Future of Olympus

[Pitachu]

DSLR is already gone. Next of course will be either medium format or mirrorless (except for 1 or 2 brands / models for professionals to use).
The SLR concept does not appeal to end-users anymore. I know, all my travel kakis stopped using their SLRs, mirrorless, rangefinders, compacts and using their mobile phones. If you dont believe me, after covid, go on any tour (not those specially for photographers one) and see how many bring along a camera.

I do not thinik OMDS is dumb enough to come up with a mobile phone, where even Nokia and Motorola and Sony cannot compete anymore.

It is likely that OMDS comes up with something like the Zeiss ZX1 with a android OS and built in Lightroom, that can use the tons of MFT tiny lenses available compared the the Zeiss ZX1 fixed lenses. And since OMDS has tied up with Samsung, it is likely that it will incorporate Samsung AI for photos into the camera,
as Samsung and Apple has one of the best AI for photos currently.

Panasonic and Olympus is delaying their new model launch as they are waiting for the new sensor for MFT by Sony to be available (I think).
Panasonic will also be dumb to focus on their FF models as it is really not doing well, compared to its GH series using MFT.

 

[one eye jack]

It has already been reported about a year ago that camera sales dropped 90% from 121 million units to 15 million. No thanks to smartphone. Samsung's tie up with Olympus
can only mean good things in terms of better technology for smartphones.

The writings are on the wall that the current situation cannot be sustained by camera companies because in essence the industry did it to themselves by excessive competition said Hoya's ex ceo in the report. ( all competing for same group of consumers whether pro or amateur). Eventually there will be a shake up no doubt about it in my opinion also. Probably 3 or 4 companies perhaps specialising on pro or amateur consumers.
As for m43 which is a proven format there will be consumers who want small cameras as the competition is to blame for denigrating m43 just like the covid vacine which has now been vindicated of the efficacy of chinese vacine.

Olympus exit foreshadows a Japan camera sector shake-up

Smartphones, overzealous competition and coronavirus undercut proud industry

asia.nikkei.com

 

[ricohflex]

Opinion of only 1 person. Die hard fans of MFT are free to disagree.

Countdown 227 days to 1 Jan 2022. When JIP will decide if OM DS has made a profit. And if not .....

 

[Blu-By-U]

Wah like that ... but why no mass selling? I want to pick up a used mzd100-400

 

[JW73]

Anti- Olympus fans can also disagree.
Sorry for posting irrelavant stuff ..just have to reply to irrelevant post.

 

[Pitachu]

Ha Ha Ricohflex is leading us into an infinite loop.

It has already been disputed that OMDS has never mentioned that if it cannot made a profit by 1 Jan 2022,
it will get rid of Olympus. Same thing for Ricohflex ranting on country of Manufacture even though there were already very good replies. Dont want to repeat, just scroll if you are interested.

Come on, Ricohflex, post something new that you have not posted before.

Opinion of only 1 person. Die hard fans of MFT are free to disagree.

Countdown 227 days to 1 Jan 2022. When JIP will decide if OM DS has made a profit. And if not .....

 

[ricohflex]

GH5 Mk2 supposed to be announced on 25 May.
That's Panasonic.
Not Olympus.
But it is still MFT trying to stay alive.
Whatever, it seems no real innovation or breakthrough.
A rehash of something old with a few tweaks.
Then they got "new" model for you to buy.
Panasonic learned this trick from the old Canon DSLR and Nikon DSLR era.

 

[Pitachu]

For the first time, I agree with you. So far, from leaked info, the GH5 mk2 has only very minor updates compared to the GH5.

I am for the idea that all Manufacturers should be innovative and wow users with significant upgrades.
Minor upgrades do not wow me, just like them Olympus upgrade its EM1-Mk2 to Mk3.
It may appeal to some, but it is no big deal to me, even from an EM5 Mk3 , which has 90% of the features of the EM1 Mk2.

Come on manufacturers, Olympus, Panasonic, Nikon, look at what Sony or even Canon is doing.
Do a bold leap, you may be faced with problems like Canon with its R5, but at least it is a worthy upgrade!

GH5 Mk2 supposed to be announced on 25 May.
That's Panasonic.
Not Olympus.
But it is still MFT trying to stay alive.
Whatever, it seems no real innovation or breakthrough.
A rehash of something old with a few tweaks.
Then they got "new" model for you to buy.
Panasonic learned this trick from the old Canon DSLR and Nikon DSLR era.

 

[JW73]

M43 going to stick around for awhile. GH6, GH5ii and new m43 lens G lens 25-50mmf1.7 just announced. Google it.

 

[swifty]

Good day for Panasonic users, especially videographers as well as some nice FW updates for existing models. Great boost to the m43 community.
OMDS’s turn. 8-25mm f/4 rumoured to be the next release. The long macro is also a chance.

 

[Pitachu]

I have the Pana 8-18 F2.8-4.0 and found it a little more flexible than the soon to be released 8-25 F4.

The long macro is more exciting to me though

All in all, it does not look like M43 is going to be dead soon, as more and more products are being announced.

 

[Pitachu]

Sony has already announced a 47mp and a 35mp sensor for M43.
Today, it announced another 20mp High Speed sensor for M43 (probably using the same technology for its S series targeted for videographers.

Sony announced a new 20MP stacked BS1 Micro Four Thirds sensor. Is this for the future Olympus OMD camera? – 43 Rumors

www.43rumors.com

Now, Sony is not dumb. It will not develop all these sensors if there is no demand from the manufacturers.
Let's see what Olympus and Panasonic will do with these sensors

But it is clear that Sony, Olympus and Panasonic is not thinking that M43 will be dead in a short while.

 

[ricohflex]

Commercial decision.
MFT camera manufacturers have to calculate.
If they make MFT cameras with these new Sony sensors, how many will buy and at what price point.

Past a certain high price range for MFT, new consumers will consider whether to buy APS-C or full frame instead.
Or even so-called digital medium format like the Fuji.

Canon and Nikon make mirrorless cameras that are formidable rivals to MFT.
And both have just started to innovate in mirrorless full frame.

If Sony can develop new sensors for MFT, it only means they can do even better for APS-C and full frame.

I think in the long term critical success factors are
• sensor size
• size and high quality design of the lens mount

What about MFT selling points?
• Small and Light
As mobile phones improve, that may be taken away from MFT.
• Cheap
MFT no longer cheap

 

[swifty]

Commercial decisions work both ways. Sony Semi catalog sensors are already fully developed sensors that can be readily ordered with costs already incurred to Sony Semi. They’re not going to waste money and resources on development if they don’t see a buying market for the price they’re going to sell it at.
Although the m43 sized sensors are also common in industrial applications, the latest 20MP m43 sensor spotted has been designated for consumer digital cameras.
Furthermore it’s a stacked design, so far unavailable in APS-C form and only available in FF as a bespoked design for Sony Imaging.
A m43 ILC based on this stacked BSI sensor will have readout and speed advantages over any current APS-C and most current FF sensors.

 

[ricohflex]

If Panasonic and/or OMDS decides to deploy this new Sony sensor, it means a high base cost just for the sensor.
And they cannot order a few. So if they order a bulk purchase of say, 200,000 then they have to be careful whether they can translate that into camera sales.
Otherwise it is a big financial loss.

Both Panasonic and OMDS are at a cross roads.
Panasonic is gung ho on L mount full frame. Do they want to invest in this new MFT sensor?
OMDS is actually a patient in ICU hovering in between life and death. Does OMDS have the appetite to venture into this new MFT sensor.
More important question is - does OMDS have the financial muscle to make it happen? I think not.

If the idea is to make MFT appealing again, best not to make an expensive MFT body that costs, for example SGD$5,000.
I have already said that past a certain price range, NEW consumers will consider other formats and brands, besides MFT.
For those already stuck in the hole and whose sunk-in costs are very high (lots of expensive MFT lenses already bought), they may buy.

From today 31 May 2021, it is 215 days to guillotine time, when JIP will decide whether to shutter the whole operation and call it quits.
With Damocles Sword hanging over one's neck, OMDS should think 3 times before committing to this new expensive sensor.

 

[Blu-By-U]

More stuff that will extend the MFT line

 

[Pitachu]

Yes, they do need to do a bulk order. That is why manufacturers always put the latest sensor on their most expensive model
and after that, let is trickle down to lower end models with the left over stock of the sensors. That is how my EM5 mk3
inherited 95% of the features of the EM1 Mk2 at half the price!

Panasonic is NOT doing well at all for its Full Frame, until it can come up with a way to address its slow focusing.
And it actually addressed this issue on the G5 mk2 for M43 first! That will tell you where Panasonic is putting
its focus on, instead of Ricohflex keep ranting that Panasonic is giving up on M43 and focusing on Full Frame.

Yes, price of Camera bodies are much more price sensitive then lenses, as lenses have a much longer life before being
obsolete. Generally, most photographers who are not professionals, are quite hesitant to pay for a body more than
SGD 2000. That is why the EM5 mk3 sell like hotcakes (Olympus sold about 200 during a 4 hour event) but only received
a lukewarm response for its EM1 Mk3. And same for Sony A7 R3 and R4, as the price point is pretty high. Sony sell a lot
more of its lower end cameras!

PLUS> Please stop the fake news that JIP is making a decision whether to chop OMDS by end of this year.
That is your own speculation and has not been mentioned at all in all the press release by JIPS.

If Panasonic and/or OMDS decides to deploy this new Sony sensor, it means a high base cost just for the sensor.
And they cannot order a few. So if they order a bulk purchase of say, 200,000 then they have to be careful whether they can translate that into camera sales.
Otherwise it is a big financial loss.

Both Panasonic and OMDS are at a cross roads.
Panasonic is gung ho on L mount full frame. Do they want to invest in this new MFT sensor?
OMDS is actually a patient in ICU hovering in between life and death. Does OMDS have the appetite to venture into this new MFT sensor.
More important question is - does OMDS have the financial muscle to make it happen? I think not.

If the idea is to make MFT appealing again, best not to make an expensive MFT body that costs, for example SGD$5,000.
I have already said that past a certain price range, NEW consumers will consider other formats and brands, besides MFT.
For those already stuck in the hole and whose sunk-in costs are very high (lots of expensive MFT lenses already bought), they may buy.

From today 31 May 2021, it is 215 days to guillotine time, when JIP will decide whether to shutter the whole operation and call it quits.
With Damocles Sword hanging over one's neck, OMDS should think 3 times before committing to this new expensive sensor.

 

[swifty]

If Sony Semi doesn't think there's a market for this sensor, what point would they have to include it in their catalogue. It's taken up development time and money and will be taking up valuable fab time. As far as I know Sony Semi are operating close to or at capacity so it'd seem pretty unlikely Sony Semi will be manufacturing sensors for a non-existent market. Who's the likely buyer if not Panasonic and/or OMDS?
Also, why do you think a camera with this sensor should cost $5000? It certain could but it'd very likely not need to in order to return a margin. Again, we're talking about a catalogue sensor. They don't make these unless yields have improved to a certain extent to make it commercially viable as a mass market, non-bespoke product. We had EXMOR RS (Sony Semi speak for BSI stacked) in 1" variety for many years already. This is likely an extension of that because of improvements in yield for larger sizes. M43 is basically a doubling in sensor area compared to 1' sensors.
Whilst I still expect it to be a relatively expensive sensor so it'd certainly appear in a higher end camera first, as with all product lines they trickle down to lower priced products sooner or later.