In a recent interview with DPReview, Olympus VP of Sales and Marketing Aki Murata laid out the company’s market position quite eloquently, explaining why Olympus intends to compete in a camera market that is increasingly focused on full-frame.

The central premise for this strategy is the belief that full-frame might not be the best option for all consumers at the end of the day.

Specifically, he said: “Because of this recent full-frame trend, there’s always this discussion. In the US, full-frame is 18% of the market, by volume. This time last year people were saying it would be 30% or 50% but I don’t think it will happen. Full-frame isn’t for everybody. It’s important for all photographers to think about what matters to them. If what’s really important is portability, we’re confident that they’ll pick [the E-M5 III or E-M1 II] as their first option.”

Mr. Murata explained that, while there is “a very strong mindset in the US that bigger is better […] the size of the sensor does not determine the cost of the product or the quality of the picture.”
The company believes that the ability to hand-hold a 2000mm equivalent lens is, simply put, revolutionary. “I truly believe that the 150-400mm lens will change the world. It is really good,’ he tells DPReview’s Barney Britton, “and I can’t wait to show it to you.”

Murata acknowledges that, in the past, Micro Four Thirds probably wasn’t ideal because of issues with image noise. He explains, “One day, I don’t know when technology will catch up and some of the disadvantages we have today will not be disadvantages any longer. And when those disadvantages are gone, what is left are smaller physical size and weight, and the quality of our lenses. And image stabilization. Today there are some people that really need bigger sensors, but this will not always be the case in the future.”

The full interview dives much deeper into this philosophy, and if you want to understand why Olympus is sticking to Micro Four Thirds while others have chosen to diversify into full-frame (Panasonic) and medium format (Fuji) on the high end, Mr. Murata offers probably the best defense of their position that we’ve read.

Read the full interview on DPReview’s website.