Micro Four Thirds is the most popular camera system in Japan claims OM Digital Solutions
Jan 30, 2021
John Aldred
John Aldred is a photographer with over 25 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.
Share:
Well, there’s nothing like blowing your own trumpet in your first official press release since acquiring a new company. Digicame-info reports that OM Digital Solutions Co., Ltd. – the new name for Olympus Imaging Division since it was taken over by Japan Industrial Partners – has made an announcement proclaiming that Micro Four Thirds has the largest market share of any camera mount system in Japan.
Olympus launched the Micro Four Thirds system in 2008 along with Panasonic. A system which OM Digital Solutions says is now supported by over 56 companies. According to Today’s announcement, MFT has risen to the top, holding 21.7% of the domestic market in Japan. More than any other camera mount system,
The (Google-translated) statement reads…
OM Digital Solutions Co., Ltd. and Panasonic Corporation jointly launched Micro Four Thirds in 2008.
We have announced the system standard and have endeavored to popularize this standard. In 2020, the 12th year, lenses in Japan, in the interchangeable digital camera market, we achieved the No. 1 share of the number of units by lens mount.
Micro Four Thirds enjoys video by enhancing the lineup unique to the joint standard and developing the system.
And further expanding the possibilities of utilization, there are currently 56 supporting companies including his BtoB company. In 2020, four new mirrorless interchangeable-lens cameras that comply with the Micro Four Thirds system standard have been introduced to the domestic market.
We have endeavored to revitalize. As a result, in 2020, the number of top lenses * 3 by lens mount in the domestic market will be changed.
A, we achieved 21.7%.OM Digital Solutions Co., Ltd. and Panasonic Corporation are Four Thirds System, Micro Four Thirds
As a company that proposes system standards, we will continue to expand our lineup to meet the diverse needs of our customers.
We will provide an eye system.
The reported 21.7% is based on BCN’s sales and ranking data covering January-December 2020 of interchangeable mount camera systems by the total number of units sold based on lens mount type.
Being the top selling camera system in Japan certainly seems a far cry from the “Micro Four Thirds is dead!” proclamations I’ve heard all over social media recently. And perhaps JIP really is serious about pushing the Olympus/OM-D brand and Micro Four Thirds system as they promised a few months ago.
Of course, they have to shout about it. They have to build up the hype now that they own the company and see how many bite. Exactly how well they will stick to that promise remains to be seen, although they do state in the above announcement that new stuff is on the way.
Personally, I’ve become a big fan of the Micro Four Thirds system (although more the Panasonic side than the Olympus one), so I hope the format does thrive once again. Panasonic seems to have mostly neglected it the last couple of years and Olympus… Well, maybe under new management it’ll find a way to survive.
[via Digicame-info]
John Aldred
John Aldred is a photographer with over 25 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.
Join the Discussion
DIYP Comment Policy
Be nice, be on-topic, no personal information or flames.
8 responses to “Micro Four Thirds is the most popular camera system in Japan claims OM Digital Solutions”
Nothing wrong with blowing their own horn. Last August, Digital Camera World reported Olympus dominated mirrorless sales in Japan.
M4/3 isn’t on the radar of most new buyers, and many invested in other systems are dissuaded by budget and disinformation.
For me, like most people, M4/3 is far more capable than my needs require. The light weight and quality ratio is unbeatable.
I think most new buyers know nothing of sensor size and will just buy whatever camera looks coolest/cheapest. Most new buyers are general consumers who don’t know much about cameras.
I don’t think pros are deterred so much, especially if they’re looking for something for a specific purpose. I’ve shot Nikon for the last 20 years and have a mix of APS-C and full-frame bodies. Last year I bought five Panasonic MFT bodies for shooting video (I’m using them with my Nikon lenses mostly). Zero regrets. :)
@Kaouthia Please, can you tell me, in your experience what is the best panasonic body (in quality / price ratio) to use with nikon lenses?
Thanks in advance
Well, for video I’m using G80s and GX80s (G85 and GX85 in the USA) with mine. I’m doing very little in post as far as colour grading goes, because I want the look to be as it was in real life because most of what I shoot for video demands that. It’s not cinematic stuff. So, 8-bit 4:2:2 4K is great. If I were doing more cinematic stuff where I needed to correct and then put on a heavy grade, I’d go GH5 for the 10-Bit 4:2:2. Both models are absolute bargains for what they offer. The main advantage of the G80 (I have three) over the GX80 (I have two) is the flippy out LCD and the 3.5mm microphone jack. So, it’s easier to add an external mic for syncing (I usually throw an on-camera shotgun on there just for a better track to sync up to externally recorded audio) or if you want to put a VideoMic NTG or something on there for vlogging (which I also do with one of my G80s – but I use the Panasonic 12-60 kit lens for that). With Nikon lenses, I use the Viltrox NF-M43 F mount to MFT adapter and the Viltrox NF-M43X F mount to MFT 0.71x speed booster – all depends on the focal length I’m after.
For stills, I’ve no idea. I can’t stand the EVF. I’ve yet to find a camera with an EVF that doesn’t give me a headache (from any manufacturer). I’ll be sticking to my DSLRs for stills for a while yet, I think. :)
What a great response! you’ve answered questions that even I didn’t know I had!
I am very very grateful
regards
You’re very welcome. I’m glad it helped. :)
I said the following in another forum:-
In 2020 they made the same silly claim about 2019 market share
Quote
[ Micro Four Thirds has further expanded the possibilities of enjoying and utilizing images through the development of the lineup unique to the joint standard, and currently there are 54 supporting companies including BtoB companies. In 2019, four new mirrorless interchangeable-lens cameras that comply with the Micro Four Thirds system standard were introduced, and we have endeavored to revitalize the domestic market. As a result, in 2019, we achieved the top share of the number of lenses * 1 by lens mount in the domestic market , 19.8%.
* 1 Survey by Four Thirds Secretariat based on sales performance data of leading camera dealers nationwide ]
UnQuote
Four Thirds Secretariat is probably a team of in-house staff employed by Olympus to produce this survey. As the saying goes, he who pays the piper calls the tune. Tell the boss what he wants to hear or else …
In spite of this silly claim, 2020 was the year Olympus Camera Division was divested to JIP.
—————–
Then in 2021 they used the same word processor file template and made some changes to push the same claim about 2020 market share.
Quote
[ Micro Four Thirds has further expanded the possibilities of enjoying and utilizing images by enhancing the lineup unique to the joint standard and developing the system, and currently, there are 56 supporting companies including BtoB companies. In 2020, four new mirrorless interchangeable-lens cameras that comply with the Micro Four Thirds system standard were introduced, and we have endeavored to revitalize the domestic market. As a result, in 2020, we achieved the top share of the number of lenses by lens mount in the domestic market, 21.7%.
* According to in-house research, based on BCN ranking data. Unit share of interchangeable lens digital cameras by lens mount type from January to December 2020. ]
UnQuote
Credit: four-thirds.org
[IMG] https://www.four-thirds.org/en/common/img/mainvisual_share_no1.jpg [/IMG]
This persistent exercise in self delusion is one of the factors in the demise of big corporations.