Possible Olympus FF dilemma....what will they do?

Ben Herrmann wrote:

Hello all...

After having been with Olympus for a long time (since the inception of the Four Thirds format to begin with) beginning with the venerable E-1, I wonder what their behavior will be now that more and more rumors are being released that they'll also go the route of FF?

Some of you will remember that when Micro Four Thirds started, Olympus just ended their run of regular 4/3 cameras (ending with the E-5). Of course, many of us were disappointed, but hey...you move on and make the best of it. Of course, they at least let everyone know (not like Samsung that just exited without any formal announcements).

Now that Olympus has put in for patents on 24, 28, and 35 MM FF lenses - and with rumors now surfacing all over the place about their planned foray into the world of FF, this begs the question, "If it occurs, will Olympus still maintain the micro 4/3 format in addition to FF, or will they do as they've always done before, and move on solely to the new format?"

What'ya think?

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Semper Fidelis...
Bernd (Ben) W. Herrmann
North Carolina, USA

M4/3 is the new 1/1.6. Its a format under pressure as larger sensor prices come down. There is no point in Oly going for APS-C as it is the budget format for quality cameras these days. Once they are making the investment in a new mount, they have to go FF I reckon.

As for M4/3, its still a great format but overall it is inevitable that it will be perceived as a budget format in the long run. I am not sure the high end lenses Panny and Oly are selling will find much market, when similar money buys equivalent FF lenses.

They have tried to steadily push the cameras upmarket and they have succeeded to some degree but as FF camera prices fall, the lure of the big sensors becomes ever stronger.

I think that the USP of M4/3 is its IQ relative to kit size and for many if not most hobbyists, kit size is a big factor.

If Oly do enter the ring I expect FF camera prices to fall fast because now that Ricoh are in FF as well, there is going to suddenly be a lot of competition in that market.

I wonder what Fuji and Panny will do, I suspect Panny will stay out of it and try to dominate M4/3 and Fuji will take a long time about entering and continue to make the case that their XTrans sensor is as good as FF in most ways that matter.