# So long, Olympus (?) **URL:** \ **Category:** Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share\ **Created:** [December 31, 2013, 9:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/so-long-olympus/677590 "2013-12-31T21:16:02Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 14\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![Telemark](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/telemark/32/372_2.png) [@Telemark](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Telemark)\ **Post date:** [January 2, 2014, 2:53am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/so-long-olympus/677590/21 "2014-01-02T02:53:19Z")
> [@ralph124c](#): > > Kodak, now Olympus…I expect most of the camera mfgs. will go out of business within the next 5 years. With 16 Meg resolution cell phones, why buy a camera? Because phones are lousy at serious photography, they are the wrong form factor and won’t likely have the features needed. Megapixels aren’t really that interesting. ---
**Author:** ![artemis](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/91b2a8/32.png) [@artemis](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/artemis)\ **Post date:** [January 2, 2014, 4:34am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/so-long-olympus/677590/22 "2014-01-02T04:34:39Z")
> [@NoClueBoy](#): > > Good imaging devices they are. Yes. If Olympus gets out of the camera business, it won’t be because their cameras aren’t good. My OMD EM5 is absolutely superb, especially as a travel kit, and I hear the new EM1 is even better. ---
**Author:** ![Colophon](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/f05b48/32.png) [@Colophon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Colophon)\ **Post date:** [January 2, 2014, 1:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/so-long-olympus/677590/23 "2014-01-02T13:13:45Z")
> [@artemis](#): > > Yes. If Olympus gets out of the camera business, it won’t be because their cameras aren’t good. My OMD EM5 is absolutely superb, especially as a travel kit, and I hear the new EM1 is even better. The first serious digital camera I ever had was an [“Uzi”](http://www.dpreview.com/reviews/olympusc2100uz/). The lens on that thing was wonderful. I have several big enlarged photos on my wall taken with it and people are amazed when they hear they were shot with a 2mp camera. I even have a 4ft long canvas of [this pic](http://i39.tinypic.com/1zei7nr.jpg) on my wall. Again, a 13-year-old digital camera (several shots stitched together, but still). > [@ralph124c](#): > > With 16 Meg resolution cell phones, why buy a camera? Because megapixels are not a measure of image quality any more than volume is a measure of music quality. ---
**Author:** ![Kobal2](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kobal2/32/20_2.png) [@Kobal2](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kobal2)\ **Post date:** [January 2, 2014, 1:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/so-long-olympus/677590/24 "2014-01-02T13:36:28Z")
Pfew. For a minute there I thought the OP meant the mountain. Just the cameras ? That’s a relief. Else we’d have to deal with a homeless Zeus, and that’s just fucked up. ---
**Author:** ![JRDelirious](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jrdelirious/32/9531_2.png) [@JRDelirious](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/JRDelirious)\ **Post date:** [January 2, 2014, 1:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/so-long-olympus/677590/25 "2014-01-02T13:53:56Z")
> [@ralph124c](#): > > Kodak, now Olympus…I expect most of the camera mfgs. will go out of business within the next 5 years. With 16 Meg resolution cell phones, why buy a camera? > [@Johnny\_L.A](#): > > **Ralph** : I was going to disagree with you, that the other camera makers will go out of business – until I read the bit about the phone cameras. I’ve had the same thought myself. But I think the pros and semi-pros are going to still want SLRs. I’ve taken snaps on my CoolPix, and I’ve taken them on my (not-smart) phone. I prefer looking through a viewfinder. > [@ralph124c](#): > > Personal anecdote-I still love and use my olf Kodak (4.1 Meg) camera…because of the superb Schneider-Kreuznach lense. I wonder how many lens mfgs. will survive, as the ranks of camera mfgs. shrink? > [@Telemark](#): > > Because phones are lousy at serious photography, they are the wrong form factor and won’t likely have the features needed. Megapixels aren’t really that interesting. > [@Colophon](#): > > Because megapixels are not a measure of image quality any more than volume is a measure of music quality. As it is my 2009-vintage 3MP phonecam’s pictures are reasonably good if I run them through the photo software. But for the sort of casual use that most people will give their smartphone cams, the high MP number just allows them to annoy the heck out of their friends by sending them a stupefyingly large JPG attachment of a lousy picture. The deal is that a huge mass of people just wants the equivalent of an old 110-film Instamatic or a Polaroid Zip(\*). Even my mom’s Trip-35, a consumer-level 35mm unit that required a minimal set of exposure/focus setting was too much for those people. (\*Heck, for all intents and purposes the smartphone camera IS the Polaroid Zip: quick-n-dirty instant gratification) It does at times seem like optics-based photography may become limited to the enthusiast and pro market segments. We already were moving in the direction of “idiot” cameras at the P&S level – losing optical viewfinders and manual shooting modes. As we go further downmarket a sophisticated optics-based exposure/focus control system becomes uneconomical at the lower price points. ---
**Author:** ![artemis](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/91b2a8/32.png) [@artemis](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/artemis)\ **Post date:** [January 2, 2014, 2:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/so-long-olympus/677590/26 "2014-01-02T14:04:25Z")
> [@JRDelirious](#): > > It does at times seem like optics-based photography may become limited to the enthusiast and pro market segments. I don’t think there’s any question that that’s going to happen. Most people can’t tell the difference between a good photo and a lousy one, and are fine with crummy snapshots. But there are enough pros and photography enthusiasts out there that “real” cameras with interchangeable lenses and full manual controls are going to continue to be produced for the foreseeable future. It’s just the form factor of those cameras that might change, with mirrorless possibly squeezing out DSLRs at the low end, and digital medium format possibly squeezing out DSLRs out at the high end. We’ll just have to wait and see what happens. ---
**Author:** ![AncientHumanoid](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ancienthumanoid/32/278_2.png) [@AncientHumanoid](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/AncientHumanoid)\ **Post date:** [January 2, 2014, 2:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/so-long-olympus/677590/27 "2014-01-02T14:30:01Z")
With the prices of med format compared to even the priciest pro level full 35 format DSLR or ILC, I don’t see that particular squeeze out happening. We’re talking prices of $17K to $40K+ vs $1700 to $4500. The instamatic usage of cell phone cams is correct, and is even borne out by a popular image file sharing site’s name, Instagram. Instagram, sharing lousy pictures with people I hardly know. ---
**Author:** ![Johnny\_L.A](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/johnny_l.a/32/1084_2.png) [@Johnny\_L.A](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Johnny_L.A)\ **Post date:** [January 2, 2014, 3:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/so-long-olympus/677590/28 "2014-01-02T15:04:59Z")
> [@NoClueBoy](#): > > With the prices of med format compared to even the priciest pro level full 35 format DSLR or ILC, I don’t see that particular squeeze out happening. We’re talking prices of $17K to $40K+ vs $1700 to $4500. Going off on a tangent… Years ago I wanted an Arriflex SR16-II or an Aaton XTRProd kit. The problem was that new ones cost like $60,000 and used kits were selling for $25,000. Through a couple of trades, I eventually wound up with a super-16 Aaton LTR-54 for roughly $7,000 – which is about what a kit (without a lens) is going for today from dealers. The other day I was browsing eBay and found half a dozen Aaton 35-IIIs (35 mm motion picture cameras) for $6,500. I linked earlier to an eBay auction where an Olympus 35 mm SLR kit sold for under $70. I think that as more and more professionals find digital cameras acceptable, the prices of used professional film cameras will come down to the point where anyone can buy them. ---
**Author:** ![Chefguy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chefguy/32/138_2.png) [@Chefguy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chefguy)\ **Post date:** [January 2, 2014, 3:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/so-long-olympus/677590/29 "2014-01-02T15:18:13Z")
> [@Telemark](#): > > Because phones are lousy at serious photography, they are the wrong form factor and won’t likely have the features needed. Megapixels aren’t really that interesting. I agree. The only people that buy cameras based on the MP rating are those who don’t have a clue as to what that means or that the rating is largely irrelevant to the casual user. I will never own a smartphone, so will continue to use my Nikon DSLR and the sidekick Canon S95 into the future. As for Olympus, my first digital camera was an Olympus [Camedia C700](http://www.amazon.com/Olympus-Camedia-Digital-Camera-Optical/dp/B00005B6UF). It was somewhat heavy and clunky, and there was that annoying delay when it was turned on, which meant losing some good shots. I still have it, but it no longer functions. The S95 that replaced it is a far superior camera in every regard. ---
**Author:** ![AncientHumanoid](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ancienthumanoid/32/278_2.png) [@AncientHumanoid](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/AncientHumanoid)\ **Post date:** [January 2, 2014, 3:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/so-long-olympus/677590/30 "2014-01-02T15:31:51Z")
> [@Johnny\_L.A](#): > > Going off on a tangent… > > Years ago I wanted an Arriflex SR16-II or an Aaton XTRProd kit. The problem was that new ones cost like $60,000 and used kits were selling for $25,000. Through a couple of trades, I eventually wound up with a super-16 Aaton LTR-54 for roughly $7,000 – which is about what a kit (without a lens) is going for today from dealers. The other day I was browsing eBay and found half a dozen Aaton 35-IIIs (35 mm motion picture cameras) for $6,500. > > I linked earlier to an eBay auction where an Olympus 35 mm SLR kit sold for under $70. I think that as more and more professionals find digital cameras acceptable, the prices of used professional film cameras will come down to the point where anyone can buy them. Yeah, look at used Nikon F4 and F5 pricing. You can get some really good deals on top of the line film cameras. Even used med format filmers like Hassy and Mamiya are selling for a pittance compared to their current digi models. I’m thinking of getting an F3 as backup. I can get an entire outfit for less than I paid for my last flash. And there is still no real digital large format available for non-NASA type pricing. I saw an article on an 8x10 digital back made a while back for a super special rich guy photog. It was a ‘one of’ type project, and the cost wasn’t revealed, except to say how out of reach it would be in the current market. ---
**Author:** ![AncientHumanoid](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ancienthumanoid/32/278_2.png) [@AncientHumanoid](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/AncientHumanoid)\ **Post date:** [January 2, 2014, 3:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/so-long-olympus/677590/31 "2014-01-02T15:37:49Z")
> [@NoClueBoy](#): > > Yeah, look at used Nikon F4 and F5 pricing. You can get some really good deals on top of the line film cameras. Even used med format filmers like Hassy and Mamiya are selling for a pittance compared to their current digi models. I’m thinking of getting an F3 as backup. I can get an entire outfit for less than I paid for my last flash. > > And there is still no real digital large format available for non-NASA type pricing. I saw an article on an 8x10 digital back made a while back for a super special rich guy photog. It was a ‘one of’ type project, and the cost wasn’t revealed, except to say how out of reach it would be in the current market. Searching for that article, [I found these.](http://www.betterlight.com/products4X5.html) They fit 4x5 cameras, but the image size is substantially smaller. Kind of like using a 220 roll film back. [Here is the 8x10 back article.](http://www.popphoto.com/gear/2011/08/meet-six-figure-8x10-custom-made-digital-back) Not NASA pricing after all, but still a major out of reach price for all but a very few. . ---
**Author:** ![Tamerlane](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/tamerlane/32/7602_2.png) [@Tamerlane](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tamerlane)\ **Post date:** [January 2, 2014, 4:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/so-long-olympus/677590/32 "2014-01-02T16:35:20Z")
As Thom Hogan notes in regards to a [similar article running down Panasonic’s fortunes](http://www.nytimes.com/reuters/2013/12/29/business/29reuters-japan-cameras.html?_r=1&), it isn’t that [clearcut](http://www.sansmirror.com/newsviews/smartphones-shatter-mirrorl.html). Yeah, they may shake out at some point, but it may not be as quick as some think. Particularly in light of this: _All the players outside the oligopoly are losing money in cameras, and that obviously can’t go on forever, at least not under any form of Western corporate due diligence. If analysts, including myself, do get something wrong, it’s usually in the form of applying Western standards to Japanese companies. We’ve had quite a few Japanese consumer electronics companies that are underwater, stay underwater, have no real prospects of surfacing again, yet somehow manage to stay propped up in the lingering form of banking keiretsu that’s going on in Tokyo these days._ I’m actually a m4/3 user who is partial to Olympus with an [EM-5](http://www.dpreview.com/reviews/olympusem5) and who is idly considering picking up an [EM-1](http://www.dpreview.com/reviews/olympus-om-d-e-m1) for the better c-af. But if Olympus goes under…eh, I’ll still have my camera and lenses that will serve for awhile and then there will be other options if need be. ---
**Author:** ![artemis](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/91b2a8/32.png) [@artemis](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/artemis)\ **Post date:** [January 2, 2014, 5:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/so-long-olympus/677590/33 "2014-01-02T17:27:18Z")
> [@Tamerlane](#): > > I’m actually a m4/3 user who is partial to Olympus with an [EM-5](http://www.dpreview.com/reviews/olympusem5) and who is idly considering picking up an [EM-1](http://www.dpreview.com/reviews/olympus-om-d-e-m1) for the better c-af. But if Olympus goes under…eh, I’ll still have my camera and lenses that will serve for awhile and then there will be other options if need be. That’s my philosophy as well. I’ve been a bit tempted by the EM-1, but the knowledge that I don’t shoot much fast action plus remembering how much work it is to set up all the camera menus for the first time has kept me from buying one - yet. But even if Olympus closed shop tomorrow and I can’t replace any of my m4/3s gear, what I already have should meet my needs for many years to come. And by that point, who knows what the camera landscape will look like? I do know that when my EM-1 does die, someone, somewhere, will be making a suitable camera for me, and that’s all I need to know. The rest is just gear lust. ---
**Author:** ![minor7flat5](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/minor7flat5/32/258_2.png) [@minor7flat5](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/minor7flat5)\ **Post date:** [January 2, 2014, 8:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/so-long-olympus/677590/34 "2014-01-02T20:02:06Z")
> [@Tamerlane](#): > > As Thom Hogan notes in regards to a [similar article running down Panasonic’s fortunes](http://www.nytimes.com/reuters/2013/12/29/business/29reuters-japan-cameras.html?_r=1&), it isn’t that [clearcut](http://www.sansmirror.com/newsviews/smartphones-shatter-mirrorl.html). Yeah, they may shake out at some point, but it may not be as quick as some think. Ugh. The author included Fujifilm with the others. I hope they don’t go under or stop making high quality mirrorless cameras. I love my Fuji cameras! [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/so-long-olympus/677590.md?page=1)