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Olympus controlled demolition, follow topic to get realtime updates
  • 159 Replies sorted by
  • @hoodlum

    This statement had been referenced above (as translation from Japanese). Photofocus just reintroduced it somehow thinking that it is their exclusive. This is how I understand it.

    It is all so bad in Olympus that you already saw contradicting statements even in such short life time.

    Much more strange statements will come.

  • Your are mistaken Vitaliy. The most recent statement from Olympus today is much different.

  • @hoodlum

    I see all the same things we had in statement in Japanese, people just translated it by themselves and mostly just parts. Here we have some attempt of official translation.

    It also looks very fun, as Bloomberg clearly had their points checked, as influence if their article and statements in it are around 1000x more than some almost random photo guy who somehow became statement address.

  • Two more talks prove my initial point in this topic.

    Olympus is in full chaos for now. Top management is not sure that they made right decision to not join L mount alliance (that is also financial disaster for now for all except Sigma).

    Dealers and lower managers push big price cuts on more premium modes that can reach as much as 50% in early 2020. But higher managers are not supporting this and just look in meditation mode at shrinking sales numbers. One of my sources that that for 2 top models Olympus has reserve to cut retail price by 70% from present number and still be profitable.

  • @Vitaliy_Kiselev

    So, they are still contemplating about joining the L-mount alliance.

    Of course nothing is set in stone. Except Mr Wong's fanboyism it seems.

  • @EspenB

    As far as I understand - no one even bothered to offer them this.

    Panasonic had been in such PR hurry that part of management that totally hated Olympus competition saw this as chance to get rid of them. Of course, no one will tell you such, and Olympus managers will tell that it had been logical decision (as they don't have resources for new LSi and making new FF cameras anyway)

  • I speak as an Olympus Visionary, so I’m also limited in what I can say.

    I am still very much active in my role as an Olympus Visionary.

    When I talk to the people I have long standing relationships within Olympus with, they see see L mount as an opportunity to further extend what Olympus are already known for...small cameras, unique features and they now own this market.

    When you make full frame cameras, you just can’t make cameras and optics as small. Not everyone is as obsessed by 135 format / FF as you’d think. We’re also in a bubble of movie making video shooting, but most of the customers for these cameras are stills shooters.

    Even when Olympus made film cameras, they were always aiming to be smaller and with a Leica-like simplicity of style and operation. The original OM-1 was called the M1 originally as a not subtle nod to Leica. They were sued and had to change the name.

    “ The first model was presented at photokina in Cologne in 1972 and was called the Olympus M-1. Thirteen years earlier, the release of the Nikon F had made the 35 mm SLR the standard choice for professionals accustomed to Leica and other rangefinders, but it had driven the market towards heavy and bulky cameras. The Olympus M-1 changed this and with it began a reduction of size, weight and noise of the 35 mm SLRs. It was designed by a team led by Yoshihisa Maitani, who had already created the Pen and Pen F cameras, noted for their compactness.

    Since Leica's flagship rangefinder cameras are known as the M Series, Leica complained about the name of the M-1, forcing Olympus to rename it as the OM-1 to further clarify between the brands. Because of this, today bodies and lenses with the original M name are rare (52000 bodies were made according to Olympus) and sought after by collectors.”

    Now it’s really only Olympus in the stills side of things offering a compelling alternative in m4/3 for those that sensor size doesn’t matter as much as portability and feature set. Olympus have always sold well into the landscape / wildlife / sports markets and they value the extra reach you get from a smaller sensor.

    I think they see this gives them more room to develop to their core values, their spiritual values, back to the earlier cameras are smaller lighter alternatives to their big and bulky competitors. That’s what they’ve always been known for and what they’re planning to keep on doing.

    I don’t see any evidence of panic. I see heads down working on what’s to come, not phased by 135 / FF / L mount.

    I also don’t think Panasonic have hit a home run either with L mount. I don’t see much evidence of a rush to full frame from their user base, or appeal to new users. And it’s getting crowded in 135 / FF now.

    I also see other cine camera manufactures making m4/3 camera variants too. I really don’t think m43 is going away anytime soon....

    JB

  • I wanna be a Panasonic Visionary, what kind of drugs I need to take? Thanks :)

  • @johnbrawley

    Interesting post, thanks.

    I am also big m43 fan, and Olympus idea to keep making nice m43 cameras had been nice, as idea.

    It is just two issues - who will be making them very good sensors (as Sony feel less and less inclined to invest human resources in m43), and who will be making them LSI that will be up to the task.

    They started with Panasonic providing both, later kept Panasonic LSI and started to use Sony sensors, same as Panasonic. And as LSI manufacturing had been further sold by alliance that owned it, it is not clear who will make it all.

    Add to this constant pressure of financial underperformance.

    Usually big dealers and PR/marketing/training staff are best indication (in strictly private talks) of that happening. And as far as I can see - nothing good happening at Olympus/

    I also don’t think Panasonic have hit a home run either with L mount. I don’t see much evidence of a rush to full frame from their user base, or appeal to new users. And it’s getting crowded in 135 / FF now.

    As far as my sources tell - it is biggest financial disaster in recent Panasonic cameras sales history.

  • @gaman Here you go https://www.panasonic.com/global/consumer/lumix/ambassadors/photo.html

    @Vitaliy_Kiselev Olympus have always sourced sensors from third parties. Kodak, Sony and Panasonic. And Sony semi will sell to anyone. Really as long as Olympus will pay. Just like they sell to many other camera companies in this field. I don’t think sensors are the challenge it’s the shrinking photo market itself which is where the volume is.

    The component business has no brand alliance in business to business transactions. Within Japan these guys are all happy to sell sensors and components to each other. I don’t think there’s issues there...

    The issue is the market itself. Consumers don’t buy cameras any more, they use phones. So the market is shrinking to enthusiast and blogger / you tubers. We cine users are really a small niche. There’s not enough room for all these cameras.

    JB

  • @johnbrawley

    As far as I see it is now only Sony making competitive m43 sensors for consumer cameras.

    And no, Sony won't sell to anyone, as they are very careful now, already cutting support and people devoted to m43 sensors. One of the people I talked said that they think about stopping all new development on consumer m43 (may leave some industrial).

    Situation with LSI also changed extremely from last years. It is big issues here, largest of all issues that Olympus has.

    Consumers don’t buy cameras any more, they use phones. So the market is shrinking to enthusiast and blogger / you tubers.

    I look at this different. I see exactly firms and their visionaries and ambassadors (who restored almost all their influence around 4-6 years ago, after it went to almost nothing in the end of analog era) who alienated themselves to users and tech persons in last 3-4 years.

    I also see it as disaster of understanding, where visionaries and ambassadors keep promoting "stupid cameras" despite consumers clearly want very advanced "smart cameras".

  • @Vitaliy_Kiselev

    That’s not the way I understand it. I work with two companies that work with Sony sensors. In both cases they have their own relationship that is fire walled. Their Sony contacts have no contact with the other parts of the sensor business.

    Sony semi treat Sony themselves as a customer, just the same way they would treat any customer, they have their own client liaison. They develop and customise the chips to their clients specifications. Everything with a price of course. That’s their business. They don’t practice favouritism. I think that’s why you see so many sony sensors in so many supposedly competitive brands.

    I’m technically an Olympus Visionary, but that simply reflects that I have a consulting relationship with Olympus to help them understand what more professional users want in video features. I don’t have a YouTube channel, I’m not out there marketing hard for them. I occasionally make content for them, but it’s more an exercise in field testing for them and they use it for internal training, not as marketing material. Here’s a video that was or originally an internal training video showing the PRO primes when they launched, and trying to explain the difference between their log-ish profile and then graded images. The bottom left corner of this film is ungraded.

    When there’s a topic that I feel I can speak to with some first hand knowledge, like this one, I’ll weigh in, but it’s not mindless shrilling.

    I’ve always tried to be camera agnostic. I use any camera that get’s me the shot I want and I learned long ago there’s no one perfect camera that can do everything. I’m shooting right now with a mix of Arri, Olympus, GoPro and Blackmagic cameras. My camera letter codes go up to S. Because that’s what I’d be using anyway, not what I’m paid to use or PAID TO SAY I’m using, which seems to be the case more.

    I respect Olympus for their choice to often travel the road less travelled. Much like I respect Blackmagic for being brave enough to do what no one else will do. Olympus have a proud history of innovation. I mean they had the first camera with live view. Not that long ago it wan’t a thing and yet now it’s common. They had a supersonic cleaning system for the sensor when everyone else thought it routine to have to clean the sensor for sensor dirt. I’ve never had to clean any of my Olympus camera sensors. I still have to swab my M series Leica’s

    Their IS has always been a generation ahead of everyone else. I respect that innovation and those are the reasons I’m happy to associate myself with them as a brand, especially because they have invited feedback directly from me and I feel very proud to have had some of that feedback come though in product. I wouldn’t do it unless I actually am allowed to speak my mind about their product.

    I talked a lot during my early meetings with them about DSLR lenses not being good enough for manual focussing and now look at the Pro Primes. They have hard stops now and you can easily do repeat manual focus pulls and they all weigh the same and are the same size and filter size for changing on gimbals. They’re also beautiful optics. Olympus see’s itself as an optics company first and foremost by the way. Their logo is a sideways view of a lens.

    Am I going to shoot a big budget series with their cameras ? No. Not unless that’s what’s the story actually called for. But do they offer something unique that I can’t easily replicate with other cameras ? Yes.

  • @johnbrawley

    In both cases they have their own relationship that is fire walled. Their Sony contacts have no contact with the other parts of the sensor business. Sony semi treat Sony themselves as a customer, just the same way they would treat any customer, they have their own client liaison. They develop and customise the chips to their clients specifications. Everything with a price of course. That’s their business. They don’t practice favouritism. I think that’s why you see so many sony sensors in so many supposedly competitive brands.

    "Sony semi treat Sony themselves as a customer, just the same way they would treat any customer" this part is only partially true. Sony never provides same sensors to third parties at same terms as to their own department, normally they also have agreed delay on new cameras releases from other companies.

    Considering visionaries and ambassadors, most of this people are very good and nice guys. I know lot of them personally. Issue is that whole institution is outdated and now plays destructive role for manufacturers.

    Proper way is to involve masses (of course it will be 1-5% of really interested people) into cameras design from day one. Open new talents, bring up engineers from other fields and so on and so on. Make cameras modular and with documented interfaces, so small firms and competition will be able to offer their solution.

    Smartphones market has lot of issues, but it is very fluid, with lot of knowledge and lot of practically open things. If not the secret Sony/Samsung cartel here - sensor improvements could be much more radical. And it seems like we could see mobile sensors war in coming 2-3 years.

  • Cameras and interchangeable lenses have a rapid development cycle of technologies such as image processing and optics, and will be the driving force of imaging, which is the core of Olympus technology. The technology cultivated in the imaging business is useful for 4K endoscope systems in the medical field.

    Real tragedy comes. And no, you don't need consumer m43 cameras tech for 4K endoscopes, no way.

    https://www.nikkei.com/article/DGXMZO53703240T21C19A2000000/

  • This is like the Christian vision of 'the end of the world is near'.

  • Olympus visionary telling you that Olympus should do, yes it is weird logic

  • Olympus will launch the new Olympus E-M1III in mid February! I Still have no images and specs but I should receive some info soon…

    Even if we will see this camera it'll be just another price hike, same LSI (renaming by PR department does not count) and old sensor.

  • Biggest Olympus advantage can be if management will be able to close gracefully and silently, and do it before total collapse of sales.

  • At Olympus, we work hard to make people’s lives healthier, safer, and more fulfilling through our technologies and products, and we prioritize the well-being of our team, ambassadors, and customers above all else.

    Due to recent public health concerns we have made the difficult decision to postpone all consumer events in the United Stated and Canada until further notice. We look forward to rescheduling these events as soon as possible and will contact registrants directly once revised event information is confirmed.

    We are also providing information regarding the best ways to clean and disinfect your camera gear. If you have any additional feedback or questions, please contact our Customer Service team at getolympus.com/contactus for further assistance. Thank you for your patience and understanding.

    As we'll be out of this it is super high probability that it won't be Olympus brand on camera market anymore.

  • As consumer cameras part of corporation is being close to death, medical part is expected to get absolutely record profits in coming months. As Olympus is leading manufacturer of bronchoscopes that will be soon bought in 10-20x volume and special premium prices.

  • Some people thought that Olympus was planning to reduce or even close its imaging business, but that is not the case. Imagery continues to play an important role in the business, by being at the forefront of technologies or innovations. We will therefore certainly maintain the imaging activity as an important part of Olympus society. The rapid pace of technological development could help accelerate certain developments in medical devices or life sciences. The photo division is also our public face, and contributes to the fact that many people know about Olympus, which should promote the presence of the brand.

    From French interview. Quite shitty one.

    I am sure that Olympus is planning to do lot of things with all of 4-5 people marketing they'll soon have left in the world. And 10 influencers.

  • New press release

    In light of the spread of the new coronavirus(COVID-19) in countries around the world, Olympus Corporation (hereinafter the “Company”) and its subsidiaries are requesting the domestic and overseas employees to work from home, etc. with the purpose of preventing infections from the spread of the new coronavirus. Under these circumstances, the Company is making every effort to continue providing products and services to medical professionals and other stakeholders. However, the Company has judged that it is difficult to proceed with the scheduled accounting procedures implemented by the Company and its domestic and overseas affiliates as scheduled. The Company will postpone the announcement of the fiscal year ended March 2020, which was scheduled for early May, to May 29th. The date of the 152nd general meeting of shareholders is scheduled for late June 2020. The Company will announce this specific schedule as soon as it is decided. The Company sincerely apologizes for the inconvenience and concern caused to our shareholders, investors, and other stakeholders, and asks you for your understanding.

    Report for camera division will be horrible,

    Olympus sales as far as I checked dropped 90-95% in some countries.

  • Here we go again, wet dreams

    We can clearly say that we have no plans to sell our business, despite the rumors…The consumer business really leads in developing new technologies for us, that are then sometimes used in other divisions, like medical and life science products. Our role besides our own [imaging] business, is really to lead technology and innovation for the entire company. So yes, we will continue this business.

    https://www.imaging-resource.com/news/2020/05/06/olympus-interview-em1ii-will-stay-starry-sky-af-and-more

    Company now selling 10% or below cameras compared to last year and we still have such interviews.