
Olympus quits camera business after 84 years - Element_
https://www.bbc.com/news/technology-53165293
======
akersten
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've been buying exclusively Nikon for almost my
entire time in the hobby. I always saw Canon as a large conglomerate who
tacked on photography as another arm of their company, where to me Nikon feels
more focused on optics as a primary business line. Honestly, I should almost
start buying more Pentax gear.

I worry we're slowly approaching a monoculture in photography, but it's hard
to convince folks outside of the hobby to care.

~~~
ISL
To me, the big monoculture risk is Sony's image-sensor fab. As I understand
it, Sony, Fuji, Nikon and many others all rely upon the output of one
company's manufacturing process.

There's a good reason for it -- they appear to make the very best sensors
(edit: in terms of dynamic range and noise) in the commercial-camera market.
Canon makes their own sensors, which are good in absolute but not relative
terms, which appears to hold them back in performance. I don't know if it is
patent-related or process-related.

While I use Canon imaging systems, I don't see the choice to use other brands
as better or worse. Each manufacturer's line has strengths and weaknesses; you
pick the best tool for the job. Essentially every camera and optical system on
the market, in absolute terms, is a wonderful instrument for imaging.

This reality is intensely freeing -- it means you can focus more on the image
and less on the instrumentation. "f/8 and be there" is still wonderful advice.

~~~
bayindirh
Sony's image sensor fab business is a bit different.

First of all, there's two companies: Semiconductor and Imaging. Sony opens
some of their technologies to other customers by transferring Imaging unit's
patents to Semi and allows them for re-licensing. So, not everyone is using
the same sensor even if they are coming out from the same fab.

Second, there's customer tailored sensor business. Sony can provide a customer
a baseline to start and, customer can customize this sensor according to their
needs and got it produced for themselves.

Lastly, there's strict division between customers in semiconductor side. So
Sony Imaging can't access to specs and design of other customers' sensors.

How it works in real life?

\- Sony A7 series use Sony's sensors with all their secrets at their disposal
but, not with Nikon's and Fuji's secret sauces.

\- Nikon orders customized, "Designed by Nikon" sensors to Sony Semi. Sony
Imaging cannot access them (unless they buy and disassemble a Nikon Z).

\- Same for Fuji. They have less rolling shutter in XT-4 for example, and it's
again built by Sony, for Fuji. No, Sony Imaging can't play with them.

\- Canon R5's sensor is "Designed by Canon". I'm not sure they are producing
it. Sony or Tower Jazz maybe producing it. I don't know.

At the end of the day, the fab is almost one but, designs are many and
diversified and, nobody can see each other's design. Like TSMC and Global
Foundries.

~~~
ISL
Totally agreed, but if that one fab company falls over, much of the imaging
industry has a problem. That's the monoculture.

~~~
bayindirh
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.

~~~
amarshall
Intel offers custom work
[https://www.intel.com/content/www/us/en/foundry/overview.htm...](https://www.intel.com/content/www/us/en/foundry/overview.html)

You forgot Samsung as one of the big fabs.

~~~
bayindirh
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.

~~~
to11mtm
Yeah, but my guess is Kingston's fabs are primarily geared towards Memory
(i.e. NAND Flash and RAM) (much like Micron).

Memory is fairly easy to fab; in fact memory was one of the first things we
saw Asian fabs rise up and overtake US/EU fabs on.

------
Ice_cream_suit
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 investments.

Olympus created a tobashi scheme to shift losses off the Olympus balance
sheet. Companies located in the Cayman Islands were purchased via exorbitant
Management and Acquisition Fees.

When the first Western President, Michael Woodford, questioned these
practices, he was fired after two weeks on the job. Woodford became perhaps
the first CEO ever to blow the whistle on his own firm.

The subsequent scandal brought arrests of the executive team, an 80% decline
in share price, the threat of de-listing on the Tokyo Exchange, and an
international look at Japanese Corporate Governance. "

[https://files.eric.ed.gov/fulltext/EJ1053608.pdf](https://files.eric.ed.gov/fulltext/EJ1053608.pdf)

~~~
dmix
For those curious how Tobashi Schemes work
[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tobashi_scheme](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tobashi_scheme)

------
_ph_
One thing to notice is: Olympus is NOT shutting down the camera business. It
gets split off the Olympus coproration and is supposed to run as an
independant company. Of course that could mean a later death, but it can also
mean that it continues to prosper as management might take new directions.

Also, while still producing a deficit, the camera division managed to improve
the balances quite a bit over the last year. A completely new production
facility was opened not long ago in Vietnam, and new camera models and lenses
were launched, others still in the pipeline and the plans are to bring them to
the market.

I am a very happy Olympus user and definitely hope, that their lineup has a
long future. I see mFT as a great alternative to the ubiquos "full frame"
cameras, which are, if you look at the complete sets, more expensive and
especially bigger and heavier. And despite of the "small sensor", Olympus
cameras produce excellent results, to no small amount due to the excellent
optics.

~~~
127
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.

~~~
_ph_
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.

~~~
slantyyz
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.

------
Someone1234
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 that is shrinking faster:
Smaller form factor/lower optical powerful photography equipment; exactly the
kind being eaten alive by smartphones.

While Panasonic and others will continue the M43 standard for a while longer,
the writing may be on the wall. Some competition have moved into niches (e.g.
medium format, videography, etc), which may have better longer term stability.

~~~
brendoelfrendo
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!

~~~
h2odragon
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.

~~~
Jedd
What do you want to do that you can not do now?

~~~
h2odragon
I'd like to get video using the lens; for stills the current olympus e3 its
paired with is still pretty good.

~~~
Jedd
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.

~~~
slantyyz
> 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.

~~~
Jedd
I've held a friend's Panasonic, but that's as close as I've come to one -
never used it, navigated menus, etc.

I had a Minolta 7Hi originally - fixed lens, but sophisticated for the time -
then Olympus E620 (FT), and then the EM-5 MkII (mFT). So my experience has
consistently improved, but isn't very wide.

With FT and mFT cameras, the Olympus menus for a long time (and perhaps still)
have an unfortunate default setting of the 'Super Control Panel' being
disabled. Almost everyone enables this excellent feature, but that requires
some deep diving into the standard menu system, and sometimes some conflicting
settings need changing. But (!) once you've done that, I've found navigating
the settings & controls to be blissful.

------
barbegal
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 few years are professionals and Olympus
hasn't had a huge offering for professionals. The micro four thirds standard
is a great compromise between size and picture quality but it isn't what most
professionals are looking for. They can use a phone for most of the things
that an Olympus camera is good for and everyone these days already has a phone
on them.

One market that hasn't been explored by camera manufacturers is software
upgrades. I would pay a fair bit of money to get some of the latest
computational photography features on my 5 year old camera.

~~~
pkulak
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](https://photos.app.goo.gl/TSFhhA5igk1iEfRbA)

~~~
onion2k
_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 viewed in Google Photos they could have come from a phone, or an
M43 camera, or even a high-end medium format dSLR.

I do wildlife photography when I'm not building web stuff
([https://www.instagram.com/onion4k/](https://www.instagram.com/onion4k/)) -
that's pretty much impossible with a phone camera simply because you need to a
really long focal length for any animals that won't come close to you, but I
still see people out in the countryside giving it a try. I often wonder if
they're happy with the pictures they take. I _suspect_ they are. For most
people photography is about recording the moment more than producing a print
quality picture.

~~~
lm28469
> 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

------
acjohnson55
I maintain that digital camera manufacturers' biggest failing is not
eliminating the friction between taking pictures and video and getting them
online to social networks, like Instagram. It's super frustrating.

~~~
vncecartersknee
Is it really that difficult? I can connect to my entry level nikon d3400 over
bluetooth and send an image to my smartphone, edit it a bit and upload it to
instagram pretty easily.

Granted the bluetooth is very slow and image editing on a smartphone is fairly
rudimentary but personally I prefer not to edit images too much.

~~~
acjohnson55
The bar for broad market consumer products--which digital cameras once were--
has a much higher bar than that.

"Good enough" would be that you take a picture on your camera, and it's
available as a thumbnail in your phone's gallery without any further action.
Sharing it would trigger a full transfer.

"Great" would be being able to edit and upload without taking your phone out
of your pocket at all.

It blows my mind that we still live in a world where product makers don't get
the cloud. People no longer want to think of data as living within physical
devices, managing copies and transfers. They want to skip to the "job to be
done".

~~~
lm28469
I for one want my camera to be able to take pictures, and that's it. I don't
want it to be a cloud aware 5g connected behemoth running a desktop tier
operating system and lightroom.

~~~
acjohnson55
That's fine. But it's a shrinking market.

------
snapetom
Oh wow. As of last year, I still had an Olympus C-120 in the glove box of my
1999 Miata. Many, many moons ago, it was recommended that you kept a camera in
your car in case you got in an accident. Decades later, I just never bothered
to take it out. One night last summer, I forgot to lock the car. Someone came
through and stole it.

"Uhh, ok," was pretty much my reaction. Hope you get a lot of money from it at
a pawn shop. Maybe that 32MB SmartMedia card might be worth something.

Back in the days of early compact digitals, the Olympus lines were such a
great value. The technology overall wasn't that great to begin with so no one
was head and shoulders above everyone else. Olympus solidly beat everyone on
price, though.

------
nradov
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 mirrorless cameras are too bulky
and extremely expensive.

~~~
slantyyz
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.

~~~
nradov
The Nikon 1 AW1 was discontinued years ago and it is technically inferior to
the Olympus TG-6. Lens options are moot anyway for underwater photography
because you need special wet lenses that attach to the waterproof housing.

------
Paul_S
Is Pentax next? Oh wait, that already happened. What a shame. Both Pentax and
Olympus had unique features to offer. Cameras are not a commodity yet. I still
hope Ricoh will do something, Pentax bodies haven't had a real next generation
in a decade.

~~~
BeetleB
I fully expect Ricoh to drop the Pentax line.

Their APS-C cameras are _fantastic_. Their full frame camera is the best value
for the money - almost half the price of the competition with comparable
quality. Pentax has unique features for the enthusiasts.

But ... the ecosystem is dying. Sigma stopped making Pentax lenses. At this
point I don't think anyone makes lenses for Pentax other than Pentax, and
Pentax lenses are _expensive_ compared to Nikon and Canon. So while the Pentax
full frame body is an excellent value, once you start adding lenses to the
picture, Nikon and Canon still win in the total cost arena. Pentax FF has very
few choices of _modern_ lenses. You could buy their film era lenses, but
supposedly modern ones are a lot better in quality.

I'm a Pentax user. Used to by an Olympus guy. Kind of sucks to have to go
through this all over again.

~~~
Paul_S
Ha, ha. Same here, after I retired from photography I sold my Nikon gear (I
didn't own most of it anyway) and went for an Olympus, mostly for size (no
mirrorles back then). Then I had all my gear stolen and seeing that Olympus
was slow at developing pro bodies it promised I went for Pentax. At some point
I will probably arrive full circle back at Nikon after Pentax gives up.

Pentax glass is really nice, I wasn't bothered about sigma. The more annoying
thing is flash support always sucks for Pentax.

~~~
BeetleB
> Pentax glass is really nice, I wasn't bothered about sigma.

Pentax glass is great. It's also expensive! I want medium quality options.

------
meowzero
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 enhancements the phones do.

Panasonic is at least focused on video. That helped their market a bit. But
who knows how they'll do in a few years? They've entered the saturated full
frame market. Pentax is probably in trouble too. They don't even have
mirrorless offerings.

~~~
rimliu
Actually it is APS-C that needs to go. That format does not offer significant
IQ upgrade compared to M43 and has not significant size benefits compared to
FF.

No matter how good phones are there is still a clear advantage M43 has over
them.

------
x87678r
My Dad had an OM-1, and later I bought an OM-D E-M5. Its amazing how much
sentiment affects decisions. I have and love both those cameras, many happy
memories.

~~~
galleypage
Definitely - my favorite film camera was a Pen F half-frame with the big
gothic "F" on the front. Old, but really compact (and worked well-enough with
lens adapters, right until it got stolen a couple years back).

The feel of the thing definitely got me to buying the E-M5.

~~~
mtraven
I still have one of those, a hand-me-down from my father...was my first real
camera.

------
jbarham
FWIW I run a website that allows you to interactively filter Micro Four Thirds
lenses: [https://www.m43lenses.com/](https://www.m43lenses.com/)

~~~
Anther
That’s very handy. I’ve not seen anyone talking about Blackmagic in this
thread, but my Pocket 4K is always in need of new m4/3 lenses!

------
runxel
Sad to see them go and see the industry losing even more competition. Had a
couple of Olympus' and was always delighted by their quality.

But on the other hand the underlying problem is quite true: Since the advent
of the smartphone I see myself rely more and more on my smartphone (even tho I
still don't really like that "look", but as long you don't plan to have a
professional photo shooting it's "good enough").

On the other hand: the camera business seem to have stopped any evolution. I
didn't see one thing in the last 10 years that made me go "what a gamechanger!
I need that!"...

~~~
ksk
>On the other hand: the camera business seem to have stopped any evolution. I
didn't see one thing in the last 10 years that made me go "what a gamechanger!
I need that!"...

That's not true at all. Recent innovation in diffractive optics & phase
fresnel lens (gap-less) designs is a gamechanger that has recently allowed
compact lens designs to compete with larger, heavier lenses. For wild-life
photographers looking to travel and fit their gear in the overhead bin, its a
gamechanger. Sony's Eye AF is a gamechanger for portrait photographers looking
for increased productivity. Mirrorless cameras with live EVFs are gamechangers
for photographers who no longer need to take a test-shot to check for exposure
(mainly blown highlights which can be avoided with live zebras). Sony A9's
triple stacked sensor design and its super fast read-out is a gamechanger for
shooting sports w/ a silent shutter (e.g. golf).

There are plenty of game changing technologies. Ofcource, it all depends on
what it means to YOUR photography.

------
oweqruiowe
Shocker! I have owned two of their micro 4/3 digital cameras and loved them.
Great rangefinder style in the $600 range with quality lenses in the box. I
remember the first time I took the camera out with the telephoto lens and
being shocked by the quality of the photos. Learned then that quality of
camera + lens really makes a difference in nice looking photos.

Edit - replaced 'DSLR' with digital

~~~
slantyyz
> I have owned two of their micro 4/3 DSLR cameras

I thought all of their 4/3 cameras were DSLRs and all of their micro 4/3
cameras were mirrorless?

~~~
oweqruiowe
Excuse my ignorance, correct, it is mirrorless :D

------
yoran
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 :/...

~~~
slantyyz
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.

------
ChuckMcM
Sad, I agree with the article though that they made some rather curious
choices that didn't help their prospects.

I still have a Camedia C3030 Zoom for some reason with all the doo-dads (extra
flash extension, XM memory cards) it had an awesome F2.8 lens and could take
very nice pictures @ 3MP. I replaced it with an C5050 Zoom that had an F1.8
lens but gave that one away when I replaced it with a Canon SD550 (which for
some reason I also still have :-)).

I joked on Twitter that the "big feature reveal" for Canon's 2020 DSLR would
be that you could make phone calls with it. So much of the camera market was
consumed by phone cameras.

While it has done wonders for bringing the price of sensors down, the really
important bit of the camera, and the part where Olympus had an edge, are the
lenses.

I hope whomever buys the camera unit can continue the tradition with some
better choices.

~~~
codazoda
I just have a simple DSLR from Canon, which says it has WiFi, but the wifi
experience is so poor it's not really usable.

I guess my point is that if they add a phone, it won't make phone calls
without a lot of stress, so you probably won't use it.

Edit: I realize that adding a phone is a joke.

------
killface
Awww... so sad to see this. I know phones have basically eaten everybody's
lunch except serious photographers.

It's the march of progress, but their mirrorless cameras were solid. I have a
couple Fuji X-series bodies myself, and I wouldn't be surprised if they
announce something similar any time soon. Amazing body, amazing glass, amazing
software, amazing photos... but at the end of the day, the incremental
increase in quality and/or flexibility doesn't make up for the form factor.
And now that camera software is so damn good, and we're utilizing multiple
lenses with multiple optical ranges to make a composite photograph...

snapshots are all that 99% of people ever needed, but I really thought the
mirrorless cameras would eventually supplant dslr.

------
vincnetas
*Consumer camera business.

~~~
jandrese
Are consumer digicams even a thing anymore? Everything below the prosumer
level had their lunch eaten by smartphones.

~~~
fennecfoxen
The fact that they really aren't "a thing" seems to be the exact reason
they're getting out of the business, yes.

------
technofiend
I started photography with a Canon AE-1 and my aunt's darkroom and lusting
after Hasselblad cameras because they were used in the space program. It's
been a life long love. But carrying a camera is a conscious decision and a
cell phone is always in your pocket.

I anticipated Project Ara meshing the two worlds by adding high quality
modular photo capture options to an Android phone. Pixel and iPhone have such
excellent photography that it's _almost_ moot.

But still if there was a cell phone meant for photography I would be sorely
tempted. The RED phone was a bust but perhaps someone else will somehow
package a lens and a phone in a way that means you can always have both.

------
jakebasile
It's sad to see this - they do of course claim that they'll still be making
cameras for the time being but who knows how long that will last, and at what
level of investment. Olympus was already considered somewhat behind the
cutting edge in technology in the camera body space (they do have quite high
quality lenses, though).

I hope there are no more "deaths in the family" in the photographic industry
anytime soon, as the market is already down to only a few large players left.
Personally, I love my Nikon equipment and hope they continue to make gear for
decades but even Nikon and Canon seem like they'd be at risk, now.

------
rpiguy
If they weren't a Japanese company I'd say just wait a year and they will sell
the name to a Chinese company and you'll have Olympus cameras again in 12
months time at a fourth of the cost.

~~~
fomine3
Olympus sold camera dept to Japan Industrial Partners, Inc that also had
bought VAIO dept from Sony previously. I don't expect they sell the dept to
China.

------
IMAYousaf
As someone with a huge photography itch and a gear nerd who actually isn't a
practitioner, can someone with domain expertise in photography and cameras
give some insights or predictions in to what they see as the future of
photography?

I have a sophomoric understanding of the shift from SLR --> DSLR --> Sony led
Mirrorless cameras.

Where do we go from here?

How do things like Hasselblad's X1D II entry level medium format shape up the
market? Do more companies go down market? Do the Sonys of the world go
upmarket?

~~~
jetrink
My prediction is that full frame cameras will eventually be squeezed out by
APS-C and medium format.

On one side, medium format cameras are shrinking in both size and price. The
Canon 5D Mark IV is thicker, taller and heavier than Fuji's GFX 50R[1]. Medium
format cameras aren't quite as small as full frame mirrorless cameras, but
they are no longer impractically large either. If image quality is paramount,
size and cost will no longer rule out medium format.

On the other side, APS-C cameras are now firmly in the 'good enough' area of
the image quality curve - even for many professional applications - and they
are continuing to improve. If you have other practical considerations and can
do with lesser (but still excellent) image quality, APS-C will be your choice.

1\.
[https://camerasize.com/compare/#682,805](https://camerasize.com/compare/#682,805)

~~~
IMAYousaf
Do you think it is possible that cellphone cameras are coming closer to APS-C
and thus its those that end up losing out? Full frame seems to be a
significant value add relative to APS-C for a prosumer, just as how medium
format is a significant jump up.

~~~
jetrink
I think not. The difference between cellphone and APS-C cameras is in both
quality and category. A dedicated camera has an ergonomic shape, a viewfinder,
interchangeable lenses, hardware dials, switches and buttons. The people who
don't care about those things have already switched to smartphones, while the
people who enjoy photography as a hobby and the professionals will never want
to give them up. The sensor of an APS-C camera is 20x as large as a
cellphone's, so you're already well into the region of diminishing returns. Is
a full frame sensor that is 30x as large really that much more compelling?
Especially when you consider the downsides that come with supporting a larger
sensor (larger camera body, larger and more expensive lenses, etc.) Maybe it
is now, but advances in sensor technology continue to make APS-C good enough
for more and more purposes.

------
pkulak
I'm really sad about this. It feels like everyone went full-frame without
appreciating the benefits of smaller lenses and bodies. Olympus glass is the
best in the industry, probably because they don't have to make everything so
damn large. I've got Olympus lenses that cost $400 new and can't even match
$2000 full-frame glass. Sure, I'll keep my kit forever, but it sucks to know
I'll never upgrade any of it.

~~~
photogram
It's true the lenses Olympus make may take up much less volume than an
equivalent large focal length for full frame.

But the downside is they're not cheaper in the prosumer space. The spatial
resolution demands put on the lens by a 20MP M43 sensor is actually pretty
similar to a 42MP Sony A7Rii. This means the manufacturing tolerances are the
same as full frame, which is a large component of lens cost.

This means that for the average consumer not interested in long range wildlife
photography where the price of glass does come into play (e.g. 600mm), there
isn't any price advantage.

As an example, have a look at the 12-100mm F4 for Olympus
([https://www.bhphotovideo.com/c/product/1281427-REG/olympus_v...](https://www.bhphotovideo.com/c/product/1281427-REG/olympus_v314080bu000_m_zuiko_digital_ed_12_100mm.html))
vs the new Tamron 28-200 F2.8-5.6 for Sony FE
([https://www.bhphotovideo.com/c/product/1568708-REG/tamron_a0...](https://www.bhphotovideo.com/c/product/1568708-REG/tamron_a071_28_200mm_f_2_8_5_6_di_iii.html))

The Tamron actually outperforms the Olympus lens in terms of spatial
resolution/sharpness on a 24MP sensor (because the photosites are larger), has
a 2 stops faster wide end, and is $500 cheaper.

Even more interesting is that there is only a 14g difference in weight between
these two lenses. Granted the Olympus will have better weather sealing.

The average prosumer is going to do the math and see that for a lower total
system cost (body + lens) they're getting more in terms of sensor and lens
performance for a negligible increase in weight.

This wasn't true in the early days of Sony's FE system, but as of 2020 with
modern, sharp, short flange lens designs from 3rd parties - the
price/performance ratio has become better than I ever predicted it would be

~~~
pkulak
Yeah, you're right. But still, the Olympus is water sealed and stabilized to
like 7 stops. And it's still smaller and uses smaller bodies, even if not
drastically.

That said, I don't like that Olympus lens. I don't have it and have no
interest. Like you said, it's a bit silly and defeats the purpose of the
format. But give me the 45 prime and I've got a camera with great reach that
can nearly fit in my pocket.

------
bserge
Olympus was one of my first digital cameras. I forgot the model, but I still
remember it used SMC/SmartMedia cards, which were an exotic item back then
(CF/CompactFlash were the most common).

The picture quality of that camera was better than even Canon or Sony, and it
cost less.

Sad, but I haven't heard anything about Olympus for a long time. They
developed their own standard for mirrorless cameras, but then kind of
vanished, at least in my world :/

------
m0zg
Sad, but inevitable, after Nikon stopped dragging its feet. I used Oly cameras
for a few years, mostly due to their compact size and excellent in-body
stabilization. But then Nikon released Z6 and I switched to that. Not much
larger, much better image quality (Sony looks too "blue" for me), great
usability, great stabilization, great glass so far. Still Olympus OM-D series
were excellent cameras.

~~~
rimliu
Z6 may be compact, but the lenses for FF will be big, heavy and expensive
anyway. Also, I do not think that anyone came close to Olympus IBIS.

~~~
m0zg
You can just use f/4 most of the time. 24-70 Nikon f/4 is not that different
in size or weight compared to 12-40 f/2.8 Oly. Image quality is still going to
be better.

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

~~~
kaypro
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/](http://minimalnotes.com/a-minimalists-hobby-camera-kit/). I'm
really hoping Panasonic makes some announcements in the next month or two...
fingers crossed!

~~~
slantyyz
Have you considered the 9-18 for traveling?

I have an equivalent lens for my Nikon J5 (so I'm in no rush to pick up the
9-18 - or I should say -was- in no rush prior to the Oly announcement), and
it's the lens I use the most during the day when traveling. When I travel, I
usually bring my J5 with the wide zoom and my GM5 with a pancakey lens
(switching cameras is easier than lenses, imo) plus a lightweight long zoom.

~~~
kaypro
I rarely go below the 50mm focal length so the 12-32 has been ok for those
rare occasions so far.

------
mikeInAlaska
Lots of my friends are switching over to Sony. Sony high end gear works better
out of the box. My Nikon fluorite 600mm f4 E and D850 has to be recalibrated
for wide temperature changes. I expect my DSLR and lens to know when its in
focus, not for me to have to tell it periodically where best focus is.

------
vparikh
I have been a long time M43 user since they released the very first OMD-EM5.
And the OMD line has been the __best __camera for the everyday user - highly
capable, small with amazing small lens that really are great. The Olympus 45,
Panasonic 20mm and the 80-150 are truly some the greatest lens for any system.
Shure, you loose some depth of field - but for 95% of the people it is
perfect.

However, when I was ready to upgrade my OMD-EM5 purchased in 2009 (11 years
ago!) - I started the move away from my M43 system. And heres why:

Cost - The Nikon Z6 with an FTZ adapter can be had for $1550 brand new.
Compare that to a new OMD-EM5 MkII for $1200 - the EM5 just can't compete.

Size - the Z6 + Nikon 24-70 F4 S is really not that much bigger than the EM5
MkIII. Add the Nikon 24-70 F4 S lens, and the size difference is negligible.
But the AF capabilities and image quality are far superior.

Compatiblity - The Z Mount is absolutely amazing. With third party adapters
you can use just about any lens (Nikon F, Nikon S, Sony FE, Canon EOS) with
full autofocus capability. The Z Mount is the most universal mount anyone has
ever come out with.

Video - I am not a video user, but the Z system has an excellent reputation
for video. Olympus never really concentrated on video - they seeded that
market to Panasonic.

All of this with an amazing echo system and with the first gen Z mount it is
quite amazing already. And the Z mount going forward I feel is going to allow
Nikon some amazing things \- largest diameter with the shortest flange
distance allows for unique designs and edge to sharpness that is absolutely
amazing.

I know this is turning into a Nikon Z love fest, but the point is - with the
new entries from Nikon & Canon, combined with average consumer going to the
cell phone instead of a traditional camera - Olympus simply had to invest way
to much in R&D to justify the possible profits. The shrinking camera market
just put a stake through the heart.

It is sad. Olympus was the most innovative camera company. They were the first
to have sensor cleaning, the best in body stablization, amazing lens and real-
time exposure. All with the most robust bodies in the business.

It is sad to see such a great company with a respected name go to an
investment group. They will probably use the brand and make sub standard
products going forward or milk the brand for a quick buck.

Here's to hoping that some other company comes in restores it to its former
glory.

~~~
JKCalhoun
> combined with average consumer going to the cell phone instead of a
> traditional camera

Sadly all you describe could be pulled up 5 years from now when it's Canon
that is leaving the came a market, or Nikon....

~~~
vparikh
I think you missed what I was saying - Olympus could no longer afford or had
the willingness invest the R&D required to compete with what Nikon and Canon
are going to release over the next 5 years.

Nikon has the best mount/technology base going forward. Canon has the most
money. Canon/Nikon will survive. I see Sony, Pentax, Panasonic leaving the
camera market.

~~~
gimmeThaBeet
It is hard to tell what Sony's future will be with the spinoff, they might
decide they just want to deal with sensors/electronics instead of making
cameras themselves, and leave that business to others. That's sort of a
tossup, because their cameras seem relatively successful atm.

It's tough because the irony that you don't make a ton of money in the imaging
industry selling cameras. Like Pentax now is the part Hoya didn't want
(however happy or not they were with what they got in retrospect). It looks
like Olympus also just wants to focus on science and medical optics.

That's why I sort of worry about Nikon. They do semiconductor/flat panel
stuff, but they are way less diversified than Canon/Sony. Either their camera
business _has_ to be successful or they have to expand the other segment/s.

I don't think it has to do with how deficiency in products or technologies,
but if the high-end camera market changes, Nikon is probably the most
sensitive of the big players.

------
baq
the m.zuiko 45mm f/1.8 is a fantastic piece of glass. shame.

~~~
slantyyz
I used to prefer focals in the 40-60 normal range (ff equiv), but the 45/1.8
was the first lens I bought after making the switch to M43, and it's still my
favorite lens to this day.

------
stx
I had thought about switching to an Olympus micro from my Canon to save in
size/weight. I am not a professional. Glad I didn't now.

~~~
_ph_
The Olympus camera business is not being shut down, only split into a separate
company. So you still can get Olympus mFT gear and I can quite recommend it,
it is wonderful, especially if you want to limit the amount of stuff to carry.
An OMD E-M5 Mk3 with a 25/1.8 or the new 12-45 zoom is extremely capable but
leightweight and compact at the same time.

------
vncecartersknee
This is such a shame, my uncle passed his OM4Ti 35mm on to me recently and I
absolutely adore it, a beautiful camera.

------
MichaelMoser123
Leica is doing mobile cameras for Huawei, i wonder why Olympus didn't follow
the same path

------
ngcc_hk
A sad day. Whilst it is not top it produce very high quality lens and
innovative system. RIP.

------
rbanffy
Poor camera in the photo... They were built like tanks and it must have been
quite a drop.

------
gotzmann
So sad. I used to love that warm and live color of Olympus shots.

------
crististm
Only as a historical note here, but it made enough impression on me that it's
the first thing that comes to mind when I hear Olympus:
[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Olympus_scandal](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Olympus_scandal)

------
solotronics
Super weird. I guess it became not profitable after a time period.

------
ancharm
Another death by iPhone

~~~
sudosysgen
They really got their ass handed to them by Sony, Fuji and Panasonic more than
anything. The market for high quality interchangeable lens cameras hasn't gone
anywhere and isn't going anywhere, but Sony and co really shook it up by
modernizing it, and made a lot of Olympus tech obsolete. I'll never understand
how Olympus decided to sell a camera with a sensor a fourth the size of an A7
at the same price.

That said, the market for point and shoots and other low end to medium end
cameras got really eviscerated and Olympus couldn't find a way to compete at
the higher end.

~~~
rimliu
Oh boy, there is way more to photography than sensor size. Olympus was a
pioner in many of that and not surpassed in some of that. They have the best
IBIS, some innovative computational photography stuff and amazing weather
proofing.

I am glad Olympus decided to sell M43 cameras, as those are you actually take
with you.

~~~
sudosysgen
Of course there is more to photography than sensor size. But an Olympus E-MD I
was more expensive than a Sony A7ii that also has very good IBIS, can adapt
pretty much any lens, and also has solid computational photography abilities.

The Sigma E-MD I that actually has all of the features you're talking about
was almost as big as an A7. The lenses were smaller, but if you don't mind
horrible apertures that you have to get on M4/3 you can also have very small
and light lenses. Even moreso if you go APS-C.

The lens system also has huge pricing issues. The f2.0 zoom on M4/3 is
equivalent to _the kit lens_ on a Sony A7ii. That's a ten times price
reduction! My A7 with a pancake lens is small enough that I can actually slip
it into my pocket (!)

Compromising image quality for portability at such an extreme extent is not a
good idea when smartphone are so plentiful. If sensor size and optics doesn't
really matter, then why not take pictures on your phone? They have amazing
IBIS, innovative computational photography, and so on.

------
tmwed
i could see Snap inc. acquiring this part of their business. there’s a lot of
value in what they’ve done over 84 years.

------
ghoshbishakh
I own an Olympus Pen. Works great for me.

------
Thaxll
Being in the camera business is tough since recent mobile phones, they just
don't compete anymore for most use case.

------
milin
Are canon and nikon next?

------
wintorez
End of an era... :(

------
qwerty456127
This is very sad.

