Things are up in the air at Olympus right now, but speculation is rife about a possible Olympus/JIP drone that could rival offerings from DJI.
Olympus has been in the news recently for all of the wrong reasons, but a recent report has suggested it may well have a trick up its sleeve: they may enter the ultra-competitive drone market. Is this the path that Olympus needs to be on? Do we need more drones on the market? Would a Micro Four Thirds drone with class-leading IBIS be possible? Let’s talk about this after the break.
A report over at Light Stalking recently talked about some patents from Olympus that had been uncovered. This news in itself is nothing extraordinary: Olympus and other manufacturers release patents for new cameras and lenses all the time. Still, this patent is different because it’s not just for any old camera, it’s for one that would be attached to an Olympus branded drone. Now, we all know that DJI has this market well and truly covered. DJI has been innovating a ton, and their products are excellent. GoPro gave drones a try as they thought they too could take on the drone giant, but they gave up the fight pretty quickly. So what makes Olympus believe they would be able to take a slice of the market from DJI?
Specifically, we mean a weather sealed drone. Do you think Olympus could do it?
According to the patent, the drone body and the camera would work together in perfect harmony to ensure the user gets the best footage and images possible. This sounds a whole lot like AI coming into play, and it is something I have been begging Olympus to invest more in for a long time. Whether or not JIP sees the drone business as one they would want to get into is another thing entirely. Still, we do know that any deal that gets concluded between JIP and Olympus will see JIP receive all patents, all R&D, and all products currently being worked on. So, there is a good chance that JIP may take a product like this, run with it, and diversify the number of products the Olympus brand can offer.
All of this may sound crazy, but can you imagine a high-performance drone with a camera that has an M4/3 sensor instead of a 1-inch sensor? I could, and it would be leaps and bounds above current 1-inch sensors. Can you imagine how much better images and 4K video footage would be from such a camera? It doesn’t take a genius to know Micro Four Thirds sensors are better than 1-inch sensors. A camera like this attached to a drone that might also possibly be able to integrate the best IBIS around is a mouth-watering prospect. If JIP/Olympus are smart about it, they may be able to keep the Olympus name going in other areas of photography too.
More importantly, could you imagine is being weather sealed at one point or another?
Whether or not we will ever see an Olympus drone remains to be seen, but it is nice to think that there may be some other ways to keep the brand alive alongside some new cameras and lenses. What do you think about an Olympus/JIP branded drone with a possible Micro Four Thirds sensor strapped to it? Let us know in the comment section below.
