Olympus to sell off camera division


This Olympus marketing guy says - E-M1X, but it is selling pretty well.

What does pretty well means? Funny, he did not disclose sales figures at all, he should substantiate it at least in their strongest region, like Japan.


500 units worldwide?

Has more than 10 person in Singapore bought it?

Olympus always has good lenses, the issue is not with their lenses at all.

Its the sensor.

To simplify -

Olympus : Average Sensor + Great lenses = Above Average images

Look at Sony : Great Sensor + ( Above Average lenses to Great lenses ) = Great Images

Thankfully Olympus seems to have loyal users, but they will switch?

Has anyone here switch from Olympus to other makers and regret it?
 

Olympus : Average Sensor + Great lenses = Above Average images
Look at Sony : Great Sensor + ( Above Average lenses to Great lenses ) = Great Images
Thankfully Olympus seems to have loyal users, but they will switch?
Has anyone here switch from Olympus to other makers and regret it?
I switched from Canon to M43 (Panasonic first) then to Olympus and never regret it.

Honestly, I do not think that by using a Sony A7 Mk4 with an Average lens will make
my images from Average to Great.

I also personally know a wedding photographer using Olympus and some of his
shots sent to competition actually won awards.

Photographer skills matter much more than camera gear.

Another point. Due to the much larger sensor size, I honestly believe
a FF image is of a higher quality, but I don't think the difference
is as large as between "Great" and "Average"
Maybe 5-10% difference I think (from my experience with a Canon 5D with L-Lenses

There are several comparisons on the internet between FF and MFT.
The following is only one of them
 

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Some of the old Zuiko film era lenses (Made in Japan) are good.
For example 100mm F2 Zuiko, 21mm F2 Zuiko.

Not all Olympus lenses for digital are good. At least one of their cheap kit lenses made for digital cameras is bad.
Not much confidence if Olympus shifts all production to Vietnam.
Consumer may not feel good to pay top dollar and get a lens and body made in Vietnam.
Made in Japan and Made in Germany have greater esteem.

Sony makes sensors and sells them to other camera manufacturers.
Naturally Sony wants to reserve the best sensors for itself.
Which is Sony shortchanging its sensor customers - who are also its competitors.
For example, Nikon, Panasonic, Olympus, Fuji, Pentax, Phase One, Hasselblad, etc
Once they depend on Sony for sensors, they are always at least one step behind.

Can these companies develop their own in-house sensor manufacturing?
They cannot.
They do not have the industrial might, financial clout, manufacturing scale and scientific R&D to do so - and survive commercially.

CMOSIS is a renowned European specialist for advanced CMOS image sensors.
They make sensors for latest Leica camera models.

Some models of Canon used Sony sensors in the past.
Now Canon claims to make its own sensors for some of its camera models.
 

You may be getting your wish for the company to wind up. All companies are really hit by this virus. With nobody going on holidays and major sports event like the Olympics being pushed back and I think the World cup also and etc, The need for cameras would be even less. Also Smart phones are coming out with even longer zooms. Well lets see how many will still be around in 2030. And how many will disappear before that and when.
 

Forecasting the demise of a company is not the same as wishing for the demise of a company.

Forecasting that the circuit breaker will be extended again is not the same as wishing the circuit breaker will be extended again!
 

Just checked the Olympus and Sony results which they published. Olympus as a company will not wind up. Its medical/endoscopy business had high revenue and its China market for medical products is growing fast. The Imaging division has continued to lose money. But the medical side of Olympus business is doing so well, it may keep the manufacture of Micro 4/3 cameras and lenses as a money losing hobby.
Sony is making a lot of money from Imaging & Sensing solutions. But their electronic appliances products (TV, Audio & Video, Still & Video Cameras, Mobile Communications) lost sales revenue compared to last year.
 

Olympus has withdrawn from the South Korean camera market.
Portends worse things to come
 

Olympus has withdrawn from the South Korean camera market.
Portends worse things to come

Let's put things in context, taking a part of information is misleading. If people want to think Olympus is shutting down that's their choice. It also discounts the business culture of the japanese and their national ethos. Which also pertains to the claim Sony keeps it's best sensors for it's own products. There is such a thing as econmic eco system, I'm sure we are familiar with the telcos here, who owns them? Hint..left hand pocket right hand pocket.

Why Olympus pulled out of Korea but in actuality not as sensationalised by camera websites but the reason is there is an economic spat between the two countries over their world war2 history. Comfort women compensation which Japan claimed was settled in an earlier agreement where Korea would not seek any further claims coming to a head where the famous comfort girl statue was placed in front of the japanese embassy (not sure in korea or japan).

Japan restricted semiconductor chemicals export to korea knowing it would hurt semicon giant samsung and hynix. Korea in turn retaliated similarly which japanese companies needed. Korea being the agrieved party because world war2 history is still sensitive like china started to boycott japanese consumer products which you guessed it cameras being one if them.

Olympus being a smaller camera company made a business decision
but also stated that it will still maintan it's camera service facility to march of 2026.That's a good 5 yrs. ahead. It's just like the vietnam war bitter enemies America is welcomed with open arms to do business. Let's not be negative, let olympus tackle their problems we only stand to benefit from competition as consumers.

 

That's exceedingly long-winded.
The reason for winding up was poor sales, not sustainable
 

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The last hope of Olympus : Em1-Mkiii - Most reviewers in the last 3 months gives it TOP MARKS and THE PERFECT TRAVEL CAMERA

Are these reviewers paid? Who travels nowadays?

Are Olympus going to CIRCUIT BREAK from Singapore soon?

Can they sell 100 units of EM1 mk iii here in Singapore this year?
 

The last hope of Olympus : Em1-Mkiii - Most reviewers in the last 3 months gives it TOP MARKS and THE PERFECT TRAVEL CAMERA

Are these reviewers paid? Who travels nowadays?
>> Like all products, some reviewers are paid I am sure, but most of them will declare their interests so that their review will sound more neutral and appealing.

Are Olympus going to CIRCUIT BREAK from Singapore soon?
>>Nah....I think it still has a reasonable following in Singapore

Can they sell 100 units of EM1 mk iii here in Singapore this year?
Maybe not, I think their main bread and butter are still the EM5 Mk3
for serious amateurs (I see a lot more users than EM1 MKiii).

I am not saying the EM1 Mk3 is bad or expensive, just that
I think it is better to spend the extra money on lenses
than on a camera body, unless I have a use of those features.

Otherwise, for my usage, the smaller and lighter the camera
body the better (provided it has all the features I want).
 

Good review websites and bad review websites are Mental Silos. If you are already pres-disposed either way, you visit the relevant website to reinforce your existing opinion. Some have remarked the Mk3 has little difference over Mk2. And Mk3 is a total failure when comparing Video features with rival brands' latest models. Olympus the parent company made a lot of money selling medical endoscope products. It can afford to keep camera division as a money losing hobby.
For those already heavily invested in Olympus M43 equipment, their situation is understandable.
In or after 2020, the road for expensive ILC cameras with small sensors has come an end. It is over. The fat lady has sung.
Competitors with mirrorless ILC full frame models have much bigger sensor and many new features.
New buyers who are not yet heavily invested in any system, will probably not even want to look at Olympus M43.
It is true there are websites paid to say good things about a brand.
 

I agree with you.
It is over for m43.
Finished.
 

Over the years, all of us has witness a lot of the things we buy have to be written off in 3 years time or less, eg. Expensive Gaming Laptops, Audiophile CD Players, Mobile Phones, Car Hifi Systems, all costing between $5,000 to $20,000.

Even though a Camera system logically should last longer, we should be prepared that they still can go obsolete. It is a painful experience having to change systems (anyway, I have converted from Nikon before, even though Nikon is still around). But when M43 one day eventually dies, we will just switch to the next most convenient system.

My buying decision is, the price I am willing to pay for 3 years of usage. , is it worth it?
If it is worth it, just get the system you like most and enjoy for another 3 years.
 

That is a good concept. In some cases, technology changes and users stop using the item. Like operating systems Windows XP, then Vista, then Windows7, Windows 8, now Windows 10.
So even if the thing still works, you would drop it and move on after a few years.
Most things eventually break down after long use due to fair wear and tear. Some break down even if you have never used them but kept for years.
I guess that makes me respect those few items that seem to go on with a long life. For example my set of Zwilling kitchen knives. Or my cheap Zebra brand stainless steel 3 stack tiffin carriers (useful to packet food during Circuit Breaker). Or my cheap $90 Seiko quartz watch with analog dial face (with bty change every year).
For film cameras I still respect the Canon F1-N, Nikon F2, Nikon FM2-N, Pentax LX, Rollei 35S (Made in Singapore), Fuji GA645, Hasselblad 503CX, Hasselblad 903 SWC and Olympus OM1-N MD. They were classics. I respect their designers.
 

Breaking news announced today on CNA TV. Olympus to sell its Camera Imaging Division to Japan Industrial Partners. The timing is about end 2020.
tommyk and I have been telling you. But we seem to have hit a wall of bitter resentment by a minority of users, some of whom may be deeply invested in Olympus Micro4/3rd. Nothing personal, though. We were just pointing out a matter of common sense. Although Olympus is making a lot of money from medical products, apparently their investors and share holders are not happy to continue to throw tons of money into a bottomless pit and keep losing money year after year after year. Actually I do own some Olympus film and digital cameras, but there is not need to list details of item ownership, as though it is a badge of honour or something to boast about or vindication of one's standing to talk about the topic. The truth is the truth. In an era where big size full frame sensors have become viable to make at a reasonable production price, very small sensors in a range of Expensive Digital ILC do not make any sense to NEW buyers. When they plan to build a system over the years into the future.
 

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Sad to see Olympus go down so quickly.
I am sure the dealers will dump all the camera bodies they are holding with big discounts.

BYE BYE Olym-BUST

For those who wants to sell the camera bodies, better do it FAST
 

Either we see a stronger Olymous or we end up with discontinued stuff. But MFT may still live on in Panny, Blackmagic and a few of the other partners.