LEDE ON
You probably thought I was done writing about tariffs. Sure, the courts overturned the Section 122 tariffs and companies (but not you) have started getting rebates, but the Trump Administration has since imposed additional tariffs under Section 301. Section 122 tariffs were 10% to all countries with a trade deficit to the US, while Section 301 tariffs are 12.5% to 60 countries using forced labor (many dispute this).
However, there’s now a Trump Playbook in effect at retail. The key play: before tariffs take effect increase your imports so that you have adequate inventory for the foreseeable future and courts get involved again. The idiocy of the recent US trade policies are thus revealed in this latest round: retailers basically are increasing the trade deficits in their sectors short term, which, of course, supposedly someone in DC wanted decreased instead. Can you say “own goal”?
Still, in case you haven’t noticed, the camera companies took the last tariff opportunity to increase their list pricing for many items. As a company, you don’t get many chances to raise pricing and not be the entity that customers complain about. The new higher pricing coupled with tariff rebates from last round have allowed what looks like big discounts. For example, a Nikon Z8 now lists at US$4300 and currently features a US$800 discount. Yet when it came out it was US$4000, thus today’s discounts are really a net of US$500.
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Commentary
Blah
One question I see more and more people asking with each new camera introduction is “what are we really gaining?” The days of clear feature or body form gains seem to be mostly over for the moment (at least out of Japan). Yes, more pixels, additional dynamic range, faster frame rates, and better focus performance is pretty much what every press release seems to say these days. But what is the tangible use gained from these?
Most of it seems to be what I call “moving the margins.” For example, virtually all current cameras can record the full dynamic range of 95% of scenes when set properly. So what if the margin moves to 97% with some dynamic range “breakthrough.” Meanwhile, the most common usage bars are 16mp stills and 4K video. All current cameras can achieve those. Getting to 68mp stills or 8K video full frame sounds impressive—and again, I’ll always take more sampling all else equal—but for the most part I see it wasted by the vast majority of users. They’re buying horsepower they don’t need and might never truly use.
The most significant thing it appears most people are gaining these days is points or miles on their credit card. So sure, if buying a new camera helps you jet off to an exotic location to photograph, go for it. Just realize that you’re no longer in the pragmatic camera user category, but in some new elite 1% of image takers.
It also strikes me that we’re in a period where customers are confused. What camera makers are doing with new products is just confusing them more.
First off, we have those Worshipers of More I just mentioned. These customers think larger numbers are the thing that makes a new product better. More pixels, faster frame rates, more dynamic range, ad infinitum. Most folk of this congregation respond with their wallet to more, which ironically, makes what’s in their wallet less.
You have to ask yourself at some point “what am I doing (or going to do) with my photos?” For Web work, 2mp is enough (1920x1080). Indeed, if you start trying to push more then you slow the site showing the image down and you’re past the lowest common denominator display needs. For a great two foot wall print, 24mp is more than enough (6000x4000) and has been for some time, as print technologies hide really low level pixel issues due to ink spread, among other things. So what is it you’re doing?
The same thing is true on the video side. FullHD (1920x1080) is the lowest common denominator output and keeps file and transmit sizes manageable. 4K (3840x2160) is basically the top end of what anyone is going to display these days, even Hollywood. Anything more starts to get very costly. Sure, Netflix, Disney et.al., want us to record in 6K or 8K for them to “future proof” the work, but are you Netflix or Disney?
So what exactly is it you’re trying to accomplish with your images? Do you need anything more than something like a Z6III to do that?
Yes, I can find small things that the newer, better, “more something” cameras have that’s interesting and technically takes possible quality up a notch. I report those things regularly in my reviews. But have you noticed something consistent in my reviews of digital cameras over the past 21 years? That “How’s it Handle?” section is where most of the meat is, and time after time I find myself complaining about usability or access issues, not the number of pixels, the frame rate, or the things that made the camera new and “better than before.”
Japan Inc has tried a number of times to put some marketing behind the usability aspect of a product, mostly to ultimate failure. In doing so—and probably the primary reason their marketing failed—they rarely try the “we listened to our customers and fixed the discovery, usability, accessibility, and convenience problems they told us about” line. That’s partly because they don’t actually know how to listen to customers, but also partly because engineering isn’t about design at most product makers. Tokyo needs to read my Good Design, Good Images article and do a thorough self-examination afterwards.
Many of you will remember that I’ve lambasted people who said a camera made photography fun for them. On the Interwebs I’m known as a Fun Hater. But I’m actually not. The word they’re looking for is “enjoyable.” When was the last time you said you enjoyed using your camera? Because that, too, goes along with what you’re trying to accomplish with your images. You should have a goal for your imagery, and you should enjoy using the tools that help you achieve that goal.
To my point of view, the camera makers have lost sight of user goals, and is constantly trying to just churn updates and upgrades and dangle them in front of customers hoping to reel in cash. Many of the customers, too, have lost sight of both those things. You should enjoy taking photos, and the gear you use should help you do that, not become a biannual tithe to Tokyo.
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Reminder
Thom Live Online Returns
At the end of this month, my teaching partner Mark Comon and I will have two free online presentations (presentations will be recorded for those of you who can’t make it to the actual session, but you have to sign up to get the recording).
The first presentation, on July 28th, is all about the Nikon ZR as a still photography camera. Discover what Nikon never promoted (that the ZR is a very good still camera, but needs attention to how you set it up for that). We even have a ZR present for those that register, plus a drawing for SmallRig add-ons, free byThom books, and an exclusive t-shirt.
The second presentation, on July 29th, deals with our just-completed photo workshop in Botswana. It was a very different year in 2026 in Botswana, with the primary park completely closed to tourism due to the high water levels caused by this season’s record rains. I’ll be talking about how water defines and refreshes the Okavango, and Mark will be talking about how adventure travel is sometimes actually adventure. But don’t worry. Animals were not harmed in the massive flood, they just moved out of the way, which introduced plenty of new opportunities for those that accompanied us on this year's trip. Meanwhile, I'll tell you the full story about how water shapes the experience in the Okavango. Most people think you just go to Africa for the lions and other predators. But do you know the reason why those predators are actually there in the first place? Turns out that elephant poop, papyrus, where hippos walk, and a host of other odd things all play key roles in defining why the Okavango is one of the best wildlife viewing habitats in the world. I promise there will be no pop quiz at the end, but you’ll still probably want to retain the information I present.