Remember Sony Vaio laptops ?

[Funny Valentine]

Sony sold Vaio to JIP in 2014 just like Olympus. Now they're only selling entry level laptops in only a few countries. They're out of europe. The same thing will happen to Olympus.

I just wish olympus and JIP will come out as more transparent about their plans. Will they still be manufactured in Vietnam ? Back to Japan ? build quality ? new sensor ? reliability ? Pro level gear ? entry level ?

But overall JIP strategy is to milk a sick cow to its death. I hope I'm wrong. But I think JIP will milk the brand recognition of olympus for the next 2-3 years, untill they run out of existing sensor stock, existing processor stock, then they will let it die.

I will go to canon R, but not for pleasure but out of necessity. Because if there's one company that will survive is canon. And I will sell my brand new barely used oly gear dirt cheap.

 

[Funny Valentine]

EDIT: my wish list for JIP:

- move manufacturing back to Japan, and make it hand made

- make olympus a high end brand like LEICA or Hasselblad

- drop Sony and PDAF, and pay Canon to manufacture new sensors with dual pixel AF.

- drop the 4:3 aspect ratio, make the sensors 3:2

- don't call it micro 4/3 anymore, call it nano 3/2 from now on.

 

[jwilliams]

Sony sold Vaio to JIP in 2014 just like Olympus. Now they're only selling entry level laptops in only a few countries. They're out of europe. The same thing will happen to Olympus.

I just wish olympus and JIP will come out as more transparent about their plans. Will they still be manufactured in Vietnam ?

There is a plant there so they'll probably continue to make cameras in it. For who and what name is on the front remains to be seen though. They could easily make cameras for other makes.

Back to Japan ?

No.

build quality ?

Probably lower. Have to get those costs down to make $.

new sensor ?

For m43? Only if Sony says so. Plant can make other formats though.

reliability ?

Crapshot.

Pro level gear ?

Doubtful.

entry level ?

Surely.

But overall JIP strategy is to milk a sick cow to its death. I hope I'm wrong. But I think JIP will milk the brand recognition of olympus for the next 2-3 years, untill they run out of existing sensor stock, existing processor stock, then they will let it die.

Maybe not milk the cow to death, but very possible to cut it up into steaks!

I will go to canon R, but not for pleasure but out of necessity. Because if there's one company that will survive is canon. And I will sell my brand new barely used oly gear dirt cheap.

I've shot m43 since the GH1. Also a long time Canon user. Got an R at XMas on sale. Great camera that was really not given enough credit from internet reviewers. Maybe spec sheet wise others are marginally better, but as an image making machine it works very well. Get the 24-105 4L IS if wanting a good all around lens that can do almost anything. I've been extremely impressed with mine (and I've owned a lot of Canon L glass as well as Oly Pro and PL lenses.). I can do everything with the R and that lens that I could do with a bag full of m43 primes and things I never could do with any m43 zoom setup.

--
Jonathan

 

[Ergellegre]

Olympus sell well in Europe, they're established. Could that customer base be ignored?

 

[Funny Valentine]

Olympus sell well in Europe, they're established. Could that customer base be ignored?

as a european customer I can also tell olympus does sell well in europe. Specially is german speaking countries. The website where I buy my Oly gear, the em1 mark III is the second best selling camera after the sony a7III.

and I doubt JIP will care about europeans. They will probably make very cheap oly cameras so they can sell just enough even in developing nations, thanks to the brands reputation.

I don't know but I have the feeling it's the end of high end pro level olympus gears. The fact that the 150-400mm is a limited run lens is a bad omen.

 

[Funny Valentine]

Sony sold Vaio to JIP in 2014 just like Olympus. Now they're only selling entry level laptops in only a few countries. They're out of europe. The same thing will happen to Olympus.

I just wish olympus and JIP will come out as more transparent about their plans. Will they still be manufactured in Vietnam ?

There is a plant there so they'll probably continue to make cameras in it. For who and what name is on the front remains to be seen though. They could easily make cameras for other makes.

Back to Japan ?

No.

build quality ?

Probably lower. Have to get those costs down to make $.

new sensor ?

For m43? Only if Sony says so. Plant can make other formats though.

reliability ?

Crapshot.

Pro level gear ?

Doubtful.

entry level ?

Surely.

But overall JIP strategy is to milk a sick cow to its death. I hope I'm wrong. But I think JIP will milk the brand recognition of olympus for the next 2-3 years, untill they run out of existing sensor stock, existing processor stock, then they will let it die.

Maybe not milk the cow to death, but very possible to cut it up into steaks!

I will go to canon R, but not for pleasure but out of necessity. Because if there's one company that will survive is canon. And I will sell my brand new barely used oly gear dirt cheap.

I've shot m43 since the GH1. Also a long time Canon user. Got an R at XMas on sale. Great camera that was really not given enough credit from internet reviewers. Maybe spec sheet wise others are marginally better, but as an image making machine it works very well. Get the 24-105 4L IS if wanting a good all around lens that can do almost anything. I've been extremely impressed with mine (and I've owned a lot of Canon L glass as well as Oly Pro and PL lenses.). I can do everything with the R and that lens that I could do with a bag full of m43 primes and things I never could do with any m43 zoom setup.

agreed the 24-105 f/4 is big but it does replace many f/1.8 m43 primes in one big package.

the problem is the R doesn't have accessible telephoto option. Not sure about the use-fullness of an f/11 800mm prime. Zooming helps a lot for targeting small subjects. Primes are harder to use.

 

[MaxAMS]

Does anyone know if JIP is also taking over the Olympus manufacturing plant, or is this just about the brand and catalogue?

If it is only the brand they're buying we might see rebadged lenses from Samyang, Meike or Yongnuo and the likes for a while.

 

[robgendreau]

Hard to tell what will happen.

But frankly, although there is some angst re Oly, consider that Panny is still in it. So still lenses, and once could always switch. If you've got a Pentax, Nikon, Canon, etc? more to worry about. They might not have been sold, but they are facing the same economic pressures as Oly was.

Anyone buying most any DSLR or mirrorless camera equipment in 2020 is kidding themselves if they assume that the brand name on the faceplate will be in business in five years, or owned by the same company. At least at this point someone wants a camera company...that's something. Unlike the Pentax sale to Hoya, this doesn't seem to be a situation where they're really after other assets. Maybe they'll just limp along selling existing product but that could happen with any of the camera companies, even if not sold.

 

[sbu]

I will go to canon R, but not for pleasure but out of necessity. Because if there's one company that will survive is canon. And I will sell my brand new barely used oly gear dirt cheap.

I assume your oly camera stopped working after reading todays news?

Joke a side I don’t quite understand the immediate need for switching system before the end of the week. Do you just have to buy new cameras all the time or do you also shoot pictures? If ‘yes’ I need to buy a new camera every odd week yes then it probably makes sense to invest in the most viable line which surely is Canon. If ‘no’ then why not just use what you have to it stops working?

 

[Funny Valentine]

Does anyone know if JIP is also taking over the Olympus manufacturing plant, or is this just about the brand and catalogue?

If it is only the brand they're buying we might see rebadged lenses from Samyang, Meike or Yongnuo and the likes for a while.

Well the vietnam factory is owned by Olympus and also makes medical equipments, so JIP won't be touching that. The 12-40, 40-150 are built there.

the made in japan olympus lenses are made by Sigma: 8mm pro, 75-300, 75 f/1.8, 25 f/1.8 and many more. So Sigma will just stop making them if JIP doesn't order anymore.

My theory is JIP will move the production to china and olympus bodies and lenses will be made by a 3rd party manufacturer. Like what apple and samsung do with foxconn. But if Olympus will do this the quality wil go down down down.

The best case scenario would be JIP charging SIGMA to make all future lenses and cameras back in Japan. That would be the best. But it won't happen.

 

[Brick_Shooter_Pro]

I remembered Sony Vaio back when there was CommUSA Haven't thought about them for years. They do release products and I've read some reviews of the Vaio laptops, they are niche high end. This i the only solution if you're a small company. Will a niche high end mFT "OMD" sell? How will they justify the high end price? What will be the differentiator that allows a small company to price their product at the high end?

Recently, Olympus tried to go high end, to increase profit margins but they failed. They lacked the capital to invest in RD. Will the new ownership spend the money and make this gamble?

 

[Henry Stamm]

Sony sold Vaio to JIP in 2014 just like Olympus. Now they're only selling entry level laptops in only a few countries. They're out of europe. The same thing will happen to Olympus.

See https://us.vaio.com/ Vaio is alive and well (but not with the SONY name). The website offers 2 different sizes of laptops with a variety of configurations, from relatively inexpensive to relatively high end. The are not entry level at all in price or in their configurations. Minimum of 8gb of RAM and a decent processor (entry level is often 4gb RAM).

Who knows what they'll do with the cameras. Further, the deal isn't quite done yet. So much remains to be seen.

 

[StillLife]

Sony sold Vaio to JIP in 2014 just like Olympus. Now they're only selling entry level laptops in only a few countries. They're out of europe. The same thing will happen to Olympus.

They are still in the UK...which is geographically in Europe. https://uk.vaio.com/

 

[Ergellegre]

Olympus sell well in Europe, they're established. Could that customer base be ignored?

as a european customer I can also tell olympus does sell well in europe. Specially is german speaking countries. The website where I buy my Oly gear, the em1 mark III is the second best selling camera after the sony a7III.

and I doubt JIP will care about europeans. They will probably make very cheap oly cameras so they can sell just enough even in developing nations, thanks to the brands reputation.

I don't know but I have the feeling it's the end of high end pro level olympus gears. The fact that the 150-400mm is a limited run lens is a bad omen.

Das ist schrecklich.

Where'd you hear about the 150-400?

I'm not going to speculate on how things will pan out, as I'll likely be wrong. But I hope to get firmware updates, and an E-M1iv designed by the same team in 4 years time. I don't want to go back to FF (if/when it's necessary to replace my E-M1), it's so 'inner-city 4x4'.

--
Just birds
Flickr

 

[Henry Richardson]

EDIT: my wish list for JIP:

- move manufacturing back to Japan, and make it hand made

- make olympus a high end brand like LEICA or Hasselblad

- drop Sony and PDAF, and pay Canon to manufacture new sensors with dual pixel AF.

- drop the 4:3 aspect ratio, make the sensors 3:2

- don't call it micro 4/3 anymore, call it nano 3/2 from now on.

I like Pico Full Frame.

 

[jwilliams]

Sony sold Vaio to JIP in 2014 just like Olympus. Now they're only selling entry level laptops in only a few countries. They're out of europe. The same thing will happen to Olympus.

I just wish olympus and JIP will come out as more transparent about their plans. Will they still be manufactured in Vietnam ?

There is a plant there so they'll probably continue to make cameras in it. For who and what name is on the front remains to be seen though. They could easily make cameras for other makes.

Back to Japan ?

No.

build quality ?

Probably lower. Have to get those costs down to make $.

new sensor ?

For m43? Only if Sony says so. Plant can make other formats though.

reliability ?

Crapshot.

Pro level gear ?

Doubtful.

entry level ?

Surely.

But overall JIP strategy is to milk a sick cow to its death. I hope I'm wrong. But I think JIP will milk the brand recognition of olympus for the next 2-3 years, untill they run out of existing sensor stock, existing processor stock, then they will let it die.

Maybe not milk the cow to death, but very possible to cut it up into steaks!

I will go to canon R, but not for pleasure but out of necessity. Because if there's one company that will survive is canon. And I will sell my brand new barely used oly gear dirt cheap.

I've shot m43 since the GH1. Also a long time Canon user. Got an R at XMas on sale. Great camera that was really not given enough credit from internet reviewers. Maybe spec sheet wise others are marginally better, but as an image making machine it works very well. Get the 24-105 4L IS if wanting a good all around lens that can do almost anything. I've been extremely impressed with mine (and I've owned a lot of Canon L glass as well as Oly Pro and PL lenses.). I can do everything with the R and that lens that I could do with a bag full of m43 primes and things I never could do with any m43 zoom setup.

agreed the 24-105 f/4 is big but it does replace many f/1.8 m43 primes in one big package.

the problem is the R doesn't have accessible telephoto option. Not sure about the use-fullness of an f/11 800mm prime. Zooming helps a lot for targeting small subjects. Primes are harder to use.

For now I'm making do with my 70-200 4L IS adapted. I also have a 55-250 STM EFS STM lens that despite having to be shot in APSC mode gives surprisingly good results and is really lightweight.

A great thing about the R is that any EF or EFS lens works as well as they did on any DSLR. AF is every bit as good as on a DSLR.

I only have the RF 24-105 4L IS and RF 35 1.8. All others are adapted lenses and work great.

There is one small catch. Adapted lenses run the IS all the time unless switched off at the lens. For most recent lenses you'll not even notice this, but older lenses and my 70-200 4L IS that have rather noisy IS units it can be a bit annoying because you hear the IS running. Most recent EF lenses and also RF lenses with IS are basically silent and the IS runs all the time with the RF lenses, but you really cannot hear it.

 

[mwhyte]

I love my Olympus camera and lenses...I don't think the 12-100 has an equal in the other mounts (thinking utility, build quality and image quality)...If Olympus goes away I will miss using that lens...

I fear the end is near for Olympus Imaging...

My 2nd choice fallback lens mount system if Olympus failed was the Nikon Z mount because I love the feel of the Z cameras and they have some decent lenses out already that fit my shooting style....but again I hear the occasional rumblings of Nikon's fiscal issues...so perhaps I am cursed in my selection of camera systems....My first ILC was a Sony A-Mount DSLT (remember those)...So my choice of systems has never been good...

I will miss the Olympus camera and lens designs, IBIS, HiRes mode, weather sealing camera customization options and yes the Art Filters...I will not miss the constant kicks to the gut that m43 and Olympus received in the various forums...

Where else can I go?

Nikon Z mount is my first choice after Olympus...

Sony E-Mount...no way...unless it became the only mount left (please no)...Why...the body designs are no good for me, sensors seem to collect dust and the mount was originally designed for APS-C and they shoehorned in a full-frame sensor...so I feel the mount was not designed from the ground up for full-frame...

Canon RF...Maybe...would be my 3rd choice behind the Nikon Z mount...I just never liked the look of Canon cameras (talking the camera design...not image quality)...but no one can argue with Canon colours and they are good at lenses...So who knows...

L-Mount...Not a fan of Panasonic camera design...Leica way over my budget...but who knows...

Fuji...I had a Fuji camera once (XS-1 bridge camera)...and it did produce nice colours...but I am a heavy Lightroom user and do not want to switch to Capture One to get the most out of Fuji RAW files...maybe I am out of touch here...but does Fuji RAW files not look as good in Lightroom...I might be wrong...but...I am not a fan of all those dials on the camera...I prefer regular dual control dials that just change with the camera mode...

Sorry...long answer...just a sad day for the camera business...