Maybe heaver discounts from Olympus

[zig-123]

Here is an interesting article I read at Thom Hogan's mirrorless website.

It is about last years sales figures for Nikon, Sony and Olympus.

My suspicion is the we'll see heavier discounting from Olympus as they try to move inventory.

Zig

[Greg Chappell]

What they need to do is discount the four-thirds lenses, sell the current inventory, stop that production and get rid of the majority, if not all of the point & shoots. The ZX series is excellent as is the Tough series, but if they are not profitable, dump them. Kind-of reminds me of how Zeiss just kept making cameras until they had to finally stop making anything, literally overnight, in the early 1970's.

[zig-123]

Originally Posted by Greg Chappell

What they need to do is discount the four-thirds lenses, sell the current inventory, stop that production and get rid of the majority, if not all of the point & shoots. The ZX series is excellent as is the Tough series, but if they are not profitable, dump them. Kind-of reminds me of how Zeiss just kept making cameras until they had to finally stop making anything, literally overnight, in the early 1970's.

Olympus' marketing plan continues to be a mystery to me. But, when you read Sony has lost money and Nikon's unit sales continue to decline. It doesn't take a rocket scientist to figure out that market is changing. I sure hope that Olympus figures out what they need to do soon. With the release of the E-M5 and E-PL5 cameras bodies, the micro four thirds system is actually a good product.

If they don't figure it out, I'll buy an E-M5 as a bargain basement closeout item.

[JohnG]

not seeing a link Zig. Did you include one to the article?

[zig-123]

Originally Posted by JohnG

not seeing a link Zig. Did you include one to the article?

Would help if I enclosed the link wouldn't it.

http://www.sansmirror.com/newsviews/...e-results.html

Zig

[ramcewan]

Originally Posted by zig-123

Olympus' marketing plan continues to be a mystery to me. But, when you read Sony has lost money and Nikon's unit sales continue to decline. It doesn't take a rocket scientist to figure out that market is changing. I sure hope that Olympus figures out what they need to do soon. With the release of the E-M5 and E-PL5 cameras bodies, the micro four thirds system is actually a good product.

If they don't figure it out, I'll buy an E-M5 as a bargain basement closeout item.

I'll buy one too!

It is a shame that they can't figure out how to make money. I think the biggest issue for their profit at this point is that they have a bunch of E-PM1, E-P3 and E-PL3 cameras in stock that absolutely no one who does any research will buy given the E-PM2 and E-PL5.

Amazon is running a special on some lenses fwiw

http://www.amazon.com/gp/feature.htm...pf_rd_i=761198

[Greg Chappell]

I'd hate to be the one making the call on production levels of various products. Obviously they built the heck out of the E-PL1 because it's been available new long after production ended, but if you make something impossible to find they wind up going elsewhere. I don't know how you find that sweet spot of production levels and keeping just enough inventory on-hand to satisfy needs yet not leave a lot of unsold stock at the end of a product cycle.

[JohnG]

There's an important take-away here: in the interchangeable lens market you simply cannot compete on price alone. Everyone seems to think OEMs are robbing us. These types of reports re-enforce it's a very low margin industry. Even Sony's shotgun approach to the market isn't paying off. They're capturing market but slower than they predicted and still bleeding red. More and more people I know are using phones and ipads to take their photos. There's just so much competition right now. I'm not sure who is going to go but I suspect we'll see 2 of the 3 (Sony, Pentax, Oly) exit the ILC market within 5 years. Whether that's through consolidation or not I don't know. But cheaper prices aren't going to bring them up to profitability that's for sure.

[ramcewan]

Originally Posted by JohnG

There's an important take-away here: in the interchangeable lens market you simply cannot compete on price alone. Everyone seems to think OEMs are robbing us. These types of reports re-enforce it's a very low margin industry. Even Sony's shotgun approach to the market isn't paying off. They're capturing market but slower than they predicted and still bleeding red. More and more people I know are using phones and ipads to take their photos. There's just so much competition right now. I'm not sure who is going to go but I suspect we'll see 2 of the 3 (Sony, Pentax, Oly) exit the ILC market within 5 years. Whether that's through consolidation or not I don't know. But cheaper prices aren't going to bring them up to profitability that's for sure.

My bet is for Pentax to leave. Olympus is buoyed by the om-d sales and medical imaging, Sony Nex is still performance leader with people who will not carry a bunch of primes, but the real surprise I think is the Fuji line that is shaping up to have decent lenses and excellent sensor with Leica like appeal on looks.

[zig-123]

Originally Posted by JohnG

There's an important take-away here: in the interchangeable lens market you simply cannot compete on price alone. Everyone seems to think OEMs are robbing us. These types of reports re-enforce it's a very low margin industry. Even Sony's shotgun approach to the market isn't paying off. They're capturing market but slower than they predicted and still bleeding red. More and more people I know are using phones and ipads to take their photos. There's just so much competition right now. I'm not sure who is going to go but I suspect we'll see 2 of the 3 (Sony, Pentax, Oly) exit the ILC market within 5 years. Whether that's through consolidation or not I don't know. But cheaper prices aren't going to bring them up to profitability that's for sure.

Agreed John, the alternatives to conventional cameras are what's driving down sales. I know so many people who are actively using their smartphones in place of anything else to take photos. Basically because of the convenience factor. That, and how photos are typically shared- Facebook etc.

My reference to pricing coming down was with respect to Olympus & others too, probably pushing lower prices to move stale inventory.