Don't wince. This isn't a bulletin with viruses or politicians in it. It's concerned with cameras.
Briefly, Olympus - the makers of the Zuiko lenses and the
Olympus OM-D micro 4/3 cameras - will be selling their imaging division to a Japanese consortium in September. Some people have imagined that this will be the end of Olympus cameras - I suspect it will be nothing like that at all.
The consortium - Japan Industrial Partners - is very likely to get the camera division in toto - and that will mean R&D, plans, tools, machines, patterns, materials, and perhaps even factories. I would think that it will also receive the bulk of the optical workers that the camera division has been using for the last decades. it would make sense to transfer the people skilled with the brand at the same time.
So what does this mean to you, the Australian camera user? I would suggest that it means you'll have an opportunity to get some very good camera gear and lenses in the next few years:
a. There will be a flurry of foolish reaction as some people sell off their Olympus gear. People can be brand loyal to a touching degree, but they can also be brand disloyal. If you are a wise secondhand shopper you may benefit from this.
b. Your Olympus outfit will continue to perform well for years - and some people manage to make years into decades. If you insist on being happy in spite of the advertisers, it is within the law...
c. If there are refurb and demo outfits going you stand to gain even more traction for even less money.
