Post by WDB on Jun 26, 2020 7:03:49 GMT
Sad to hear this week that Olympus has decided to give up trying to make money out of cameras, and to sell its imaging division.
I’ve only had one Olympus camera, an early digicam, not one of the film classics, but I’ve still felt the benefit of Olympus innovation. I’ve always appreciated cameras that don’t get left at home for being too big, and Olympus was the first to design for compactness as well as quality. The OM-1 (which would have been the M-1 had Leitz not claimed trademark infringement) really did change the game. The Pentax cameras and lenses I still use are small and portable because Olympus had created the demand for compact, full-function hardware.
And the jewels kept on coming: the OM-4Ti put cutting-edge 1980s technology into a compact titanium chassis. The XA is still the benchmark pocketable film camera. And as digital matured and ‘serious’ cameras became monsters again, Olympus led the way back towards compactness with its mirrorless range. The OM-D range are gorgeous little machines, the Pen-F even more so; devices that recognize the tactile pleasure of taking pictures as much as the need for good images. It was human-centred design, and that’s always worth appreciating.
I understand Olympus has struggled for a long time to make cameras pay, using them as a halo brand while making its money from scientific instruments. I’m possibly part of that problem, as a long-time admirer and target customer who’s never actually bought into the OM system. But I can still be sad, can’t I?
I’ve only had one Olympus camera, an early digicam, not one of the film classics, but I’ve still felt the benefit of Olympus innovation. I’ve always appreciated cameras that don’t get left at home for being too big, and Olympus was the first to design for compactness as well as quality. The OM-1 (which would have been the M-1 had Leitz not claimed trademark infringement) really did change the game. The Pentax cameras and lenses I still use are small and portable because Olympus had created the demand for compact, full-function hardware.
And the jewels kept on coming: the OM-4Ti put cutting-edge 1980s technology into a compact titanium chassis. The XA is still the benchmark pocketable film camera. And as digital matured and ‘serious’ cameras became monsters again, Olympus led the way back towards compactness with its mirrorless range. The OM-D range are gorgeous little machines, the Pen-F even more so; devices that recognize the tactile pleasure of taking pictures as much as the need for good images. It was human-centred design, and that’s always worth appreciating.
I understand Olympus has struggled for a long time to make cameras pay, using them as a halo brand while making its money from scientific instruments. I’m possibly part of that problem, as a long-time admirer and target customer who’s never actually bought into the OM system. But I can still be sad, can’t I?
