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Olympus quits camera business after 84 years

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Re: Olympus quits camera business after 84 years

#351

Post by tooltalk »

bayindirh wrote: post #304
amarshall wrote: post #274

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Intel offers custom work https://www.intel.com/content/www/us/en/foundry/overview.htm... You forgot Samsung as one of the big fabs.

Thanks for pointing out both. I was not aware of Intel and, I didn't realize that Samsung got that big. It occurred to me that Kingston probably has its own fab too.

Also, Glofo stopped developing cutting edge nodes (7nm or smaller) after AMD had ditched them a couple of years ago. It's now all but a two-horse race between TSMC and Samsung.

Re: Olympus quits camera business after 84 years

#352

Post by Synaesthesia »

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.

That’s a recent development. For most of their history they never did. AFAIK

Re: Olympus quits camera business after 84 years

#353

Post by drummer »

macintux wrote: post #287
drummer wrote: post #278

Earlier quoted context omitted.

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.

I'd say it's certainly more constructive to go actually take a look at Canon's lineup and compare it to Sony. Now is also a good time to start selling any Sony gear you own while it is still worth something before Canon annihilates them in a few weeks.

Re: Olympus quits camera business after 84 years

#354

Post by dmix »

Ice_cream_suit wrote: post #327

Olympus will certainly be remembered for at least one thing: The two decade long tobashi scheme by Olympus Imaging Executives to hide billions in losses. "While early activities generated profits in 1987, by 1991 Olympus recorded 2.1 billion losses. Rumors circulated that by the late 1990s, losses had grown larger. Rather than come clean and admit the losses, management continued to ‘double down’ with riskier investm…

For those curious how Tobashi Schemes work https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tobashi_scheme

Re: Olympus quits camera business after 84 years

#355

Post by slantyyz »

Jedd wrote: post #322
h2odragon wrote: post #295

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I'd like to get video using the lens; for stills the current olympus e3 its paired with is still pretty good.

I'm an Olympus user / fan - but my understanding is that Panasonic made the better video bodies. I suspect one generation back would have some highly competent video capabilities are very reasonable prices now.

> my understanding is that Panasonic made the better video bodies.

I love the stills output (esp the colors) from Oly cameras, but for some reason I don't quite like the handling/ergonomics.

I don't know if it's because I had a Panasonic LX3 way back when, but I find my GM5 way more usable than Olympus E-PL6 from a button and menu perspective. YMMV of course, but my GM5 and GF2 feel much more solid than the Olympus bodies (EPL6 and EP2) I have.

Re: Olympus quits camera business after 84 years

#356

Post by slantyyz »

_ph_ wrote: post #334
127 wrote: post #300

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I think a lot depends on how well they can keep up with the sensor technology. Sony seems to have the market cornered on that front.

Quite a few of the Olympus sensors are made by Sony. At any time, they could pick up some money and just ask Sony to give them a new sensor design. This is one hope I have, that after the split-off, new money is invested in updating the sensors.

IIRC, right around the time Oly switched from Panny to Sony sensors, they made an agreement to share tech/patents, which I think included Oly's multi-axis IBIS.

Re: Olympus quits camera business after 84 years

#357

Post by slantyyz »

nradov wrote: post #84

As a casual underwater photographer I hope the Olympus TG series rugged compact cameras live on under the new owner. I know compact cameras are a dying niche market in general. But no one has figured out a good solution for using smartphone cameras underwater (there are waterproof housings but the controls are terrible and they don't really work with strobes or wet lenses). The housings for DSLRs and similarly sized…

Have you had a look at the Nikon 1 AW series?

I think there are only two lens options, but apparently they are very good, and should be pretty cheap now, since they were a niche offshoot of an already niche (and discontinued) product line.

Re: Olympus quits camera business after 84 years

#358

Post by slantyyz »

meowzero wrote: post #126

It was a matter of time. They were focused on m4/3, which was a good system. But phone technology evolved quickly. Most pros or prosumers go for the higher-end APSC or Full Frame lineups. In my experience, they don't take the m4/3 stuff seriously. For regular folks, m4/3 is too expensive. For the same price, they can use their phones (or buy an APSC camera). The quality is negligible thanks to all the software enhanc…

>> For regular folks, m4/3 is too expensive.

This is a huge misconception. From my perspective, any camera (including M43) made after 2014 is more than good enough for most "regular folks" looking to level up from a smartphone. Yes, the top end stuff can be expensive, but regular folks shouldn't be buying that stuff until they're ready to get to the next level.

I bought most of my m43 gear as open box or used. The same with my lenses. You can get something like an E-PL6 body for a couple of hundred bucks, and it takes great photos.

pro tip: buying camera gear from Japanese sellers off eBay is a good way to get stuff, because they're super trustworthy and the gear is in the exact condition they say it is.

Re: Olympus quits camera business after 84 years

#359

Post by slantyyz »

yoran wrote: post #318

I'm sad to read this. I "made a bet" on Olympus in 2008, when I bought my first and only DSLR: the E-520. I bought a couple of additional lenses too, thinking that I would always be able to buy an upgraded body as technology improved and continue to use the lenses. Little did I know that the E-520 was the last DSLR they released :/...

IIRC, if you get an OM-D EM 1 or 5 model with a lens adapter, you can get decent performance from your old lenses.

Re: Olympus quits camera business after 84 years

#360

Post by lm28469 »

onion2k wrote: post #323
pkulak wrote: post #153

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Man, I hate this phone analogy. Every shot I take with M43 looks nothing like anything taken with a phone. I just took these shots a couple days ago, for an example. There's no way you get anything close to this with a phone. https://photos.app.goo.gl/TSFhhA5igk1iEfRbA

Every shot I take with M43 looks nothing like anything taken with a phone. How much of that is an actual difference in the camera tech and how much of it is subjective perception? I suspect for things like the two photos you linked to, even the best professional photographers would struggle to tell the type of camera was used to take them. By the time they've gone through a few apps and services and they're being vie…

> How much of that is an actual difference in the camera tech and how much of it is subjective perception?

The out of focus area is a dead giveaway for anyone who's even remotely into photography. Phones are very good at taking snapshots but they're extremely limited by the sensor size and the fact that the lens has a fixed aperture, no amount of computational photography will solve these physical constraints. You can't escape physics and optics laws

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