Olympus CEO Takeuchi tells at Nikkei that camera business is strategic for medical business growth

Nikkei.com reports that Olympus CEO Takeuchi once more confirmed that the camera business is strategic for the medical business growth. The company as a whole is doing well and expected to growth double digit in 2020. A goal that can also be achieved thanks to the R&D in the camera division.

Also the Imaging director Shigemi Sugimoto told via Newsswitch that there is an intense “relationship with the medical business. We can contribute to other businesses with two axes: technology that produces high-definition images and know-how in mass production.” Moreover:

Cameras and interchangeable lenses have a rapid development cycle of technologies such as image processing and optics, and will be the driving force of imaging, which is the core of Olympus technology. The technology cultivated in the imaging business is useful for 4K endoscope systems in the medical field.

I am 100% sure Olympus will still in the camera business in the long term :)

via Digicameinfo

Leica 50-200mm MFT lens review by Opticallimits: “darn-sharp zoom lens”

Opticallimits tested the Panasonic-Leica 50-200mm MFT lens:

The Leica DG Vario-Elmarit 50-200mm f/2.8-4 ASPH Power OIS is an outstanding lens … with one exception. It excels in most of the formal parameters. In terms of resolution, it is extremely sharp across the zoom range. Image distortions are absent in conventionally processed images with just a little distortion present in RAW images. Lateral CAs are negligible. Vignetting is usually auto-corrected so no worries here normally. If you chose to deactivate auto-correction, you may notice an elevated light falloff at maximum aperture though. The biggest weakness is in an informal parameter – the bokeh. Out-of-focus highlights have an odd inner structure and the general rendition of background blur is also harsher than desirable in certain scenes at least.
The build quality is excellent and if you handle it, you can immediately feel the difference compared to conventional Panasonic lenses. The subjective quality perception is even superior to Olympus PRO lenses in our book. It’s still not perfect though. Zoom creeping can be a bit of annoying and some may miss a dedicated tripod mount (especially when using teleconverters). The AF is extremely quick and noiseless. The performance of the optical image stabilizer system is also impressive – and also needed at such long focal lengths. While the lens-based IS is pretty good already, it is a bit unfortunate that Olympus users can’t take advantage of Dual-IS (=combining the optical IS with the in-camera IS system). So if you intend to have this as your primary lens, you may be better off with a Panasonic camera.
If you want a darn-sharp zoom lens, the Leica DG Vario-Elmarit 50-200mm f/2.8-4 ASPH Power OIS is an obvious choice albeit an overly expensive one. For portraits and other “bokeh-centric” applications, you may prefer to look elsewhere though (the Olympus 45mm f/1.2 PRO is superb).

Leica 50-200mm lens at BHphoto, Adorama, Amazon, Panasonic.

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