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Olympus quits camera business after 84 years

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Re: Olympus quits camera business after 84 years

#41

Post by caconym_ »

PascLeRasc wrote: post #25
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.

I love my Fuji gear and I think I get great results with it, but I'm an amateur and while some of it is fantastic by any measure (e.g. the 50-140mm f2.8), I think the performance of the bodies falls short of the higher-end Nikon/Canon/Sony gear, and there seems to be less diversity in high-end lenses with optical performance comparable to the one I mentioned.

On the other hand, for "prosumers" who have high standards for image quality but don't want to shell out for a top-of-the-line full-frame setup and don't need extreme AF or low-light performance, I think it's great because you don't end up buying bodies that are compromised in stupid arbitrary ways just to fit neatly into their appointed place in the product lineup. My X-Pro2 cost like $1700 new and it has all the best tech Fuji had to put in a camera at the time. I actually think it's great for people like me that they decided to go all-in on APS-C, and I hope they stick around. My X-Pro2 is probably my favorite camera I've owned in my life and I've had quite a few.

My second favorite would probably be my Olympus XA. :(

Re: Olympus quits camera business after 84 years

#42

Post by brendoelfrendo »

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…

A lot of my friends from school were photo students, and Canon was far and away the platform that they were taught on, as well. Some did shoot on Nikon cameras as a matter of personal preference, but almost all of the school's gear was Canon (until you got to specialized stuff like Hasselblad medium-format cameras).

Re: Olympus quits camera business after 84 years

#43

Post by pedrovhb »

barbegal wrote: post #31

Photography is one of those areas where devices don't go obsolete very quickly. With a good lens from 50 years ago I can still take an excellent photo on a digital camera from 15 years ago. Sure you won't have all the bells and whistles of the latest cameras and you'll sacrifice a few stops of dynamic range but for the average hobby photographer that doesn't really matter. The only customers who will upgrade every fe…

> Photography is one of those areas where devices don't go obsolete very quickly.

True, and kudos to the photography industry for that. My fully mechanical, analog, 1992 Zenit camera has the same hot shoe flash system and tripod mount as current cameras coming out. With a cheap simple adapter I can also use its original lens on any digital camera.

The Canon EF mount was introduced in 1987 and new cameras are only now ditching it for a new standard to take advantage of new technology, and not for the sake of breaking backwards compatibility and forcing customers to buy the latest and greatest.

Re: Olympus quits camera business after 84 years

#44

Post by dllu »

easygenes wrote: post #34
rckclmbr wrote: post #15

Earlier quoted context omitted.

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

Leica is using Sony sensors, so them as a selection is mostly for the name and aesthetic. The UI is more limited and shooting RAW negates anything to do with “color science” selections for the default in-camera JPG encoders.

They are not using Sony sensors. They are using CMOSIS sensors (which has been acquired by ams).

Fujifilm, Nikon, and Panasonic are using Sony sensors, however.

Re: Olympus quits camera business after 84 years

#45

Post by kaypro »

flyinglizard wrote: post #11

Oh no. This is a huge blow to the MFT form factor (which is supported mostly by Olympus and Panasonic), which I personally love.

Agreed though I think this could go either way. Either Panasonic steps up their line up and becomes the sole M43 manufacturer or it fizzles out. I really think the M43 ecosystem is severely underrated in a world where cameras are pitched solely on specs. The body to lens ratio is so great on the M43 lineup and I absolutely love my GX85 for just that reason. For most consumers or even prosumers who don't make a living in action sports or low light photography M43 is the sweet spot. As a hardcore photographer hobbyist I recently sold all my APS-C / Full Frame gear for a super minimal kit that comes with me on every trip. http://minimalnotes.com/a-minimalists-hobby-camera-kit/. I'm really hoping Panasonic makes some announcements in the next month or two... fingers crossed!

Re: Olympus quits camera business after 84 years

#46

Post by taborj »

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.

Actually, this might be the time to pick up a fire-sale Olympus...

Re: Olympus quits camera business after 84 years

#47

Post by sumoboy »

barbegal wrote: post #31

Photography is one of those areas where devices don't go obsolete very quickly. With a good lens from 50 years ago I can still take an excellent photo on a digital camera from 15 years ago. Sure you won't have all the bells and whistles of the latest cameras and you'll sacrifice a few stops of dynamic range but for the average hobby photographer that doesn't really matter. The only customers who will upgrade every fe…

Sony appears more like Apple supporting older bodies with firmware updates which is unfortunate for Canon and Nikon owners. The Canon R / RP are pretty much dead products after one year due to lack of upgrades, but pretty much the same attitude holds true for even there pro 1D bodies. I think few factor this in before buying since just don't know.

Re: Olympus quits camera business after 84 years

#49

Post by cannam »

eropple wrote: post #38
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…

At this point M43 is, in my neck of the woods, basically a video format anyway. I do on-site videography (my schtick being "we can run a four-camera live show from anywhere I've got Ethernet and power") and all my cameras are M43 because they hit a great spot on the price/quality curve. (Sony's APS-C cameras are very respectable too, but the glass is pricey.) Never used an Olympus, never understood the point of one.…

Not very familiar with video - what M43 camera do you use for that?

Re: Olympus quits camera business after 84 years

#50

Post by sudosysgen »

weinzierl wrote: post #39
easygenes wrote: post #34

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Leica is using Sony sensors, so them as a selection is mostly for the name and aesthetic. The UI is more limited and shooting RAW negates anything to do with “color science” selections for the default in-camera JPG encoders.

> Leica is using Sony sensors Do you have a source for that? As far as I remember they have been very secretive about their sensor supply chain.

Some Leicas use CMOSIS, others used Sony sensors. In any case, Sony makes the best sensors by a mile.
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