New Report States That Only Canon, Nikon, and Sony Will Survive in the Camera Market

[fortwodriver]

Funny. I was thinking only Nikon and Canon are doomed. The places where mirrorless trails (focus speed, ISO range and long lenses) will continue to close. Pretty soon, 60 year old hobbyists and a few diehard 60 year old pros will be the only retail customers for their 60 year old tech.

Hahah... Already The Nikon D1 is seen as "retro" by some young folk... ;-)

 

[RT_Panther]

Funny. I was thinking only Nikon and Canon are doomed. The places where mirrorless trails (focus speed, ISO range and long lenses) will continue to close. Pretty soon, 60 year old hobbyists and a few diehard 60 year old pros will be the only retail customers for their 60 year old tech.

New technology doesn't equate to "better".
Case in point: VHS was newer than Betamax & ultimately killed Betamax- but most felt the older "Betamax" was better.

 

[fortwodriver]

New technology doesn't equate to "better".
Case in point: VHS was newer than Betamax & ultimately killed Betamax- but most felt the older "Betamax" was better.

VHS was also cheaper and more economical.

 

[RT_Panther]

VHS was also cheaper and more economical.

Interesting you said this because in other threads, another user here has demonstrated that MFT is not cheaper or more economical than entry & mid-level DSLRs

 

[dougjgreen]

New technology doesn't equate to "better".
Case in point: VHS was newer than Betamax & ultimately killed Betamax- but most felt the older "Betamax" was better.

That's the Olympus mindset - we make our stuff "better", so there's no need to properly market it, nor price it competitively.

 

[RT_Panther]

Interesting you said this because in other threads, another user here has demonstrated that MFT is not cheaper or more economical than entry & mid-level DSLRs

Case in point:
-Nikon D3200=$495 USD
-Nikon 35 ƒ1.8 = $196 USD
-Nikon 50 ƒ1.8 = $217 USD
-Nikoon 55-300 = $396 USD

 

[RT_Panther]

That's the Olympus mindset - we make our stuff "better", so there's no need to properly market it, nor price it competitively.

And Olympus has had more problems being in the "red".
Back to Nikon, it's amazing they've survived this long in that unlike Canon, Sony, Panasonic, Samsung, or Olympus, Nikon doesn't have a major other division to hold them afloat...

 

[fortwodriver]

Interesting you said this because in other threads, another user here has demonstrated that MFT is not cheaper or more economical than entry & mid-level DSLRs

Yeah, well, I didn't enter join the m43 crowd to save money or be more economical.

I do find some of the lenses and accessories on sale more often than other formats though. But (since I have the E-M1) it's mostly the same cost as my Canon gear. Of course there's also the software I've purchased to make my digital darkroom. Going to m43 didn't change that either.

 

[fortwodriver]

And Olympus has had more problems being in the "red".
Back to Nikon, it's amazing they've survived this long in that unlike Canon, Sony, Panasonic, Samsung, or Olympus, Nikon doesn't have a major other division to hold them afloat...

Don't they produce rather large stepper machines for the VLSI chip industry?

 

[RT_Panther]

Yeah, well, I didn't enter join the m43 crowd to save money or be more economical.

And some folks who choose to stick with DSLRs don't care about size or weight. :smile:

 

[RT_Panther]

Don't they produce rather large stepper machines for the VLSI chip industry?

Not sure but that being said & for sake of discussion, let's say that they do...
How does that division compare to Olympus medical instruments or Canon's copying business, or Sony, Samsung, & Panasonic electronics?

 

[bye]

Don't they produce rather large stepper machines for the VLSI chip industry?

Nikon Imaging is the most profitable division and in fact somewhat funding the stepper motors as it goes through tough economic times. They also have a Nikon Optical division (eye glass wears), but that too is not a significant part either. Nikon is one of the companies of the Mitsubishi Group, a rather huge conglomerate with a solid financial backing.

 

[RT_Panther]

Nikon is one of the companies of the Mitsubishi Group, a rather huge conglomerate with a solid financial backing.

Yes, true here...

 

[Jonathan F/2]

Because my wife won't let me have two...:cry:

[g,d, & r]

Regards,

Jim

My Mom picked up a Samsung Galaxy 4 phone and I have to admit...the camera on that phone has images that rival Olympus SOOC!

 

[jnewell]

The future is uncertain. Within my lifetime (barely), 35mm was considered a largely amateur format, not suitable for professional photo work. Look at photos of JFK that include the press photographers. You see lots of Speed Graphics and Rollei TLRs, not so many Leicas or, perish the though, Nikon SLRs. I am confident that my great grandfather thought that celluloid was a passing fad and that glass negatives would rule forever.

Full frame is 35mm in film format, so far the 35mm format had survived a number of challengers in the past (film days) and in the present. It's like car. 4 wheels is 4 wheels. Do you need 6 wheels or 3 wheels? I think there were, but people go back to driving a car with 4 wheels. We are a creature of habits. LOL.

 

[robbie36]

Funny. I was thinking only Nikon and Canon are doomed. The places where mirrorless trails (focus speed, ISO range and long lenses) will continue to close. Pretty soon, 60 year old hobbyists and a few diehard 60 year old pros will be the only retail customers for their 60 year old tech.

You know I am not really convinced by this argument. It seems to me that in many respects M43 is a pretty mature system - there certainly isnt much wrong with an E-M1 and there is an extremely broad range of lens options - essentially mirrorless has caught up in functionality. Despite this, mirrorless has lost market share to DSLRs in Japan, Europe and the Americas over the past year. And within mirrorless, M43 has lost market share to other formats, As an aside, looking at the age demographics of the dpreview.com website and the fact that M43 seems incredibly popular there, would seem to point to the fact that it is the over 60s who are the ones buying M43.

 

[Fmrvette]

that it is the over 60s who are the ones buying M43.

Aaaaaand...that would be me .

Regards,

Jim

 

[Itchybiscuit]

Well that was ten pages of thoroughly enjoyable waffle.

I wonder if the Japanese companies who actually have a financial stake in the future of m4/3 know better?
Hands up all those who are either CEO's or CFO's of Panasonic/Olympus?

 

[Fmrvette]

...Hands up all those who are either CEO's or CFO's of Panasonic/Olympus?

Aaaaaand...that would be not me .

Regards,

Jim

 

[robbie36]

Well that was ten pages of thoroughly enjoyable waffle.

I wonder if the Japanese companies who actually have a financial stake in the future of m4/3 know better?
Hands up all those who are either CEO's or CFO's of Panasonic/Olympus?

The concept that the CEO of Olympus 'knows better' is one of the most ridiculous in Japanese Corporate History.

As for really putting any faith in the management of a company that has seen its digital imaging revenues fall 75 percent over the last 5 years and where losses from imaging have average US$100m a year - it wouldnt be too advisable. Could management have actually done worse?