How could Olympus selling its camera division affect the wider camera industry and Micro Four Thirds users?
Asked 6/24/2020
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Olympus announced the sale of its camera division to JIP/JIT, which says it will continue to build, sell, and develop cameras. Beyond Olympus users themselves, could this have broader effects on the camera industry? In particular, might it affect Micro Four Thirds, third-party lens and flash support, or other manufacturers?
Originally by Photography Stack Exchange contributor. Source · Licensed CC BY-SA 4.0
Photography Stack Exchange contributor
6y ago
2 Answers
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Olympus is part of the micro-4/3 consortium also including Panasonic and a number of other manufacturers of both bodies and lenses. The departure of one major player with a long history and reasonable impact and experience may well reduce interest of quality lens manufacturers in catering to this format. Olympus also shared flash foot standards (or non-standards, since there is far too much diversity) with Panasonic. For cameras from a player with less of an established name, the interest in external flashes is likely to be less.
Again, this can affect the availability of third-party products for this format.
The sensor size is not used by a significant number of other systems, so sensor producers might be less interested in supporting this format in the long run as well.
Originally by user92750. Source · Licensed CC BY-SA 4.0
user92750
6y ago
0
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The biggest likely impact is on the Micro Four Thirds ecosystem rather than the whole camera industry.
Olympus has been one of the key Micro Four Thirds makers alongside Panasonic. If a major long-established brand becomes weaker or less influential, third-party companies may see less reason to invest in lenses, flashes, and other accessories for that mount. That could reduce future accessory choice for Micro Four Thirds users.
Because Olympus and Panasonic also shared compatible hot-shoe/flash support to some extent, reduced momentum from one major brand could also make flash makers less interested in that system.
More broadly, Micro Four Thirds uses a sensor size that is not common outside that ecosystem. If the format shrinks, sensor suppliers may have less incentive to keep supporting it over the long term.
So this is less about immediate consequences for photographers on other systems, and more about a possible gradual decline in third-party support and long-term confidence in the Micro Four Thirds format if Olympus’s role diminishes.
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