NHK reports that Olympus and Sony may have reached an agreement and Sony will invest 50 billion yen into Olympus in exchange of a large Olympus share. The main interest for Sony is the medical business but I guess there will be some effects on the camera business too. By the way, the popular Olympus E-M5 camera already uses a Sony sensor!
UPDATE: Some still don’t believe my words…Olympus manager Sasa confirmed some time ago that the E-M5 uses a Sony sensor. Here is the source of the news: DC.watch.
35 Responses
Very good news for Sony ! 🙂
If this helps Olympus, then the investment will payoff – more capital for Sony. If not, Sony would have less to worry about Olympus as a competitor. Then there’s the component/technology sharing. As other have said, Sony can benefit from Olympus’s lens, IBIS, and JPEG processing technologies.
Who knows, maybe Sony already got help from Olympus, like for designing the collapsible 16-50mm E as even Olympus’s first m4/3 zoom was collapsible and it was very sharp. At any rate, Sony wouldn’t necessarily use the Zuiko name on any Olympus designed E lenses.
This was in the news in June, guess the agreement is about to be finalised now.
It’s an investment for Sony, it’s perfectly normal for large corporations to invest in other companies. It’s difficult to see what Olympus could contribute to the Sony camera division which they don’t already have in the company or can get from Zeiss, their lens development partner.
Olympus medical equipment division is another matter where Sony don’t have a directly competing products and where collaboration could be benificial for both companies.
More high performance lenses and performance tweaks for mirrorless systems in the near future?
I am imaging 5 axis stabilizer in FF Nex-9 with pleasant jpeg color 😀 It is cooked!
It’s a good news for finance but a bad news for the end users.
This means less choice because when a larger company incorporates a smaller company that is primarily for patents. Olympus, as such, will disappear as did Kodak & Contax.
Products will cost higher. Sony needs also more money (Samsung is very agressive on flat tv’s), they will try to position to luxury goods (RX-1).
Less competitivity => Less inovation => All products will look the same and will adress the mass market.
And your statements are based on what? Can you provide us with ANY indications at all for your claims that Sony suddenly will stop to be a leader in innovation (they have succed to be so with there core business (electronics) for more than half a century, and start to produce simple kameras for the mass market only?
After having developed, among a lot other thing, Quick AF LV, SLT-technology, the NEX-system – the only “mirrorfree” system on the market fully integrated with their “fat camera” system (incl. providing PD-AF for all the NEX:es, and microadjust too with LA-EA2), Multi Shoot NR, Anti Motion Blur function, autostitching even 3D-panoramic images (with one lens only), and cameras as RX100 and RX1, the quick evolution of the EVF, and now A99 with a couple of new ideas, e.g. new and different kinds of AF methods never heard of before, but with the potential to give much more keepers by following erratically moving objets.
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Belove is what my post above should have been looking as, if I would have been able to finish it before the time for editing went out…
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I don’t understand – Sony will make only luxuary items, but will concentrate on producing lots of “me too” products for the mass market?
And your statements are based on what? Can you provide us with ANY indications at all for your claims that Sony suddenly will stop to be a leader in innovation (they have succed to be so with there core business (electronics) for more than half a century, and start to produce simple kameras for the mass market only? Such as in addittion to NEX-7 adding the NEX-6 too perhaps?
After having developed, among a lot other thing, Quick AF LV, SLT-technology, the NEX-system – the only “mirrorfree” system on the market fully integrated with their “fat camera” system (incl. providing PD-AF for all the NEX:es, and microadjust too with LA-EA2), Multi Shoot NR, Anti Motion Blur function, autostitching even 3D-panoramic images (with one lens only), and cameras as RX100 and RX1, the quick evolution of the EVF, and now A99 with a couple of new ideas, e.g. new and different kinds of AF methods never heard of before, but with the potential to give much more keepers by following erratically moving objets.
Among a lot of other things!
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This is good news for both companies, no doubt. It infuses Olympus with much-needed capital and Sony can benefit from Olympus’ expertise in medical imaging (and hopefully lenses!).
I do wonder how Sony can afford to do this right now, though. Aren’t they on thin ice themselves by this point?
Hell, I wish they’d gone after Fuji. Imagine Fuji styling and amazing optics with Sony’s technical wizardry.
Imagine a NEX-6 with the following Fuji lens line-up (all of which will be available by the end of next year):
14/2.8
18/2
23/1.4
27/1.8
35/1.4
56/1.4
60/2.4
Not to mention the zooms:
10-24/4 OIS
18-55/2.8-4 OIS
55-200/3.5-4.8 OIS
I’ll take one of each for my NEX, thank you very much!
OMG, in the near future Sony will have sensor even in people’s eye balls.
It’s already planned 😉
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=V14ajXflt6g
I always said cameras in the near future would be medical implants.
😉
From a strict point of view of business strategy, it is never good that a company takes a too large interest in its competing companies. This is against the principle of free competition and the fixing of prices. The consumer always ends up paying too much the technical results of this kind of agreement. It may even limit the technological imagination since the capital funding research is in one hand.
But there are so many other competitors. Doubt this will really effect innovation or anything.
Such a moot point. Sony still needs to worry about Canon, Nikon, Fuji, Pentax, and Samsung, just to name a few.
At this point, having more camera producing companies does not benefit the consumers much. As Canon and Nikon continue to dominate the market, it is a little bit weird to hear about new cameras from Pentax, Fuji, Olympus, Panasonic, Samsung and (from a non-Minulta/Sony fan perspective), Sony.
These should probably continue to exist but would probably benefit from having unified mounts and accessories.
This will encourage real competition as shooters can choose cameras without losing their current lens investment.
Very cool. Sony should get Oly’s help to improve jpeg engine.
I think any imaging dividends will take years to appear. However, this could be a very synergistic relationship, with Sony sensors and Olympus lenses.
Google translation of the news 🙂
mainly medical purposes and some camera parts .. may be accessories like lenses or JPEG engine …. I <3 SONY
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Narrowed down to "Sony" of major electronics manufacturers to partner with funded 50 billion yen, "Olympus" we have discussed, the development of medical equipment state-of-the-art capital alliance with several companies in response to the incident window dressing such co-founded a new company that, I went into the final adjustments in the direction of a wide range of partnership.
Financial base to deteriorate rapidly, such as the historic appreciation of the yen is superimposed over the accounting fraud scandal by former executives, Olympus has been negotiating toward capital alliance with several major manufacturers.
As a result, I went into the final adjustments in the direction of your opponent down to Sony officials said, a wide range of partnership.
Specifically Olympus policy is funded by the scale of 50 billion yen from Sony, rebuild their financial foundation.
In addition, a new company to develop medical devices of the next generation, such as endoscopic higher definition, alive video technology superior, such as the 3D technology and relates to an endoscope level of the world's top Olympus has, Sony has the advantage I aim to co-founded.
Furthermore, in order to leverage the business of digital cameras Olympus slump continues, it is the policy of promoting cooperation and joint development of parts.
This partnership is intended to Olympus and you want to hurry the strengthening of the financial base, the aim of Sony that you want to the pillars of a new business in the healthcare field is matched, the two companies have decided to try to agree as well during the month.
I think this is good, Olympus are poor and need Sony’s cash. Sony needs help making good lenses fast ( without turning to Zeiss everytime, which adds loads to the cost). If you go to Slrgear the Olly lenses are always sharp as a tack.
Even if this just leads to one new sensor for Olly and one new lens for Sony we still get one new lens, win win 🙂
Olympus medical imaging is money, this should prove to be a great venture.
btw, i need the detail about “large Olympus’ shares”. I mean, how large?
Maybe Olympus can noiw afford to include a lens hood with each of their fine lenses. 😉
50 billion yen is about 638 million US$ or 486 million Euro
Sony should have bought Pentax when they had the chance.
http://photorumors.com/2012/09/15/sony-goes-to-bed-with-olympus-jointly-develop-components-expected/#ixzz26ZmtzoiP
“In order to leverage Olympus’s business of digital cameras, which is in a slump (literally: 不振), Olympus and Sony will promote cooperation and jointly develop some components”
Right, John.
Olympus was on a fast track to bankrupcy – their creditors were very anxious to get rid of Olympus as fast as possible. Olympus admits that they have been forced to sell their Micro FourThirds stuff with loss. On top of the giant losses during quite a number of years because of fraud draining them horribly.
NO ONE is interested in Olympus camera line! All other bidders have been interested in the medical division ONLY. If Olys m4/3 system is going to survive, there is at least a certain possibility that Sony will go on with this.
NO other prospective buyer/cooperation partner would have.
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Sounds like Hoya’s acquisition of Pentax all over again…
If Sony can get some Olympus lens designs, a better JPEG engine, and maybe a better IBIS module – and incorporate all these in a full frame interchangeable lens mirrorless camera system then I think we would all be happy.
Not that enthusiast about it. Olympus has some deep expertise in jpegs but their mastering of lenses mostly pertains to (fast) zooms. From the Sony standpoint, Fuji would have been a better choice…
The reviews on slrgear.com speak another language – Olympus prime lenses for MFT are clearly better than Fujis prime leneses for the X-Pro 1 system.
Anyway, I don’t think Olympus and Sony are going to exchange lens designs or jpg processing technologies.
Why is there a belief that Sony will use in its products Olympus Technology?
I doubt any of Sony’s divisional product managers are lusting after anything that Olympus has going,having said this Sony did take ownership of Minolta in 2006, that was arguably the number three maker going back decades and largely sat on it, and milked it dry and is still using Minolta lenses for Full-frame.
No I would be supprised to see any Olympus in NEX, SLT or RX cameras because of this investment.
“By the way, the popular Olympus E-M5 camera already uses a Sony sensor!”
So do my Olympus Camedia C-7000 and C-8080 🙂
Hi Andrea,
Sony stated that these news are fake and they have no comment … is that this news real or Sony just don’t know anyone to expect what will occur soon …
http://www.sony.net/SonyInfo/IR/news/NoCommentStatement_E_Olympus_20120915.pdf
I think that there are negotiations between ONY and OLYMPUS … I t will happen SOON 😀 😀 😀
please, work on this great news again 🙂
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