Almost certainly the most important camera of 2020 – who’ll release the most important camera of 2021? 2020 was a relatively slow year for cameras, with the (very) notable exception of Canon’s EOS-R5 and R6. We had a couple of small and light cameras for their sensor size, neither perfect, but both pointing in interesting directions. We had a couple of cameras adding … [Read more...]
Year in Review, Year Ahead part 1
Let’s take a long look forward and back – 2020’s Lens of the Year, the Sony 200-600mm f5.6-6.3, has some magnification 2020 has been a strange year for the camera industry – the pandemic has exacerbated trends that were already underway, and there are new trends emerging. We are probably going to lose a camera manufacturer or two (no, not Nikon or anybody else big like … [Read more...]
State of the Business – What we know and what we don’t
Flop? Not so fast – Nikon’s actually selling a very respectable number of Z6s and Z7s, given that they’re upper-end full-frame cameras. There have been some numbers floating around online (from an article in the Japanese business publication Nikkei.com), showing shipment rankings for 2019 among the leading camera companies. Nikkei numbers show shipments (not necessarily … [Read more...]
Sony’s new full-frame baby, Nikon lenses and an Apple fizzle
The Sony A7C – looks a lot like an A6000, but it’s full frame. This one is in their handsome platinum color. Sony just introduced the A7C, which they’re calling the smallest and lightest fully-functional full frame mirrorless camera on the market today. They are quite careful to put conditions on their claim that exclude the Sigma fp, which is significantly smaller and … [Read more...]
Kings of the Mirrorless Hill – Part 2: Systems and Companies
In part 1 of this article, we looked at the Nikon Z7 and Sony A7r IV in their competitive landscape. This part will look at the Z7 and the A7r IV in their respective systems – lenses, batteries, cards, flash and other accessories, and at the future of the two systems. Neither one has everything available that any photographer might want, and both have advantages and … [Read more...]