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Re: [OM] Olympus quits camera business after 84 years - BBC News

Subject: Re: [OM] Olympus quits camera business after 84 years - BBC News
From: Piers Hemy <piers@xxxxxxxx>
Date: Sat, 27 Jun 2020 20:38:35 +0100
I think you have that about right, Bill. We can maybe look forward to the
brand name proliferating into spectacles, rechargeable batteries and
chargers, SD cards who knows? And SSWF being licensed to other
manufacturers, IBIS maybe too.

And possibly the value of Pro lenses on the used market will actually
increase, absent availability of new lenses. Although I suspect that stocks
are in fact plentiful, witness the "free body with three lenses" offer that
Moose mentioned.

Piers, well stocked on single malts, and Pro lenses.

On Thu, 25 Jun 2020 at 19:13, Pearce, Wilfred via olympus <
olympus@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx> wrote:

> Can we say Kodak? Polaroid? Wouldn't it be nice if someone had absorbed
> the Kodak sensor business and continued it, AG?Prepare for the worst. Stock
> up on Alcohol.
>
> ________________________________
> From: olympus <olympus-bounces+pearce=kmuw.org@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx> on
> behalf of Chris Weir <chris.a.weir@xxxxxxxxx>
> Sent: Thursday, June 25, 2020 9:51:41 AM
> To: Olympus Camera Discussion
> Subject: Re: [OM] Olympus quits camera business after 84 years - BBC News
>
> CAUTION: This email originated from outside of Wichita State University.
> Do not click links or open attachments unless you recognize the sender and
> know the content is safe.
>
>
> I am far less confident than AG. JIP are little more than accountants, I
> don't think they have the expertise to run Olympus Camera division. I think
> it is a way of quietly shutting down and selling off the IP if possible.
>
> On Thu, 25 Jun 2020, 00:23 Ken Norton, <ken@xxxxxxxxxxx> wrote:
>
> > I'm restricting my "doom and gloom" perspective on this and thinking
> > through a few factoids:
> >
> > 1. The imaging division has always been negatively affected by the
> > politics and turf wars within Olympus. They've been allowed to do only
> > what the other divisions allow them to do. And more importantly, what
> > can they gain out of it. For decades, it's been the red-headed
> > step-child.
> >
> > 2. Olympus has always been extremely good at engineering and
> > industrial design. But the products are always a step out of phase
> > with the market. Certain things are too far ahead of the curve, or far
> > behind the curve. Sometimes, not even on the curve. And they repeat
> > the same mistake over and over again of straying away from what the
> > competition is doing. Sensor-size is easily the biggest example of
> > this. It's OK to be innovative, but it's not OK to let your
> > competition tack in an entirely different direction in race 7. (Dennis
> > Conner's head SHOULD have been put in the NYYC trophy cabinet for that
> > fateful mistake). They went alone with 4/3 when EVERY other
> > manufacturer went APS-C. Then they doubled-down with m4/3 when almost
> > every other manufacturer went FF. This is 100% the fault of Product
> > Management. This ended up as a costly decision because sensor prices,
> > capabilities, and availability depend on leveraging the investment
> > across as many units sold as possible. To share that with other
> > manufacturers gives an advantage.
> >
> > 3. They owed their continued existence to SONY in exchange for a ton
> > of engineering and industrial design, as well as technology licensing.
> >
> > 4. Shall we mention the billion dollar fraud case? That STILL affects
> > the company years later. It's not unlike a college football program
> > that is punished for recruitment violations. It may take generations
> > for that program to come back--if ever. It's hard to recruit talent
> > when you know that the company will never be on top.
> >
> > 5. Years ago, I said that the biggest mistake Olympus, Nikon and Canon
> > were making was not partnering with the cell-phone manufacturers to
> > provide the camera units and processing engines. Imagine if that shiny
> > new iPhone were to say "Olympus Inside". Just as Canon and Sony were
> > able to destroy the film camera markets with digital sensor
> > technology, the cellphone companies are returning the favor and
> > decimating the camera industry. And in all honesty, the bulk of
> > photography investment is being made by the cellphone companies.
> >
> > 6. Investment firms are all about Return On Investment (ROI). I expect
> > the new Olympus Imaging Company, whatever it is to be called, to be
> > not only profitable, but probably much more focused on producing
> > products that are a bit more mainstream. And cross-licensing
> > technologies is likely to be big. We may actually get an "Olympus
> > Inside" logo on a cellphone.
> >
> > 7. Sony already has a relationship with this particular investment
> > firm, and I suspect that they were the primary driving force behind
> > this move.
> >
> > 8. Management efficiency. While I've touched on this earlier, it is
> > worthy of its own bullet point. Olympus is an extremely bloated
> > company that can't get out of its own way. One reason why the imaging
> > division can't make a profit is because of the obscene levels of
> > overhead that affects the bottom line.
> >
> > 9. Olympus America. The legacy lives on, and on, and on, and on...
> >
> > So, I'd say that the Imaging Division could have a very bright future.
> > We honestly don't know. However, what we do know is that change MUST
> > happen. I don't think Olympus management is capable of changing what
> > needs to be changed. Bailing out of South Korea is a prime example of
> > the extreme incompetence Olympus has shown.
> >
> > Other than gobs of used Olympus gear, I've not been buying anything
> > new and my two recent brand-new purchases were Sony and Panasonic. Of
> > the used Olympus purchases I will be making, it will be swapping out
> > for better copies or versions of what I already have.
> >
> > Bleak? End of the road? No, not really. I am actually encouraged by
> > this news. it's a 50/50 that things will turn out positive for Olympus
> > Imaging, but without this move, I think that it's a 95% chance of
> > failure.
> >
> > AG Schnozz
> > --
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> >
> >
> --
> _________________________________________________________________
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> Themed Olympus Photo Exhibition: http://www.tope.nl/
>
> --
> _________________________________________________________________
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> Themed Olympus Photo Exhibition: http://www.tope.nl/
>
>
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