Oh no. This is a huge blow to the MFT form factor (which is supported mostly by Olympus and Panasonic), which I personally love.
Olympus quits camera business after 84 years
11–20 of 384 posts
Re: Olympus quits camera business after 84 years
#12Sad 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 Really? I had no idea (as an outsider.) I thought Canon, Nikon, Sony, Fujifilm, etc were all pretty much equal in terms of serious quality. I thought their DLSs all looked pretty much the same. Is that not the case?
Huh, it's funny. I didn't know this either as someone who only dabbles. The only reason I bought Canon is that the community has aftermarket firmware.
Honestly, I wouldn't buy Nikon or Pentax or whatever just because no aftermarket firmware.
Re: Olympus quits camera business after 84 years
#13My Dad had an OM-1, and later I bought an OM-D E-M5. Its amazing how much sentiment affects decisions. I have and love both those cameras, many happy memories.
Definitely - my favorite film camera was a Pen F half-frame with the big gothic "F" on the front. Old, but really compact (and worked well-enough with lens adapters, right until it got stolen a couple years back).
The feel of the thing definitely got me to buying the E-M5.
Re: Olympus quits camera business after 84 years
#14That'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 that is shrinking faster: Smaller form factor/lower optical powerful photography equipment; exactly the kind being eaten alive by smartphones.
While Panasonic and others will continue the M43 standard for a while longer, the writing may be on the wall. Some competition have moved into niches (e.g. medium format, videography, etc), which may have better longer term stability.
Re: Olympus quits camera business after 84 years
#15Sad 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 Really? I had no idea (as an outsider.) I thought Canon, Nikon, Sony, Fujifilm, etc were all pretty much equal in terms of serious quality. I thought their DLSs all looked pretty much the same. Is that not the case?
I agree with you, Canon and Nikon seem like the "Costco" brands so maybe while he pointed them out. But Sonys mirrorless are top of the industry. Fujifilm has great cameras. And you cant forget Leica
Re: Olympus quits camera business after 84 years
#16Sad 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 Really? I had no idea (as an outsider.) I thought Canon, Nikon, Sony, Fujifilm, etc were all pretty much equal in terms of serious quality. I thought their DLSs all looked pretty much the same. Is that not the case?
Of course, they are all almost equal, and lately Sony has really been killing it, though the others are getting good at mirrorless too.
Re: Olympus quits camera business after 84 years
#17Sad 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 Really? I had no idea (as an outsider.) I thought Canon, Nikon, Sony, Fujifilm, etc were all pretty much equal in terms of serious quality. I thought their DLSs all looked pretty much the same. Is that not the case?
Past a certain price point, kit from any brand delivers photos and photographic performance that one would have a hard time finding technically wrong or inferior to that of another brand. So by all accounts, we should see a lot of variety in the cameras and lenses that are used professionally.
However, take a look at articles like this[0] to see just how prevalent Canon gear is at professional events. Apparently, they even have relations with a lot of press outfits to have them exclusively shoot with their equipment.
[0]: https://www.shutterbug.com/content/battle-canon-vs-nikon-sup...
Re: Olympus quits camera business after 84 years
#18That'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!
Re: Olympus quits camera business after 84 years
#19Sad 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 I may be wrong.