Olympus quits camera business after 84 years • Hacker News Board

Re: Olympus quits camera business after 84 years

#21

Post by sudosysgen » Thu, Jun 25, 2020, 7:42 PM UTC

renewiltord wrote: post #12

chrisseaton wrote: post #7

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> 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.

Sony doesn't have aftermarket firmware but the firmware up to the A7ii has been hacked so you can run Android apps and control the camera that way. As far as photography is concerned there's no need for flashed firmware beyond that.

Re: Olympus quits camera business after 84 years

#22

Post by m0zg » Thu, Jun 25, 2020, 7:43 PM UTC

Sad, but inevitable, after Nikon stopped dragging its feet. I used Oly cameras for a few years, mostly due to their compact size and excellent in-body stabilization. But then Nikon released Z6 and I switched to that. Not much larger, much better image quality (Sony looks too "blue" for me), great usability, great stabilization, great glass so far. Still Olympus OM-D series were excellent cameras.

Re: Olympus quits camera business after 84 years

#23

Post by bserge » Thu, Jun 25, 2020, 7:43 PM UTC

Olympus was one of my first digital cameras. I forgot the model, but I still remember it used SMC/SmartMedia cards, which were an exotic item back then (CF/CompactFlash were the most common).

The picture quality of that camera was better than even Canon or Sony, and it cost less.

Sad, but I haven't heard anything about Olympus for a long time. They developed their own standard for mirrorless cameras, but then kind of vanished, at least in my world :/

Re: Olympus quits camera business after 84 years

#24

Post by sersi » Thu, Jun 25, 2020, 7:43 PM UTC

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…

I somehow always had the feeling that serious photographers use Canon and Nikon to a lesser measure for professional work but a lot use fuji for fun :)

Re: Olympus quits camera business after 84 years

#25

Post by PascLeRasc » Thu, Jun 25, 2020, 7:44 PM UTC

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…

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.

Re: Olympus quits camera business after 84 years

#26

Post by easygenes » Thu, Jun 25, 2020, 7:44 PM UTC

akersten wrote: post #17

chrisseaton wrote: post #7

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> 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, the…

For professionals, a lot of that selection also comes down to serviceability. When Sony started gunning for more of the professional market with the A9 they had to up their service game and it’s still considered lacking.

Re: Olympus quits camera business after 84 years

#27

Post by snapetom » Thu, Jun 25, 2020, 7:45 PM UTC

Oh wow. As of last year, I still had an Olympus C-120 in the glove box of my 1999 Miata. Many, many moons ago, it was recommended that you kept a camera in your car in case you got in an accident. Decades later, I just never bothered to take it out. One night last summer, I forgot to lock the car. Someone came through and stole it.

"Uhh, ok," was pretty much my reaction. Hope you get a lot of money from it at a pawn shop. Maybe that 32MB SmartMedia card might be worth something.

Back in the days of early compact digitals, the Olympus lines were such a great value. The technology overall wasn't that great to begin with so no one was head and shoulders above everyone else. Olympus solidly beat everyone on price, though.

Re: Olympus quits camera business after 84 years

#28

Post by lb1lf » Thu, Jun 25, 2020, 7:45 PM UTC

chrisseaton wrote: post #7

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 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?

-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 pro body should first and foremost be utterly reliable no matter what it is subjected to...

(Oh, and it should be compatible with the lenses you already have - as they can easily be a few thousand dollars a piece. Now, that's some serious lock-in!)

Re: Olympus quits camera business after 84 years

#29

Post by igrekel » Thu, Jun 25, 2020, 7:45 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!

I'm in a similar situation! I still use my trusty GF1 which is by far the best camera I have owned and I wanted to eventually upgrade and bring my lenses that I accumulated over the years with me. Olympus had a solid m43 lineup back when I last checked. I was always a little frustrated how some vendors just started their own mirrorless, fragmenting the business. Its a shame and I am afraid to what will happen with m43.. its a shame if it goes, it is still a world better than cell phone cameras and it is so much more convenient than full frames.

Re: Olympus quits camera business after 84 years

#30

Post by h2odragon » Thu, Jun 25, 2020, 7:46 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!

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.