Olympus quits camera business after 84 years • Hacker News Board

Re: Olympus quits camera business after 84 years

#181

Post by killface » Thu, Jun 25, 2020, 9:48 PM UTC

Awww... so sad to see this. I know phones have basically eaten everybody's lunch except serious photographers.

It's the march of progress, but their mirrorless cameras were solid. I have a couple Fuji X-series bodies myself, and I wouldn't be surprised if they announce something similar any time soon. Amazing body, amazing glass, amazing software, amazing photos... but at the end of the day, the incremental increase in quality and/or flexibility doesn't make up for the form factor. And now that camera software is so damn good, and we're utilizing multiple lenses with multiple optical ranges to make a composite photograph...

snapshots are all that 99% of people ever needed, but I really thought the mirrorless cameras would eventually supplant dslr.

Re: Olympus quits camera business after 84 years

#182

Post by slantyyz » Thu, Jun 25, 2020, 9:49 PM UTC

cannam wrote: post #99

eropple wrote: post #78

Earlier quoted context omitted.

They're definitely cheap, but so are the Panasonics, like the G7. What I'm saying is that I don't know what Olympus brings to the table given that they're more photo-forward, but not really much better than the Panasonic cameras, and much worse for video. That 25mm Panasonic lens is a boss, though. I have two, along with the shorty 20mm Panasonic (which is not as good; it doesn't do AF-C, wtf?) and the 42.5mm Panason…

What Olympus brought was in-body image stabilisation. Panasonics never had it (maybe they do now? I haven't been paying attention lately) and it makes all the difference if your thing is photography with just any lens that will fit.

> What Olympus brought was in-body image stabilisation.

I think Olympus and Sony did some cross-licensing deal on their patents, which I believe resulted in Sony's IBIS gaining the 5-axis stuff.

I had a Sony DSLR back in the Alpha days, and the IBIS they had back then was inferior to OIS.

Re: Olympus quits camera business after 84 years

#183

Post by csharptwdec19 » Thu, Jun 25, 2020, 9:50 PM UTC

chrisseaton wrote: post #151

renewiltord wrote: post #139

Earlier quoted context omitted.

They are not. An explanation here https://photo.stackexchange.com/questions/57625/can-i-use-ca... Short version: optical physics, proprietary link for autofocus, capability differences

This could be like mortar tubes - the country with the biggest tube can more-or-less fire anyone’s mortar rounds but you can't fire theirs.

Funny you mention that...

Really aside from Nikon, most AF protocols are fairly well understood and can be adapted to other lenses.

(in the case of Nikon, sometimes they go out of their way to break others using their systems/protocols without a license...)

But you can use larger mounts on a smaller mount (with care!) May not need a bigger tube, but perhaps a longer or shorter one.

Re: Olympus quits camera business after 84 years

#184

Post by basch » Thu, Jun 25, 2020, 9:52 PM UTC

anta40 wrote: post #108

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…

> There's a few brands out there still, but there is a noticable stigma in the professional community around equipment that isn't Canon Weird. How do arrive at that conclusion? Typically pros pick Nikon or Canon FF DSLRs. It's very common at least among photojournalists & wedding photographers. Now mirrorless is the hot stuff. Sony/Fuji/Olympus started earlier, and after a few year, Nikon & Canon decided to join to c…

>I still pick Nikon as my primary system, simply because the lens compatibility: old lens from the 60's/70's work fine on their FF bodies

It's worth noting that Sony's cameras are the descendants of Minolta, and the same applies. Any A-Mount (born 1985) lens should work, with functioning autofocus.

Re: Olympus quits camera business after 84 years

#185

Post by ChuckMcM » Thu, Jun 25, 2020, 9:54 PM UTC

Sad, I agree with the article though that they made some rather curious choices that didn't help their prospects.

I still have a Camedia C3030 Zoom for some reason with all the doo-dads (extra flash extension, XM memory cards) it had an awesome F2.8 lens and could take very nice pictures @ 3MP. I replaced it with an C5050 Zoom that had an F1.8 lens but gave that one away when I replaced it with a Canon SD550 (which for some reason I also still have :-)).

I joked on Twitter that the "big feature reveal" for Canon's 2020 DSLR would be that you could make phone calls with it. So much of the camera market was consumed by phone cameras.

While it has done wonders for bringing the price of sensors down, the really important bit of the camera, and the part where Olympus had an edge, are the lenses.

I hope whomever buys the camera unit can continue the tradition with some better choices.

Re: Olympus quits camera business after 84 years

#186

Post by TheTruestKyle » Thu, Jun 25, 2020, 9:58 PM UTC

joshocar wrote: post #116

noncoml wrote: post #32

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> 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. Especially for Cameras and Lenses that's solely on user's mind. Your photos speak for themselves. You absolutely don't need Canon or L glass. BTW, maybe you are not up t…

This is probably going to change when the R5 comes out in July. If the rumors and specs are accurate it's going to be a beast of a camera.

This. The R5, R6. etc. will change the game the same way the Canon 5DmkII did 10 years ago. It is going to be interesting.

Re: Olympus quits camera business after 84 years

#187

Post by Paul_S » Thu, Jun 25, 2020, 9:59 PM UTC

BeetleB wrote: post #158

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.

I fully expect Ricoh to drop the Pentax line. Their APS-C cameras are fantastic . Their full frame camera is the best value for the money - almost half the price of the competition with comparable quality. Pentax has unique features for the enthusiasts. But ... the ecosystem is dying. Sigma stopped making Pentax lenses. At this point I don't think anyone makes lenses for Pentax other than Pentax, and Pentax lenses ar…

Ha, ha. Same here, after I retired from photography I sold my Nikon gear (I didn't own most of it anyway) and went for an Olympus, mostly for size (no mirrorles back then). Then I had all my gear stolen and seeing that Olympus was slow at developing pro bodies it promised I went for Pentax. At some point I will probably arrive full circle back at Nikon after Pentax gives up.

Pentax glass is really nice, I wasn't bothered about sigma. The more annoying thing is flash support always sucks for Pentax.

Re: Olympus quits camera business after 84 years

#188

Post by csharptwdec19 » Thu, Jun 25, 2020, 10:00 PM UTC

caconym_ wrote: post #41

PascLeRasc wrote: post #25

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I just do analog, but isn't mirrorless the trend right now? All my friends who got into digital photography are using Fuji/Sony/Olympus setups now. Canon/Nikon took years to produce competition there and I really still haven't heard much about them, they seemed pretty underwhelming.

I love my Fuji gear and I think I get great results with it, but I'm an amateur and while some of it is fantastic by any measure (e.g. the 50-140mm f2.8), I think the performance of the bodies falls short of the higher-end Nikon/Canon/Sony gear, and there seems to be less diversity in high-end lenses with optical performance comparable to the one I mentioned. On the other hand, for "prosumers" who have high standards…

> I think it's great because you don't end up buying bodies that are compromised in stupid arbitrary ways just to fit neatly into their appointed place in the product lineup.

That's how all the Mirrorless manufacturers managed to survive early on IMO.

In the case of Sony, basically throwing you everything the hardware COULD do.

In the case of Panasonic, I think of the GX7 and how it didn't skimp on buttons (Something Sony is still guilty of.)

Re: Olympus quits camera business after 84 years

#189

Post by _ph_ » Thu, Jun 25, 2020, 10:00 PM UTC

stx wrote: post #37

I had thought about switching to an Olympus micro from my Canon to save in size/weight. I am not a professional. Glad I didn't now.

The Olympus camera business is not being shut down, only split into a separate company. So you still can get Olympus mFT gear and I can quite recommend it, it is wonderful, especially if you want to limit the amount of stuff to carry. An OMD E-M5 Mk3 with a 25/1.8 or the new 12-45 zoom is extremely capable but leightweight and compact at the same time.

Re: Olympus quits camera business after 84 years

#190

Post by _ph_ » Thu, Jun 25, 2020, 10:03 PM UTC

eropple wrote: post #38

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…

At this point M43 is, in my neck of the woods, basically a video format anyway. I do on-site videography (my schtick being "we can run a four-camera live show from anywhere I've got Ethernet and power") and all my cameras are M43 because they hit a great spot on the price/quality curve. (Sony's APS-C cameras are very respectable too, but the glass is pricey.) Never used an Olympus, never understood the point of one.…

Never used an Olympus, never understood the point of one.

I see a connection there :). The Olympus cameras are extremely capable, yet small in size. An E-M10 or E-M5 have a tiny body and there are extremely compact lenses to match them. Yet, despite the smaller sensor (compared to 35mm) you don't sacrifice much of image quality (or none at all for many tasks) due to the excellent lenses.