WHATS NEXT FOR M43, after Olympus, what future is left?


From a macro point of view, it seems wasteful to have so many brands and sensor size formats.
Not too environmentally friendly.
Over time and slowly, consolidation occurs and the disparate product genres, brands and product model lines are reduced to a few.
One wonders what happened to the unsold stocks of all those cameras and lenses of dead brands .
Probably not cost effective to disassemble and recover the materials.
So they may have ended up buried in land fills.
Thus the death of an unpopular and obsolete digital sensor size format may eventually be good for the environment.
Less wastage.
The counter point is that consolidation leads to oligopoly by a few dominant brands.
 

Ricohflex always has the most pessimistic view that they End up in Landfills.
I am sure there will be a long queue if Olympus sells the old models but BNIB for 30-50% of the price.
Filmfilm ever did that for your info. $180 for 2pcs of 16mp Compact Digital Camera!!!!!

Here is what I got from quora. There are some big buyers who have a means to distribute unsold digital stuff.

Locally, ABC Mart, Sheng Siong, Value Stores are all big buyers of unsold and about to expire items.



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From a macro point of view, it seems wasteful to have so many brands and sensor size formats.
Not too environmentally friendly.
Over time and slowly, consolidation occurs and the disparate product genres, brands and product model lines are reduced to a few.
One wonders what happened to the unsold stocks of all those cameras and lenses of dead brands .
Probably not cost effective to disassemble and recover the materials.
So they may have ended up buried in land fills.
Thus the death of an unpopular and obsolete digital sensor size format may eventually be good for the environment.
Less wastage.
The counter point is that consolidation leads to oligopoly by a few dominant brands.
 

On a more serious note, I was actually negotiating for a used EM1x for S$1900
(Brand new about US$2600 on B&H). Sadly someone offered higher.

If Olympus cant sell the EM1x and sell them for $1900, I would gladly grab 1 before
it was send to the land fill. :)
 

Robin Wong is back as Olympus visionary and ambassador for Malaysia (3 days ago).

 

I doubt that would happen. I tried getting one of those many show units when the company changed hands last year, They were all grabbed up by the stockist. No chance for the end users.

On a more serious note, I was actually negotiating for a used EM1x for S$1900
(Brand new about US$2600 on B&H). Sadly someone offered higher.

If Olympus cant sell the EM1x and sell them for $1900, I would gladly grab 1 before
it was send to the land fill. :)
 

This is great news as I learnt a lot from him.

Yes, being an ambassador of course he has to sing praises on Olympus systems (common sense).

But he do talk about some of the limitations to consider as well.
And he do show the applications of various lenses and features for Olympus users to try out.

I find his channel useful and I do buy him a coffee every now and then to support him :)

Robin Wong is back as Olympus visionary and ambassador for Malaysia (3 days ago).

 

Has Micro four thirds hit the peak already? 2hr. 47min.
Newer cameras or tech. don't make you a better photographer ( It helps for certain situations). Learn the basics regardless of the format or camera.

 

This is because of the doom and gloom of the knee jerk reaction of olymupus sale to OMDS..If you look at olympus it was doing well ahead of fuji until last quater of 2020 to feb 2021. OMDS is keeping it's cards close to their chest.

If you are wondering how Nikon performed here is the fullframe numbers with nikon behind Sony and Canon.


 

Quoted from the URL below:

"Seven months ago Olympus announced their last new camera. In those seven months Sony and Fuji announced a bunch of nice mirrorless models and that’s why OM Digital has lost quite a big share on the Japanese market. From 20+% it did drop down to 12%. I hope OM Digital realizes the time has come to show us their cards!"


1) The above shows that OM Digital needs to quickly pull up its socks
2) It is not true that BCN is owned by Olympus and on its payroll (as claimed by 1 viewer here when BCN reported Olympus is the top selling mirrorless SLR in Japan last year)
 

Lucky for Robin Wong. It is a financial life line in this time of Covid-19 shut down.
He said he has signed a contract.
Don't expect him to say anything negative about OMDS.
That may be a breach of contract.
When you view such videos on YouTube, be aware of the commercial considerations and agenda.
Use your common sense and interpret the YouTube videos by visionaries and ambassadors with a grain of salt.
 

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Financial Lifeline? Nah....... I know quite a few photographers who turned down the offer,
saying that they can earn a lot more from shooting, even though they are already users and
believers of Sony or Olympus. They cannot review the offer but told me it is enough to cover
1 day of running expenses, but not much profit.

Most of the benefits are in terms of equipment. Free equipment loan, purchasing showroom equipment etc.

Yes, of course you have to Use your common sense and interpret the YouTube videos by visionaries and ambassadors with a grain of salt.

But generally, all reviewers worth their salt should mention the things they do not like about the product or they will also lose their viewership.

For example, Robin Wong usually mentioned the limitations and dislike about the product (though it is politely said :) in his blog and videos.

eg. Read the last part of this review
 

You all can say what u want abt Robin (positive or negative) . Fact is he is very popular with m43 users. It’s not a over night thing. It took him more than 10 years to reach this level.
 

I would say it is going to be tough whether OM Digital Remain in M43 format only
or Go Full Frame with the L-Alliance (see news below).

Look at how Panasonic and Nikon struggling in the Mirrorless FF arena.
Olympus really has to come up with some WOW features to woo users.

But even if OM Digital remain in M43, it also has to come up with some wow factor
to keep us here.

 

The latest BCN chart 2021 released about 2 days ago on 22 March 2021.

Remember Olympus boasted that an internal survey says that MFT is #1 in Japan?
Look at the market share chart of where OMDS is heading - crashing down to rock bottom.
And deservedly so if OMDS continues to stick solely to MFT.

Canon not doing well either in this transition from EF to RF.
What is alarming is BCN don't even bother to show Nikon or Pentax or Panasonic.

My guess is that Fuji cannot sustain that rise in trajectory.
The reason is obvious.
In the long run, Sony, Canon and Nikon (all 3 with mirrorless full frame bodies) will outlast Fuji APS-C
Especially Canon and Nikon with their respective superior RF and Z mount designs.
The mount design is important.

Sony has great eye AF and is doing well. But eventually will lose out due to deficiency in its small E mount design.
The E mount had historical roots when Sony was initially making APS-C bodies.
The Sony E mount is much inferior to Canon RF and Nikon Z mount designs.
In the long run this defect will begin to show and there is no way around it - except to design a new mount.

Credit: fujirumors.com
BCN.jpg
 

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In theory, Lens Mount size and Flange Distance is an advantage.

However, in the real world, it is the total camera system that a photographer looks at when buying a new system or switching over. Yes, Canon RF with a larger lens mount allow Canon to come up with a 28-70 F2 lenses, while Sony currently is not able to.

Question: Why the F2 lenses did not woo users over and Sony continue to be the leader?

Probably the cost and weight outweighs the benefits.

Question: Why Sony sells so much more of its 6xxx series with e-mount than its Full Frame bodies?

Probably the same reason too, users prefer a smaller camera body and lens.

Neither did Panasonic increase its sales of its FF L-Mount camera compared to its M43 mount camera sales.

Don't be so caught up with the highest resolution, largest sensor or widest aperture lenses.

I used to have a photographer who print photos with us and my colleagues like to gather around to admire his travel photos. We are shocked when one day we realize that he only uses a compact Canon G12.
And yet, his composition is so good and interesting that it always draw our eyes to certain subjects and tell us a story.

Sony and Olympus and the rest will not lose out because of size of Lenses Mount.
If they ever lose out, it is probably because of a lot of other factors. :)

My guess is that Fuji cannot sustain that rise in trajectory.
The reason is obvious.
In the long run, Sony, Canon and Nikon (all 3 with mirrorless full frame bodies) will outlast Fuji APS-C
Especially Canon and Nikon with their respective superior RF and Z mount designs.
The mount design is important.

Sony has great eye AF and is doing well. But eventually will lose out due to deficiency in its small E mount design.
The E mount had historical roots when Sony was initially making APS-C bodies.
The Sony E mount is much inferior to Canon RF and Nikon Z mount designs.
In the long run this defect will begin to show and there is no way around it - except to design a new mount.
 

In theory, Lens Mount size and Flange Distance is an advantage.

I remember this clearly at the time when the fourthirds was launched. Why Olympus did not use the OM mount and the reasons they gave. I am only surprised that some modern day new development did not use this. Hence they are stuck with having to change the mount and make the users suffer.
 

Lucky for Robin Wong. It is a financial life line in this time of Covid-19 shut down.
He said he has signed a contract.
Don't expect him to say anything negative about OMDS.
That may be a breach of contract.
When you view such videos on YouTube, be aware of the commercial considerations and agenda.
Use your common sense and interpret the YouTube videos by visionaries and ambassadors with a grain of salt.
Visionaries and ambassadors are nothing more than glorified shills. I prefer watching Rob Trek than Robin Wong, he articulates just way too much and it's annoying to watch.
 

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Thanks. I am now subscribed to Rob Trek.

Ha ha... Yes Robin Wong do articulate a lot. But nowadays, there are so many Youtube channels I subscribed to. I usually like them play in the background while doing some work. Only when what they say is interesting or have something to show, then I put it in the foreground to watch a while. As there is no point looking at a speaker speaking unless they have something to illustrate.

Visionanaries and ambassadors are nothing more than glorified shills. I prefer watching Rob Trek than Robin Wong, he articulates just way too much and it's annoying to watch.
 

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