Certainly not good news... Not because I'm an Olympus fan, but because it spotlights the difficulties of being a camera company in the age of smartphone imaging. I expect this will be part of a trend of fewer choices (and corresponding higher prices).
For those who are Olympus fans it is not good, but I do think that all companies connected with photography, especially camera manufacturers, need to look very carefully at where they are going and what they are doing.
It seems to me that if they want to survive they must take seriously the excellence of mobile phone cameras and the relative cheapness of what has become an almost indispensable adjutant in today's world. Today's cameras are incredible technological machines, but even given the huge development costs it is hard to justify to the mass-market consumer the retail prices that we are now seeing. Cameras are rapidly becoming the preserve of the enthusiast. I believe that we will see more photographic companies going to the wall unless they can adapt and diversify.
I am really sad. All my early cameras, including my first SLR many years ago, were Olympus and they remain my favourite brand. Personally I intensely dislike smartphone cameras. Although they have improved markedly over time, they simply don't have the versatility and quality of a camera shot. But as Andrew says, sadly things are changing very fast. I hope real cameras remain to fight the day.
yeah not happy as I bought my first Olympus mirrorless last year and love it. I was going to get another canon but at the last minute went for the great functions of the mirrorless in store. sigh
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It seems to me that if they want to survive they must take seriously the excellence of mobile phone cameras and the relative cheapness of what has become an almost indispensable adjutant in today's world. Today's cameras are incredible technological machines, but even given the huge development costs it is hard to justify to the mass-market consumer the retail prices that we are now seeing. Cameras are rapidly becoming the preserve of the enthusiast. I believe that we will see more photographic companies going to the wall unless they can adapt and diversify.