10 things OM Digital Solutions needs to do in order to succeed

Mar 5, 2021 by John Aldred 1 Comment

I’ve always tried to approach the acquisition of Olympus and the formation of OM Digital Solutions with a positive outlook. Partly because I would be sad to see the Olympus legacy completely fade off into practical non-existence like Kodak and Polaroid, but also because I happen to shoot Micro Four Thirds, and it’s nice to see the format still being developed (even if I use Panasonic and not Olympus).

But in order to succeed, the new OM Digital Solutions company has a lot of challenges ahead. In this video, photographer Robin Wong talks about his thoughts on the acquisition and things that OM Digital Solutions will need to do in order to succeed in a troubled sector of a struggling camera market.

It’s an interesting list, and Robin raises some good points. If you want to jump to specific parts of the video here’s a breakdown of when each bit starts.

0:25 Recap of Recent Incidents
2:15 New Image Sensor
3:07 Fulfil Lens Roadmap
4:07 Upgrade LCD Screen & EVF
5:16 Rework Menu & UI
7:35 AI & Computational Photography
8:22 1 Inch Image Sensor for TG-Series
9:16 Enhance Marketing Strategy
11:26 Work More Closely With Panasonic
13:05 Be Less Conservative

For myself, I think the biggest points raised here are to fulfil the lens roadmap and to work more closely with Panasonic (as well as the other partners in the Micro Four Thirds group).

More quality lenses from OM-DS will, naturally, help to drive innovation across manufacturers of all Micro Four Thirds lens as well as increase interest in the system as a whole. After all, if there are more lens choices available to potential customers, then more will be likely to buy into the system.

Working more closely with Panasonic and the other members of the MFT group will also help to spur innovation and provide consistency throughout the system. It would be great to see Panasonic’s MFT bodies be able to utilise DFD autofocus with 3rd party lenses, for example, particularly MFT lenses from Olympus.

It will be interesting to see if OM-DS’s plans do line up with Robin’s thoughts. Panasonic has confirmed that the GH6 is on the way (although whether or not it’ll be a true successor to the GH5 remains to be seen) and OM-DS has made some bold promises of their own. I’m curious to see how the MFT field will play out going forward over the next couple of years.

But do you agree with Robin’s assessment? Did he miss anything?

About John Aldred

John Aldred is a photographer with over 20 years of experience in the portrait and commercial worlds. He is based in Scotland and has been an early adopter - and occasional beta tester - of almost every digital imaging technology in that time. As well as his creative visual work, John uses 3D printing, electronics and programming to create his own photography and filmmaking tools and consults for a number of brands across the industry.

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Dave Williams is an accomplished travel photographer, writer, and best-selling author from the UK. He is also a photography educator and published Aurora expert. Dave has traveled extensively in recent years, capturing stunning images from around the world in a modified van. His work has been featured in various publications and he has worked with notable brands such as Skoda, EE, Boeing, Huawei, Microsoft, BMW, Conde Nast, Electronic Arts, Discovery, BBC, The Guardian, ESPN, NBC, and many others.