Last week I reported that Olympus is helping Sony in developing new A-mount lenses. The first co-developed lens will be the 400mm f/4.0 A-mount lens (to be launched in early 2014). And now according to multiple sources Olympus is also sharing their knowledge of the 5 axis image stabilization to Sony. All next A-mount cameras will have a so called “5-axis SSM”. This is a further and more advanced development of the current E-M5 system and it has been designed for Full Frame sensor.
In return Olympus will get the top notch sensors from Sony with phase detection on sensor. What I don’t know yet if there is a plan for Olympus to make a larger (FF?) mirrorless system camera in collaboration with Sony. Anyway, I find this partnership can turn out be very exciting!
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111 Responses
I guess this was to be expected. Olympus’s one clear competitive advantage has now been lost.
ye olypmus should better hold on to its pen e-p1 sensor and not collaborate with anyone else ever !! LOL
In return Oly gets a really competitive sensor which has been a competitive advantage of Sony. So what´s the problem?
Not if Sony only uses 5 axis- stabilization with the A-mount system and it’s bigger bodies and lenses, while focusing the Nex/E-mount system on stabilized lenses. Of course, also Sony may develop it’s “One beautiful system” soon.
As long as the 5axis is only going into a ff Sony and not their aps or rx100 then I see it only as a win for olympus I’d Sony sensor keep being the class leading sensor. If Sony puts it in the smaller non ff bodies, then yeah olympus olympus will lose a key advantage and might as well just start calling them themselves little Sony.
Why are the comment viewpoints always so cut and dry here? If Olympus is giving over their 5 axis IBIS, even when cutting a deal, there is likely a larger reason behind the action. Just because we haven’t seen it yet, there could very well be something better than 5 Axis IBIS? That is about the time you sell off your proprietary licensing when you have something better to replace it with. Then you let the other brands pay you for your old tech. Why can’t this be the scenario? Do you think that Sony is handing over their top sensor?
Sony owns Olympus.
Only 11%
Can Olympus please share that with Canon Inc., too?
Please note…my above statement was sarcastic and meant to be humorous.
…and Panasonic.
(ducks)
I really hope that this means a combined effort for a full-frame mirrorless from Sony/Oly with bodies and lenses from both or at least both of them manufacturing under just one brand name (probably Sony)… if not then that is one very very stupid move from Olympus
1000+
agree
I own m4/3 and 4/3 gear as well as fuji xf and I gotta tell you that idea really appeals to me abot Oly joining FF NEX platform except the part about production under one name.
I’d like to see an agreement between the two which allows Olympus to make an Olympus NEX Full frame range finder style mirrorless camera and Olympus labelled lenses just like zeiss does with their latest offerings.
If this ever comes to fruition Olympus can continue it’s micro 4/3 line which will remain their biggest seller for consumers, enthusiast/semi-pro and even pro’s but then customers will also have a high end full frame NEX camera option which embodies the finest technologies Olympus has come up with and also that which it has borrowed from Sony. Olympus should also offer full PDAF support for 4/3 lenses on such a body.
All wishful thinking and conjecture? Perhaps but if Olympus is to enter back into the 35mm FF arena one day this may be the safest way to do so along side a heavy weight like Sony with an alternative angle at the 35mm FF market rather than go it alone against canikon with the usual DSLR PDAF style saturated market.
In a scenario like this Olympus should continue repairing 4/3 lenses and keep providing bodies that improve the AF support for these lenses on a mirrorless platform be it FF NEX or high end m4/3.
I honestly don’t believe this will cost them much and it’ll keep 4/3 users happy, I myself included.
Those who feel Olympus doesn’t have the resources for another mount should consider that Olympus is no longer making 4/3 lenses and shouldn’t make any more either but must support it with AF support improvements in future bodies across platforms and assure repairs for all 4/3 equipment especially lenses.
One FF NEX body every two years is all they should release unless sales unexpectedly explode and just a few lenses released every couple years with the comfort of knowing there are Sony lenses there, Olympus can continue making most of its sales from m4/3 sales which is more mainstream.
Also cut down on some of the point and poop cameras except the ones which are profitable.
I’m a fourthirds user still in possession of a few HG lenses and accesories and even I’ll admit that fourthirds bodies are not a profitable or econimically viable option for them to keep up but high quality ergonomic bodies with excellent AF support for 4/3 lenses on m4/3 and a FF NEX would be a smarter choice for their long term strategy.
Some will disagree but I just don’t see 4/3 making a glorious comeback and this is why I’d like to see the aforementioned scenario pan out which keep in mind doesn’t exclude 4/3 lenses, it’s just a more measured and calculated way of supporting what’s left of 4/3 and this way I get to enjoy my HG zuikos but look forward to Olympus m4/3 and one FF NEX every two to three years.
Ok, start beating me up….
Nice, soon enough (Oly) m43’s only advantage will be smaller lenses. Hardly enough to get an edge over the competition. I guess Sony is waiting like vultures for the Oly imaging division to close, so they can get all the tech.
It’s all about symbiosis. Olympus is helping Sony carve a niche in FF while Sony is helping Olympus in the high end of minor systems.
It shows that Sony has no aspirations to make NEX a professional level system (recent reports of quirky QC of NEX lenses support that). So mirrorless FF may be strictly A mount after all.
In day i need say i m very agree by you. 😉
Oh, how naive. NEX and RX are the primary focus of Sony’s Camera division. It’s the only lineups that holds #1 position in the camera industry, unlike their A-mount.
This transfer of technolog is phase 1 of a grand plan. Neither Olympus and Sony (or any other company) can continue with a bloated line up while their P&S sales go up in flames. It’s time for consolidation. Olympus needs sensor technology for medical equipment. Sony needs lenses and m43 tech from Olympus. There’s a lot of overlapping products and R&D at all these camera companies. A lot of redundancies. Time for some cost cutting and merging of synergies. Let’s just say phase 2 and 3 may upset you. If Olympus can’t get their camera division to profitability quickly, they may say that Sony camera technology is good enough for the medical division.
Well this is going to kill Olympus. Why would anyone buy Oly’s overpriced stuff if they can buy Sony for less or for the same money with a better sensor ?
Really? The only thing keeping oly a competitor is the stabilisation? It counts of course, but the system has other strengths, I personally would still pick ot over sony due to the lenses available and their size.
Bullshit. A camera is much more than just an iss.
A NEX6 is very interesting with or without the Oly iss.
But it´s not interessting with the lense portfolio of Sony. Concerning lenses, Oly and Pana do a much better job.
But you see, Olympus is also helping Sony produce better lenses, so it’s not only about IBIS, Oly is giving Sony what little advantages mft had to begin with.
I’m really questioning whether this is really convenient for Oly and m4/3 as a whole, I mean, no matter how good a sensor Oly might get it will always be smaller than APS-C, and this gives ground to salesmen and marketing (and trolls) to bash m4/3, and now m4/3 won’t have exclusivity to what little tools it had to compensate that argument.
So what advantages does m4/3 still hold (specially Oly) ?
– Lens catalog ? Nope, not in the medium term, Sony is getting help from all sides, including Oly itself. Pany won’t release any lens until next year, that’s a lot of time for competition to catch up.
– Lens size ? Again, nope. Oly will help Sony with that by freeing them from OIS and giving them smarter lens designs.
-Lens quality ? Nope, again, sony is getting help from other companies, Oly included.
– 5 Axis IBIS ? See this thread. Oly’s also going to loose exclusivity over IBIS to Pany within m4/3 with the upcoming GX2.
– Body size ? Sony already makes smaller APS-C mirrorless, that was a battle lost a long time ago.
– Built-in EVF ? Oly looses big time on this one, they only have ONE camera with EVF and they lost their opportunity to take the market by storm with the E-P5.
– Gimmicks ? Sony is way more developed in this area, no amount of art filters can make a difference against auto-panorama and auto-HDR, besides, the concept of filters is present in almost every mirrorless now. Wifi is pretty much standard now.
– Focus peaking ? Oly is a newcomer
– Legacy adaptability ? the crop factor works against m4/3, specially now with the speed-booster.
So yeah, 5 axis IBIS may be just one feature, but it makes a world of difference when piled together with what was already there. The only redeeming qualities m4/3 still holds is variety in body styles and a fertile ground for niche lenses, otherwise Oly might have just shot m4/3 in the head with this move.
But you are forgetting one trump card … Art Filter !
1. But Oly isn´t stopping development now. When some day Sony brings out cams and lenses developed with Oly knowhow, Oly will have some new technologies (and probably lenses) to differentiate.
2. Sharing technology means making it cheaper and earning money with it. You can be sure: Oly isn´t giving away its technology for free.
3. People are not exclusively buying the products with the best price-performance ratio. Otherwise it would be impossible to sell any E-PL5, iPhone, iPad, Mercedes, Audi or BMW. People are also deciding by design, image, sympathie, personal preferences etc.
You seem to be unaware that smaller sensor allows for smaller lenses simply because of needing a shorter focal length for the same field of view, even when you want the exact same absolute aperture. This is regardless of OIS.
There is much more wrong with your reasoning but this one is rather basic.
Seriously, I don’t know why Olympus & Sony just don’t hand over the reins to all you incredibly gifted business and market analysts …. sorry forgot engineers as well, I could sleep easy at night, knowing all is well in the camera world and my investment in mft has been wise.
+1000 LOL 😀 😀 😀
🙂
Which lenses you missing in the NEX lineup? The lens linup is growing fast with the new Zeiss lenses the upcomming SEL-85F18 and high performance G-Zoom and Zeiss-Zoom. There are very good lenses like the SEL-50F18OSS (portrait), SEL-24F18Z (reportage), SEL-1018F4OSS (landscape), SEL-18200OSS (travel, better than every superzoom for mFT), SEL-35F18OSS (portrait indoor) and the cheap but good Sigma lenses.
What´s missing is now only 300mm+ (wildlife) and a longer Macro lens (50mm F2.8 Zeiss Macro is comming). For small package you can use the SEL-1650P OSS and SEL-20F28 pancake.
Eventually, in the long run Olympus will be the biggest winner not Sony..what Olympus is really missing is a high end sensor techs which can take Olympus to a whole new level as Oly has almost everything else.
According to this, actually Oly is giving them bits.
For any new invention your advantage is only a lead time of one or two years. Everyone had their own stabilization tech so this sharing is no big deal. There is only a saving in R&D costs and would result in a lot less unique innovations for the consumer. There is always a give and take.
Sure, Sony already had OIS but you’re forgetting that IBIS also means smaller lenses. This move not only means a simple swap of IS technology, it means Sony will couple they already good video capabilities with 5 axis, something which Oly has never been able (or willing) to take advantage of. In short, this means:
– Smaller lenses for NEX
– 5 Axis IBIS + Sony video mojo
– 5 Axis IBIS + Speed booster for ¨true¨ FF stabilized legacy lenses
– possibly better quality lenses
This move solves pretty much all the Achilles heels of Nex and delivers nothing new to m4/3 (Oly was already buying sony sensors, so what changed for Oly ?)
Sony already has ibis in their alpha cameras, they use ois for their nex line because they couldn’t fit ibis in those bodies initially.
As a Sony A55 user, I can assure you that the IBIS that Sony uses doesn’t do hardly anything in video (and newer versions disable this altogether). It looks nothing like the smooth video taken by an EM5.
Sony has same if not better effect like 5-axis with Balanced Optical Static Shot in their camcorders before Olympus…
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HqGXoLEft-4
And a good stabilized rig is even better, but that can’t be integrated into a small camera.
And no, it is technically impossible to match the abilities and performance of 5 axis ibis through optical means. It is possible to create a hybrid solution like Panasonic did, but the compensation for rotation, especially along the lens axis, simply can not be done optically.
This is just Oly to depend on Sony sensor with a next to useless on sensor PDAF when Panny comes out with their colour splitter sensor tech.
Oly has one last chance to make it right or it will be swallowed by sony.
First it was Minolta, Now Olympus… Sony has been assimilating some of the competitors and hell yes Sony should name their camera division as “Solympta”~ XD
With Olympus’s devaluation and Sony’s slight resurgance, I wouldn’t be surprised if Sony made an outright bid to wholly-own Olympus. This would provide brand differentiation for Sony’s different-sized sensors and allow both companies to share technologies completely. In the end, it would be a huge boon for Olympus fans as a buyout would provide financial security that they currently severely lack.
No, I think Sony will introduce a FF mirrorless camera with E-mount. it should even be possible to merge the A and E-mount systems via use of a detachable A-mount adapter, especially if they share the same AF system.
It would be most interesting if Olympus produced a high end, FF E-mount Body as well as Zuiko FF E-mount lenses. It would be a similar to the partnership they have in place with Panasonic for Micro Four Thirds, except this time it would be with Sony for a high end FF system.
I don’t think Olympus will enter the FF market,
they have no lenses, no sensors and no big money to do that.
But surely they will help Sony to get a mirrorless FF start.
And Sony will help to reunite Olympus with their FT lens system to build a professional mirrorless system with smaller sensors (FT),
meanwhile Sony is building a professional mirrorless system with bigger sensors (FF).
So there are not in direct competition on professional market and can help eachother to get to the top.
And the NEX system and also mFT will stay for “normal” and casual users ..
Sony already announced its two FF lines, a DSLR shaped one and a mirrorless one. Check an old post on alpharumors.
Back to the topic, since the first days of “fusion” I longed for a Sony RX1 with a fixed M.Zuiko lens. If it has to be a body branded Olympus and just a Sony sensor inside, it doesn’t matter.
What I’d like is high quality compact (not big as a DSLR) camera, with the best bits from the two Houses.
Sharing crown jewels :).
Very interesting news – Sony will now combine the best performing sensor with the best IS system. Add to that many lenses that are still missing from m4/3, ability to mount FF lenses via Speed Booster ( if they indeed make a camera that can take both E and A mount lenses ) and you get a system camera which can take almost all the best lenses available at the moment and have them stabilized. And that should have been m4/3 territory…
I hope Oly will share IBIS with Panasonic as well, but those first rumors tell the opposite.
Share with Sony 5 axis stabilization , how about share with Panasonic too ?
After all , both are in the same m4/3 world .
Pana users also delighted with the 45mm & 75mm M.Zuiko lenses .
Yun….Olympus competes with Panasonic for customers…They will not be giving their proprietary technology away. Olympus and Sony are in a business partnership.
+1
You mean like Panasonic did share their best top of the line sensors with Olympus? Oh no they didn´t, they sold Olympus 3-4 years old crappy sensors and kept their best for them selfs.
It’s good to have diversity inside m4/3. Different body styles and sizes, different approaches to viewfinders, different balance between stills and video, different sensors and different stabilization strategies.
Diversity helps attract more users to the system and makes it more competitive in the general market.
why you worry about Lumix ,wait util august
they will announce GX7(GX2) with IBIS
by their uinque tech.
Exciting, yes, for Sony.
if the terms of this arrangement are:
– Sony can only use this 5-axis tech in FF body
– Oly gets early use of new Sony sensor
then its great news for both!
if Sony are allowed to use it in their NEX then they are only in need of a user friendly interface and Oly PEN is frankly: dead.
look at the market share Sony have in dSLR compared to their very weak starting point in the ex-KonicaMinolta beginning. They really have gone from nowhere (KM) to the only real challenge to Canon/Nikon and its a proper challenge too!
Sony most likely won’t use this in Nex, but in the A-mount (both FF and APS-C hopefully) bodies. The Nex system uses optical stabilization…
Even if nex will get ibis, this is not really serious advantage. Most lenses are bigger and of lower quality. Still don’t get all this hype about ibis, it has rather limited use. I really like nex-6 body and wanted to buy it many times, but always end up looking through lenses available and giving up this idea. 7-14mm 25mm panaleica and 45mm oly are godly 🙂
Wish Sony could stuff an 5axis-like inbody stabilzation system into their NEX line! With legacy lenses I go back and forth between two bodies with diff crop factors: the focus peaking on the NEX is awesome and the inbody stablization on the EM5 is awesome.
You should look at the E-P5, it has both features you seek in one body.
I wonder if there is an agreement for Sony only to use in-body stability in their A series and not in the NEX series.
Well it can be a very good cooperation, with Sony covering the FF line and olympus, the mFT / Compact line. Both have there own customers, and can live side by side very well.
if Sony is allowed to use the tech in the NEX as well, i m not sure if i like that.
But most important: Olympus stays with the small Sensor, small lenses High quality- and dosnt turn into a new adventure of FF.
FF is not the same competition to m43. If this was for the NEX series i think it would be a bad idea. Id this means they get a competitive sensor the trade is well worth it
Who needs on-sensor PDAF?
oly and Panny already dempostrated that they are able to create a better S-AF/C-AF than anybody else without it. So why accept the negative impact on the IQ.
Please don’t, Oly!
“oly and Panny already dempostrated that they are able to create a better S-AF/C-AF than anybody else without it.”
What are you smoking? C-AF better than anyone else in the market?
can see Sony targetting Leica for a FF Leica killer … bring that on!
RX1 with 5 axis and interchangeable lenses!
please just leave the small stuff to Oly
I can see that Oly plan to have 2 lines of cameras – M43 and FF mirrorless. The new FF mirrorless will be joined adventure with Sony with a common FF mount. Oly supply most of the lenses and Sony the sensors. Of cause it will continue will M43 if it remains profitable. If the FF sensors and cameras come down in price around $1000- $1500, every camera manufacturers will be forced to go into making it. Just like TV production, manufacturers have to keep making bigger but cheaper TV. M43 will be replacing the compact cameras market to compete in the lower end market where as the compacts will exit the market completely.
If panny doesn’t come out with its split-mirror sensors and deliver the promised picture quality anytime soon, it will loose market share real fast once the FF sensors production is in full swing.
Nope. No to everything you said. Thats nowhere near whats gonna happen
Maybe you should go learn something about producing chips and the relation between size and yield, and how that affects the lowest price for which a chip can be produced.
If Olympus and Sony play their cards right, they can pose a serious threat to the Canikon giant.
The m4/3 format can play a significant role in the process of integration with the full-frame format. APS-C would be caught between a rock and a hard place.
Olympus: give me this full-frame with m4/3 integration.
Everyone should collaborate with everyone so that we get this perfect camera. But then again, afterwards the progress will stop and the perfect camera will quickly become obsolete with nothing to replace it…
And then finally people will stop pixelpeeping and start to look at photos..
If only that would happen Marco! Gear-heads will be gear-heads, it’s an incurable disease.
I’m finally getting a bit tired of all the iterative improvements. Gonna buy one of the WA m43 zooms soon, and call it done for a while.
Wake me up when they introduce a digital EVF version of the Fuji medium format rangefinders…….
I expect no less than A99 video specs for the upcoming oly cams. Better would be 24p, 25p & 60p with manual video control with the next firmware update for my e-m5! But that’d be just wishful thinking 🙂
make Olympus brand/color/state of optics dissapear I’ll switch to Nikon.
I don’t mind OMD full frame with Olympus optics but I’ll not buy it.
Olympus: take “video mode” from Sony asap.
Panasonic: give us back mar sensors, one in GH, the same for GX line.
No mar no buy, its that simply wonderful pictures GH2 hacked generates.
Yours loyal customer since GF1
I doubt this will come to NEX simply because the flange distance for NEX is closer than m4/3. But Sony’s in body stabilization does practically nothing for videos so this would be fantastic news for Sony. I currently have a Sony A55 but have started eyeing switching to the EM5 or EP5 (latter only if Olympus drops the price), due to physical size, image quality, and IS. This may give me further pause if a Sony A58 shows up with EM5 stabilization.
Olympus gets cash and Sony sensors, while Sony gets Lens, ibis and whatever other Tech from Olympus.
Yeah, doesn’t sound like an even trade to me. If y’all don’t think Sony isn’t going to use this tech for its NEX line, you’re in denial then.
This really looks like the end for Olympus camera division. Sony sensor tech is not leaps and bounds over anyone. This shows that the Olympus board doesn’t know what they’re doing. This may be their plan though… Sell of the camera devision or at least hore out their tech to the highest bidder. Either way, it’s not good.
Just sell it off to Sony already. Waiting for the press release.
They could make a lot of money selling their tech that they cant seem to sell in their own cameras. That is good business thinking. Olympus is the best at ibs and lenses, why not sell them to a more market friendly camera company?
Michael Woodford was a Sony rat. Never trust a sneaky gaijin into your company. Olympus should send the yakuza to take care of that jerk.
Like they sent the Yakuza to hide all the Millions (or Billions) of losses for olympus?
They drop a severely overpriced (to the competition) EP5, rumors about a camera that accepts defunct, large, small user base Four Third lenses and now this.. They must want to bow out to Sony.
Why does everybody want Olympus to have a FF camera. There are many companies that already have FF. The benefits of mft and ft is it isn’t FF. Duh
They should change their name to OlymOops before the change to Sony.
The next few years will be sensor-dominated.
Olympus top expertise is in lens making, but they probably don’t have the money to remake the 4/3 lineup for m4/3. With Sony they might.
IBIS is wonderful but it is not as strategic as having the best combination sensor/lenses on the market.
Who knows, they might even start to work on adaptive optics, that is the next step in miniaturization.
I personally couldn’t care less if I end up with a Sony-Olympus instead of a Panasonic-Olympus, but I care about top notch sensors.
It is because of its sensors that Sony declared it was going to break the CanoNikon duopoly. Now it is much closer.
I concur with Admin, that a collaborative effort towards FF is most interesting. Possibly it is the key to attracting top CanoNikon customers, and where some nice money is.
m4/3 and mirrorless FF are highly complementary, so I am not even afraid of losing my equipment. Metabones or the Chinese could even build a bridge between the two.
amalric,
Sony sensor technology has lead the pack for a number of years now—and has it made a difference in market share? Not.
The sensor is only one link in the chain of integration. Olympus has much of the technology to take it to the big boys. They just haven’t been able to bring together the right ingredients.
Not with the E-M5? Whose sensor is up to scratch with FF sensors, thanks to Sony?? Sony was Olympus’ salvation, its oxygen line.
At least they chose well their sensor, otherwise no panoply of exotic technologies would have saved their skin.
As for Sony excellency in sensors, I remember it from DPReviews. Their is the bet too that Sony will use them to dislodge Canonikon from the top.
Seeing as Sony sensors are frequently used in Nikon cameras, I’m not sure it’s Sony vs. Canikon so much.
As we saw with Panny, if you provide a sensor to the competition, there comes the moment when you can negate the latest and keep it for yourself.
I am not sure at all that Sony imagines to be a winner in dSLR. But mirrorless FF could give it an edge. They were the first at any rate, so I imagine how Olympus could play towards that. Remember it can design not only 4/3 lenses, but it designed FF before.
But we also see that when you do that, your sensor might just decide to go elsewhere for their sensors.
What you have to realize is that the part of Sony that makes those sensors doesn’t care at all about Sony cameras other then that little part of Sony that makes cameras just being another sensor buying customer.
Eh.. (missing edit button)
Your customer (instead of sensor) might just decide to go elsewhere for their sensors 😉
What can Panasonic give to Sony to get the best Sony sensor in GX2?
Not problem, Panasonic only need say nothing where sensor comes from and 90% think the is Sony sensor. 😛
I think that this was a good way for Oly to get what it needs for sensors. The 5 axis IBIS is a bit large to fit in the NEX cameras, so I would suspect that it won’t be there for a couple of more generations (until the size of the sensor holder comes down). Now, on a FF camera, this is a real coup for Sony….it differentiates the product, and, given that Sony does do some interesting things with video, it might make their FF cams particularly desirable from a video standpoint, too.
What it DOES do, is put Panny in a VERY tough spot….
Very interesting development….
-J
In return Olympus will get full access to the A-Mount and produce full frame body’s besides m4/3. Just wait for it.
what I find amazing here is the simple dooms day vibe I get from some people. If you borrow chase Jarvis’s lens does that mean u shoot like him ? No not at all. Sony are just borrowing IBIS and its good, Olympus is getting what I think is one of its weakest points a big push along, the Sensor. Also its going to push the MTF category along. Panasonic are not going to say we give up they are going to push their sensors forward also. Its also a nice feeling to know that we are not getting the sloppy seconds from Panasonic anymore.
The biggest point of all this that I see that seems to being pushed aside is that Sony have taken on canon and Nikon for years now and haven’t scratched the surface.
SLT I feel didn’t have the impact they expected so from what I read they are re-designing all their cameras to be mirrorless.
Some logic applied
1. So Olympus makes A mount lens
2. Sony gives Olympus sensor tech and also rumored other tech to bring them up to date with DLSR tech who knows what but dreams may be become reality
3. Sony after all stopped Olympus from turning themselves insolvent in a way with out them they may have done a Kodak
4. Sony want IBIS (so what its a part not the whole dam thing)
5. the big point that no one has jumped to. Imagine a system that has Zuiko and Zeiss Lens. A Body that both Olympus and Sony design and possibly build. Really what quality could be had from such a system. I personally think it would be the type of thing that would break the Nikon / canon hold over the industry and bring a 3rd option to all levels of photography
my 2 cents worth,
That would be nice as I have a nice collection of lenses for that mount but can’t be bothered with the current bodies that Sony produces.
The sky is falling! The sky is falling!
Just kidding, I like IBIS, I hope Olympus shares it with everyone… I couldn’t care less about being the only person on my block with 5 axis IBIS.
A mirrorless FF system is intriguing to me as a complimentary (not replacement) system to my m4/3 gear. I’d prefer that had IBIS.
The people pretending to be Olympus executives on here should relax and go take some pictures instead of stressing over the impact of these agreements on Olympus’s bottom line.
Wouldn’t it be a wiser move to share it with Panasonic and try to make the micro four thirds format stronger rather than sharing this with a competing system in NEX?
Maybe I’m wrong, not sure, but if Sony implements this really well in their next generation NEX bodies and people buy them for it, than doesn’t Oly also lose out on lenses and accessories, let alone the bodies?
I think Sony-Olympus are gunning for CaNikon. Mirrorless FF with fast primes and IBIS would win some people over.
I am afraid, FF 5-axis IBIS will not be as attractive as its M43 cousin is, for simple technical reasons: It would have to move more than four times the mass over more than doubly the distance -and hence with more than double speed- to achieve the same effect. This amounts to more than 16 times the kinetic energy, boosting the energy budget necessary for actuating it by the same factor. Hence, FF IBIS would either drain the batteries rapidly, or would have to be much more constrained concerning speed and distance of travel, confining its effectiveness to lower-frequency and shorter-range disturbances.
Do we know the energy requirements of the M43 IBIS system though? In the big picture, 16x very little can still be very little.
I don’t have any figures, but do know that OIS on my Pana has a noticable impact on battery life. And OIS needs considerably less movement than IBIS due to moving elements close to the optical center such that small displacements amplify on their way to the sensor according to the theorem of intersecting lines.
Olympus needs to dole out FF cameras and lenses soon. Technology marches on and they will be left in the dust. The partnership with Sony gives them a chance for survival.
Wrong way, all high-tech be smaller and better , not large and better.
Seems like a good arrangement to me- Sony gets a nice IBIS system, but the NEX system, which is the only space where the two brands really compete, uses lens based IS.
Olympus gets needed help for m4/3, Sony gets needed help for Alpha, not nex. No competitive disadvantage for Oly, at least at this time.
This is good news for Olympus. Much of a camera divisions efforts are in the lenses. Without a doubt Sony users have had to make do with Minolta optics (good as they are) for a long time, and Sony is slow to update. I mean look at the price of the new Zeiss 50mm for petes sake.
So Olympus will produce FF optics for Sony, provide the IBIS for the Amount. In exchange sony will provide video tech and sensor tech to olympus. The two companies will develop the IBIS and on sensor PDAF in conjunction with one another.
Win win all round.
Collaboration on a 400mm F/4: I wonder if that could lead to this lens also being made available for M43…
So Olympus has to give away it’s unique 5-axis stabilizer and has to use its limited resources on developing lenses for Sony instead of broadening the range of Zuiko lenses for m43. Guess who’s the winner here?
Anyone remember Konica? It got assimilated by Sony, and Olympus may be next..
Collaboration on a 400mm F/4 means: Olympus helps to make a mediocre Sony design a stellar one and let it sell under Sony’s brand name. Similar to the Konica collaboration in the past. If they were talking about sincere partnership, Olympus could design a Zuiko brandname lens for Sony, like Leica does for Panasonic.
I hope with shared development Olympus should join the FF revolution, since the resource is there, it is dumb not to utilize it.
Also NEX is already overheating without IBIS, adding IBIS will mean more bulky body and heat load.
Oly also shared some technology from the E-330 with Pany. Back then Pany L1 was the only other camera with liveview. Pany cameras also have the same sensor cleaning technology as Oly’s. What did Oly get in return from Pany? Sensors which were one generation behind those in Pany cameras. Now Sony had been giving its best sensor to Oly since the OM-D days, and Oly’s sales were improving. So Oly is benefitting from its deal with Sony, but let’s hope that Sony is not going to swallow up Oly like it did to Minolta.
“What did Oly get in return from Pany?”
Processors, signal processing hard- and software, sensors (which at that time weren’t one generation behind – they were the only ones offering the read-out rates necessary for live view, quite a bit ahead of the competition). And perhaps money…
I think, this whole image of one company sucking the best technologies out of the other w/o giving reasonable return is terribly wrong. If Mercedes now uses Renault Diesel engines for their smaller cars (the A and B lines), does it then suck technology out of Renault? Certainly not. They pay a fair amount for using those components, and both profit: Mercedes by saving the development and production effort, Renault by selling larger quantities. Why should it be any different with camera manufacturers? They pay each other for components and services and whenever one of the partners feels that such an agreement no longer is beneficial, the contract won’t be prolonged. This is business, guys, not exchanging presents among friends…
I LMAO so bad when I read some of the comments. Some think Oly has 5-axis IBIS, Sony’s got sensors, this and that.
But looking at the top market shares, I see GF3+GF5, Nikon J1, E-PL2+E-PL3… Data spoke for itself. Consumers don’t care about great sensors technology, or the expansiveness of lenses family, the 5-axis IBIS, etc. Only gear heads and pixel peepers care!
Now do the same ‘analysis’ on cars, and you will find a very similar thing. It just might have something to do with this very odd little thing called ‘price’.
Does that make the more expensive and more advanced models irrelevant?
I suggest you go talk to some car manufacturers to find out.
Sony Olympus coming soon
Interesting analysis, I find
http://blog.mingthein.com/2013/03/19/sony-and-olympus-what-does-it-mean/