- OM System announced that Songdian’s parent company Sonida has joined the Micro Four Thirds system
- Songdian is a Chinese company that makes cheap digital cameras
- New M43 Songdian brand products expected imminently
If you’re a Micro Four Thirds system user, you may have been feeling a little overlooked lately. While there have been some new cameras from OM System, such as the fantastic OM-3 and OM-5 Mark II, as well as genuinely progressive lenses, including the 50-200mm F2.8 IS Pro, there have been concerns that Panasonic may be closing its M43 division.
Lumix models like the Panasonic Lumix G9 II and Lumix GH7 remain very popular, but there has been no significant announcement from the company that launched the M43 mirrorless format since 2024.
With the news that some of the best Lumix lenses for the M43 mount are being discontinued, such as the highly praised Lumix G 20mm F1.7 ASPH, many devotees of the system will be worried about its future if one of the two biggest players on the market bows out.
If that’s you, then some news that might lift your spirits is the rumor that camera maker Songdian is about to release a new Micro Four Thirds model.
If you’ve never heard of Songdian, I don’t blame you. The mysterious Chinese company is part of a series of new players seeking to gain a foothold in the low-cost camera market. It’s a division of Shenzhen-based Sonida Technology Company, which, despite proudly promoting itself as a camera manufacturer for 16 years on its website, is largely limited to the domestic Chinese market.
It sells cameras internationally, but not on the scale of other Chinese brands like Yongnuo, Laowa and Viltrox, which make some of the best third-party lenses for major camera systems. So what could this obscure company offer established M43 shooters?
The new cheap Micro Four Thirds camera?
While details are still somewhat scarce, we can expect a new M43 model from Songdian soon. According to OM Digital Solutions, on behalf of the Micro Four Thirds alliance, Songdian has joined the group and is expected to launch new products soon. However, it may not be worth getting too excited, as Songdian products are not known for their mind-blowing quality.
The Sonida DC202, a 2024 digital camera, was even called a “fake X100” by critics and failed to impress many photography journalists in any way. The image quality was quite poor, the autofocus was exceptionally slow and not even much information was provided about the size of the sensor used. At least we can be sure of this last detail in the new camera.
It is also a mystery exactly why the M43 alliance accepted Sonida and its Songdian brand cameras. However, as long as one is positive about these things, I see an indirect benefit in increasing investment in the system, even from companies that, themselves, are unlikely to bring with them a lot of useful technology.
This news alone maintains interest in the M43 sensor format and its many (potential) advantages, when applied correctly, may encourage other more experienced brands such as the aforementioned Laowa and Viltrox to increase their lens and accessory offerings.
The company released a new preview of the camera, which also did not reveal many details other than the appearance of the Micro Four Thirds logo, confirming what we already knew. It will be interesting to see if Sonida goes all out and produces an interchangeable lens camera, which would open up access to the fairly wide range of high quality optics from Lumix and OM System, or if it will be a fixed lens model like the DC202. Obviously, the first would be the preferred option, since that camera’s lens didn’t win any awards either.
It is difficult to know what this new association can contribute. Honestly speaking, I can only see that there is an immediate advantage for Sonida, that they can add the logo to their website and advertise a new range of cameras with “large sensors” (they will be compared to their other cheap compact cameras). For the other members of the M43 system and, by extension, the purchasing public, I am not holding my breath for a camera that will revolutionize photography.
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