RIP Olympus Cameras

[George K]

https://thenextweb.com/plugged/2020/06/24/olympus-throws-towel-exits-camera-business/

Olympus — the maker of cameras you may or may not own, but are most likely aware of — has given up. The company sold its camera division to Japan Industrial Partners (JIP), an investment fund that seems to enjoy sucking up almost obsolete tech, as it did with Sony’s VAIO.

This comes hot on the heels of Olympus claiming that it definitely wasn’t going to sell its camera business just over a year ago.

There are various reasons Olympus is jettisoning its camera business. One is that the company now makes the majority of its money from creating medical equipment. Another is that the company’s cameras have been losing cash over the past three years.

This, according to the company, is partly down to the “rapid [camera] market shrink caused by the evolution of smartphones.” It states that it “implemented measures to cope” with this hostile environment, but those, clearly, were nowhere near enough to save it.

JIP will purchase the company’s existing models, and look to develop new ones. So if you own an Olympus camera — or are a fan of the brand — all is not lost. Well, probably.

[Jolly]

They make the best "working" microscope in the industry.

[Aqua Letifer]

Wow. Theirs are good cameras. Then again, mirrorless is just out there killing it, and Olympus have never really gotten involved.

[xenon]

Yeah - good cameras, but all the winners have platforms (Nikon and canon in trad dslr, and Sony in emerging in mirrorless).

It’s just such a cash sink to invest in the ecosystem of lens and progression support with photographers needed to win. It’s an arms race.

Curious how the buyer will run the biz for cash (which is what id assume they’d do)

[Aqua Letifer]

@xenon said in RIP Olympus:

It’s just such a cash sink to invest in the ecosystem of lens and progression support with photographers needed to win. It’s an arms race.

The smart ones aren't competing against each other, though. Fuji for example doesn't at all compete with Nikon; the former have tripled down on aps-c mirrorless and are barely even dabbling in full-frame, plus they've very wisely kept all the manual control capability in their design. Nikon on the other hand are still going in on DSLR because they know professionals will be the last to convert to mirrorless due to their massive lens arsenal.

Sony, on the other hand, want to make great video/still hybrids.

(The arms race is all horseshit, anyway. Technology isn't holding anyone back and most entry-level cameras have more features than the average hobbyist and professional would ever use, unless you're covering sports or wildlife for a living.)

[George K]

@Aqua-Letifer said in RIP Olympus:

(Technology isn't holding anyone back and most entry-level cameras have more features than the average hobbyist and professional would ever use, unless you're covering sports or wildlife for a living.)

Get off my lawn...

My first encounter with a "serious" camera was a Pentax 125. It was a SLR with automatic...nothing.

Manual focus.
No light meter.
No flash.

Nothing.

Any time I wanted to take a photo, it involved pulling out my light meter, manually focusing, and hoping I got it right. Of course, if I was indoors, I'd have to attach the flash via the hot shoe...wait, it didnt have a hot shoe, I had to attach a cable.

I got some pretty damn good pics from that thing - in 1967.

Today, my phone.

MY PHONE

Takes better pictures, easier, with a lot less effort.

As you say, if you're a serious photo geek who likes vinyl to tinker with that kind of shit, have fun, and God bless you. But, if you're just looking to capture memories. There are a lot of cheap(er) alternatives, one of which is probably already in your pocket.

[Aqua Letifer]

@George-K said in RIP Olympus Cameras:

@Aqua-Letifer said in RIP Olympus:

(Technology isn't holding anyone back and most entry-level cameras have more features than the average hobbyist and professional would ever use, unless you're covering sports or wildlife for a living.)

Get off my lawn...

My first encounter with a "serious" camera was a Pentax 125. It was a SLR with automatic...nothing.

Manual focus.
No light meter.
No flash.

Nothing.

Any time I wanted to take a photo, it involved pulling out my light meter, manually focusing, and hoping I got it right. Of course, if I was indoors, I'd have to attach the flash via the hot shoe...wait, it didnt have a hot shoe, I had to attach a cable.

Get off mine, jackass! I learned on a Pentax k1000 in high school journalism. Plus one of my best friends built a darkroom in his basement. I learned how to get pretty good at using a hair dryer and film sqeegee. After high school though, I never touched the stuff again.

Until about 5 or 6 years ago. No film, though, just digital.

I've currently got:

• a Sony a6000 I need to sell
• a panasonic Lumix with an 830 nm sensor filter conversion
• a fuji xf10. I freaking love this thing because nobody takes it seriously. Plus it's the ultimate learning camera if you're serious about learning how to actually take better photos.
• a fuji xt30 with a 50mm prime and a Tiffen black pro mist filter. (I don't need an xt3. Like at all.)
• a fujinon 15-45 zoom
• a shitload of Nikon manual (yeah that's right, I still use zone focusing because I am not a wussy) primes and zooms: a 55-135 f3.5 (I care not for bokeh because it's a compositional crutch), a 55 mm 1.2, a 35 mm 1.4, another 55 mm 1.2 I got from my father-in-law, and a shitty minolta 200 mm 3.5 that creates a very cool, soft kinda quality to the image. Oh and a Sony 50mm kit lens.
• I also have 2 Moment lenses for my phone, which I use quite a bit.

@George-K you still have your Pentax?

[taiwan_girl]

@Aqua-Letifer said in RIP Olympus Cameras:

Pentax k1000

Took many photos with this camera!!! Still in a closet somewhere. LOL

Currently have a Canon EOS 70D, but as @George-K mentions, phone cameras are getting so good. Mine will too, once I upgrade from my iPhone 5S. LOL