Hi Marc, I did oversee this question
"I'm not sure what you mean by "NEW designs specifically for digital photography". "
I meant special design for issues that influence image quality more likely with sensors compared to film i.e. flare, angle of light hitting the sensor, vignetting etc.
The N lenses have been improved in this respect. It is not just a bigger lens mount. Nikon introduced the DX system to be able to deliver higher resolution long term and to have less of a vignetting problem like with the older lenses.
I do not know how other manufacturers are dealing with it. It is for sure, if they do not do anything about it, that they will neither talk about any potential problems. They will not hurt themselves by making this an issue in the public. Canon talks only about sensors, since theay ra egood at it. But they do not say anything about what is important in the whole photography chain
Olympus obviously talks a lot about the necessity of a totally new design, since this is the main selling point of its E-System. So we are not sure, whether we can trust all these arguments. But I have read tests, in which only the second generation of 8MP Oly-DSLRS were able to show the potential of the new E-System lenses.
On the other hand, Dr. Nasse of Carl Zeiss wrote me once for our German Contax forum, that the marketing hype about telecentric design might be a little too strong, since it is not always needed THAT much even with DSLRs and the lenses of Olympus are also not THAT much telecentric
Pentax has to show us, how their older lenses will work with the new generation of 10MP sensors. I assume that all Pentax lenses of a newer design (within the last 5 years) are made to be sure to deliver satisfying quliaty even with 10MP or 20MP sensors.
I mean lets be honest. Even Leica does not want to have now fullfrmae with their lenses and even with a crop factor of 1.33 and M lenses, They want to change in the camera the vigentting habits of Leica M lenses on this sensor in jpeg images.
That just makes me think...
We all know, that the producers only want to sell, which is a fair desire. But knowing this, we have to be aware, that an apple might not be an apple, even if the industry is telling us this every year with ever model.
I remember all the famous photo magazines, who wrote with the presentation of a Canon 300D and Nikon D70: "Finally professional quality...". Unfortunately, they wrote the exact same thing 2 years earlier and 2 years later, always with different modesl. Whether it was 3MP, 6MP, 10MP or soon 15 MP. And if fullframe will be with every producers available, nobody talks about APS Sensor anymore. Or if MF will be more affordable, nobody will doubt anymore, thata ther is still a diffference between small 24x35 sensors an MF sensors - eben in small prints. Do you understand what I mean?
I think you wrote somthing similar a year ago here at Contaxinfo.com. Something with "lemmings". All users spending each year thousands of dollars and believe every year, that this is necessary.
I think I went now way off-topic. So just my 2 cents..