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[OM] saving the OM system

Subject: [OM] saving the OM system
From: William Sommerwerck <williams@xxxxxxxxxx>
Date: Fri, 16 Oct 1998 05:43:39 -0700
<< I sincerely hope the OM system will be around for many years. But
unless Olympus aggressively markets it -- to the serious photographer,
not just  the "nuts" -- and tries to keep the price down, it will almost
certainly die. >>

Please keep your own diminished self image to yourself and don't try to
include me or the other members of this group.

Your generalizations and negativisms are tiresome. If you're so
convinced the OM system is doomed, why not have a quick garage sale
(on-line sale?) and raise money for your new Nik or Can. Or Min or Pen? 
Certainly not Lei since they also lag so far behind the bells and
whistle leaders they must not have a viable product either.


I'm going to be nasty. This ignorant, stupid response deserves a flaming
reply.

I switched from Nikon to Olympus over 20 years ago. I have never had any
reason to regret it. Even if Olympus suddenly decided to discontinue all
OM products, I would no more think of trading in my system on another
brand than I would of throwing it in the trashcan. Barring an
irreparable failure of my OM-4T body, I expect my equipment to have at
least another 20 years of life in it. (I just bought the 50/2 macro
lens, by the way.)

What's with this idiotic "diminished self-image" crap? Am I supposed to
define my entire existance and raison d'etre as a committed Zuikoholic
who believes the OM system Will Live Forever? Huh? Is that it? Get a
life, mister.

Jut because I (and other people) have pointed out that the technological
"lag" of the OM system has made it less desirable doesn't mean I
_approve_ of that state of affairs! Indeed, I've said just the oppposite
("the marketplace often makes the wrong decisions").

Olympus USA told me several years ago that the OM-4T body was the
standard body for their photomicrographic system, and that as long as
they sold the latter, the former would be manufactured. It _is_ possible
that they sell enough microscopes (and related products) to justify
manufacturing the OM-4T indefinitely.

But... the handwriting is on the wall. When a company _raises_ prices
because their products aren't selling well enough (when the normal
economic response should be just the opposite), you know that it has
probably lost its long-term committment. Once the lenses and other
accessories are no longer made, who needs the body? The people who buy
Olympus microscopes probably don't care which camera body is attached.

What this group needs to do is to convince Olympus that the OM system is
a viable niche product, but it cannot survive if Olympus fails to
introduce new products on a regular basis, price it competitively, and
(most important) promote it aggressively.

Now... WHAT CAN WE DO ABOUT THIS? Let's talk about saving the OM system.

PS: Before sending this, I decided that, as soon as I get off the
Internet, I will call Olympus USA and complain. It's a start.

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