Notwithstanding the limitations of sensor size, which I for one will not try to deny (even Olympus cannot change the laws of physics), Olympus does seem to have succeeded in producing a range of cameras (the E1 being the first) which reproduce colours and tonal gradations better than most of their competitors, regardless of price or specification.

The E1 has always been renowned for the sheer quality of it’s output, and even with the passage of time and increases in pixel count, that overall ‘photographic quality’ has rarely been surpassed IMVHO.

For those reasons I am more than happy to use my E1 for as long as it keeps going - which I expect will be a very long time. On the odd ocasions that I really need 'better' quality, or just feel like a change, I use medium format film.

IMHO digital still has quite a long way to go before it can better medium format Velvia.