I received an email today from OM Digital Solutions that provided a link to a beautiful, digital magazine OM, and its first issue… Closer to Nature. This special edition features a brief message from Aki Murata, the Chief Operating Officer of OM Digital Solutions. It indicates some of the plans that OM Digital will be pursuing, including some unspecified additions to the product roadmap.
The magazine has a wonderful collection of images created by 12 different professional photographers from around the world. If you go to page 68 you’ll notice that OM Digital Solutions has included a section of OM Native Language articles. This shows that the company is taking an interesting global approach with its marketing.
Looking at the front cover, it would appear that this is the launch edition of OM digital magazine. Some front page details indicate that this may be a quarterly publication. If it is… I will be anticipating future issues!
The photography throughout this digital magazine is worth examining. You may also enjoy reading the background stories on each of the professional photographers featured in Closer to Nature. Details on their gear and how some of the images were captured is worth a read.
I know there has been a lot of negativity on the internet about the sale of the Olympus Imaging division to OM Digital Solutions. Many people have assumed the worst.
Some Olympus owners have been unsure about how serious OM Digital Solutions would be in terms of its commitment to OM-D and M.Zuiko products. Others have wondered about how aggressive and strategic OM Digital Solutions would be with its branding and marketing.
If this first issue of OM, Closer to Nature, is any indication… we can look forward to a very different, and more aggressive marketing stance from OM Digital Solutions.
As I had anticipated in an earlier article, the comment from Aki Murata indicates that the company will be utilizing a niche market differentiation strategy with emphasis on bird, wildlife and macro photography. These are genres where the advantages of the M4/3 format can be effectively leveraged.
As you take some time to read OM Closer to Nature you will be treated to a wide selection of outstanding photographs that illustrate the capabilities of OM-D cameras and M.Zuiko lenses.
The fact that OM Digital was able to produce this beautiful and extensive marketing piece so soon after taking control of the Olympus Imaging division speaks volumes about its clear commitment and strategic approach to the photography market.
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A great surprise and a beautiful magazine, this looks promising!
It certainly is Kai! I’m looking forward to future issues from OM Digital.
Tom
I also received the “Closer To Nature”. I agree with you, It is a very good read. I also think that it is good that Olympus is advertising their commitment to mft. Thanks for including it in your email for others to see.
Thanks for adding to the discussion Robert! When I received “Closer to Nature” I was blown away by. Not because of the image quality… I already knew what was capable with OM-D/M.Zuiko gear. I was amazed that OM Digital Solutions could produce something of this high quality so soon after taking over the Olympus Imaging division. I’ve worked on PR/advertising projects of this type in my corporate days and the amount of work to plan and execute something like this very significant.
Tom
Hi Tom,
It’s a pleasure to read, the production quality of “OM” is high. But I wonder if they missed another mag with the same name: OM (“Other Minds”). Being a journalist and mag publisher by profession, I always look at the impressum, a legal must for any serious publication. To me it looks like PR, or maybe what we call a “test ballon” here in Germany to test the water for the real thing. It is superb, but in my view it is not journalism.
Hi Stefan,
I think we should perceive this as an advertising or public relations initiative, or perhaps an “in-house publication” by OM Digital Solutions. I don’t think this detracts from its value as a showcase for photographs created using OM-D and M.Zuiko products.
Tom
Hi Thomas,
I, like you, was pleasantly surprised and excited by this publication. As you say, it speaks volumes in terms of the future of this organization and the gear we both love. I had another surprise today ..my 100-400mm lens arrived. I have to say that in the many years I have been shooting digital cameras, I have not found a better constructed lens. Beautiful craftsmanship..Olympus cameras are alive and well!
Hi Glen,
I imagine that many other Olympus owners will have the same reaction as we did with the publication. You’ll enjoy shooting with the 100-400!
Tom