We wanted to respond to the demands of professional photographers
The first consumer-oriented digital camera sold by OLYMPUS was the C-800L, launched in 1996. Giving image quality top consideration, the camera incorporated an 800,000-pixel CCD, the highest number of pixels in the world at the time. The C-800L was followed a year later by the C-1400L (1997), and then in 1999 by the C-2500L.
"Meanwhile, however," relates Yasuo Asakura, assistant manager of the Image System Company's Imaging Development Group, "we felt that we needed to offer a highly perfected digital camera that took professional users into account." This feeling led to the development of the E-10 and E-100RS in 2000. Although the lenses were fixed, the cameras were the first step toward a complete digital SLR camera that could satisfy professional photographers.
Even so, however, a slew of other demands made their way back to the developers. Some people wanted a lens with an angle of view ranging from ultra-wide to ultra-high power telephoto, while others wanted a highly mobile camera with faster image processing. Asakura tells us emphatically that the only answer to these demands was the present E-1 interchangeable-lens SLR. He led overall system development, captaining the development team that would produce the camera he knew his users were demanding.
Reviving the ZUIKO brand
OLYMPUS has a film camera that uses what is called an SLR OM system. Combining the specs demanded by the professionals with a compact package, this camera is loved not only by professional photographers, but also by many advanced photographers who want a camera that is a cut above, or simply want to take better pictures. When the halt of production of the OM system was announced in 2002, a production-ready E-1 was already seen as a sure thing.
At the same time, the development of lenses specifically for digital cameras was progressing, and the lenses were becoming more powerful. Thus, the developers opted for a strategy of branding the new lens ZUIKO DIGITAL.
| Note: ZUIKO is the name of the lens used on the Semi-OLYMPUS I, the first camera sold by the Takachiho corporation (OLYMPUS' predecessor) in 1936. The name was taken from two of the characters used to write "Mizuho Optical Research Laboratory," where the lens was created, and for its close association with the company name Takachiho and trademark OLYMPUS, with the goal of creating an auspicious name. |
So why "ZUIKO" now? Project leader Asakura explains it like this:
"It is an expression of OLYMPUS' commitment. OLYMPUS has historically used the ZUIKO brand for its high-end lenses. We named it ZUIKO DIGITAL out of our desire to create the best lens possible by going digital. It's like taking a lesson from the past. ZUIKO is the pride of all OLYMPUS employees, development and sales included. We can't allow that feeling to die out."
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Yasuo Asakura
Imaging System Group
¨Director, Product Development
and Manager, R&D-2 Department, R&D Division¨
OLYMPUS CORPORATION
Involved in camera development from the OM-4 film SLR to the E-1 digital SLR. First encounter with an OLYMPUS product: ¨The microscope I used in my elementary school science class.¨ |
