China report: Canon and Nikon vs rest of the world.
I am in China now. This is a completely new world for me. The day I arrived in Beijing I went to some big photographic shopping center. I have seen 50-60 different shops selling Nikon and Canon gear. I havn’t found any Panasonic cameras here! Incredible 
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Olympus cameras are rare and mostly E-P1 cameras. This shows how strong Nikon and Canon brands are, you can see their advertising everywhere. The good news is that the E-P1 seems to sell very well here and maybe this can help Panasonic too….maybe!
P.S.: Interesting, few shops are already selling the new Sony A850
I am ready for a hole night traintrip to Hohhok. I have to take 100 clouds pictures inside the Gobi desert. I will use both E-P1 and Zenza Bronica for this job. Let’s see which camera can take better pictures 
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cheers,
Ale
radis2
4 years ago |Heh Heh, I wish you good luck with your trip (and China’s toilet LOL)
James
4 years ago |@radis: Don’t be ignorant.
Daren
4 years ago |As good as the EP-1 is, the tiny sensor will not compete in any meaningful way with a film area that’s more than 16x as large. Clouds can also be very difficult for a digital to tame, especially with the tiny sensor, the dynamic range and tendency to produce vivid colour fringing in areas of high contrast just cannot be tamed with small sensor cameras.
That doesn’t mean, however, that you cannot make beautiful photos with each, but a comparison between the two is pointless.
zzz
4 years ago |Daren, you are talking BS. You are wrong on so many levels.
elliephant
4 years ago |Ale,
I am currently in Beijing and desperate to buy an E-P1 as soon as humanly possible, but can’t locate one in stock anywhere. Where did you see them?! Is there an official Olympus dealer in BJ, or do you recommend Wukesong/Zhongguancun? Any and all help is appreciated!
admin
4 years ago |Hi Ellie!
Go here http://maps.google.com/maps?q=beijing&oe=utf-8&client=firefox-a&ie=UTF8&hl=en&ll=39.917735,116.285219&spn=0.019617,0.045447&z=15
You follow the 4th ring and shortly before the Fucheng Road cross you will see the Beijing Photographic city. But you can also go Zhonguancun! cheers
elliephant
4 years ago |Thank you, I thought I might get directed to Wukesong. But are you absolutely sure they have it at Photographic City? Trips to these markets are so tiring, I’d like to be sure before going. Thanks!
pdc
3 years ago |Daren – you are absolutely right. 225 sq.mm for 43, 864 for 35mm FF, 1452 for on Pentax 645D, 1773 on PhaseOne P65, 1977 for Kodak KAF39000 MF sensor, etc. As in film, the size of your real estate counts. BUT … who wants to pack the heavy gear?
Recently I have been shooting colourful sunrises and the moon phases with a mFT and Nikon 300/2.8 lens, and TC301, as well as the new Panasonic 100-300mm. The images are great for the sensor but “..the dynamic range and tendency to produce vivid colour fringing in areas of high contrast just cannot be tamed with small sensor cameras” rings so true, and in those situations I lust for at least a Nikon D3.
I was shooting both G1 and GH2, and can tell you that there is really no gain in sensor and processor performance at the lower ISOs.