Olympus is doing a great branding job.

VideoPic wrote:

ahaslett wrote:

I like Olympus products too, but:

1) Sneering at other OEMs, in this case Panasonic, doesn't sit well with me

You way too sensitive friend. The Panasonic model line up is a mess, it is really difficult for even those like myself who know these two brands. Like someone else stated its only the GH series that were consistent and the buyer knows what to expect. Now we can put our heads in the sand and see nothing, that's OK. In fact in a critical market it's the more important to have clear product segmentation.

Is it really a mess, though?

G = DSLR-styled cameras

GH = DSLR-styled cameras with an emphasis on video

GX = Rangefinder-styled cameras

Single digit numbers are targeted at high-end buyers, two digit numbers are midrange, then three digit numbers are targeted at entry-level buyers.

This is basically exactly the same naming strange that Canon, Nikon, and Fuji all use. You can say it confuses you, but it's really very simple. It's actually the most standard naming convention among Japanese camera companies.

2) Branding is much more than product naming

Yes and No - example, why would you select diet coke?

3) The mirrorless market is very turbulent at the moment, so it's no good resting on historic product lines

4) The "small, cheap and innovative" box is held by phone cameras at present

So, what in your view does the Olympus brand tell me about what an Olympus camera is and can do that is different from the 6 other mirrorless brands and 4 mounts? Please don't bash the others again.

So in my view? Simple:

- Olympus is a full bred camera manufacturer - this is crystal clear in their product line up, their history and their market segmentation.

- Panasonic manufactures TV.s, Fridges, Stoves, Hi-F's (Stereo) video recorders and cameras.

For the strengths and product segmentation go have a look at the past three years product catalogues between these two brands and tell me who is the most consistent & clear....

In my view, they have an excellent reputation for firmware updates; they have a build quality problem, maybe solved; they have excellent after sales service in Europe; MFT OEMs have a good range of reasonably affordable lenses; Olympus are working on innovative capture and processing of RAWs, but keeping processing in camera is always going to add cost and weight; they are slipping for the most demanding landscape shots but weight and weather sealing are good. I happen to like Olympus ergonomics and design choices.

No issues....like you I am an Oly fan boy....

It's not clear who their target market segments are - well-off hobbyists, Pro sports shooters, hikers and holiday-makers?

Wow, not difficult to spot the target markets for both brands.

I note that a lot of Sony FF owners see MFT as an excellent second camera, maybe the new EM1.2 firmware will address the perception of an AF gap.

I know this....personally I find this a little arrogant and ignorant. My own son tried to tell me looking at a mix of Canon 6D, EM1.2 and A7 III images (which I also studied) that he could "clearly" see the EM1 was not up there with the best. I love my son so I told him so.....

Andrew

Andrew you sound like a really good guy.....don't fight with another Oly fan, we need each other on this forum. You welcome to join me fighting those asking stupid questions, like should M43 cameras cost less than FF cameras....