, sometimes you would want the Power Battery Holder, and sometimes you wouldn’t, for instance a 2 week trip into the mountains with hiking at times.
Either way, I think the E-1 is the only DSLR weatherproofed, with removable power grip.
On another note, I just got my 50-200 Zuiko (UPS), gonna check it out!
Edwin

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