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Author Topic: Sony Helping Olympus...MFT NEX on the horizon?  (Read 2375 times)

fike

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Sony Helping Olympus...MFT NEX on the horizon?
« on: September 17, 2012, 02:44:46 pm »

So what has motivated Sony to jump in and help Olympus? 

I recently have been dabbling pretty extensively in the Olympus MFT gear with my E-PL3 and now an OM-D.  I like the gear and the quality  is high(with the OM-D). It generally matches APS-C DSLRs which is what I was using before. 

I have been reluctant to drop my big-boy camera gear (canon) and go whole hog into MFT because I have less confidence in the solvency of Olympus and of MFT in general...particularly when you consider that the only two members of the MFT consortium are Panasonic and Olympus and they are both marginal players in high-end--or more accurately--mid-end camera gear. 

So, the Sony investment is a curious one for me.  They undoubtedly have a winner in their NEX range of cameras, but the general criticism of them has been that their lenses are large and slow.  Having handled them, I don't really care for the feel.  On the other hand, Sony clearly is making some of the highest quality sensors in the digital camera marketplace. I think I recall that the famous D800 sensor is sourced by Sony.

So it would seem that the strengths and weaknesses of Olympus's MFT alongside those of NEX make for a congruent match, but one company would hypothetically have to give-in and take the format of the other.  Doing so for Olympus nullifies the MFT lens investment.  Doing so for Sony nullifies a pretty great entry into the mirrorless segment with the NEX cameras.

Does Sony go MFT along with Panasonic and Olympus?  Is APS-C truly dead, and is the sweet spot for reduced-sensor-size high-quality photography really lay at the MFT size?
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deejjjaaaa

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Re: Sony Helping Olympus...MFT NEX on the horizon?
« Reply #1 on: September 17, 2012, 04:03:12 pm »

So what has motivated Sony to jump in and help Olympus? 
endoscopes
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fike

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Re: Sony Helping Olympus...MFT NEX on the horizon?
« Reply #2 on: September 17, 2012, 04:13:45 pm »

endoscopes

....and?


...What about endoscopes motivated Sony to invest in a competitor?
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WalterEG

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Re: Sony Helping Olympus...MFT NEX on the horizon?
« Reply #3 on: September 17, 2012, 06:00:22 pm »

Is APS-C truly dead, and is the sweet spot for reduced-sensor-size high-quality photography really lay at the MFT size?

The the ever-burgeoning range of APS-C mirrorless kit coming available  I'd very much doubt it.

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deejjjaaaa

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Re: Sony Helping Olympus...MFT NEX on the horizon?
« Reply #4 on: September 17, 2012, 06:46:57 pm »

....and?


...What about endoscopes motivated Sony to invest in a competitor?

Why Sony Semiconductors sells sensors to Nikon which is competing with Sony Imaging ? endoscopes are too good a business to miss hoping to eliminate Olympus camera division from the market, moreover if not Sony then Olympus will get the same money from Fuji or somebody else (forgot the name of the 3rd suitor)
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deejjjaaaa

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Re: Sony Helping Olympus...MFT NEX on the horizon?
« Reply #5 on: September 17, 2012, 06:51:22 pm »

...What about endoscopes

consider why Hoya purchased Pentax... just for their medical equipment business (and that was a fraction of what Olympus has) and camera division was a paperweight sold to Ricoh a year or so later... medical equipment is where the margins are... not in cameras which are a commodity now... so it is very good for Sony to have some cooperation with Olympus in medical equipment area, if they can't buy that division now at least that can get some profit from cooperation, supplying that division with some parts.
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fike

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Re: Sony Helping Olympus...MFT NEX on the horizon?
« Reply #6 on: September 17, 2012, 08:56:39 pm »

The the ever-burgeoning range of APS-C mirrorless kit coming available  I'd very much doubt it.

The reason I say that is because the mirrorless interchangeable lens APS-C cameras seem to have benefited less from size reduction of the lens.  Who else besides Sony and Fuji are doing anything serious with mirrorless APS-C? (and no, that blah canon mirrorless EOS-M doesn't count yet.)
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fike

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Re: Sony Helping Olympus...MFT NEX on the horizon?
« Reply #7 on: September 28, 2012, 09:49:01 am »

According to this short writeup, maybe this relationship is NOT just about medical imaging business.  Potentially good news for photographers of all stripes.

http://www.engadget.com/2012/09/28/sony-olympus-rescue/

Quote from: engadget
The deal also includes a component-sharing agreement in the photography space, with Olympus mirror cells and camera lenses being given to Sony, while image sensors (where Sony is very strong) will go the other way.
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IanBrowne

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Re: Sony Helping Olympus...MFT NEX on the horizon?
« Reply #8 on: October 05, 2012, 09:21:08 pm »

there is a lot more the Olympus than cameras; and good cameras at that. 
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