ValueTechIm Rahmen der Fotomesse CP+ hatten wir die Chance mit Ryuji Saigusa von OM System, ehemals Olympus, über Einflüsse der Corona-Pandemie auf die Produktion, die Ausgliederung von OM-System aus dem Olympuskonzern, die Herausforderung immer günstigerer Vollformatkameras und vielem mehr zu sprechen.
[[YT:OHYWiFJN2N8]]
Anmerkung der Redaktion: Das Interview wurde auf Englisch geführt. Um den Inhalt nicht zu verfälschen, zitieren wir das Interview ausschließlich im Original und bieten keine offizielle Übersetzung ins Deutsche an.
ValueTech: During the peak of the Corona pandemic, there were major problems in the supply chains, not only in the camera industry. In the meantime, the situation seems to be much better. Are there still after-effects?
Ryuji Saigusa: There were some problems with parts supply for a while, but it has been resolved now.
ValueTech: It's also been 2 years since OMDS was split from Olympus. How have your customers reacted to the change?
Ryuji Saigusa: The carve-out of the camera and consumer products division from Olympus may have created anxiety or worries for some customers, however we have started as a new company and launched our new brand, "OM SYSTEM". Under the new brand, we continue providing unparalleled experiences to our customers with our philosophy of always challenging convention and creating new products. The OM-1, which symbolizes "OM SYSTEM", has won many awards and has been well received by our customers.
ValueTech: The market has shifted away from entry-level cameras. Further, Full Frame cameras became cheaper, compared to APS-C and MFT. Where do you see OMDS in this market environment?
Ryuji Saigusa: We believe that MFT has various advantages that Full-frame can not offer, especially in outdoor situation. For example, MFT offers a compact and and lightweight camera system, and it has SS and ISO benefit due to the deeper depth of field. It also has the advantage for macro shooting.
ValueTech: Talking about markets: Is it true that, for example, Europe and East Asia often have different preferences for cameras and lenses? And how does that influence development/product planning?
Ryuji Saigusa: Some of the preferences are common, some are different. We are committed to listening to our consumers and incorporating their feedback into our development and product planning as much as possible.
ValueTech: And what is your favorite lens in the OMDS/Olympus line-up?
Ryuji Saigusa: I like the 40-150mm F4 and the 8-25mm F4 for their balance of optical performance and size/weight. Of course, I also like the 90mm F3.5 Macro very much.
ValueTech: In our opinion, the last few years in camera development have been dominated by better autofocus systems, especially better object recognition through deep learning algorithms. Now that almost every manufacturer has managed to achieve high AF accuracy, speed and tracking: What is "the next big thing"?
Ryuji Saigusa: We are not in the position to comment on trends in other companies, but we are committed to expanding photographic expression and improved image quality with Computational photography while continuing to work on improving basic performance.
ValueTech: What can the traditional camera industry learn from the success of smartphone photography?
Ryuji Saigusa: I assumed that smartphone photography means "computational photography". Our goal is the same as smartphone photography that can improve image quality independent of sensor size. Additionally, we believe that by combining our lenses with high optical performance and a wide lineups can offer shooting experience that smartphone users can not experience.