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Op Ed: What’s Going on With Olympus at Photokina 2018?

Chris Gampat
11 Comments
09/28/2018
3 Mins read
Chris Gampat The Phoblographer Olympus EPL9 review product images 2

Last Updated on 09/28/2018 by Mark Beckenbach

Olympus has been very quiet at Photokina 2018; it’s sort of disturbing.

This post is being written around Photokina 2018 in regards to a question that’s been quietly popping up amongst press and a number of other folks in the industry: what’s going to happen to Olympus? They’re a company that has been super quiet this year. There have been very few product announcements, their last major innovation was at last Photokina despite releasing some very nice lenses, and they seem to be the company that is sort of left in the dust. What do I mean by this? Look at Panasonic. They’re not giving up on Micro Four Thirds; the format in and of itself still has some merit despite what some folks may moan about. But Panasonic’s cooperation with Leica and Sigma on the L mount combined with some serious competition for Sony is stealing the show.

OLYMPUS DIGITAL CAMERA

Olympus has been through a lot. Part of me remembers their massive shake up when a newly elected President whistleblew on theft within the company. As I’ve seen when working for big companies, things rarely change. I mean, they rarely truly change. That isn’t to imply that it has perhaps been purged from their system, but traditionally Olympus has always been a company that sets a fire that collapses into embers a bit too soon.

I’m not going to tip toe around the issue here; it’s best that I just tackle it head on.

The world is moving beyond Micro Four Thirds. Full frame is the new standard. APS-C could probably be dead in a few years. The world is all medium format and full frame. So where is Olympus here? What I don’t understand is why they never fully embraced the enthusiast with the Pen F and perhaps created a small Olympus Trip digital camera. That would’ve kept them afloat for a long time. The Pen F needed weather sealing. An Olympus Trip could have been targeted to take on the Ricoh GR series of cameras as a perfect entry into the street photography world. Olympus arguably has the best ergonomics of anyone on the market and, as a former Olympus customer and die hard lover of Micro Four Thirds, I feel betrayed as a customer.

But I could be wrong. I’ve said the same thing about Canon in the past and they’ve mostly cleaned up. I say the same thing about Apple and they still annoy the hell out of professional photographers.

It’s evident that companies in the photo world are starting to work together closely to survive. And unfortunately I’m not sure M43 was well managed. I’m not sure it needs a savior either. There are enough lenses for what it’s worth. I think instead it’s either time to put it to pasture or get more serious about the format. But the latter has always been an uphill battle for them.

I fondly remember defending the format to a journalist at the Verge. His mind was eventually changed. But the problem with the web is that everyone sits here and says, “Oh, it’s too small.” In all seriousness, if the images are just on the web or social media, most folks won’t be able to tell the difference. But that’s changing as monitors become better.

I’ll let this discussion die now, but as it is, I’m not sure it’s beneficial for anyone to buy Micro Four Thirds anymore with the amount of innovation coming from all the other companies.

camera full-frame images lens micro four thirds olympus panasonic Photokina 2018
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Chris Gampat

Chris Gampat is the Editor in Chief, Founder, and Publisher of the Phoblographer. He provides oversight to all of the daily tasks, including editorial, administrative, and advertising work. Chris's editorial work includes not only editing and scheduling articles but also writing them himself. He's the author of various product guides, educational pieces, product reviews, and interviews with photographers. He's fascinated by how photographers create, considering the fact that he's legally blind./ HIGHLIGHTS: Chris used to work in Men's lifestyle and tech. He's a veteran technology writer, editor, and reviewer with more than 15 years experience. He's also a Photographer that has had his share of bylines and viral projects like "Secret Order of the Slice." PAST BYLINES: Gear Patrol, PC Mag, Geek.com, Digital Photo Pro, Resource Magazine, Yahoo! News, Yahoo! Finance, IGN, PDN, and others. EXPERIENCE: Chris Gampat began working in tech and art journalism both in 2008. He started at PCMag, Magnum Photos, and Geek.com. He founded the Phoblographer in 2009 after working at places like PDN and Photography Bay. He left his day job as the Social Media Content Developer at B&H Photo in the early 2010s. Since then, he's evolved as a publisher using AI ethically, coming up with ethical ways to bring in affiliate income, and preaching the word of diversity in the photo industry. His background and work has spread to non-profits like American Photographic Arts where he's done work to get photographers various benefits. His skills are in SEO, app development, content planning, ethics management, photography, Wordpress, and other things. EDUCATION: Chris graduated Magna Cum Laude from Adelphi University with a degree in Communications in Journalism in 2009. Since then, he's learned and adapted to various things in the fields of social media, SEO, app development, e-commerce development, HTML, etc. FAVORITE SUBJECT TO PHOTOGRAPH: Chris enjoys creating conceptual work that makes people stare at his photos. But he doesn't get to do much of this because of the high demand of photography content. / BEST PHOTOGRAPHY TIP: Don't do it in post-production when you can do it in-camera.
11 Comments
  1. Guest

    05/06/2019 8:12 am
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    i had a Canon 5dm4, i sold it and bought em1M2 and i m really loving using it, i prefer size and weight over anything else. its produces nice competitve pictures, yes not 50MP or out of the world dynamic range but its perfect for 100% consumer and enthusiast level people who look for weight and size. the strongest point of m43rd is definitely its size and weight, i wish to see many more professional level bodies from olypmus but sad to observe silence and no activity from olympus except press statements!

  2. Guest

    05/06/2019 8:12 am
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    I, too, am concerned about Olympus’ future. I bought in to it several years ago with the OMD-EM1 and I do love it. I do not like the fact that so many aftermarket companies don’t make lenses for this, however. A lot make some- but nothing out of the ordinary. Some of the ‘super zooms like from Tokina are for every other system except the m 4/3.
    I love the “live” version of composing shots. I love astrophotography and use this frequently. I have read on other blogs that perhaps Olympus will get into FF and was hoping to read that here. Have resisted getting the updated OMD as the other systems seem to be upgrading frequently including the IQ.

    I agree with those that like the compactness of the whole micro 4/3 set up and don’t really know how much heavier a system from Olympus would be. Recently went on a cruise and carried my camera everywhere and never thought “i wish I left this at the cabin.”

    Great article, Chris! Hope Olympus says something…

  3. Guest

    05/06/2019 8:12 am
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    I don’t know why they don’t sell a digital Stylus. They had one a few years back but it had the same 1/1.7-in or smaller sensor that most of the better point-and-shoots had back then. Now, they could slap a m43 or APS-C sensor in one of those tight little bodies and make a fortune. Of course, I’ve said the same thing about Canon and their Canonet for YEARS and no one’s listened.

  4. Guest

    05/06/2019 8:12 am
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    I would agree with Chris’s analyze on the given situation. Todays 43rd format is not delivering selling quality for pros, and too expensive for amateurs, even being smaller. Monitors, ooh, live them alone, but you can’t make sellable 11×14 prints from 43 file, it is too close to good phone today. Simply trust me, I am on the pro field for 60+ years. You disagree? For God sake, do what you want, good luck!

  5. Guest

    05/06/2019 8:12 am
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    “Things are changing as monitors get better
    Nope. Unless the monitor is 40” across and 8k and your nose is up to the screen you will hardly see a difference from even MF.
    I have 30” prints that are as good as my FF Canon images. Only in hi ISO low light conditions does m43 fall short. And in those conditions FF falls short too.

  6. Guest

    05/06/2019 8:12 am
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    Why doesn’t Oly come out with a M43 digital mini rangefinder or split prism with easy to use manual controls? Try something new and old Oly. Dump that garabge program dial. Put shutter speed dial with an A setting for the auto people. Have easy to adjust manual lenses, not dummied down lenses.

  7. Guest

    05/06/2019 8:12 am
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    No one writes about the death of the 1-inch sensor camera. Why? Because it serves a purpose. So does MFT. People keep predicting the death of Olympus. The predicting affects the outcome, as more people read about this or that dying they avoid buying into it for FOMO on whatever is next. Its all stupid and has nothing to do with photography, and everything to do with fashion. This post is pointless.

  8. Guest

    05/06/2019 8:12 am
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    Both the Z and the R were disappointments IMO. The new Pan-Leica FF looks promising if delivered as advertised and especially if they come with some Leica branded glass ala a FF Nocticron. I think Oly was smart to do nothing, whether by design or necessity, they are biding their time, contemplating their next move all the while evaluating what just happened. I mean would you want to be a company that introduced another camera into this recent feeding frenzy or wait a little while so that you can have the stage to yourself. On top of that, how do you release a brand new mount (FF) and then expect people to get excited about a “high end” m43 in early ’19? …you don’t. 😉

  9. Guest

    05/06/2019 8:12 am
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    What M43 still has over full frame is weight and portability. Lugging full frame around on vacation is more of a torture than anything else. M43 still has a place in the photographic world but both Panasonic and Olympus need to continue to innovate and refresh the lines.

  10. Guest

    05/06/2019 8:12 am
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    Really hoping for news in 2019. i loved the m10 mkii I took to Australia that I bought a used m1 mkii. The more I use it, the more I’m surprised. (I wanted to go Sony having owned KM and a100) I’m excited for the new Panasonic wide zoom but Olympus needs to do something.

  11. Guest

    05/06/2019 8:12 am
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    Hate to see them miss the boat.

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