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Olympus quits camera business after 84 years

bbc.com

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Re: Olympus quits camera business after 84 years

#271

Post by bitL »

possibleworlds wrote: post #215
ISL wrote: post #71

Earlier quoted context omitted.

To me, the big monoculture risk is Sony's image-sensor fab. As I understand it, Sony, Fuji, Nikon and many others all rely upon the output of one company's manufacturing process. There's a good reason for it -- they appear to make the very best sensors (edit: in terms of dynamic range and noise) in the commercial-camera market. Canon makes their own sensors, which are good in absolute but not relative terms, which ap…

Agreed. There's also the Fujifilm X-Trans sensors which try to recapture some of the magic of film. However I really wish more people knew about Sigma and their Foveon sensors[1]. The fact is that there is a completely different technology on the market which produces very different – and arguably far superior – image quality and colour reproduction compared to 99% of digital cameras on the market. The Sigma system c…

Unfortunately, real Foveon is a thing of the past, Sigma switched to a Bayer sensor in their latest "fp" camera and their last Foveon-based Quattro had 3 layers but a 4:2:2 pixel mosaic, making it no longer a "true Foveon". I owned SD1 Merrill and it was the sharpest camera I've ever used, but there is nothing comparable on the market these days.

Re: Olympus quits camera business after 84 years

#272

Post by vparikh »

JKCalhoun wrote: post #265
vparikh wrote: post #262

I have been a long time M43 user since they released the very first OMD-EM5. And the OMD line has been the best camera for the everyday user - highly capable, small with amazing small lens that really are great. The Olympus 45, Panasonic 20mm and the 80-150 are truly some the greatest lens for any system. Shure, you loose some depth of field - but for 95% of the people it is perfect. However, when I was ready to upgr…

> combined with average consumer going to the cell phone instead of a traditional camera Sadly all you describe could be pulled up 5 years from now when it's Canon that is leaving the came a market, or Nikon....

I think you missed what I was saying - Olympus could no longer afford or had the willingness invest the R&D required to compete with what Nikon and Canon are going to release over the next 5 years.

Nikon has the best mount/technology base going forward. Canon has the most money. Canon/Nikon will survive. I see Sony, Pentax, Panasonic leaving the camera market.

Re: Olympus quits camera business after 84 years

#273

Post by berkut »

dr_zoidberg wrote: post #224
ben7799 wrote: post #96

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Pros love Canon cause their service stomps all over everyone else, the equipment is just the cherry on top. They're more like a partner in someone's business than just a retailer. Seriously.. their service is so fantastic & easy to work with it puts you at ease shooting with their expensive stuff. I think this has more to do with it than anything to do with sensors or almost anything else when it comes to really seri…

Some 10 years ago, they refurbished a PowerShot A75 of mine that my father had bought in 2004. 5 years after fabrication, they identified a couple of batches that had been produced with bad sensors, and the cameras affected died a strange death. I had lost all warranty papers, but my local photography shop insisted that I contacted Canon. Had to leave the camera on the official service office, and a month later I had…

I've had even better experience with Canon: I bought a second-hand 5D in 2009, and in 2012 the shutter broke. It was well out of warranty, but Canon replaced it for free (all it cost was the postage to them I had to pay).

Re: Olympus quits camera business after 84 years

#274

Post by amarshall »

bayindirh wrote: post #231
ISL wrote: post #229

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Totally agreed, but if that one fab company falls over, much of the imaging industry has a problem. That's the monoculture.

In bigger semiconductor business we have three main fabs. Intel, TSMC, Global Foundries. Intel is closed to outside customers, so again we have a duopoly there. It's not very very different in the bigger picture if you ask me. Please correct me if I'm wrong.

Intel offers custom work https://www.intel.com/content/www/us/en/foundry/overview.htm...

You forgot Samsung as one of the big fabs.

Re: Olympus quits camera business after 84 years

#275

Post by fomine3 »

rpiguy wrote: post #133

If they weren't a Japanese company I'd say just wait a year and they will sell the name to a Chinese company and you'll have Olympus cameras again in 12 months time at a fourth of the cost.

Olympus sold camera dept to Japan Industrial Partners, Inc that also had bought VAIO dept from Sony previously. I don't expect they sell the dept to China.

Re: Olympus quits camera business after 84 years

#276

Post by GlenTheMachine »

foldr wrote: post #81
slantyyz wrote: post #66

Earlier quoted context omitted.

But a lot of people who self-identify as being serious about photography will stigmatize you for the gear you're using.

Indeed. What usually happens is that trends develop for photos that can only be taken using expensive gear. So for example, when I was a kid and everyone was shooting "full frame", no-one gave too much of a toss about background blur -- beyond the obvious fact that some (easily achievable) degree of it is often useful for softening distracting backgrounds. Now people obsess over paper thin DoF because it's a sign of…

Yes, and anything less expensive is “a toy”.

Meanwhile, my teenage daughter is over here taking - IMO - close-to-professional quality photographs using an Olympus E-PL2 and the kit lens, available all day long for $100. It’s all in the mind of the artist.

Amateur photographers can be almost as bad as watch snobs, and with little more purpose.

Re: Olympus quits camera business after 84 years

#277

Post by Polylactic_acid »

fomine3 wrote: post #259
Polylactic_acid wrote: post #227

Earlier quoted context omitted.

In my eyes a camera is obsolete as soon as the average phone can take a photo as good. My parents got a $300 sony camera recently but other than zoom, I just can't see why you would carry it around when your phone takes the same photo.

I assume some $300 range cameras has sensor that same (or less) size to $600 smartphones.

They are almost entirely pointless in my opinion I'm not sure why they even sell low end cameras anymore. The only potential benefit I see is the software allows a lot more manual control but it also doesn't have as good automatic improvements that phone software has.

Re: Olympus quits camera business after 84 years

#278

Post by drummer »

entropea wrote: post #239
drummer wrote: post #91

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Lol just wait for the upcoming two bodies being announced in a few weeks. Canon is going to trash the competition. And the new lenses are unmatched.

Sony also has new bodies being announced in a few weeks and Sony's lens lineup is already unmatched. Even Sigma ART glass beats out most Canon lenses in DXOMark's tests and cost much less.

I seriously doubt you know Canon's lens lineup.

Re: Olympus quits camera business after 84 years

#279

Post by dreamcompiler »

possibleworlds wrote: post #215
ISL wrote: post #71

Earlier quoted context omitted.

To me, the big monoculture risk is Sony's image-sensor fab. As I understand it, Sony, Fuji, Nikon and many others all rely upon the output of one company's manufacturing process. There's a good reason for it -- they appear to make the very best sensors (edit: in terms of dynamic range and noise) in the commercial-camera market. Canon makes their own sensors, which are good in absolute but not relative terms, which ap…

Agreed. There's also the Fujifilm X-Trans sensors which try to recapture some of the magic of film. However I really wish more people knew about Sigma and their Foveon sensors[1]. The fact is that there is a completely different technology on the market which produces very different – and arguably far superior – image quality and colour reproduction compared to 99% of digital cameras on the market. The Sigma system c…

I was under the impression that the Foveon sensor had been overtaken by events. Kind of like the Lisp Machines: When it was first introduced its dedicated "no compromises" approach was great, but then the more pedestrian technologies were able to outscale them and they lost their edge.

Re: Olympus quits camera business after 84 years

#280

Post by numpad0 »

bitL wrote: post #271
possibleworlds wrote: post #215

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Agreed. There's also the Fujifilm X-Trans sensors which try to recapture some of the magic of film. However I really wish more people knew about Sigma and their Foveon sensors[1]. The fact is that there is a completely different technology on the market which produces very different – and arguably far superior – image quality and colour reproduction compared to 99% of digital cameras on the market. The Sigma system c…

Unfortunately, real Foveon is a thing of the past, Sigma switched to a Bayer sensor in their latest "fp" camera and their last Foveon-based Quattro had 3 layers but a 4:2:2 pixel mosaic, making it no longer a "true Foveon". I owned SD1 Merrill and it was the sharpest camera I've ever used, but there is nothing comparable on the market these days.

Sigma is/was totally planning to unveil fp with Foveon in CP+ until this January, before COVID-19 hit anyway...
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