From: Gary Reese <PCACala@xxxxxxx> wrote:
>I've also heard that OLY America blew it by requiring a rather large
minimum
>equipment inventory to be an OM dealer. That greatly decreased the sources
>for new equipment, prices increased and demand dropped. But that is a
>different story which has perhaps been discussed here before.
In chatting with a local pro I learned he used 1000lympus for his 35mm
work (he does a lot of 120 format and 4x5 work too). He dumped it and moved
to Nikon because he could not get reliable, quick service when a piece
failed. His alternatives were wait 2-4 weeks for Oly America to fix it or
have at least two of everything. While I follow the second choice somewhat
(multiple bodies, flashes, overlap of lens coverage, cords and cables,
etc.....) I appreciate his early recognition and concern of the poor service
level for the working pro who depends on his gear to be repaired *fast*.
This is clearly one aspect of the business the where other two major
manufacturers are very strong - professional support. Having said that, the
economies of scale work against the pro. Compare the vast numbers of casual
"point & shoot"ers to the number of working pros, and the per camera support
costs and its not too hard to see why any vendor would choose to walk away
from the pro business. The good news is, I'm not a working pro and I love
my Oly collection dearly. I will continue to extend my collection, use it
hard and well, and duplicate those items that tend to fail often with good
"used but not abused" backups. There may come the day when only the OM-1
can be used, but at least all those superb lenses and attachments will still
be useful.
John P
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