Is this information important to owners of other cameras? Read on.

You have probably heard that Olympus cameras has a new owner. This is a company that has been around a long time and many people have grown to love this major company. As long as I have been in the photography business, I enjoyed the few years that I owned an Olympus OM-1. A fully manual camera and built like a horse, in a compact body. Are they a viable product now they are going through this ownership change? We don’t know at this point, but, I am thinking that with these changes you will see new cameras, and digital equipment that will make them a product worth owning, and will give the big boys (Nikon, Canon, Sony) a run for their money.

Why is this important, even for camera owners other than Olympus? The camera market today changes in the wind when ever one of the big companies makes a change. New products are bound to come forth, and with that, the competition will begin in producing new products from other brands. We all will benefit from this change.

Here is the announcement that we just received:

Divorce finalized: Olympus is now OM Digital Solutions

Olympus Imaging has officially become OM Digital Solutions, and a new era has begun.

The OIympus sale is now complete and the imaging division is now officially called OM Digital Solutions Corp, and now belongs to Japan Industrial Partners (JIP).

The transfer of ownership was completed on 01 January, and a new company website has been launched. Former Olympus Imaging manager Shigemi Sugimoto is president of the new company.

While no further official clarification has been made regarding the use of the Olympus brand name on products, it is notable that a number of the company’s outlets – including Instagram accounts and holdover store pages – are referring to “Olympus PEN” cameras but only to “OM-D” cameras, the latter omitting the Olympus name.

Whether this is purely coincidence, or the start of a gentle transition away from the brand, remains to be seen. 

“We will continue to launch innovative products in existing business areas such as cameras, audio recorders, and binoculars, while combining our inherited manufacturing capabilities with state-of-the-art digital technologies, and will provide new solutions that stretch beyond the boundaries of existing products on the market,” said Sugimoto in a message on the new website.

“The launch of this new company brings together a more focused and flexible organizational structure. Moving forward, this will allow the freedom to explore new business opportunities, enabling us to contribute to society with more passion than ever.

Here is the official announcement from Olympus Digital Solutions:

Olympus Completes Transfer of Imaging Business

Tokyo, January 4, 2021 – Olympus Corporation (“Olympus”) concluded the transfer of its Imaging business to Japan Industrial Partners Inc. (“JIP”) on January 1, 2021. The final transfer was based on the definitive agreement both parties signed on September 30, 2020, which included details of the arrangement. With completion of the transfer, OM Digital Solutions Corporation takes over the Imaging business from Olympus. 

Heads of sales and marketing and R&D for imaging products will be relocated to the headquarters of OM Digital Solutions Corporation. Production will continue at the facility in Dong Nai province, Vietnam, where imaging products have been manufactured since 2008. OM Digital Solutions Corporation will continue to provide customer support for the imaging products which have been manufactured and sold by Olympus. 

”OM Digital Solutions Corporation will develop and introduce unique products to create new value while continuing to provide high-quality, highly reliable products, including the Zuiko and OM brands, which are grounded in optics and digital imaging technologies cultivated by Olympus over many years as well as IC recorder that combines advanced digital voice and sound recording technology with comfortable operability,” said Shigemi Sugimoto, Representative Director and President of OM Digital Solutions Corporation and former Imaging Division Head of Olympus.. 

“The Imaging business has been at the heart of Olympus since the launch of our first camera, the Semi-Olympus I in 1936, so I am delighted that it will continue to develop and thrive under OM Digital Solutions Corporation,” added Yasuo Takeuchi, President and CEO of Olympus Corporation. “Following the transfer of the Imaging business, Olympus will concentrate on Medical and Scientific Solutions, in our ongoing efforts to become a global medtech company which offers products and services to make people’s lives healthier, safer and more fulfilling.”