Olympus quits camera business after 84 years

Post by lostapathy » Thu, Jun 25, 2020, 8:02 PM UTC

brendoelfrendo wrote: post #18

Someone1234 wrote: post #14

That's a legitimate shame for open standards. M43 has its proponents and critics, but either way it is rare to see a somewhat successful multi-vendor standard in photography that actually worked . The main problem is that the market itself has been shrinking, and there's just not enough room to have so much competition (Olympus, Panasonic, Sony, Fuji, Canon, and Nikon). M43 was successful, but it succeeded in an area…

This is actually news to me... I bought a M43 camera a couple years ago because I thought it was a standard with staying power and a healthy ecosystem of lenses and bodies from many manufacturers. Is Panasonic the only one still producing M43 gear? I thought Fuji did as well, unless they decided to ditch it, too. I'd be upset if the standard disappeared!

Post by sudosysgen » Thu, Jun 25, 2020, 8:03 PM UTC

mc32 wrote: post #19

akersten wrote: post #5

Sad to see them go - photography's such a great hobby and having competition in the space is healthy. There's a few brands out there still, but there is a noticable stigma in the professional community around equipment that isn't Canon. If you're not using L-glass, it feels like you get the same kind of judgement that Android users experience when they show up with green texts in iMessage. As a matter of principle, I…

The advantage of cannon and Sony is that they are conglomerates and have the resources to develop new tech in-house. With the transition to digital that burden is high for the independents so they’re always playing catch up. If I were buying today I’d likely buy Sony (or perhaps canon), I don’t see a future for the rest. That said I think Canon and Nikon had some kind of IP agreements and shared some technologies, or…

Post by sudosysgen » Thu, Jun 25, 2020, 8:05 PM UTC

sumoboy wrote: post #47

barbegal wrote: post #31

Photography is one of those areas where devices don't go obsolete very quickly. With a good lens from 50 years ago I can still take an excellent photo on a digital camera from 15 years ago. Sure you won't have all the bells and whistles of the latest cameras and you'll sacrifice a few stops of dynamic range but for the average hobby photographer that doesn't really matter. The only customers who will upgrade every fe…

Sony appears more like Apple supporting older bodies with firmware updates which is unfortunate for Canon and Nikon owners. The Canon R / RP are pretty much dead products after one year due to lack of upgrades, but pretty much the same attitude holds true for even there pro 1D bodies. I think few factor this in before buying since just don't know.

Post by [deleted] » Thu, Jun 25, 2020, 8:05 PM UTC

Paul_S wrote: post #40

Is Pentax next? Oh wait, that already happened. What a shame. Both Pentax and Olympus had unique features to offer. Cameras are not a commodity yet. I still hope Ricoh will do something, Pentax bodies haven't had a real next generation in a decade.

Post by lostapathy » Thu, Jun 25, 2020, 8:06 PM UTC

kaypro wrote: post #45

flyinglizard wrote: post #11

Oh no. This is a huge blow to the MFT form factor (which is supported mostly by Olympus and Panasonic), which I personally love.

Agreed though I think this could go either way. Either Panasonic steps up their line up and becomes the sole M43 manufacturer or it fizzles out. I really think the M43 ecosystem is severely underrated in a world where cameras are pitched solely on specs. The body to lens ratio is so great on the M43 lineup and I absolutely love my GX85 for just that reason. For most consumers or even prosumers who don't make a living…