UKC

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/technology-53165293?SThisFB

the perennial favourite mountain camera might be no more.

unfortunately looks like Olympus really are struggling beginning of the end, obviously still worth getting for now but not a good long term bet to build a system around.

I’m just hoping Nikon can survive their ongoing financial problems. 

Me too - especially their microscopes in which we are heavily invested. They actually keep spares for more that a few years unlike their competitors.

The smart phone has completely replaced the camera for so many people and does a pretty good job for them.

Sad. My first proper camera in the early 70's. Still got it!

Wonder how much impact the postponing of the Olympics will have as they launched the D6 to coincide with that and I assume orders/sales will have dropped as a consequence. 
What might save them is their relatively new mirrorless range which seems to be selling well.
Hope they survive for the obvious reasons of jobs and history, etc. but also because I've got quite a lot of Nikon fit lenses that I would quite like to use for many years to come and not have to restart with Canon, etc.  

As the article states, it was always a sideline business for them. 

Disappointed to see the move though, still have an OM10 I got for my 16th birthday. Better get a shift on buying a new one while I can, or else the my next one'll be a Panasonic.

We use Olympus 'scopes at work. Happy their other divisions aren't affected. Not that we couldn't switch to another system if need be, but it would be rather costly.

It is very sad as their current cameras & lenses are excellent. A victim of poor marketing?

Beginning of the end? Surely the end of the end?

Did you read the comments from Nigel Atherton in the article? 

just noticed the stock photo on the BBC piece is of a camera with a bashed filter ring. Those little rangefinders were prone to that!

Nothing worse than a bashed filter ring...

Except a shredded and melted filter ring

Olympus fanboi here. Oh well.

Very sad! Big Olympus fan here.  Hope they can hang in there! 

Impressive collection of Olympus stuff and a lovely carpet to boot!

Still planning to add to your collection or will you continue with another brand?

If Olympus is gone and Nikon is struggling, which camera makers are considered safe?

Before finally going digital, I got through a whole string of Olympus mu's - brilliant little cameras for climbing.

Possibly Sony

Canon or Fuji?

In the last few months I've spaffed £2k on an EM1mk3 and the 12-100mm pro, so that will do me for a while, if not till the Grim Reaper swings by. Oh, except there's a 100-400mm in the offing . . . 

Don't know. They presumably have larger non-consumer divisions than Sony.

I'm sure they'll continue to take very decent photos for many years. I guess there's nothing to say Olympus won't continue, just more uncertainty now. 

A bit more detail:

https://www.dpreview.com/news/6607157941/olympus-in-agreement-to-sell-imagi...

There’s probably one cycle of cameras and a few lenses before Things really slowdown, unless the offshoot really gets its shit together which is probably financially unviable, R&D Usually requires a big company with multiple departments.

As far as safe bets, I would advise someone starting seriously Now to go down the Sony route, or Fuji

Sony has some awesome lenses The bodies are improving significantly And is the producer of many of the sensors for all brands and Fuji is the best APSC going at the moment (apart from Nikon D500 for sports/wildlife)

I love my D500 - if it can last half as long as my old FM2 I will be so chuffed

Still got my FM2 it’s Still going strong with a roll of Ilford fp4 in it 😀📷

A year ago I would have said

Canon - they're doing well simply because....brand.  Person who knows little about cameras buys one because they recognise the brand, even if they're not the best compared to the competition.  There are loads of people buying cameras who buy because of brand.

Sony - because they are also massive and are now a genuine competitor. As photography becomes more computational they have the expertise and resource to do this.

However the market has moved again. A year ago you couldn't take a mobile phone photo with shallow depth of field. Now with computational photography you can.  It may not be as good as a pic taken with a bigger sensor, but it's good enough for most people to put on facebook and instragram.  So, the sector of the market that bought a nice camera to take nice pics of their kids ('soccer moms') has now disappeared, and that was a lot of Canon's bread and butter.  All that's left is pros and enthusiasts. Nikon is looking shaky in recent years, but they seem to potentially have a better future than Canon do in terms of being the best quality and a logical upgrade path.  Canon are looking less good in this regard.

I do believe that whichever system you go with you'll be OK for at least another ten years. Mounts and brands will get bought and sold and people will still make cameras for popular mounts, or you'll be able to adapt the lenses you have.

Packed my Fuji X-T3 today to do some photography work soon. Decided to throw my Nikon F5 in as well. Will also be going for FP4+, wouldn't use anything else. Will be back up here in several weeks time and will need to book several days in the darkroom. Really looking forward to it.

I might load up my wolf in sheep’s clothing, the infamous EM.  

I have 19 rolls of film going back 7.5 years, to get processed. Could be interesting... 

I had one of those until a flooded tent killed it off, not Nikon’s best offering 😏

Well I liked my EM - unfortunately it didn't like me after I dropped it about 300' in the Alps...

A bit more about the proposed purchaser here http://www.sansmirror.com/newsviews/2020-mirrorless-camera/good-m43-news-ba...

A bashed ring is no joke, filter or not.

This really sucks. I've built my entire rig around the Olympus cameras in the last few years.

I love shooting on the EM5 MKII when climbing. 

Better grab myself a few EM1 MKIIIs whilst they're still about.

If Olympus do fold, I'd probably move to Fuji.

Well you are on a climbing site!

I’m sure Olympus will be around in some form for the next ten years or so, it’s a real shame.

there is always a possibility that the new owners might move them ahead.

ideally it would be nice to see them capitalise on their strength of size, weatherproofing whilst making the controls and menus a little simpler for use in extreme climates which would make it more appealing to keen amateurs. 

Why not Panasonic? Compatible with your lenses.

AI wondeenif there will be some good Deals on lenses soon. Have been eyong that 75 mm for a while.

I’ve been wanting the sigma 56Mm 1.4

Does this mean my Trip is now a collector's item?

Any one any thoughts on Panasonic - specifically the G9 and 100-400mm lens and maybe the 24-60 F2.8-4. I had been saving up for the Olympus as it had such a good rep for bird photography (my current personal interest) but now Panasonic looks best bet. Any feedback appreciated

I've had my Panasonic 100-400 lens since when it was first released in January 2016, and I love this lens.

The majority of this youtube clip was shot with the 100-400 lens and from time-stamp 4:40 to 5:51 it was hand-held.

youtube.com/watch?v=iHW6gXbLsOs&

Here are some bird shots, all taken with the 100-400 lens.

https://www.flickr.com/photos/the1lemming/albums/72157677796340881

BTW I now have the GH5, however this year I met a person with the G9 and 100-400 combo and they thought that it was a perfect fit for birds and wildlife.

I’d still go for the Olympus camera as support will be around for a while And they are more “still” focused than the Panasonic. I guess it’s how much of a system you want to build ie manufacturers specific such as flash guns etc. The Olympus 50-150 2.8 looks pretty good for nature stuff

Always was, I’ve just seen how much mju’s are going for second hand, I’m going to try and find mine and get it on eBay 

I rescued mine from the charity shop bag yesterday (not that I use it).  They weren't worth much on ebay last time I looked.