[Kevin Raber Silver Member Posts: 1289]

New Article Announcements & Discussions

on: June 25, 2020 at 10:44 am

The rumors have come true.  Olympus announces its intent to sell the photography division.  You can read the article HERE.

Kevin Raber
Owner and Publisher of photoPXL

[Steve Sanacore Participant Posts: 5]

Re: Olympus Says Goodbye

Reply #1 on: June 25, 2020 at 11:28 am

Very sad news. A good friend of mine worked with them very successfully for years and I admired their small high quality cameras and lenses. Although similar, Panasonic’s just never interested me. I’m just not sure there was enough of a market for them. Probably too expensive for entry level amateurs and that small sensor made it a hard sell for pro’s. Personally I wanted to switch to them many times for my personal travel work, but my move to Sony Alpha was a better compromise. Maybe others felt the same? I think they were such a better option for the masses of soccer moms and tourists, but for some reason Canon and their inexpensive APS-C kit cameras, just has that market locked up.

I wonder what the new owners will do with it?

Traveling and photographing for work and play for more than 30 years.

[Mark D Segal Silver Member Posts: 935]

Re: Olympus Says Goodbye

Reply #2 on: June 25, 2020 at 3:24 pm

I think we need to face the fact, quite unsentimentally, that there are many more cameras than camera buyers – i.e. the market is saturated; that was the case before COVID-19 and with the pandemic dampening discretionary spending, “adjustment’ of the industry is being accelerated.

Mark D Segal Author: "Scanning Workflows with SilverFast 8, SilverFast HDR, Adobe Photoshop Lightroom and Adobe Photoshop". Please check the PhotoPXL Store for availability.

[Jim Kasson Silver Member Posts: 77]

Re: Olympus Says Goodbye

Reply #3 on: June 25, 2020 at 6:52 pm

Will Olympus continue to make microscopes?

[Hugh Sakols Silver Member Posts: 78]

Re: Olympus Says Goodbye

Reply #4 on: June 26, 2020 at 9:59 am

This is such sad news.  My camera kits include a couple of Olympus bodies and a Nikon Z7.  By using the 1.8 primes, one has a very nice package that is perfect for extended backpacking trips.  In fact for any traveling, I grab the Olympus.  Now if Nikon could just make some compact 2.8 primes.  I’m curious about what will happen to the 4/3rds format.

 

[Christopher Sanderson]

Re: Olympus Says Goodbye

Reply #5 on: June 26, 2020 at 11:48 am

Hugh Sakols wrote:

This is such sad news…..I’m curious about what will happen to the 4/3rds format.

Yes, it’s such a shame that such a well-developed, well designed and mature system is now under the sword of Damocles. One can only hope that the new owners can find a way to make the system profitable before it dies. One suspects that will be a very hard task. For a glimpse to the cloudy future of MFT, I would look at the actions of Panasonic. The recent introduction of the G100 aimed squarely at vloggers is an optimistic (and highly pragmatic) note* but further camera and lens developments will tell the story of MFT. The truth is that the phone camera has sucked most of the oxygen out of the camera market.

* For me, the G100 will make a fine B camera to my trusty GH5

CORRECTION. On closer inspection of the specs, it appears the G100 is rather too ‘dumbed down’ for me due to  a 10 minute recording limit in 4K, no audio monitoring and strangely, a serious crop factor in 4K wide-angle use.

• This reply was modified 3 years, 9 months ago by Christopher Sanderson.

[Mark D Segal]

Re: Olympus Says Goodbye

Reply #6 on: June 26, 2020 at 12:06 pm

Christopher Sanderson wrote:

………… The truth is that the phone camera has sucked most of the oxygen out of the camera market.

I agree – I think that is a good part of what’s happening to camera sales – plus the plethora of over-supply in face of this factor. The technological revolution of the iPhone camera has probably been under-estimated in respect of its speed, quality and market impact, and by the way, probably in good part responsible for the less than stellar performance of the print market.

Mark D Segal Author: "Scanning Workflows with SilverFast 8, SilverFast HDR, Adobe Photoshop Lightroom and Adobe Photoshop". Please check the PhotoPXL Store for availability.

• This reply was modified 3 years, 9 months ago by Mark D Segal.

[Steve Sanacore Participant Posts: 5]

Re: Olympus Says Goodbye

Reply #7 on: June 26, 2020 at 1:07 pm

I agree. The  high quality cameras in iPhones and other phones started producing better shots than most amateurs got with their Canon or Nikon kit cameras. It not only gave them a better alternative to a compact camera, I think it also took away the lure or magic of being a decent photographer. Suddenly it was not such a big deal to get a beautiful shot. It’s also the camera you have with you the most. When all you do is look at photos on a small screen, or a TV, the latest iPhone that I use is amazing, (as long as you don’t want to print it bigger than 8×10).

I’m not sure how other smaller brands are going to survive, like Nikon, Pentax or Hasselblad?  Do any of those turn much of a profit?

Traveling and photographing for work and play for more than 30 years.

[Mark D Segal Silver Member Posts: 935]

Re: Olympus Says Goodbye

Reply #8 on: June 26, 2020 at 1:25 pm

Based on information I could find, Canon, Nikon and Sony accounted for about 88% of world digital camera sales in 2017, the remainder sharing the other 12%. For the CIPA companies (Olympus, Casio, Canon, Kodak, Sanyo Electric, Sigma, Seiko Epson, Sony, Tomy, Nikon, Panasonic, Fuji Film, Hoya and Ricoh), between 2012 and 2019 sales volume of DSLRs has plummeted, so it is going to be survival of the fittest.

Mark D Segal Author: "Scanning Workflows with SilverFast 8, SilverFast HDR, Adobe Photoshop Lightroom and Adobe Photoshop". Please check the PhotoPXL Store for availability.

[Oliver Ritter-Wolff Silver Member Posts: 196]

Re: Olympus Says Goodbye

Reply #9 on: June 27, 2020 at 2:10 am

For many years, I have enjoyed photographing with the light and compact mFT system from Olympus but also Panasonic and have especially appreciated the quality of the lenses.

 

But now Olympus is leaving its customers in the lurch for the third time.  First in the 90s, when the Olympus OM SLR System was buried without a sound.

 

Then after the turn of the millennium came Olympus FT, which was introduced with great announcements and expectations.  I had also invested heavily in this system, but then I dropped out because many expectations were disappointed.  Fortunately, as it soon turned out, because Olympus sacrificed FT for mFT.

 

And now the Olympus exit as co-founder of the mFT format.

 

The way things are currently going in the market, one can only be relatively sure that Sony and Canon will survive this time.  Perhaps Fuji and Nikon will also survive, alongside niche manufacturers such as Leica and PhaseOne.

 

Regarding Panasonic there are also many question marks.  One doesn’t have your impression that fullframe is running very well there and whether you will continue alone with mFT?

 

What happens with Pentax?

 

In the course of the year I will also think about whether it would be better to go to a safe haven and use Canon or Sony.

Best regard

Oliver

http://www.riwodot.de

https://www.riwodot.de

https://vero.co/riwodot

https://www.instagram.com/riwodot/

[Tommy Weir Participant Posts: 27]

Re: Olympus Says Goodbye

Reply #10 on: June 27, 2020 at 8:27 am

I was sad to hear this.   My first camera was an Olympus OM-10.   My son’s first one as a student was an Olympus EM-10, got him started in the business, he made money with it.  The lenses were always great and the handling lovely.

[Mark D Segal Silver Member Posts: 935]

Re: Olympus Says Goodbye

Reply #11 on: June 27, 2020 at 9:45 am

Oliver Ritter-Wolff wrote:

………..

The way things are currently going in the market, one can only be relatively sure that Sony and Canon will survive this time. Perhaps Fuji and Nikon will also survive, alongside niche manufacturers such as Leica and PhaseOne.

What happens with Pentax?
……………………
Oliver

http://www.riwodot.de

Hi Oliver – often for a manufacturer it isn’t a question of whether they stay or leave, but rather what adjusting they do in light of projected market conditions. Canon, Sony and Nikon are most likely to remain the big three players in this market, but they could all well decide to rationalize their product lines – Canon in particular. As for Leica and Phase One. Every time one thinks there are good reasons for Leica to fold-up it doesn’t, and I don’t think it will. It keeps re-inventing itself and it has a surprisingly resilient fan base. Phase One is very multi-dimensional company, highly specialized in areas where they’ve technologically moved themselves into areas that pay well – not limited to the digital cameras and backs many of us are familiar with; Capture One is also a big item for them. My expectation based on performance to date – also one of those companies that will be in it for the long-haul. The air is thin in that niche.

Mark D Segal Author: "Scanning Workflows with SilverFast 8, SilverFast HDR, Adobe Photoshop Lightroom and Adobe Photoshop". Please check the PhotoPXL Store for availability.

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