Let's All Dismiss Olympus

[kye]

13 hours ago, M_Williams said:

I can't say anything without violating NDA but let's just say I am not happy about the direction OM System is going with the naming scheme in some ways (in other ways it is better - OM-1 is much cleaner than OM-D E-M1).

I must admit that I have always been confused by their model numbering system.  Something like the Panasonic lines (G, GX, GH) or Sony (Ax, AxR, AxS) or Canon (xD, xxD, xxxD) etc make it easy for people to navigate.  If Olympus had a system in their model numbers, I never saw anything that explained it.

9 hours ago, Mark Romero 2 said:

Just to add a historical footnote...

The E-M1 MK II actually DIDN'T have PDAF in video until firmware 3.0, which was two-and-a-half years AFTER the release of the camera (E-M1 MK II was released in 2016, Firmware 3.0 released June 18, 2019). That also means the firmware was available only AFTER the GH5 had been available for two years and a couple of months.

And I am with you in that I wasn't sure Olympus still even made cameras until I saw that @Dave Maze video, too. 

There are a few things that drive me mad with my E-M1 MK II, such as the fact that LOG and Flat Profiles are ONLY available in 24fps DCI (not in 23.978fps, nor in UHD 16:9), and you have to do a bit of menu diving to get in to those picture profiles. On the other hand, for non-log, using the Natural profile with reduced contrast, sharpness and saturation is really nice as long as the dynamic range isn't overwhelming.

That makes a lot of sense.  I would have been surprised if I was choosing between an Olympus and the GH5 and the Olympus brand ambassador I was talking with just failed to mention the Oly had PDAF!

I do remember that the Olympus was more about getting it right in-camera than the GH5 which had the log profiles and 10-bit, which would allow more flexibility in post.  That definitely matters to me as I shoot travel in available light and really appreciate the flexibility in post that I can get.

24 minutes ago, tupp said:

One could ask those same questions if the situation were merely that some marketing person with zero sense of history had a whim to do a "rebrand."

By the way, the derivation of the new name is demonstrated by the video at the top of this web page.

Never underestimate the incompetence of corporate executives and marketing people.

Yeah, it definitely smells like a rebrand from some marketing people.  I'd imagine that such a thing would be a pretty standard process - failing brand comes on as a client and you do the normal brainstorming / focus group / market research / graphic design / blah blah blah stuff.

[Marcio Kabke Pinheiro]

21 hours ago, MrSMW said:

Must be a reason surely why they have chosen to throw away the heritage of over 80 years of the brand name OLYMPUS.

I’d hope so otherwise it’s not the wisest move…

Say someone bought Ferrari and then had the bright spark idea to change the name to ‘FR-Cars’.

Err, wot?

Unless the new company does not have the rights to use the brand name?

Probably this is the case. Olympus is no longer a camera company, is a medical company. 

Since OM Digital is a small spin-off with an uncertain future, probably they don't want their names linked if the JIP makes bad moves. 

[Marcio Kabke Pinheiro]

21 hours ago, MrSMW said:

Must be a reason surely why they have chosen to throw away the heritage of over 80 years of the brand name OLYMPUS.

I’d hope so otherwise it’s not the wisest move…

Say someone bought Ferrari and then had the bright spark idea to change the name to ‘FR-Cars’.

Err, wot?

Unless the new company does not have the rights to use the brand name?

Probably this is the case. Olympus is no longer a camera company, is a medical company. 

Since OM Digital is a small spin-off with an uncertain future, probably they don't want their names linked if the JIP makes bad moves. 

[ac6000cw]

19 hours ago, Mark Romero 2 said:

There are a few things that drive me mad with my E-M1 MK II, such as the fact that LOG and Flat Profiles are ONLY available in 24fps DCI (not in 23.978fps, nor in UHD 16:9), and you have to do a bit of menu diving to get in to those picture profiles. On the other hand, for non-log, using the Natural profile with reduced contrast, sharpness and saturation is really nice as long as the dynamic range isn't overwhelming.

Yes, the inconsistences on the E-M1 MK II get annoying - a few of mine:

• DCI not being available in 25p or 30p
• No AF-lock capability (other than an 'AF-off' function that can only be programmed to the lens function button, not to any of the camera buttons - so is unavailable with most lenses).
• A central single point focus area that's larger in video mode than in stills mode (undocumented, and very awkward for wildlife video e.g. filming birds through surrounding foliage).
• No 9 and 25 point area AF for video (just central single and all points) - you can use LCD screen 'touch AF' to get a small/medium area, but you have to remember to do that before hitting record and it's not persistent. (The Mk III does have 9 and 25 point area AF for video).

The DCI 4k/24p/LOG/Flat situation feels like product marketing wanted some 'Cinema' feature tick boxes added, but never considered that some of those features are just as useful and appealing to video users who use other frame rates...

 

[ac6000cw]

10 minutes ago, Marcio Kabke Pinheiro said:

Probably this is the case. Olympus is no longer a camera company, is a medical company. 

Since OM Digital is a small spin-off with an uncertain future, probably they don't want their names linked if the JIP makes bad moves. 

I agree - especially as traditionally the cameras have been a high visibility part of the Olympus 'brand image'.

[Marcio Kabke Pinheiro]

Albeit I've departed from m4/3 to Fuji, I love the m4/3 system, because of the small lenses - for an amateur like me, m4/3 have more than enough quality for both stills and video (switched only because of the incertain future, both Olympus and Panasonic were never officially sold here, and I use mid-range bodies and looks like the format will become specialized in high end video / wildlife / telephoto). 

The body of the OM-1 already leaked, is a child of the E-M1 MKIII and the E-M1X after a party full of booze. 🙂 No big changes from the other Oly bodies (good to see a dedicated AF-ON button, though). 

More of my concern were the high and strange bitrate numbers - looks like they are using the same codes, which were the problem of the Oly cameras. They never get to the said bitrate, are kind of soft (compared to Panasonic - which for some could be an advantage) and lacked in chroma department. Let's see how they perform in the new camera. 

There were interface problems too. Never had advanced video tools, like waveforms. I bet that they will keep one of the things that I hated most with Olympus - fixed screens layouts, like if you want a histogram you have to sacrifice something else. 

But their colors are good. When I had the E-M5 MK II, it's video quality was very bad compared to my GX85 - until a firmware with a video upgrade came (I guess that was v2. 0). Still never bothered too much, when shooting the Olympus was for stills and the GX85 for video. Just for the sake of testing, one day made a short clip in a Jose Gonzalez concert - oh boy, until this day just wish that I've recorded the full song. Still was a little bit soft than the GX85, but it was MUCH more organic - was probably the best image that I've got from that venue. 

 

AF, yes, looks the one that everyone wants in the GH6. @Dave Mazealready shown how good it is, and you can search for a guy named Nigel Barros that uses cheap gear and now is using a E-M1 MKII. From what I saw, is not Sony / Canon level, but looks like better than my Fujis. And the hated Jordan and Chris used an Olympus in the recent video review of the newer Leica,you could looks and takes some conclusions.

I don't think that the OM-1 will be a contender for the GH6 for video, but for hybrid work, and with (probably) better AF and stabilization, could be an interesting option (and for stills will probably be better than the GH6). 

[Mark Romero 2]

15 minutes ago, ac6000cw said:

No 9 and 25 point area AF for video (just central single and all points) - you can use LCD screen 'touch AF' to get a small/medium area, but you have to remember to do that before hitting record and it's not persistent. (The Mk III does have 9 and 25 point area AF for video).

Thank you for that clarification (and yoiur other elaborations). I had thought it was ME who had messed up the focusing parameters somehow as I kept searching for the 9-point AF area in video. Ans since the Oly menus are still mysterious to me, I was driving myself going in circles through the menu.

[M_Williams]

22 hours ago, MrSMW said:

Unless the new company does not have the rights to use the brand name?

No, they certainly do have the rights. Unless they have an agreement with Olympus that stipulates some pretty odd things. Can't really say more.

[tupp]

7 minutes ago, M_Williams said:

Can't really say more.

Did you sign an NDA?

[ac6000cw]

31 minutes ago, Mark Romero 2 said:

I had thought it was ME who had messed up the focusing parameters somehow as I kept searching for the 9-point AF area in video.

The restriction is only mentioned in the manual as a footnote on page 39 ('Selecting the AF target mode'): "The single target mode is automatically applied in movie shooting if the group target mode is set" - it took me a while to work it out too.

31 minutes ago, Mark Romero 2 said:

And since the Oly menus are still mysterious to me, I was driving myself going in circles through the menu.

I know what you mean... I like the 'Super Control Panel' (probably better than the Pana 'Quick Menu' equivalent), but the Oly main menu system badly needs needs a total re-design.

[Andrew Reid]

I have a bit of a conspiracy theory about the new OM digital company.

I think Sony will help it along, and maybe Sony has some interest in taking a stake in a competitor who was formerly more close to Panasonic.

Rumours of a Sony Quad Pixel sensor in the new OM digital camera, could make it surprisingly advanced tech.

As for video... Olympus had a few fans but the masses always saw them more as a photography brand like Fuji, and unlike Fuji, Olympus did not do a big video push later on or any dedicated hybrid models like the Fuji X-H1.

Plus if you had a bunch of Micro Four Thirds lenses and wanted video... You wouldn't choose an E-M1 II over a GH5.

Personally I liked both. Olympus did do some things in a different way, and it's up to opinion whether that was better than Panasonic.

Plus, E-M1 II had phase-detect AF.

E-M1 X is a nice body, they went out on a high.

Of course it lacks all the myriad video features of Panasonic and 10bit.

But it has a seriously nice image and great ergonomics, plus superb IBIS.

[Video Hummus]

Sony use to own stock in Olympus but sold it back I believe several years ago. Will be interesting to see if OM System will fizzle or if they will be acquired. You would think Panasonic would be interested but their camera division is probably not high on the totem pole to the rest of the company interests since the market has constricted.

I'm still very interested in the latest OM-1 camera. I have a feeling it was already a blueprinted product at Olympus and very little changes were made since the spin off company from Olympus.

[ac6000cw]

Re. the use of the Olympus brand name on cameras going forward - this was in a dpreview news item on Jan 5th 2021:

Quote

We’ve also learned OM Digital Solutions has licensed the use of the Olympus brand name. So, in addition to the OM and Zuiko branding, the cameras will continue to be released under the Olympus brand ‘for the foreseeable future.’ This won’t always be the case, but an Olympus spokesperson told us they are ‘unable to provide the exact duration of its use, at this time.’

 

[ac6000cw]

42 minutes ago, Video Hummus said:

I have a feeling it was already a blueprinted product at Olympus and very little changes were made since the spin off company from Olympus.

Given the development and production lead times involved in bringing something like this to market, plus it's using a new sensor and a new/heavily upgraded processor, I think that's almost certain.

[tupp]

5 minutes ago, ac6000cw said:

Re. the use of the Olympus brand name on cameras going forward - this was in a dpreview news item on Jan 5th 2021:

Quote

We’ve also learned OM Digital Solutions has licensed the use of the Olympus brand name. So, in addition to the OM and Zuiko branding, the cameras will continue to be released under the Olympus brand ‘for the foreseeable future.’ This won’t always be the case, but an Olympus spokesperson told us they are ‘unable to provide the exact duration of its use, at this time.’

Thank you for the clarification!

I wonder if their licensing of the Olympus trademark requires ongoing payments, which JIP wants to cease.

[Video Hummus]

2 hours ago, tupp said:

I wonder if their licensing of the Olympus trademark requires ongoing payments, which JIP wants to cease.

Depends on the contract of the license but it will either be installed payments per year or quarter or it could be a % of sales of each unit sold.

[Andrew Reid]

Why does it still have an Olympus logo?

[webrunner5]

I would imagine the Japanese government owns Olympus?? They pretty much bail everyone out just like China. Total embarrassment to let workers loose job and pensions.

[MrSMW]

OM-1 is better than OMD E=MC2 EMiii etc

Just make the next camera OM-2…if they survive and the leaked pics do indeed show the use of the OLYMPUS brand name with the company name, bottom right.

I hope it’s a decent bit of kit as the industry needs success stories not more criticism of yet another new camera that doesn’t hit the spot for the majority.

Z9 and A7iv other than a few niggles seem to have been well received recently, some others less so. 

[Video Hummus]

17 hours ago, ac6000cw said:

Given the development and production lead times involved in bringing something like this to market, plus it's using a new sensor and a new/heavily upgraded processor, I think that's almost certain.

Yeah, I agree. However, it appears they didn’t really change the architecture at all from the EM1.3.