Olympus-Sony deal now official

[bakubo]

Olympus-Sony deal now official! They will work together on mirrorless cameras.

http://www.43rumors.com/olympus-sony-deal-now-official/

It will be interesting to see how this works out for both companies' camera products.

[bfitzgerald]

I used to like Olympus (35mm days)..now I think the tie up is quite good these are the 2 companies I least like in the photographic world!
They also share one thing in common, they are happy to dump users (OM series left behind/4-3 DSLR users abandoned) Sony's SLT only world, and the hot shoe change.

Quite ironic really. I give Sony some credit, the scandal that hit Olympus was a death blow to some. I wouldn't touch them with a barge pole after that.

[pakodominguez]

As far as I understand, Sony was more interested on Olympus medical division, not on the camera division. In any case, it will be really nice for us if Sony can bring some of those beautiful Zuikos to the Alpha cause...

[bakubo]

They also share one thing in common, they are happy to dump users (OM series left behind/4-3 DSLR users abandoned) Sony's SLT only world, and the hot shoe change.

Yes, Minolta, Olympus, and Canon abandoned their previous customers at some point. Minolta went so far the second time they abandoned their customers by totally exiting the business. Sony only in relatively minor ways, at least, so far. Nikon and Pentax have done better. There have been comments recently from Olympus about how they are working on a new camera to make proper use of the 4/3 lenses. Speculation based on some cryptic Olympus comments is that it will have on-sensor PDAF and may allow use of m4/3 and 4/3 lenses with both working well.

[pakodominguez]

They also share one thing in common, they are happy to dump users (OM series left behind/4-3 DSLR users abandoned) Sony's SLT only world, and the hot shoe change.

Yes, Minolta, Olympus, and Canon abandoned their previous customers at some point. Minolta went so far the second time they abandoned their customers by totally exiting the business. Sony only in relatively minor ways, at least, so far. Nikon and Pentax have done better.

Well, Pentax went from M42 to the K mount...

[bakubo]

Well, Pentax went from M42 to the K mount...

Of course, that is right! I knew that Pentax dropped it since I was using the M42 mount Mamiya/Sekor 1000 DTL when it happened so I don't know why it slipped my mind.

If we go back far enough then it is hard to find a company that hasn't "abandoned" their customers. Nikon stopped making RF cameras and changed to SLRs with a new mount. Canon also used to make RF cameras too, but stopped.

I figure that there are usually enough users that if you want to sell your lenses then you can. This year I have sold 5 lenses, a flash, and a body. If in the future m4/3 seems to be dying (or if I just decide I am not too happy with it) then I can sell and get something else.

[bfitzgerald]

Henry I agree about Minolta..
But overall in my "dumping rankings" I simply judge based on if the dumping was for a logical reason or in the interests of the customer.
With Olympus I think the 4/3 fiasco was not a good thing for their DSLR users (they have a token E-5 offering) and that is it.

With Sony I see the OVF abandonment as a bad thing for customers, I also include the hot shoe change as a bad move. We could debate some of these points for quite some time. I do think that stability is something customers are looking for. It's not the only measure I make of a company though (ie Pentax my own experience counts for more than keeping a longer running mount)

I don't see how this will mean anything for either makers ILC models which are quite different. As Pako suggests it would seem the medical side is of more interest.

[Dr. Harout]

...As Pako suggests it would seem the medical side is of more interest.

Definitely. Just think of it. Just check the price of a colonoscopy device, which has a lifespan of max. 2 years (average use and sterilization)...