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Olympus quits camera business after 84 years

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Re: Olympus quits camera business after 84 years

#281

Post by deaddodo »

ISL wrote: post #71
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…

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…

I mean, your same argument could be made for TVs/monitors as well. LG, Samsung and AU Optronics make the vast majority of LCD panels. You could buy an LG or a Vizio with the same LG-fabbed panel. In fact, even Samsung TV has been known to use LG panels:

https://www.forbes.com/sites/johnarcher/2017/01/23/samsung-f...

Re: Olympus quits camera business after 84 years

#282

Post by numpad0 »

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 think in that instance Sony wanted bad sensors back as many as possibly could, maybe to study or to stop any bad reputations. I had the same experience with a Sony camera, they took it and replaced the sensor for absolutely free.

According to articles from that timeframe, issues were found in Sony CCDs manufactured between 2003 to 2005 surfaced from autumn 2005 to spring 2006, that moisture intrude through either surfaces of plastic packages or through a glue/cement used to fuse optical glass to ceramic packages, and thereon an iodine component in a glue used inside the package reacts to that moisture and corrode bonding wires connecting CCD die to IC pads.

Ultimately it lead to a free replacement program for 87 models total spanning across 9 brands until it ended in 2010/2011.

Not to downplay your experience but sounds like everyone was hit and responded in similar ways.

Re: Olympus quits camera business after 84 years

#283

Post by barkingcat »

amarshall wrote: post #274
bayindirh wrote: post #231

Earlier quoted context omitted.

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.

Yes - Samsung is a gigantic fab.

Re: Olympus quits camera business after 84 years

#284

Post by noelherrick »

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…

This must be a pretty localized experience since so many professionals I see use Nikon, Canon, and Sony in sport, wedding, and product shoots. I would even say the opposite-the only judgement I had for camera brand was from a Nikon pro when I was renting a Sony because he knew I already owned Nikon-he tried to make sure I wasn’t considering a switch.

Re: Olympus quits camera business after 84 years

#285

Post by jetrink »

IMAYousaf wrote: post #264
jetrink wrote: post #221

Earlier quoted context omitted.

My prediction is that full frame cameras will eventually be squeezed out by APS-C and medium format. On one side, medium format cameras are shrinking in both size and price. The Canon 5D Mark IV is thicker, taller and heavier than Fuji's GFX 50R[1]. Medium format cameras aren't quite as small as full frame mirrorless cameras, but they are no longer impractically large either. If image quality is paramount, size and c…

Do you think it is possible that cellphone cameras are coming closer to APS-C and thus its those that end up losing out? Full frame seems to be a significant value add relative to APS-C for a prosumer, just as how medium format is a significant jump up.

I think not. The difference between cellphone and APS-C cameras is in both quality and category. A dedicated camera has an ergonomic shape, a viewfinder, interchangeable lenses, hardware dials, switches and buttons. The people who don't care about those things have already switched to smartphones, while the people who enjoy photography as a hobby and the professionals will never want to give them up. The sensor of an APS-C camera is 20x as large as a cellphone's, so you're already well into the region of diminishing returns. Is a full frame sensor that is 30x as large really that much more compelling? Especially when you consider the downsides that come with supporting a larger sensor (larger camera body, larger and more expensive lenses, etc.) Maybe it is now, but advances in sensor technology continue to make APS-C good enough for more and more purposes.

Re: Olympus quits camera business after 84 years

#286

Post by numpad0 »

ISL wrote: post #76
lb1lf wrote: post #28

Earlier quoted context omitted.

-Oh, it is about more than just quality - say, a pro DSLR should be able to double as a hammer if you need to drive in a few nails to hang your backdrop from. Also, autofocus should be instantaneous, and should be able to lock on a bat in a coal mine. (It is a bonus if the high-ISO performance of the sensor is capable of freezing said bat in flight using only natural light.) Obviously, I exaggerate for effect - but a…

For me, the biggest questions are: Can I leave the camera powered on, always? and Can I handle it effectively with gloves on in the snow? Those two questions drive as much of my camera choice as do technical concerns.

I have a Nikon dSLR that seizes up electrically if left with 70-300 VR attached for weeks. Fixes itself if left with a fresh battery and an 18-55.

I wonder how often that will happen with other brands like Alpha.

Re: Olympus quits camera business after 84 years

#287

Post by macintux »

drummer wrote: post #278
entropea wrote: post #239

Earlier quoted context omitted.

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.

There are far more constructive ways to engage in discussion here than “LOL” at someone’s assertion and denigrating someone else’s knowledge.

Re: Olympus quits camera business after 84 years

#288

Post by Jedd »

h2odragon wrote: post #30
brendoelfrendo wrote: post #18

Earlier quoted context omitted.

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!

I got one better: i sank $2k into a full four thrids lens a while back (the f2.0 zoom; its still worth every penny). I've been wondering about finding a new sensor to put behind that, if i have to embrace the suck of adapters anyway, what should i be looking for now? Seems like "any Cannon" is the only sensible answer.

What do you want to do that you can not do now?

Re: Olympus quits camera business after 84 years

#289

Post by acjohnson55 »

vncecartersknee wrote: post #260
acjohnson55 wrote: post #192

I maintain that digital camera manufacturers' biggest failing is not eliminating the friction between taking pictures and video and getting them online to social networks, like Instagram. It's super frustrating.

Is it really that difficult? I can connect to my entry level nikon d3400 over bluetooth and send an image to my smartphone, edit it a bit and upload it to instagram pretty easily. Granted the bluetooth is very slow and image editing on a smartphone is fairly rudimentary but personally I prefer not to edit images too much.

The bar for broad market consumer products--which digital cameras once were--has a much higher bar than that.

"Good enough" would be that you take a picture on your camera, and it's available as a thumbnail in your phone's gallery without any further action. Sharing it would trigger a full transfer.

"Great" would be being able to edit and upload without taking your phone out of your pocket at all.

It blows my mind that we still live in a world where product makers don't get the cloud. People no longer want to think of data as living within physical devices, managing copies and transfers. They want to skip to the "job to be done".

Re: Olympus quits camera business after 84 years

#290

Post by Wistar »

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…

Odd. I have been shooting Canon professionally for three decades and have always felt that Nikon was the prestige brand. Much of the Nikkor glass is crazy good.
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