Yup. It's now as official as it could ever be.
Four-Thirds SLR line is totally dead. Abandonded.
Not that we didn't already figure this out, but they've been dishonest
about it all along. Well, dishonesty seems to be the company culture,
so we shouldn't be surprised.
Here is the sad thing. As I look through their plan which involves the
imaging division, I don't see how they're going to make it profitable.
The only thing that keeps that division around is pride. That's it.
As sweet as the OM-D is, I can't buy it because of the company. I'll
take my lumps and go elsewhere. Olympus has a temporary leg up on the
competition, but there is that nature/vacuum thing. It won't take long
before a superior product comes along and Olympus will go back into
floundering mode. The moment the OM-D sales drop off, there will be
all the internal nailbiting, backstabbing and other idiocy which will
cause them to repeat the same mistakes of the past. This is still the
same old Olympus with the same marketing and product mismanagement
teams. It is guaranteed that they'll vaporlock again.
Five year plans? Right. This is all assuming they'll even be around in
five years. What I and a whole lot of investors want to see is a
wholesale change in the entire management structure of the
company--especially in the imaging division. There are a lot of very
good people working for Olympus, but it is so apparent that their
management structure is so broken I really don't see how they'll make
it. Within the year Olympus will be back to the walk/chew gum syndrome
again. They just don't know how to do two things at once.
I also wonder how much they are paying Panasonic to hold off on the
GH3. The GH3 won't have IBIS, but it is a safe assumption that it will
slam dunk the E-M5 in ways that will make their heads spin. Especially
when it has the larger sensor in the 18-24MP range, more/better video
modes, twist-and-shout (detachable?) display, better battery-life,
better EVF... The OM-D is selling strongly right now only because
Panasonic doesn't have the GH3 available and Canon's Mirrorless won't
be introduced for another three months yet. Whoever has mobilization
natively supported will dominate the next two years--that's the killer
camera-app.
Honestly, the rumored GH3, combined with Panasonic's new high-end zoom
lenses appear to be aimed right at the professional photographer. The
OM-D is currently directed at a different audience.
I still think Olympus' imaging division is going to end up being owned
by Cosina.
AG
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