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| The Olympus OM-D E-M1 Mark III. Will this be the last Olympus camera? I don't think so. |
So, what's next? There has been a lot written over the past week about this turn of events. There is a lot of misinformation out there on the internet and You Tube. I advise you to read the official statement from Olympus for yourself and carefully read what is says. You can read Olympus' actual statement here. Olympus has not yet closed or sold its Imaging Division. It has only signed a memorandum of understanding to continue to explore talks with JIP to form a new company to potentially take over the division. They hope to accomplish this by September 30, 2020 and have the transaction completed on the last day of this year. But, on the other hand, something might not gel and the deal may not go through. Who knows right now?
I owned and used Olympus film cameras in the 1980s and have owned and used them since 2012 in the digital photography era. Olympus has always been known for top quality gear. They seemed to have always goMe against the grain to give us smaller, extremely well built cameras with innovative features in ways other camera companies did not. Add to that their extraordinary lenses and you have a winning combination. I hate to see that tradition of innovation end. But, maybe it won't. However, I'm the eternal optimist so that might color my thinking.
In Olympus' official statement they specifically say:
“Under such circumstances, Olympus considers that, by carving-out the Imaging business and by operating the business with (my bold and underline) JIP, the Imaging business’s corporate structure may become more compact, efficient and agile and it is the most appropriate way to realize its self-sustainable and continuous growth and to bring values to the users of our products as well as our employees working in the Imaging business. Olympus therefore has decided to sign the memorandum of understanding for the Transaction.“A later paragraph states this:
“NewCo will succeed and maintain the research and development functions and manufacturing functions globally as reformed under the contemplated structuring reforms to continue to offer high-quality, highly reliable products; and also continue to provide supports to the imaging solution products that have been distributed by Olympus.”It sounds as though Olympus would like their research, development, innovation and sales of cameras and lenses to continue. But it may not if JIP can't make a profit.
What does this mean for the micro4/3 format? My opinion holds no water but I think that if Olympus cameras and lenses cease to be made and sold worldwide, that will spell the end of the format. I don't think Panasonic alone can sustain the format. Sales will continue to drop and Panasonic may find itself in the same position as Olympus, an unsustainable loss year over year. Panasonic has a very small percentage of the full frame format market and I don’t think their portion can sustain their imaging operations either.
But its not all bad news. If the JIP deal goes through as stated, and down the road JIP stopped making Olympus cameras and lenses and stopped research and development of new products, that doesn't mean that what we now have is all of a sudden no good! How many of you drive Pontiacs or Oldsmobiles, Holdens, Jaguars, Volvos, still use a Yahoo email account, still have AOL, still use Kodak film, still use Ilford photographic printing paper or still have electronics from a company that no longer is around. How many of you have children or grandchildren who still play from toys bought at Toys R Us? My point being that just because Olympus may not make cameras in the future, doesn't mean that the gear you now own is no longer able to serve you well for many years in the future. This kind of thing happens in commerce regularly.
I don't know about you, but I don't plan on selling off my micro4/3 gear or my Olympus cameras and lenses anytime in the foreseeable future. My camera and lenses provide extraordinary flexibility, portability, versatility and image quality. My cameras and lenses are just as good today as they were last month before all of this came to light. They will be just as good in the future as well. If you are now happy with the images you make with your Olympus cameras and lenses, you will be just as happy in the upcoming years.
Do I really need the "next" generation of sensor or can I be perfectly happy with the sensors that are in my current cameras? I don't need any faster focusing. I don't need more pixels. I don't need any more features. I don't need more dynamic range. Funny thing is that I am really happy with the images I now make. I just returned from a five day road trip and brought back some excellent images made with my current Olympus gear. Now, would I want more, better and faster? Of course. Most of us do but I can be perfectly fine with what I have now.
As I have written in the past, you would be hard pressed to find a bad digital camera today and Olympus cameras certainly fall into category and even surpass many others. That means that, with the image quality available in my Olympus cameras and lenses, I could foreseeably use them for the next 10 years and be perfectly happy with the thousands of images I would create in the future.
The bottom line for me is that nothing will change. I will continue to use my fantastic Olympus gear, go out as much as I can and make photographs. With the quality of Olympus gear, my gear, with its excellent features and image quality, should last me at least another decade. I hope you enjoy yours as much as I enjoy mine.
One final note. If the Olympus executives have willfully and purposefully lied to us as photographers and user community, I hope the ones that perpetrated these deeds do not stay with the company in the future, no matter who operates it. I will never accept lying officials, whether private or public. That’s why I disdain politicians who will say and do anything to get re-elected and maintain their seat of power. Just sayin’.
Join me over at my website, www.dennismook.com.
Thanks for looking. Enjoy!
Dennis A. Mook
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Don't be too hard on the Olympus managers. At the time they were quoted it probably was the intention of the Imaging Division to remain part of Olympus. But things can change overnight in today's world, so I guess they're now scrambling to make the best of their situation. I hope Olympus can continue to make cameras; people have been writing off Leica and Pentax for years and yet they manage to soldier on. But regardless, like you, I don't plan on selling my Olympus gear. It works for me and I enjoy using it.
ReplyDeleteJon, thanks for your comment. I purposefully added a qualifier in my text thinking exactly as you stated, that the managers were told one thing but the company president, board of directors were moving in a different direction from recommendation of their accounting department.
DeleteHi Dennis, I was wondering when you would post your thoughts. I've read quite a few of the opinion pieces that are available, starting with Thom Hogan and Ming Thein. What's really interesting, though not necessarily true or helpful is the predictions that can be found in the comments. Everyone from Nikon to Sony is in trouble according to the "experts", and will be next.
ReplyDeleteI went out shooting yesterday, and was thinking how much I would miss m4/3 if I decided that it was the end of the line. With 3 lenses, I had the equivalent of 16-600 field of view. I just can't think of any way to replace that in FF, and have it somewhat portable and/or affordable.
Maybe that have already and I missed it, but it seems like it would be a great time for Panasonic to come out and make a statement if they plan to continue to support m4/3.