Nikkei report says Japanese camera manufacturers are in for a 'shake-up' following Olympus sale
Very interesting, Paul. I was just thinking of starting a conversation about Olympus, and then I saw yours! I've become quite fond of my Olympus OMD EM 5 Mark II, and now already have a number of prime and zoom lenses. I just ordered an ED12mm F/2 after trying it.
All of them are amazing, in my opinion. I would really like if the new company will continue development, but have a feeling quality and progress won't be quite what they were under Olympus. I hope I will be proved wrong. I've also seen Olympus lens "Made in China" and that made me quite curious..
I think this line says it all
While the near-annual 10% price drops in camera products (roughly a decade ago) and shortened product cycles due to fast-paced technological advancements were beneficial to consumers, Masamichi says it also ‘reduces manufacturers' investment capacity.’ As a result, the ability to invest in research and development — as well as the ability to stash away savings for dire times — has decreased dramatically.
This is business in general nowadays but when you are making high-end cameras/ lenses with a short shelf life it really does make you wonder how long they can keep a reasonable market share to make it viable
On top of that, the mind-blowing tech of new cameras did not exist back when these camera companies prospered. The chip tech, the in-body stabilization, the face detection, the eye autofocus, the volume of real-time compression for 4K video at 120 frames per second... Oh my God.
I still have an Olympus C750UZ, and even though it was a consumer grade and no match for today's equipment, after all these years I continue to enjoy the quality of images I took almost two decades ago.
I believe the lens and optics is what sets apart good equipment, and will continue to do so, all other software and electronics can greatly improve, but not make up the difference for optics quality and photographer's artful skill..(Don't look at me for the skill part, hahaha)
