What the Olympus Sale Means for Photographers

Olympus, a standard bearer in the imaging industry for the past eight decades, announced in June its intention to sell its consumer camera business, Japan Industrial Partners, Inc. (JIP). Today it shared more details on what this means for Olympus cameras and Micro Four Thirds lenses going forward. They'll continue to be sold under the OM Digital brand, while the Olympus name stays with Olympus; the company plans to continue on with its the more profitable medical and scientific sectors.

In the film era, Olympus rolled out iconic models like the compact, half-frame PEN series, and the OM SLR line. It continued these lines into the digital age, leveraging the Micro Four Thirds lens mount and sensor format to deliver a line of compact, sturdily built interchangeable lens cameras, as well as a line of rugged, waterproof models under its Tough banner.

The camera industry has suffered in recent years. Smartphones have gotten better and better, and have replaced pocketable point-and-shoot models as snapshooters. That leaves photographic hobbyists and pro photographers as the big markets for interchangeable lens cameras, and it's a much smaller slice of the pie than the entire populace. The coronavirus pandemic hasn't helped—there's no compelling reason for travel or sports photographers to upgrade or add a lens when we're all staying at home.

The Sky Isn't Falling…

Still, JIP wouldn't be buying if it didn't see a way to turn Olympus Imaging around. The division has been posting losses in its financial disclosures, but fills some important niches in the industry. Olympus and Panasonic offer the broadest support for the Micro Four Thirds platform, and the Tough TG-6 is still the best underwater camera for most folks.

Japan Industrial Partners isn't a stranger to buying properties, either. Its most notable tech property is the VAIO laptop brand, formerly a Sony imprint. It doesn't sell a large swath of models, but PCMag gave positive marks to both its SX12 and SX14 computers when we reviewed them last year.

There's reassuring continuity of management. As part of the transfer, JIP is spinning off Olympus's camera division into a separate entity, OM Digital Solutions Corporation. It will be run by Shegemi Shugimoto, the current head of imaging at Olympus.

OM Digital is opening offices in Hachioji, Tokyo, and several departments will move to the new company from Olympus—research and development, sales and marketing, and design were called out specifically. Likewise, OM Digital will leverage existing production lines in Vietnam, and will be the point of contact for support and repair for current Olympus camera owners.

…But There Are Question Marks

Still, there are questions.

The largest in my mind goes to the quality of forthcoming releases. The continuity of management is certainly reassuring, but we'll simply have to wait and see what type of products OM Digital actually delivers to market. Will it continue to deliver cameras with the same exceptional weather protection, image stabilization, and computational features that Olympus puts into its top-tier models?

I'm eager to see what exactly happens with Olympus's teased, but unreleased, high-end telezoom, the M.Zuiko 150-400mm F4.5. It sports an extreme telephoto view, a constant aperture design, and an integrated 1.25x rear teleconverter. It's promised for a release this calendar year, and we expect it to be priced very high. Bringing a true pro-grade telephoto lens to market will certainly be a promising sign.

The Micro Four Thirds lens mount isn't proprietary, but rather an open standard. We've seen lesser-known brands like Yi and JK Imaging (under its Kodak license) release Micro Four Thirds cameras and lenses before, but none have been anywhere near as good as what Olympus delivered. This is especially true when you look at Olympus's Pro lens line, which includes entries like the 25mm F1.2, 12-100mm F4, and 300mm F4, all standouts that aren't matched by any other system.

And there's the question of innovation. Micro Four Thirds sensor development has seemingly hit a standstill, with Olympus using variations of a 20MP design in upper echelon cameras and a positively ancient 16MP chip in budget models.

Olympus has worked to improve processing to get the most out its sensors, putting features like 4K video into basic models and adding phase detection autofocus to its pro-grade E-M1 line. Multi-shot computational features and in-body stabilization work to increase resolution and make long exposure photography possible without the aid of a tripod.

If OM Digital continues to develop cameras like these, Micro Four Thirds owners should remain satisfied. It can happen. Pentax SLR owners have enjoyed a relatively stable, albeit stagnant, level of quality as the brand was sold twice in recent memory, first to Hoya in 2007 and then to its current owner, Ricoh, in 2011.

Others have not fared as well. Kodak and Polaroid are the notable examples, but both are American companies. Each went through the bankruptcy process, resulting in a slew of shoddy products ranging from cheap point-and-shoot cameras to LCD TVs with the Polaroid and Kodak logos slapped on, seemingly as an afterthought.

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Micro Four Thirds Devotees

When shopping above entry level, camera gear can get expensive, and it can get there pretty quick. If you're a serious hobbyist, a freelancer, or a working pro with a love for Micro Four Thirds, you may well have thousands of dollars worth of lenses, camera bodies, and flashes in your kit.

The good news is that they won't stop working immediately. But they're still pieces of electronics, with mechanical and electronic components that are destined to fail eventually. If OM Digital matches the quality of Olympus equipment, you've nothing to fret over.

If not, there are alternatives. Despite adding a full-frame system, Panasonic continues to develop Micro Four Thirds cameras and lenses; it announced a new model in June, the G100. It also sells higher-end models, including the G9, GH5, and GH5S. Panasonic cameras typically put stronger emphasis on video, and don't include the phase detection autofocus you get with Olympus E-M1 cameras, however.

Should I Buy an Olympus Camera Today?

If you're shopping for a new camera, and are thinking about one from Olympus, you may be having some second thoughts. But should you be hesitant? It depends.

If you're one of the few folks left who just wants to buy a better-than-compact camera and like the PEN or OM-D series, I wouldn't fret. If you don't plan on buying loads of extra lenses, a new Olympus camera will be the same one you bought yesterday.

If you already have a huge investment in Micro Four Thirds lenses, and prefer Olympus models to Panasonic, you may find it worthwhile to spend on a new E-M1 Mark III, or even a discounted E-M1 Mark II, to ensure that you have an Olympus-quality camera to use if OM Digital's offerings underwhelm.

If you're contemplating a new camera system entirely, Micro Four Thirds would not be my first recommendation. In general we strongly recommend mirrorless models from Fujifilm and Sony for customers without an investment in lenses.