January 31
New Fujifilm Entry Cameras, Lens. The rollouts leading up to the big Japan trade show at CP+ starting March 1st have begun. First out of the gate is Fujifilm with the Bayer sensor X-A5 and X-A20, plus a new very compact 15-45mm f/3.5-5.6 lens. Article on sansmirror.com. X-A5 data page. X-A20 data page. 15-45mm f/3.5-5.6 data page.
January 30
Sweet and Sour. Looking at the numbers, I shot far more in 2017 than in previous years, and for a broader range of uses across a broader range of cameras. That much shooting with gear found me pondering something as I started this year: which gear did I continue to find "sweet" for my uses, and which did I "sour" on? Nikon DSLRs and lenses in this round. Article on dslrbodies.com
January 29
Nikon Mirrorless Rumors. Everyone seems to want to know what I've heard about upcoming Nikon mirrorless efforts, so I thought I'd describe that all in one place. I felt that this was necessary especially because all of the Internet discussions I seem to encounter have mostly centered around something different than what I hear Nikon will deliver first. Article on sansmirror.com
January 24
Who's Number 1 This Month? Last year it was Sony trumpeting that they had the most sales. Of full frame ILC cameras. By value. In the US. In a few very carefully selected months that happened to not have Canon or Nikon sales going on. Yesterday it was Nikon trumpeting that they had the most sales. Of full frame ILC cameras. By units and value. In the US. In the month of December. Article on dslrbodies.com
January 22
What's Still Hot? Here we are post holiday shopping and waiting for the next round of new and exciting camera products to drop. This is the perfect time to discuss what's still hot, and what has cooled considerably. And then discuss what "hot" actually means. Article on dslrbodies.com
When Does Mirrorless Supplant DSLR? It seems a post I made on an Internet forum last week rattled a few cages. Basically I predicted that mirrorless sales would equal DSLR sales in 2020. That was a conservative prediction. Article on sansmirror.com
January 16
D850 Blog continues with announcement of 1.01 firmware update.
Leica has added two lenses for their SL mirrorless camera: 75mm f/2, 90mm f/2
January 15
Cheap Cameras, More Shipments. Because the Japanese control virtually all of the dedicated camera market—Hasselblad, Leica, and Phase One are almost a rounding error in camera volume—and because the Japanese tend to mimic one another, we had an interesting 2017. Article on dslrbodies.com
Nikon's 2018. Last week I described what I expect from Canon in 2018, it's time to do the same for Nikon. Whereas Canon's year should be mostly iteration with one big new reveal, Nikon's should be the opposite. There might not be an iteration at all for Nikon this year; just big reveals. Article on dslrbodies.com
January 11
Nikon Says Consumers Buy US$12,400 Lenses. Nikon used the Consumer Electronics Show to launch the new AF-S 180-400mm f/4E TC1.4 FL ED VR lens. Wow, that's US$2000 an acronym, nearly a record for a consumer product ;~). Article on dslrbodies.com
WWTD? (What Would Thom Do?). I’ve now written for over a decade about what I would have been doing to keep cameras relevant to modern times. If you haven’t read my original diatribe (or updated versions of the original 2007 post) about needing Communicating, Programmable, and Modular cameras (CPM), it would probably be wise to do so. Article on dslrbodies.com
Canon's 2018. Canon and Nikon are probably the most predictable of the camera companies. At least in DSLRs. Both have long-established patterns of updating products and launching new products. In looking at Canon’s digital past, you can see a number of interesting things. Article on dslrbodies.com
An Interesting Thing About Updates. You might notice that I keep a last six-month firmware update list on the news pages (right column, below ads). In keeping this list current over the last few years, I've been starting to notice something: the cameras that are important and with longer future legs are the ones that tend to appear in that list. Article on sansmirror.com
Panasonic Copies the Sony S. Panasonic today announced an "s" version of the GH5, essentially replicating what Sony did with the A7s: lower megapixel count coupled with design changes to make the pixels perform better in low light. Article on sansmirror.com. GH5S camera data page.
Sony 18-135mm f/3.5-5.6 OSS E-type lens for APS-C cameras.