The demise of Olympus: I am an avid Oly fan. As some of you may know, their imaging division was sold to JIP. Oly will be out of the camera business as of 1Jan. Today, I went on their...

Hip Coyote

I am an avid Oly fan. As some of you may know, their imaging division was sold to JIP. Oly will be out of the camera business as of 1Jan. Today, I went on their website and saw that they are shutting their site down for "maintenance" purposes right around the holidays. This is obviously not truthful. Any business that shuts down their retail site around Christmas is run by a fool. See that attached screen shot. What a sad situation.

10MPlayer Loc: California

Too bad. I've had two or three Olympus cameras, mainly point and shoot, over the years. I liked the rugged weather proofing. Sad to see the world changing so quickly, and not for the better. How many things we loved for decades have gone by the wayside, not just because of the virus but because of bad government policy decisions. Ugh. Makes me sad.

CO

But orders start up again on January 4.

Delderby Loc: Derby UK

CO wrote:

But orders start up again on January 4.

They will then probably be going to JIP instead.

Jim70 Loc: Delaware

An OM-10 was my first SLR, bought on a trip to Hong Kong back in he 70s. Sorry to see them go

SonyBug

RWebb76 wrote:

I am an avid Oly fan. As some of you may know, their imaging division was sold to JIP. Oly will be out of the camera business as of 1Jan. Today, I went on their website and saw that they are shutting their site down for "maintenance" purposes right around the holidays. This is obviously not truthful. Any business that shuts down their retail site around Christmas is run by a fool. See that attached screen shot. What a sad situation.

Did it occur to you that the "maintenance" is to switch the site over to the new owners? And they do not want to have orders on hand when the transfer takes place. Calling someone else a fool shows that your vision is not very perceptive to what their contract is...

ELNikkor

My dad, (an optical physicist with Kodak from the '50's to the '90's), always spoke highly of Olympus lenses. He'd be disappointed to know they are going under, but, hey! they've had an excellent run and the millions of Olympus lenses and cameras out there will still be with us for a long, long time.

billnikon Loc: Pennsylvania/Ohio/Florida/Maui/Oregon/Vermont

RWebb76 wrote:

I am an avid Oly fan. As some of you may know, their imaging division was sold to JIP. Oly will be out of the camera business as of 1Jan. Today, I went on their website and saw that they are shutting their site down for "maintenance" purposes right around the holidays. This is obviously not truthful. Any business that shuts down their retail site around Christmas is run by a fool. See that attached screen shot. What a sad situation.

Looks like there going away for 2 weeks and coming back. You can get an Olympus up until December 13 and then again after January 3. And, during the 2 weeks, you can get an Olympus from B&H, Adorama, or any retail store that carries Olympus. Problem solved.
At B&H for example, you can get deals on Olympus past December 13. So, what's the problem.
https://www.bhphotovideo.com/c/search?Ntt=Olympus%20camera%27s&N=0&InitialSearch=yes&sts=ma
And, after January 3, you will have a new and improved Olympus site to go to.

ClarkJohnson Loc: Fort Myers, FL and Cohasset, MA

We can speculate, but the transition theory makes sense. And the timing really isn’t terrible. Many direct merchants tell you to order by a certain date to get Christmas delivery. We will only know for sure in January, unless an Olympus employee is tuning in and cares to share.

camerapapi Loc: Miami, Fl.

"Did it occur to you that the "maintenance" is to switch the site over to the new owners?"

I am in full agreement with the above statement. Nobody can predict what will happen to Olympus with the new owners. Something that has been discussed is if the Olympus name will be kept instead of OM Digital Solutions. After the sale Olympus retains 5% ownership if I am not wrong.
I have three Olympus bodies and lenses from Olympus and Panasonic and I am totally confident that if I need service it will be provided. I am also confident that my cameras will last a long time. New cameras and new lenses depend on the new company. As far as I know all production and research and development from Olympus has been transferred to the new owners.

Who knows, maybe the change has been for the better.

RKL349 Loc: Connecticut

Manufacturers frequently shut down for two weeks or so over the Christmas holidays. And, oh by the way, this world-wide pandemic does not help things. Rather than speculate, why not wait and see what happens.

sr71 Loc: In Col. Juan Seguin Land

The sky is falling

Canisdirus

Oly has plenty in stock at major retailers (too much stock which was their problem).
You'll still be able to buy lenses and bodies with their name on them for a while I imagine.

They are switching over on the only site they control...theirs.

V2volk Loc: St. Louis area

Sad indeed, their Tough Cameras are outstanding and I love mine for snorkeling.

leftj Loc: Texas

10MPlayer wrote:

Too bad. I've had two or three Olympus cameras, mainly point and shoot, over the years. I liked the rugged weather proofing. Sad to see the world changing so quickly, and not for the better. How many things we loved for decades have gone by the wayside, not just because of the virus but because of bad government policy decisions. Ugh. Makes me sad.

Gee! If Olympus was so great why did the company fail?