The New Olympus E-M1 Mark III; What Is Olympus' Sales And Survival Strategy?

"Almost" an adult Bald Eagle.  (click to enlarge)
Olympus E-M1 Mark II; 300mm f/4 PRO lens + MC-14 1.4X tele-converter (840mm~);
Handheld at 1/1000th sec. @ f/5.6 (wide open); ISO 250

I am baffled.  I have no idea as to what the marketing people at Olympus are thinking.  They just introduced essentially the same camera, with the addition of a few moderate upgrades and feature additions, they introduced in December 2016.  That would seem fine for the past but times have changed dramatically in the photographic industry.  An incremental update has been sort of the normal course of business in past years but Olympus priced this long anticipated camera at a very high price considering what cameras are available in APS-C and full frame for about the same cost.  Also, incremental updates, in my opinion, will attract very few buyers in today's digital photographic world because the cameras we now use are already excellent.  Incremental and high price just don't seem to mix.  How does Olympus plan to compete and stay viable in these difficult times for the photographic industry?

I think we all know that times have been and continue to be tough in the photographic industry.  Sales of digital cameras of all kinds continue their seemingly unending slide.  Canon, Nikon, Fujifilm, Olympus and others' quarterly and yearly financial reports show losses year after year.  When will it bottom?  Some predict in another couple of years.  Let's hope so.

Its not all bad news, however.  There is good news for us photographers.  The camera companies continue to engineer, design and release new cameras and lenses that benefit us nicely.  Full frame and APS-C cameras have come down dramatically in price.  What has been pretty good for us photographers has been not so good for the manufacturers.  

I'm a bit worried about Olympus.  I became a fan of Olympus after buying an OM-1, then an OM-2 in the early 1980s.  I fell in love with their philosophy of smaller, lighter with very high quality.  That philosophy has carried over into the digital world as well.  I've been using Olympus digital cameras since the E-M5 was introduced in 2012.  I bought mine in May of that year so I've been using Olympus digital cameras now for almost 8 years!  Their subsequent digital cameras and wide variety of professional grade lenses have been unquestionably excellent as well.  I bought my E-M1 Mark II, initially priced at $2000 US, when it was introduced in December, 2016.  With the industry in flux over declining demand, however, I wonder what Olympus development, sales and imaging division survival strategy is today and for the future?  The E-M1 Mark III at $1800 US just doesn't make much sense to me, considering what it offers to current Olympus users as well as to those who are thinking about buying into the system.

Many others besides myself have been anxiously waiting for the replacement of the E-M1 Mark II and, last week, Olympus gave us the E-M1 Mark III.  To me, in a nutshell, it is a big disappointment.  Immediately I asked myself, "What was Olympus thinking?"  Why was I disappointed?

Let's look at the facts.   The E-M1 Mark III has largely the same specs, the same body (the same battery grip fits it), same 5 year old sensor (maybe older if it is the same sensor that came out a year earlier on a Panasonic camera), same two generations old EVF, same LCD, same frames per second, same battery, same two card slots with only one being UHS II, same focusing abilities (but with an extra setting), same number of focusing points, same video capabilities and the same image quality as the E-M1 Mark II.  The last point is the most important to me—no improvement in image quality.  Olympus then priced this new camera at $1799 US.

To be fair, Olympus did add an attractive suite of features and upgrades.  But, in my opinion, not to the level that would make me want to shell out $1800 US to get them.  Remember—same image quality, same dynamic range, same noise profile.  That is a lot of money for a few additional features that I and others may only sometimes use.

There is the:

New TruePic IX image processor with the ability to power all of the new features but, seemingly, no increase in noise profile or dynamic range. 

The shutter has been upgraded to 400,000 actuations from 200,000 but how many photographers get to 200,000 now?  Very few, I would wager. 

Also, Olympus added a joystick, which is much appreciated.  I won't buy another camera without one, but that is just me. 

The Live Neutral Density (Live ND) filter feature seems like it is a nice addition.  However, not something I would need except on occasion. 

Olympus added the ability to make a high resolution 50mp images handheld.  The 80mp high resolution setting still requires a tripod.  This is a nice addition for those times when everything is dead still and the subject before you deserves more resolution.  But how often?

Olympus also added the ability to buffer more images before you fully press the shutter in Pro Capture mode.  Again, a feature I use once in a while but nice when I need it. 

Olympus says IBIS has been improved but how many of us need more than 5 or 6 stops of image stabilization now? 

Finally, the My Menu is a welcome addition.  I use it extensively in my Nikon Z7 as well as my Panasonic G9.  Very convenient and I don't quite understand why Olympus doesn't add that to their existing cameras, especially the E-M1 Mark II, with a simple firmware update.

With the exception of having an extra battery on board and the specific ability to target focusing on aircraft, trains, automobiles and motorcycles, the E-M1 Mark III is pretty much an E-M1X in a much smaller package.  That begs the question if this camera will cannibalize sales of that camera?  Olympus has already dropped its price by $500 US.

I found a nice comparison chart between the two cameras on the Ephotozine site which you can find here.  I admit Olympus did add some very attractive features but is there enough for you to buy the camera for $1800 to get them?  That is for you to answer.

Don't get me wrong, I like all of these updates and I wish they were in my current camera.  But, in reality, I'm not willing to pay $1800 US for them.  If I could send my E-M1 Mark II to Olympus and have these updates installed for a couple of hundred dollars, I would.  But I can't see paying $1800 US for a new camera whose image quality that is not at all improved.

Speaking of $1800 US, let's look at other cameras that are available at a similar price level as a comparison as to what and whom Olympus must compete to keep their users or attract new users from the world of DSLRs.  Here are three full frame (35mm sized sensors—4 times the size of micro4/3) cameras which cost the same as the new Olympus.

Nikon Z6—24mp, listed on B and H for $1843, which includes the $250 Nikon F to Z mount adapter, an expensive XQD memory card and a camera bag.  Less than $50 more than the E-M1 Mark III body alone.

Sony A7III—24mp, listed on B and H for $1798, which includes a spare battery, external battery charger, memory card, bag, lens cleaner.  Same price as the E-M1 Mark III.

Canon R—31mp, with a bag, 128gb memory card and lens cleaning accessories all for $1799.  Same price as the E-M1 Mark III.

As far as APS-C cameras that are available, the 26mp Fujifilm X-T3 is listed for $1299, the Fujifilm X-Pro 3 is listed for $1800 and the 20mp Nikon Z50 is listed for $856. In fact you can buy this Nikon with two very good lenses (16-50, 50-250), a memory card and other accessories for less than $1200!  Sony also offers the 24mp A6600 body for $1198.

I'm not even mentioning the Panasonic's G9 ($999) or GH-5 ($1300), which are direct micro4/3 competitors and are priced much less than the new Olympus.

I've started to wonder if Olympus Imaging (not the entire company) is in deeper financial trouble than any of us suspect and that their strategy to minimize costs is to use up parts they already have on hand, include engineering and development they have already done in the past and put out cameras that use that inventory and engineering with no real intention of future development?  Then, after inventory is depleted, close down their camera and lens manufacturing operations.  I really, really hope not.

Finally, I want to include that, even though I have no idea of what Olympus strategists and marketing people are thinking, I have no intention of selling my Olympus gear.  I find it just about perfectly fits my desire for excellent quality cameras and lenses that are more fully featured than most other cameras while being smaller, lighter weight and less costly than what else may be out there.  I find I can make 24" x 30" images to display on my wall that are of superb quality.  Image quality is fine.  Dynamic range is more than enough in almost all situations.  The only remaining thing I had reservations about when using micro4/3 was the noise profiles at high ISOs.  But now with Topaz Labs DeNoise AI, that is no longer an issue.

So...I guess I'll sit back and watch what happens with Olympus and the other manufacturers in the future to better understand how all of them will deal with the current down market.  I predict the next couple of years will be interesting.

Join me over at Instagram @dennisamook or my website, www.dennismook.com. 

Thanks for looking. Enjoy! 

Dennis A. Mook 

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