Micro Four Thirds Has Japan’s Number One Market Share Among All Lens Mounts

OM Digital Solutions has announced that micro four thirds has achieved number one in market share in the number of units sold by lens mount in Japan. Supported by 56 companies, OM Digital makes the case that the 12-year-old mount is stronger than ever.

OM Digital Solutions is the new name of the Olympus Imaging Division after being purchased by Japan Industrial Partners (JIP), and this is the first public statement by the company since the acquisition completed in early January.

In a press release (translated from Japanese), OM Digital props up micro four thirds and claims a market share of 21.7% in Japan, the most of any single lens mount.

OM Digital Solutions Co., Ltd. and Panasonic Corporation jointly announced the Micro Four Thirds System standard in 2008 and have endeavored to popularize this standard. In 2020, the 12th year, the interchangeable lens type in Japan In the digital camera market, we achieved the No. 1 share of the number of units by lens mount.

Micro Four Thirds has further expanded the possibilities of enjoying and utilizing images by enhancing the lineup unique to the joint standard and developing the system, and currently, there are 56 supporting companies including BtoB companies. In 2020, four new mirrorless interchangeable-lens cameras that comply with the Micro Four Thirds system standard were introduced, and we have endeavored to revitalize the domestic market. As a result, in 2020, we achieved the top share of the number of lenses by lens mount in the domestic market, 21.7%.

Olympus cameras are often seen ranking highly in multiple sales charts (the Olympus E-M10 Mark III was the country’s most popular mirrorless camera in 2020) and because the format is supported by a number of companies (such as Olympus and Panasonic), it does not come as a particular surprise that the lens mount is popular enough to be the most widespread in the country. However, even ranking highly and consistently, Olympus struggled financially to the point that the imaging division was sold off. So while sales numbers are high, profit margins apparently are an issue.

While interesting and of course notable, this press release is likely mainly a business play by JIP to prop up the value of its latest acquisition and instill confidence not only at OM Digital but also with investors.

(via Digicame-Info)