Originally posted by nickthetasmaniac I'm curious why anyone would think that Panasonic would want to diminish, in any way, the position of Olympus as a camera maker? If Panasonic feels threatened by having a direct competitor in the same format, then why the bloody hell did they go into the partnership in the first place?
Having both Panasonic and Olympus strong and along for the ride is probably the single most significant factor in Micro Four Thirds enjoying the market presence that it has today.
The bigger question is why Panasonic would devote any money to keep Olympus going. At one time, Panasonic had almost no digital camera presence other than point and shoots, while Olympus still had the vestiges of their SLR days hanging around. But certainly at this point, Panasonic gains nothing in terms of their camera market by keeping Olympus going.
At the same time, the medical division probably is (or at least should be) a money maker and could be a reason for another company to be interested in Olympus, even if like Hoya, they could care less whether the camera division sinks or floats.