CCC Forum

Excerpt from DCW "In June the shocking news broke that Olympus had decided to sell its camera division to the Japanese private equity fund Japan Industrial Partners (JIP). However, now it appears that Panasonic could be considering a similar move. This rumor comes from an article about trends in Panasonic's camera business in the Japanese publication Nikkei."
It looks like the camera manufacturer landscape is changing, and not in a good way! Like other sectors the impact of lost sales is causing these established companies to jettison the loss making divisions. This is likely to impact choice and innovation in this competitive industry.
While this ultimately will impact us consumers, is this a writing on the wall moment regarding the long term viability of camera production/innovation. After all how many more megapixels can usefully be packed onto a sensor, are we reaching the limits of translating the camera's tech picture capturing ability into useful real world application - will the next generation of cameras make your pictures stand out more significantly, than one taken on a camera that is 2-3 years old!

The Panasonic camera division has been in a parlous state for years. It was some considerable time ago that I read it had failed to meet internal profit targets and its future was uncertain. Yet, as often happens with Japanese companies, Panasonic persisted and continued to churn out new models. We have just seen the launch of the S5, albeit it is a remodelling of the S1 in a smaller body. There are also some more compact L mount lenses in prospect, something which I am sure many will welcome given the behemoths currently on offer.

Of course, similar rumours about Olympus which the company strenuously denied were circulating for years, so I would not dismiss them. It is likely that the L-mount will survive whatever happens since Leica has invested much of its future in it and can be profitable with small production volumes. Whether Sigma will continue to lend support is another matter if Panasonic does drop out. Where I do have a question is whether m43 will endure. I hope it does as the systemj has a lot to offer but the market has never been that enthusiastic.

Franke07 wrote:This is likely to impact choice and innovation in this competitive industry.
While this ultimately will impact us consumers, is this a writing on the wall moment regarding the long term viability of camera production/innovation. After all how many more megapixels can usefully be packed onto a sensor, are we reaching the limits of translating the camera's tech picture capturing ability into useful real world application - will the next generation of cameras make your pictures stand out more significantly, than one taken on a camera that is 2-3 years old!

As Frank says, new cameras nowadays only offer marginal improvements in performance compared to their predecessors. That means the industry is returning to the production levels last seen in the days of film since there is less incentive to invest in the latest models. A situation which applies to much of what has been produced in the last 10 years. The increase in growth seen at the start of this century was due to the rapid pace of innovation for digital technology which has now reached a state of maturity. The difference is that R&D is considerably more expensive in real terms due to the complexity of the incorporated electronics. Manufacturers only survive by persuading us to invest in new goods, so further shakedown is probably inevitable. There is only one prediction I would make. Canon will survive. The company seems adept at playing the long game.

Mike Farley wrote:There is only one prediction I would make. Canon will survive. The company seems adept at playing the long game.

As an addendum, I have just seen this summary by DPReview of a Canon R5 teardown by LensRentals. Canon cameras have always been constructed well and teardowns of the company's other gear, over more recent years especially, have shown high standards of design and manufacturing. That is not exclusive to Canon, of course, but is indicative of a quality driven approach. The R5's well documented overheating issues notwithstanding, although as much as anything that seems to stem from trying to squeeze too much into a small package. 8k video requires a lot of processing power and that generates heat. If extended use is a requirement when shooting 8k, there are better options which are designed and priced accordingly.

https://www.dpreview.com/news/335112289 ... ermal-flow

Commitment to Olympus announced https://www.diyphotography.net/jip-confirms-commitment-to-olympus-and-the-micro-four-thirds-system/?utm_source=DIYP+Weekly+Newsletter&utm_campaign=103b5ae1f7-EMAIL_CAMPAIGN_2020_09_17_08_47&utm_medium=email&utm_term=0_4d53c6b51c-103b5ae1f7-160571649

Industry watcher Thom Hogan adds his two penn'orth. He notes that the JIP statement is full of good intentions but short on detail which are "in flux". There is also a suggestion that JIP intends to make profits on reduced volumes, which begs the question why Olympus has lost so much money with higher sales. This saga has a way to go.

http://www.sansmirror.com/newsviews/202 ... ghtly.html

Amateur Photographer recently published an article about professionals who are sticking with Olympus. Some care is needed, as at least some of those featured have links to Olympus. Derek Forss who has vested the club on a number of occasions is one example. At the moment, for those invested in the brand and are getting the results they need, there is no reason to change. That will not be the case if the new owners fail to keep up with developments or do not maintain current levels of support.

https://www.amateurphotographer.co.uk/r ... pus-140679

Incidentally, a while back I did a photo walk around Brighton which was jointly arranged between Amateur Photographer and Olympus. I was loaned an E-M1 Mk II with the 17 f/1.2 and 12-40 f/2.8 lenses. The handling was great and the camera felt comfortable in my hand, with both lenses going excellent results - the prime especially. With the complexities of the Olympus menu, I did not have the opportunity to set the camera up the way I would have liked. At one point we came a cross a street performer who was fire eating and failed to get a useable shot because I did not have time to configure the camera. Immediately aferwards, the Olympus rep demonstrated a feature I did not know about which would have saved the day. Doh!

The current offer of the camera with of one the Pro 1.2 lenses thrown in "free" would be tempting were it not for this cloud hanging over the company. It is an indication of what Olympus has to do to ensure it remains viable, given the current uncertainty.

The deal to transfer the Olympus imaging division to its new owners has been finalised. This report from Imaging Resource gives a little more detail, basically the name of the new company which will supply and support Olympus cameras and lenses together with the date of 1 January 2021 when the changeover occurs.

https://www.imaging-resource.com/news/2 ... -solutions

It seems possible that JIP, the company taking over the Olympus camera division, will not be able to use the Olympus name for its camera products. It also appears that its marketing efforts will be concentrate on the mid to higher end of the range. No more E-M10? This news does not sound promising, in particular as it surrenders some potential customers to Panasonic and means establishing a new brand. More info at PetaPixel.

https://petapixel.com/2020/10/07/jip-to ... as-report/