pictor
All-Pro
Ray, you are right that the hype should not be the reason not to buy the camera. But it is the hype, because of which I thought the matter over more thoroughly than I maybe would have done otherwise. But the problem with just one focal length is still there. I would be very happy with a combination of two focal lengths like 20mm and 50mm or 28mm and 85mm or even 50mm and 135mm. The focal length 35mm is a good compromise for many people, but if I have only my E-P1 with the 17mm with me, most times the lens is either not wide enough or I crop.
But there are two further reasons. Look at the aperture ring. It allows only full stops. The dial for shutter times allows only full stops, too, which is the expected behavior. If one wants to expose manually, one has to compensate this design error by changing the ISO, unless the ISO can only be set to full stops, too. Another problem is, that I use my left eye for framing and the position of the viewfinder is perfect for right eyed photographers, but bad for people like me.
However, this camera serves several modern photographic myths and that may be the reason for appealing attraction to so many (including me). This camera awakens associations with the work of photographers like Henri Cartier-Bresson. Some people do their best to implant the thought, that photographing with this type of camera makes you a street photographer, in as many heads as possible (they say, that a rangefinder camera makes one invisible). But this is a myth. I bet, that dressing and behaving like a tourist and using a typical tourist's camera makes you much more stealthy (just to mention one possible technique).
BTW, André Kertész used a camera by Olympus with zoom lenses.
But there are two further reasons. Look at the aperture ring. It allows only full stops. The dial for shutter times allows only full stops, too, which is the expected behavior. If one wants to expose manually, one has to compensate this design error by changing the ISO, unless the ISO can only be set to full stops, too. Another problem is, that I use my left eye for framing and the position of the viewfinder is perfect for right eyed photographers, but bad for people like me.
However, this camera serves several modern photographic myths and that may be the reason for appealing attraction to so many (including me). This camera awakens associations with the work of photographers like Henri Cartier-Bresson. Some people do their best to implant the thought, that photographing with this type of camera makes you a street photographer, in as many heads as possible (they say, that a rangefinder camera makes one invisible). But this is a myth. I bet, that dressing and behaving like a tourist and using a typical tourist's camera makes you much more stealthy (just to mention one possible technique).
BTW, André Kertész used a camera by Olympus with zoom lenses.