When is an E-M5 not an E-M5.... when its an E-M1iii

[OM USer]

Going through the latest OM Magazine if fine detail I noticed some discrepancies between the text and the associated kit bag section. This is a shame as I would like to see the virtues of the E-M5 range (and the E-M10 range) extolled just as much as the E-Miii. There is nothing wrong with any of the Olympus cameras and it is a shame that people who glance through the magazine will think they must buy an E-M1iii in order to take good photographs when if they read carefully they will see the other cameras from Olympus are also put to good use.

[blu-by-u]

Good find. I wouldn't have noticed that at all.

[AMc]

I can see that's a very easy copy editing mistake to make and to miss when proofing. It's a bit surprising given how technically literate the readship is.

As an E-M10ii user it is very mildly annoying that all the Olympus publications and marketing focus so heavily on the PRO lenses and the M1 and MX lines.
I completely understand that professional photographers use the higher end bodies and high end lenses - why wouldn't you?
I'd be equally interested in what can be achieved with M.Zuiko lenses and the M10 and E-PL lines.
I follow the PEN instagram and they seem to focus exclusively on pictures of the cameras not taken with them - odd.

I sometimes wonder what the purpose of a lot of the Olympus promotional stuff is?
Are they really trying to tempt me to spend £££ on new bodies and larger, heavier lenses?
Or is the plan to recruit CaNikon users with the advantages of the m4/3 format?

I'm a lost cause - I have all the lenses I can think to use, I'm unimpressed by the later marks of the M10 body and I don't want anything even slightly larger or heavier so I guess I won't be spending anything with them in the foreseeable future.
A PEN F-II with pop up flash is about the only thing I can imagine would tempt me and even then probably not at the price they'd charge!

[pdk42]

It doesn't surprise me at all that Olympus/OM focuses on the E-M1 range and the Pro lenses. The perceived wisdom (and probably the truth) is that the lower end of the camera market is finished. It's being eaten (mostly already has been eaten in fact) by the smartphone. The P&S went first, but now the cheap consumer DSLR is being consumed too. The younger generation who previously might have bought this type of camera (for better shots of the kids etc - "soccer mums") no longer see the value proposition when phones are so good. The same argument applies to low-end m43 gear since it competes in the same market as "cheap consumer DSLR".

So Olympus/OM Solutions, just like all the other brands, are going up market. The idea is that the last preserve of the "real camera" is the well-healed enthusiast - and he/she will prefer to pay more for the best. That's why most other manufacturers are going FF. And so Olympus/OM will need to go upmarket too. The future will be EM1 iv, EM1x ii + high end optics (and more video focused). I'm pretty sure the E-M10 and E-PL lines will go (and the kit lenses that adorned them!). And as Mark Thakara said last week, even the future of the E-M5 is unsure.

It's a pity because the E-M10ii is probably the best value-for-money camera that Olympus ever made. It'll do 95% of what the E-M5ii does and it's cheaper. But logic doesn't sell cameras!

[AMc]

I appreciate that the bottom end is shrinking but failing to promote their own offerings in that space can only hurt market share. They could aim to dominate and also upsell.
As the M10 line was the best selling mirrorless camera in Japan last year it seems counter intuitive to ignore it completely in the promotional materials distributed in elsewhere (like the publication above).
As they've already invested in the EP-L & M10 lines then even if you're abandoning it long term it makes sense to try and shift that stock before the next iteration of models comes through from Canon, Fuji etc.and beats you on features or price.
If the E-M10 iii or iv had been more appealing I would have handed over my readily available money but they offer so little over my current camera it's pointless spending several hundred pounds for a minor improvement in charging convenience