All the times Olympus said they will not sell the Imaging Business

The past days both Olympus and JIP made multiple statements to assure they see a bright future for the OMD and PEN products. But I keep getting criticized by some because I am pessimistic about what the future with JIP will deserve to us. The reason is simple. Just look at what Olympus told us multiple times the past 6 months. If they failed to keep those promises of the past how can we trust them in the promises they are making now?

November 20: Olympus released an official statement at Photofocus:

“For Imaging, however, we currently have no plans to sell the business. The task is therefore to stabilize and strengthen its market position. To achieve that, we are actively running marketing activities, and have already established a clear and exciting product roadmap for the coming months and years.

December 24: Nikkei.com reports that Olympus CEO Takeuchi once more confirmed that the camera business is strategic for the medical business growth

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.

March 3: The French magazine Photorend interviewed Masanori Sako from Olympus:

We will therefore certainly maintain the imaging activity as an important part of Olympus society. The rapid pace of technological development could help accelerate certain developments in medical devices or life sciences. The photo division is also our public face, and contributes to the fact that many people know about Olympus, which should promote the presence of the brand.

May 7: Imaging Resource had a chat with Olympus manager Masanori Sako and he once more confirmed Olympus camera division is not for sale:

“We can clearly say that we have no plans to sell our business, despite the rumors…The consumer business really leads in developing new technologies for us, that are then sometimes used in other divisions, like medical and life science products. Our role besides our own [imaging] business, is really to lead technology and innovation for the entire company. So yes, we will continue this business.“

I would be really happy to be proven wrong. But honestly, as of today I don’t have a good feeling with this.

The only thought that gives me hope is Panasonic. I think they are still very committed to MFT. Can’t wait to see their new GH6 and other new lenses!

a bit of everything…


Does Sensor Size Really Make a Difference? MFT vs FF with the G9 and S1R | BEYOND THE SHOT

Live Stream Testing the Z CAM E2-F6 (Gerald Undone).
How to create cool looking vlogs and stunning videos // Part 1: All about Gear (Olympus Europe).
The best video cameras for 2020 By Daven Mathies
New from Manfrotto: 504x Fluid Head and Kits Replace the Venerable 504HD (Explora).

Plenty of news on the facebook OMD group, Panasonic FF and the GH5 group.

New faster Luminar 4.3 with Olympus E-M1III support

Skulym launched the new 4.3 version of Luminar (save $10 using our checkout code “43RUM).

Peter Forsgård goes over the new feature:

Press text:

Luminar brings search, user experience improvements, 500px integration in the latest update
Luminar 4.3 adds a new crop interface, faster Looks experience, photo search, sharing through 500px, and performance improvements.

NEW YORK, NY – July 14, 2020 — Today, Skylum released the latest update for Luminar, version 4.3, focusing on enhancing the overall experience for creatives through several refinements and performance improvements.

“With its vast AI-centric features, Luminar 4 has become a state-of-the-art program for photographers and other creatives,” said Dima Sytnik, Co-Founder and CTO of Skylum. “With Luminar 4.3, we continue to optimize the user experience and focus on performance. We know that, with this update, post-processing workflows will become faster and will help photographers be able to get started quicker and easier than ever before.”

Available as a free update for all current Luminar 4 users, the latest update adds the ability to search photos, a user experience improvement to Looks, 500px integration, a new crop interface, and several performance improvements. It also brings a new space shuttle object, along with several improvements, for the AI Augmented Sky tool.

Luminar 3 users will also see the search function added in the program’s next update.

Photo search
With the new Search tool, photographers can find images in their library with ease. Search lets photographers find photos by name, folder, date, or extension, allowing for quick management of photos.

500px integration
Photographers can now share their photos with other creatives across the world on the 500px photo sharing platform.

Stability and performance improvements
Skylum continues its work on boosting performance in Luminar. With the 4.3 update, RAW files now open faster than ever before in Luminar, meaning photographers can start working on their images more quickly.

With the 4.3 update, Luminar tools also use less of the computer’s memory, resulting in quicker and more responsive sliders. What results is a smoother and snappier experience for creatives.

Those using older or less powerful computers should also see speed boosts to help them enhance their editing and management workflows.

Faster Looks experience
While Looks are a powerful part of the Luminar system, they can certainly add up as photographers bring in more packs and create their own Looks. Looks create a lot of data — everything from textures to AI content-aware tools which adapt to each image. Coupled with the amount of data within RAW files, there can be a slight delay in going through each Look.

Luminar 4.3 solves this issue, allowing photographers the ability to preview looks in an instant, just by hovering over them. In our demos and testing with photographers, the ability to preview Looks allowed photographers to browse them easier and make the decision on whether to go with the selected look much quicker.

Improvements to cropping
Crop & Rotate have seen a big update with Luminar 4.3, being moved to the right panel underneath Lens & Geometry. Photographers can open the tool and crop with ease and quicker than ever before. Windows users should also see a significant performance boost, letting photographers seamlessly crop their images.

AI Augmented Sky improvements
The AI Augmented Sky feature has taken creativity to new heights, enabling photographers to create composites that they never thought were possible. In Luminar 4.3, a new space shuttle object has been added to select from.

The AI Augmented Sky experience has also received several improvements. Photographers can easily flip objects and quickly position them, making it easy to perfect your piece of art! A marketplace section on the Luminar website has also been added, featuring objects for use with AI Augmented Sky.

Custom skies and sky objects
In the AI Sky Replacement and AI Augmented Sky tools, photographers can now comfortably access a custom folder of locally stored skies and sky objects. It’s also now easy to copy and paste multiple skies in the sky folder in just a few clicks, for convenient editing.

Camera support
Luminar 4.3 brings new camera support to recently released cameras. Now Luminar supports the Canon EOS-1D X Mark III (uncompressed only), FUJIFILM X100V, FUJIFILM X-T200, FUJIFILM X-T4, Leica SL2, Nikon Coolpix P950, Nikon D780, Nikon Z50, Olympus OM-D E-M1 Mark III, Olympus E-PL10, Panasonic DC-S1H, and the Sony A9 Mark II.

New masking brush workflow
The masking tool is now extremely easy to use, as masked areas are visible mid-process thanks to a transparent red mask. Enjoy viewing the instant effect of the tool for pleasant and fast editing.

Improvements to localization
Luminar 4.3 includes improvements to translations for all supported languages, and understands German, Japanese, Korean, Italian, French, and Spanish better than ever!

How to update
Luminar 4.3 is a free update to current Luminar 4 users. On a Mac, click in the Top Menu Bar and choose Luminar 4 > Check for updates. If you purchased via the Mac App Store, simply open the App Store and go to the Updates tab. On Windows, in the Top Menu Bar choose Help > Check for updates.

If you are running Luminar as a plugin with Photoshop, Lightroom Classic or Photoshop Elements, it’s also recommended you rerun the plugin installer.

An expanded user manual is also now available, making it easier than ever for users to search and find answers to questions they might have about the software.

Get your copy of Luminar 4 today!
Luminar 4 is available at a retail price of $89. Be sure to visit skylum.com to learn more and check out special offers throughout the summer.

JIP issues a press release to unveil their intention with the Imaging Business

After Olympus also JIP is reacting to the negative press to try to calm the waters:

Regarding Olympus Imaging Business Transfer

Olympus Corporation (“Olympus”) and Japan Industrial Partners Inc. (“JIP”) signed a memorandum of understanding on June 24th regarding the carve-out of Olympus’ Imaging business to a new company (the “New Imaging Company”) and the subsequent transfer of its shares from Olympus to funds managed, operated and advised by JIP.

Founded in 2002, JIP, a leading private equity firm based in Tokyo, specializing in corporate carve-out investments, targets revitalization of traditional businesses in Japan and has provided capital and management support to businesses carved out from established companies.

JIP’s investment principle is to realize potential growth opportunities by making maximum use of existing business foundation and technologies that the investee companies and businesses have. JIP believes that by delivering value-added products and services to customers and by building an attractive company for employees, the business will be able to realize its full potential and seek growth opportunities.

The New Imaging Company would assume and build growth strategy around the renowned Zuiko, OM and other brands, featuring optical and lens technologies developed and cultivated by Olympus over decades. Assuming the R&D and manufacturing frameworks, the New Imaging Company would commit to deliver high quality and reliability products and services to the Olympus customers around the globe.

On July 2nd, Olympus made a global announcement regarding the latest M. Zuiko Digital Lens roadmap. The lens introduction plans presented in this roadmap will continue to be carried out even after the business transfer occurs.

New product development for each product category within the Imaging business will continue and we will keep you up to date as we make progress.

Olympus and JIP will make all necessary preparations for a smooth transfer of the Imaging business, and JIP is committed to make maximum efforts so that the new company will increase its presence within the global market as a vibrant and energetic venture.

If someone can give an example where a JIP  acquired company “increased its presence within the global market as a vibrant and energetic venture.” please comment on this post! Because I haven’t found anything positive about their track record yet…

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