The biggest mistake Micro Four Thirds players did was trying to beat the full frame big boys by making larger, heavier, ridiculously overpriced cameras with bloated tech and features that 98% of the consumers do not even use or need. Everyone is fighting the latest and greatest tech war, better AI computational features, faster burst rate, faster sensor readout, global shutter, advanced pro video features like internal RAW recording, which honestly do not make much of a difference for an average hobbyist, besides having more bragging points when owing such "flagship level" products. When you fight against the larger players with deeper pockets and much spare resources to burn for R&D and affording a few failures in their trial-and-error process along the way, you lose. Instead of fighting head on making bigger, bloated cameras, why not go back to basics, rediscover what makes Micro Four Thirds so great and amazing in the first place, the philosophy and art of making really small yet powerful cameras. You don't need to be the best to beat the rest. You just need to play smart and listen to what the people want.
I am sure not everyone can afford USD2000-3000 flagship level cameras, but a sub USD1000, stripped down compact cameras with the right balance of stylish design, build quality, imaging capabilities and modern features can be an effective killer in the market.
Look at what Fuji is doing with their X100 series and Ricoh with their GR III series, these cameras have gained cult-following status and are constantly being sold out everywhere in the world. Micro Four Thirds players, both Panasonic and OM Digital Solutions sort of abandoned their affordable, smaller-sized form factor cameras which I believe is a grave mistake. While these cameras may be lower in profit margin, if you can move them by sheer volume, you can still generate a significant healthy income. Why did the previous budget compacts fail, that needs a deeper dive into lazy product strategy and the biggest issue of all - not understanding market needs and responding quickly enough.
If you look at the second hand, used market everywhere in the world, there is a consistently high demand for smaller sized Micro Four Thirds cameras, such as Olympus PEN Mini or Panasonic GM1/5. These cameras sell at higher price in the used market than their original retail price, should this not tell us something about where the market trend is going? Even the BCN sale data in Japanese camera market indicated strongly that E-PL9/10, E-M10 IV and E-P7 from Olympus/OM System continue to do extremely well, though some of these cameras are considered outdated. A refreshed version of such smaller compacts with updated features and imaging capabilities will surely turn things about for the Micro Four Thirds companies.
Micro Four Thirds sits at less than 5% market share in 2023's BCN report. That is the quantities of cameras being exported out of Japan, so we don't know how many cameras were actually sold at the retail end, but still a good enough estimate of the market situation. OM Digital Solutions after 4 years of operations can only hold 2.5% of the market share, and Panasonic about 3.6% (both full frame L mount and Micro Four Thirds products combined). Realistically, Micro Four Thirds consists of maybe 4% of the overall market, and that is being generous, yet the numbers look pessimistic.
I want a future for Micro Four Thirds, I still believe in the format. However, both Panasonic and OM Digital Solutions need to wake up and not continue to make the same mistakes they have been making the past several years. Whatever strategy they were banking on to work obviously did not work, they would have worked by now if they were effective. Admit the mistake, swallow the past failures, and re-strategize. It is not an easy road ahead, but if they still continue to make bigger and more expensive cameras at this point, it will be the end of Micro Four Thirds.
I hope that does not happen. It is time to revisit the past smaller, more affordable cameras, that could just be the answer.
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