LEDE ON
Along with news comes rumors, as the camera industry tends to be pretty leaky. I don’t tend to discuss rumors much, as I prefer to deal with information about existing products, not imaginary ones (even if the imaginary is likely to become reality).
While it seems like Japan has been sleeping, it’s mostly been a nap caused by supply chain issues coupled with the fact that great camera products already exist, so making even better ones is getting tougher to do. At the moment it appears that the Tokyo's hirune is going to end with the summer, and we’ll have a fairly interesting late summer, early fall. Heck, even the Sony RX line seems to have Rip-Van-Winkled back into awakeness, with the RX100VII manufacturing seeming to renew once a USB-C connector was found, the RX1R III getting more pixels and USB-C, and now the RX10 waking up after a very long nap (see next). So, Sony has the RX for waking up (see what I did there?), does everyone else?
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News and Commentary
The Nine-Year RX10V Update
Nine years is a long time for a camera to go without an update, but not unprecedented (think Nikon D500). The interesting part of the news is that this is clearly a real update and not a facelift, as Sony has completely redesigned the body, controls, and basic UX of the older RX model to conform to their current Alpha mirrorless standard. Ironically, that makes the RX10V look less modern in style than the RX10IV it replaces.
You could almost think of the new RX10V as an A7 with a fixed lens (still 24-600mm equivalent).
Ah, you noticed the “equivalent,” which explains the “almost.”
Yes, the RX10V is still using the 20mp 1” image sensor from before, though it seems to have some new video capabilities). That smaller sensor size is what actually allows the “reasonably sized” superzoom f/2.8-4 lens that sits up front. However, alongside the image sensor now sits dual BIONZ ZR processor and a new AI chip. I always liked the RX10V except for one thing: it was a bit ponderous in focus and other performance. It appears Sony thought the same thing, as the new smarts inside the camera look to address focus in a big way, while adding additional features the original didn’t have. 30 fps raw (but no pre-capture) is one new bit some will like (assuming all 30 frames are in focus ;~).
Other new features are a full subject detection system, the ability to do 4K/60 and 120P (the latter with a crop), a USB-C port instead of micro-USB, and use of the 2x larger capacity FZ100 battery from the Alpha series.
Could the RX10V take over as the all-around camera some really hope for? No lenses to switch between, no particular type of scene that can’t be captured, whether wide landscape or small bird. Sounds good. However, along with the physical changes comes a significant pricing change. The MSRP for the RX10V update is US$2299. While nine years actually makes that look like an inflation adjustment, the new price also puts the RX10V into a price range for bigger sensor cameras that can use your existing lenses.
Now that we have the RX10V superzoom update, can we get a Nikon Coolpix P950 refresh, please? Sony has that new L910 Lytia image sensor that seems like it or something close to it would slot in pretty easily (50mp, 1/1.28, quad Bayer, LOFIC triple conversion gain HDR, etc.). Bring an EXPEED7 to the party, and it seems like that would create a pretty remarkable superzoom camera.
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First Impression
The Fujifilm GFX100RF
I held off on adding this medium format compact camera to the gear closet, but enough of you have asked questions about it and I am in the midst of trying to make my compact camera coverage on the upcoming byThom redesign more robust (I’ll also be adding Olympus Tough6, Ricoh GRVI, and bringing back some key older model reviews).
So I put in the order for a panda version—the all-black version simply looks too much like a large blob of black, bigger than even my Nikon ZR to put that into perspective—and it’s arrived at the office and into my go bag.
I’d already handled and briefly used this medium format compact camera at WPPI, so I had some idea of what to expect, and thus my initial impressions aren’t just a once-over-out-of-the-box reaction. The big impression? It’s big and heavy for a compact camera. It’s not exactly pocketable, particularly with the lens hood on, so it’s a neck-hanger or a small-bagger.
For it’s price, it suprisingly seems a little less high quality than the Fujifilm X100VI. The dials seem a little more flimsy and have a plastic feel to them, the hot shoe cover already keeps trying to work its way loose, and the rigid viewfinder eye piece is out of place at this level of camera. Fujifilm’s choice of grip cover feels slippery to me, even when dry. The EVF is grainier in low light than my Nikon Z50II, which was unexpected. Curiously, Fujifilm didn’t scale their already small buttons for this far bigger camera. That said, the build standard on the GRX100RF is otherwise on the high side, and the camera looks very nice in the panda stripping style.
First images were as expected: the 102mp medium format image sensor produces raw files that are a joy to convert, and if you’re a JPEG fan you’ve got all of Fujifilm’s film simulations in forms that’ll play well for almost any intended JPEG use, though why you need 102mp JPEGs I’m not entirely sure. With so many pixels at hand, the promotion of an aspect ratio dial (it goes to 17:6, which is panorama-like) was a smart choice by Fujifilm, and I have enjoyed playing with what I can do with that already.
One thing I don’t like is that in raw, the camera always shows and records 4:3. If you set RAW+JPEG, the aspect ratio dial comes into play and the viewfinder shows you what the JPEG will capture, but you lose what’s happening outside that area (i.e. what your raw will record). Someone punted on doing the right thing (crop marks when RAW+JPEG is set, actual crop when JPEG is set, 4:3 when RAW is set).
My primary initial reaction is this: the 40mp Fujifilm X100VI is in many ways the same notion, a high-quality, high-pixel-count compact camera with a good lens up front. The difference? Size and price (and 62mp). So my first thought is that you really need to have a reason for >40mp in a “compact” camera to justify the GFX100RF, otherwise you can save one heck of a lot of Benjamins by just picking up the X100VI, and your jacket pocket will thank you.
But I need to take the GFX100RF out for a full ride and see if there’s something I’m missing. I do like the files it creates, after all. My full review will appear when the new site design shows up late this summer or early fall.
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First Impression
TTArtisans 50mm f/1.8 Neo
At US$90 I wondered what shortcuts were made. Well, now I know. What looks like a focus ring is just knurled plastic that doesn’t rotate. In Nikon parlance, instead of being an AF/M lens, it’s an AF lens with no control ring. At least that makes putting the lens on and taking it off the camera simple, as nothing turns under your fingers as you rotate the lens. While the optics seem fine for a budget lens, the materials used do seem a little more plastic than usual.
Oh, and another interesting bit: the USB port for updating the lens is on the rear lens cap, not the lens. So the method of firmware update is: (a) make sure the rear lens cap is on the lens and properly positioned (the contacts only engage correctly if the USB port aligns with the white mark on the lens; (b) connect to your computer via a USB cable; (c) perform the update. Oh, and at the moment TTArtisan only seems to release their firmware updates for Windows computers.
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News
102mp Video Gets a Wide Lens
Fujifilm announced the 19-35mm t/3.5 PZ OIS WR lens, the second cinema lens for the GFX series cameras. When the headline says “wide”, it means wide: this new lens is equivalent to a full frame 15-28mm, so not exactly for everyone.
As usual for true cinema lenses, the branding on this new offering is Fujinon, and it clearly seems designed to show up on a lot of GFX Eterna 55 cameras. While the PZ indicates power zoom, all the rings have the usual video gearing on them, and feature long throws for precise positioning. Of course, at US$5500 (and another US$16500 for an Externa to mount it on), getting all the specialness Fujifilm claims for this lens isn’t for everyone.
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Reminder
Thom Live Online Has Returned
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, 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). The second, on July 29th, deals with our just-completed photo workshop in Botswana. It was a very different year 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 trip. Meanwhile, I'll tell you the full story about how water shapes the experience in the Okavango. Most people think you just go 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 areas 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.
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News and Comment
FCC Continues DJI Downdraft
The FCC this week went after the DJI workarounds, companies that popped up in the US with DJI clones or near clones based upon DJI technologies. Eight companies, including Xtra and SZ Knowact (Skyrover) that are the most visible “offenders,” were fined US$25,000 each for failure to respond to radio market registration requests. Additional action is an implicit threat in the fines, as they have only until July 20th to respond, at which point it is assumed that the FCC would take further action.
At the core of the FCC’s complaint are DJI's radio transmitters, which are currently blocked from being imported (due to guessed at security risks), while the company that provided the test certification for them is in the process of being disqualified as an accredited certification lab because it is partly owned by the Chinese government.
The US government hasn’t actually proven a security risk in the FCCs recent actions, it’s just assuming their might be one due to the China connection. There’s been a recent overarching US policy of denying technologies where China may be getting technology leads (batteries, solar panels, drones, electric vehicles, and so on). This is brain dead thinking, and almost guarantees that the US will fall behind in critical technologies as it tries to wall off advances by others. It also guarantees that you’ll pay more for those things than people do in other countries.
If there’s a real security risk in any of these technologies, identify it and close it. Sticking the US’s head in the sand thinking that paper bans removes risk is not the correct call. It doesn’t remove risk (other than from being visible, because your head is in the sand, after all). It doesn’t help make anything more secure. It sets up political corruption grabs that will cost you money in the long run. It’s just wrong policy, and will produce real consequences in the future.
Meanwhile, this is also a continuation of the present administration’s “look like we’re doing something” strategies. Looking like you’re doing something is not the same as doing something. I’ll remind people that Congress passed a law directing the government to direct an audit of DJI’s drones, which it never did. Instead, it simply let a deadline pass and then imposed a paper ban based upon their own inaction. Yep, it looks like they’re doing something. Nope, they’re not really doing anything (existing drones in the US aren’t banned, so if there was a real security risk, it’s still there).
I’ll put it bluntly: some of the best innovation in camera design is now coming out of China. Because that relies upon communication (radio waves) to mobile devices, it’s now possible US citizens will not see the next great future camera. This is the way empires die: they try to wall themselves off from competition.