Sept 30
Are Customers Asking for Too Much? I've long held to a simple design philosophy: customers are terrible product designers. If you ask a customer what to change on or add to a product, you'll get answers. Those answers may not make for a better product. Article on dslrbodies.com
Sept 25
Canon introduced the EOS M200 mirrorless entry camera. I've also updated a number of support documents in the Camera section of sansmirror.com, including the tables of model introductions.
Sept 23
Coming Next. Curiously, it appears that we're going to have a number of new camera introductions between now and the end of October. One or two might spill into November. Article on dslrbodies.com
Are Camera Shows Dead? Here we are with one of the larger camera shows in the US just ahead—PhotoPlus Expo in New York City in October—yet Photokina 2020 this past week sent a press release that indicated that they've lost appearances by three key camera companies (Leica, Nikon, and Olympus). Article on dslrbodies.com
Sept 18
Is it Time to Replace Your Camera? I've had advice on when to upgrade your Nikon DSLR (and to what model) for some time now. I'm going to have to start revisiting that again soon with more advice on whether an upgrade should be a DSLR or a mirrorless camera. But I came across an article in another field the other day that had me having an Aha! moment of simplification. Article on dslrbodies.com
Also: I've completely updated my Missing Items in Each Mirrorless System article on the sansmirror.com site. This article deals with key elements that I feel are missing in each mirrorless mount. Besides updating the material that was already there, I've added mounts that weren't in the previous version of the article (e.g. Canon R, Fujifilm GF, Nikon Z).
Sept 16
Will the Drawbacks Go Away? I've been clear for some time that mirrorless is the way virtually all interchangeable lens cameras will go. Again, the reason is that mirrorless designs reduce parts and manufacturing complexity, and thus cost for the manufacturers. Indeed, the clear future transition to mirrorless was one reason why I split my Web presence to create this dedicated mirrorless site back in 2009. Lately there's been a lot of discussion about whether the DSLR is dead and mirrorless is the future. Well, here's the short version: No, DSLRs are not dead, and yes, mirrorless is the future. Article on sansmirror.com
Sept 12
Fujifilm introduced a new version of the X-A camera I've liked as an entry APS-C mirrorless, the X-A7. Several of the deficiencies of that camera have been addressed.
Sept 10
A Nikon Mirrorless Safari. During my month off in August I journeyed to Africa with a couple of friends on a low-key, no expectations trip. I chose to do an experiment this year, as I often do when I travel for pleasure instead of a work-specific purpose: I decided to shoot entirely using Nikon mirrorless. In particular, a Nikon Z6 and Z7. No D850, no D5, just two Z's and two lenses. Article on sansmirror.com
Do We Need a 120-300mm f/2.8? No sooner had Nikon pre-announced the new 120-300mm f/2.8 lens I started getting the questions about whether we need this lens or not. Of course, part of that is driven by the fact that we already have such a lens, from Sigma. But several of the questioners were seriously questioning the "tweener" focal range. Article on dslrbodies.com
Sept 9
Do We Need a D6? Now that Nikon has officially acknowledged that the D6 is coming, and likely well in time for the 2020 Olympics, the question is simple: do we need it? Article on dslrbodies.com
The More is Better Problem. I've long been on record as writing (and saying) that more sampling is always better. Put in a camera context, more pixels are better, all else equal. Recently I've gotten some pushback on that from engineers who are at the forefront of semiconductors. I need to adjust my statement ever so slightly, I believe: we're currently still in the more sampling is always better phase. Article on dslrbodies.com
Sony's 3.7 micron Sensors. Jim Kasson, someone I correspond with from time to time behind the scenes, was the first one I know of to post this, but it's something I had noted earlier and wondered whether or not it was worth speculating on: Sony Semiconductor now has four different sensor sizes with much the same pixel structure and technology. Article on dslrbodies.com
Sept 4
Nikon Pre-announces the D6. Someone's getting a little antsy in Tokyo. Announcing the development of the D6 by press release seems like another of those Nikon "we need to announce something" announcements. Article on dslrbodies.com
Nikon announced the 24mm f/1.8 S lens for the Z cameras.
Sept 1
APS-C Gets Some Love (but not marketing). Just before my month-long break I caught up with the mirrorless market by putting out three reviews of various Fujifilm APS-C cameras (X-T30, X-T3, X-H1). When I posted those and ran off into the bit-less wilds for a much needed break, I knew it wouldn't be long before the APS-C wars began heating up. Article on sansmirror.com
2019 Starts Badly. The CIPA numbers for the first half of the year are available, and they're not very positive. DSLRs are selling at only two-thirds the rate of 2018, and even mirrorless unit volume is down 14%. Lens sales are down, compact sales are down, everything's down. Article on dslrbodies.com