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Posts Tagged ‘mirrorless’

Nikon announces development of ‘industry-leading’ full-frame mirrorless system

25 Jul

Two days after publishing a teaser video, Nikon has officially announced the development of its long-awaited full-frame mirrorless system, which will use a new mount. Details are light at this point, with the only product mentioned being an F-mount adapter.

The company reaffirmed its commitment to DSLRs, saying that “Nikon will continue to lead imaging innovation with the launch of the new mirrorless camera and the continued development of Nikon Digital-SLR cameras as well as the impressive NIKKOR lens lineup. Soon, Nikon users will have two industry-leading camera systems to choose from, giving consumers the choice to enjoy the unique values that each system offers.”

More details on the new Nikon mirrorless system will be posted in the weeks to come on a dedicated website and, of course, here on DPReview.

What features are you hoping to see in Nikon’s new mirrorless system? Let us know in the comments below!

NIKON ANNOUNCES DEVELOPMENT OF NEXT GENERATION FULL-FRAME MIRRORLESS CAMERA AND NIKKOR LENSES—FEATURING A NEW MOUNT—THAT PURSUE A NEW DIMENSION IN OPTICAL PERFORMANCE

MELVILLE, NY (JULY 25, 2018 at 12:01 A.M. EDT) – Nikon Inc. is pleased to announce the development of a next-generation full-frame (Nikon FX-format) mirrorless camera and NIKKOR lenses featuring a new mount.

The new mirrorless camera and NIKKOR lenses that are in development will enable a new dimension in optical performance with the adoption of a new mount. The system is the result of Nikon’s unsurpassed optical and manufacturing capabilities gained through more than a century of imaging expertise. Proven reliability and trusted performance are core traits of Nikon Digital-SLRs, and decades of feedback from professional creators around the world has further contributed to the development of this system.

Through the development of this new mirrorless camera, Nikon reaffirms our commitment to providing photographers with the ability to capture images that are richer and more vivid than ever before.

Additionally, an F-Mount adapter is being developed that will enable the use of a wide variety of F-Mount NIKKOR lenses with the new camera.

Nikon will continue to lead imaging innovation with the launch of the new mirrorless camera and the continued development of Nikon Digital-SLR cameras as well as the impressive NIKKOR lens lineup. Soon, Nikon users will have two industry-leading camera systems to choose from, giving consumers the choice to enjoy the unique values that each system offers.

Content relating to this product is available for viewing at the following URL: http://www.nikonusa.com/mirrorlessiscoming. Please stay tuned for more information.

Details, including the release date and suggested retail prices, will be shared at a later date.

Articles: Digital Photography Review (dpreview.com)

 
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Nikon teases mirrorless with video and microsite

23 Jul

Nikon has posted a cinematic new teaser video featuring what appears to be its forthcoming mirrorless camera. The minute-and-a-half long video appears on a ‘special events’ page with the tagline ‘In Pursuit of Light’ and a promise of more content to come.

Check out Nikon’s new microsite

The first part of the video seems to be a cinematic representation of light hitting a sensor, but the last few seconds give a glimpse of the shadowy outline of a camera on a tripod. To save you the trouble, below are a couple of screengrabs from the video with brightness boosted.

There’s not much to glean from these few seconds, but from the profile view the camera clearly looks mirrorless. That’s not a surprise, considering that the industry executives we spoke to at CP+ all told us that full-frame mirrorless from the major traditional manufacturers would become the norm very soon.

What do you think?

Articles: Digital Photography Review (dpreview.com)

 
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Why Nikon and Canon should build mirrorless as a second system – but probably won’t

22 May

All rumors suggest that Canon and/or Nikon is going to get into the high-end mirrorless interchangeable lens camera market, in some way.

I don’t have any insider knowledge of this, or I wouldn’t be able to write this, but it looks pretty likely at this point. It also seems pretty likely to me that both brands will do everything to maintain compatibility with their existing lens mounts. Avoiding the need to design a whole new lens range, maximizing the value of the investment in the existing lineup and side-stepping the kind of anger that Canon generated when it abandoned its previous ‘FD’ mount (all the way back in 1987) are all major motivators.

Let’s imagine what would happen if they decided to make a system that sat alongside their existing DSLRs, rather than heralding their obsolescence

Planning for a future, F-mount compatible mirrorless camera might explain why all of Nikon’s recent lenses have finally abandoned mechanical aperture control from the lens mount, since it means they could be fully controlled by an adapter with electronic mounts.

So what’s the alternative? Let’s imagine they didn’t tie themselves to their existing lens mounts. In fact, let’s imagine what would happen if they decided to make a system that sat alongside their existing DSLRs, rather than heralding their eventual obsolescence.

What if they decided to make a system designed to be companion camera? A system that offers something your DSLR doesn’t do, rather than trying to mimic what it already does?

A small camera, designed for enthusiasts and pros to be used alongside a DSLR or in circumstances where you don’t want to lug a DSLR around. A street shooter’s camera, a carry-everywhere photographer’s camera. Let’s think about the potential benefits.

Canon’s EOS M range has drifted towards the kind of camera I’m talking about, but doesn’t have the lens range to match.

It’s not necessarily true that mirrorless promised to be smaller but, not least because it started with Four Thirds and APS-C sensors, that was one of the differentiators when MILCs first appeared. Yet the expectation that a mirrorless camera must replace a DSLR has resulted in an unfortunate convergence.

Demands (including from us) for more battery life, along with the need to handle and act as a like-for-like DSLR replacement has led to mirrorless cameras getting progressively larger. This has helped create a generation of cameras that are nearly as big as their DSLR rivals. And, with the exception of better video implementation and the mixed blessings of electronic viewfinders, little else to set them apart.

So what do you propose?

Essentially, I’m asking for a full frame, interchangeable lens Fujifilm X100. Ok, that might not sound much like an X100, but the common thread is of something relatively small, that by design, doesn’t try to do everything. A camera that will sit happily alongside your existing camera (mirrored or not).

You can cover a lot of styles of photography with a couple of short-ish prime lenses. After all, it works for Leica

As with everything photographic, it quickly comes down to a question of lenses. This is the key element to it not being a DSLR rival: don’t try to build a full lineup of lenses. I’d propose a camera with a limited number of lenses, starting with a 24mm, a 35mm a 50mm and a 90. And nothing longer than that.

This is because the size benefits that come from removing the mirror from between the sensor and the mount can only be realized with short focal lengths. Stick mainly to the shorter focal lengths and you can keep the camera and lenses smaller.

The lineup should be designed with the expectation that most people will only buy the one or two lenses that suit them. You can cover a lot of styles of photography with a couple of short-ish prime lenses. After all, it works for Leica.

Taking the long view

For me, telephoto lenses ruin mirrorless cameras. There, I’ve said it.

Telephoto lenses for mirrorless are just as long as their DSLR counterparts, so there’s no size benefit to throwing away your mirror. Worse still, these long, heavy lenses demand that mirrorless cameras develop the bulky, bulbous grips that SLRs have evolved since the 1990s.

Creating a limited, dedicated set of lenses relieves a lot of pressure. It means you don’t need to build an extensive, open-ended lens range from scratch. No tele zooms, no mid-price 24-70s. Hell, no zooms at all if you don’t want to. This is something every mirrorless maker has struggled to do, both in terms of the time it takes to flesh-out a new lineup but also because mistakes get made in any learning process. Every mirrorless system has at least one lens that either isn’t as optically good as you’d expect or that focuses much more slowly than you’d want.

For me, telephoto lenses ruin mirrorless cameras. There, I’ve said it

However, building a lineup of any size is better than building a camera with a full-depth DSLR lens mount in the name of backwards compatibility, since this condemns its users to carrying an empty mirror box around with them for eternity. And that’s a punishment with a level of pointlessness right out of Greek mythology.

Just produce a handful of great, dedicated primes that take full advantage of the new system without any compromises that come from maintaining compatibility with DSLRs. That way you don’t have to split your R&D resources trying to keep two full lineups up-to-date.

This also has the advantage that you can sell your camera to photographers with commitments to other systems, because you’re not forcing them to choose. But it still gives your existing, faithful users the benefits of full compatibility with your flash systems and other accessories, along with familiarity with your menus.

A small, self-contained system solely aimed at a subset of photographers, rather than trying to be all things to all men. A camera that complements, rather than competing with the existing lineup.

As I say, it’ll never happen. But it’d be nice, wouldn’t it?

As well as the desire to mesh with the existing lens lineups, the other reason we won’t see the camera I describe is because Fujifilm has already effectively invented it

Articles: Digital Photography Review (dpreview.com)

 
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Nikon manager confirms: New mirrorless system coming by spring 2019

01 May
Screen capture: Nikon Eye

In an interview with Japanese TV-channel NHK, a Nikon manager has confirmed the company’s new mirrorless camera system will be on the market by spring 2019. This is the first time we have given an approximate launch date after Nikon officially confirmed it was developing a new system back in July 2017.

Unfortunately, additional details are still scarce. According to the latest rumors, the new lens mount will be called the Z-mount and come with an external diameter of 49mm and a flange focal distance of 16mm.

Given the Nikon Director of Development publicly stated that any new Nikon mirrorless system would have to be full-frame, there’s good reason to assume the new cameras will indeed feature a full-frame sensor, putting Nikon in direct competition with Sony’s A7/A9 series of mirrorless full-frame cameras.

Articles: Digital Photography Review (dpreview.com)

 
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CIPA: DSLRs outperformed mirrorless in February, compact cameras still tanking

03 Apr
Photo by Federico Bottos

The February CIPA report has been published, and overall, it’s still not a pretty picture for the digital camera industry. According to the Japanese agency, overall digital stills camera shipments worldwide were down 26.6% compared to the same month last year.

The CIPA report shows overall digital camera shipments remained flat—a 27% decrease compared to the same month last year.

That’s the bad news. The good news is that most of that drop is due (once again) to the demise of the compact camera.

If you break Interchangeable Lens Cameras (ILCs) out of that picture and into its own graph, the story gets a bit rosier. ILC shipments (that’s DSLR and Mirrorless combined) were down only 5.4% compared to the same month last year—DSLR sales by themselves actually eked up 0.1%, while mirrorless sales dropped by 15.8%—and outperformed February 2016 by 17.3%.

ILC shipments actually outperformed 2016, coming up only a few percent short of last year’s February report.

To get to that overall 26.6% drop, you have to account for the whopping 44.7% drop in compact camera shipments… a sad if not surprising figure. You can see each of the percentages—overall, compacts, ILCs total, DSLRs, and mirrorless—highlighted in the chart below:

This month’s shipment numbers compared to the same figures from last month.
From top to bottom: All Digital Cameras, Compacts only, all ILCs, DSLRs only, Mirrorless only.

Taken as a whole, a weak end to 2017 seems to have led into a weak beginning to 2018. But if you look at ILC numbers by themselves, the picture is a bit less bleak. Sure, 2017 still ended on a pretty sad slump compared to 2016, but February has seen a big jump over January where, in previous years, that line has stayed flat or even seen a decline.

If March outperforms February—as is usually the case—it could mean the ILC market, least, is stabilizing a bit. And if Canon and Nikon release full-frame mirrorless cameras sometime this year, we could even see 2018 outperform 2017. Of course, that’s all speculation for now, but we’ll be keeping a close eye on the numbers in the coming months.

In the meantime, if you want to dive deeper into shipment data by region, or see how camera production did in February (DSLRs up 4%, Mirrorless down 11%), head over to the CIPA website.

Articles: Digital Photography Review (dpreview.com)

 
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Rumor: Canon full-frame mirrorless already ‘being used by select pro photographers’

24 Mar
So far, the EOS M5 is the nearest thing Canon has made to a high-end mirrorless camera.

Rumors of a Canon mirrorless full-frame camera are heating up. Just days after our own Canon interview from CP+ 2018 seemed to hint, quite strongly, that a “high-end mirrorless” from Canon is in the works, Canon Rumors is reporting that they have “confirmed from a couple of good sources” that a full-frame mirrorless Canon is indeed being tested by select pros.

The Canon Rumors report, published earlier today, claims that “a full frame mirrorless camera is well into its development cycle,” and is in fact being used by “select Canon pro photographers” in the field. This matches up with what Canon told us during our interview at CP+ 2018. Specifically, the Canon executives we spoke to said:

In accordance with the full lineup strategy, we will be tackling [the mid-range and high-end mirrorless market] going forward.

And when we asked if it was “realistic” to expect a Canon full-frame mirrorless camera within a year, their tongue-in-cheek response was:

That would be nice, wouldn’t it?

Read our full Canon interview from CP+ 2018

Canon Rumors is “very confident we’re going to see something announced before the end of Q1 in 2019,” while other outlets have predicted something for Photokina in September. Either way, as rumors and reports heat up, it seems more and more likely the industry will be getting a major shake-up in early 2019 or late 2018.

The major unanswered question is: what about lenses? Will Canon release a new lens mount with this rumored full-frame mirrorless camera—thereby taking advantage of the shorter flange distance offered by mirrorless—will the new camera be compatible with EF lenses out of the box, or will it be some sort of hybrid arrangement?

When we spoke to Canon, the company said it “can’t simply ignore the [130 million EF lenses] in the market,” but that “we’re considering the technical advancements that are possible” with a new mount. In the end, they didn’t give us anything definitive, encouraging us instead to “let your imagination suggest some possibilities.”

Articles: Digital Photography Review (dpreview.com)

 
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Venus Optics unveils Laowa 9mm F2.8 Zero-D lens for mirrorless APS-C cameras

23 Mar

Venus Optics has officially announced the Laowa 9mm F2.8 Zero-D lens: the “world’s widest F2.8 lens for APS-C mirrorless cameras.” Featuring a 113° angle of view, fast F2.8 aperture, and a Zero-D design that promises “close to zero” distortion, the 9mm (13mm equivalent) lens promises to deliver ‘extreme’ specs in a portable package that weighs just 215g.

The Laowa 9mm F2.8 Zero-D is the third lens in Laowa’s Zero-D lineup, and like the others it promises “close to zero” distortion despite its ultra-wide angle focal length. This is achieved using an optical design of 15 lens elements in 10 groups, including 2 aspherical elements and 3 extra-low dispersion elements.

From the press release:

The extreme 113° angle of view and ultra-fast f/2.8 aperture allows photographers to create impressive astro-photography shots with ease. It also gives photographers a fast and wide-angle option for landscape photography and low-light shooting.

The Laowa 9mm F2.8 Zero-D is designed for APS-C mirrorless cameras, and will ship in Fuji X, Sony E, and Canon EOS-M mounts starting in “early April,” at a suggested retail price of $ 500 USD. Scroll through the gallery below to see a few official sample photos from Venus Optics, then head over to the Venus Optics website to learn more or pre-order one for yourself.

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Press Release

Venus Optics announces the Laowa 9mm f/2.8 Zero-D, the World’s Widest f/2.8 Lens for APS-C Mirrorless Cameras

Featuring a 113° Angle of View, Ultra-fast f/2.8 aperture, close-to-zero distortion, 49mm filter thread & less than 0.5 pounds in weight, this is a perfect ultra-wide option for still & videographers.

Anhui China, Mar 21, 2018 – Venus Optics, the camera lenses manufacturer who had previously launched a number of unique Laowa camera lenses, is proud to announce the world’s widest rectilinear f/2.8 lens for mirrorless APS-C cameras, Laowa 9mm f/2.8 Zero- D.

Laowa 9mm f/2.8 Zero-D is the third member of the Laowa ‘Zero-D’ line-up and they all feature an excellent control of the optical distortion which is commonly appeared in ultra- wide angle lenses. This new lens is an ultra-wide & ultra-fast prime lens with a 35mm equivalent focal length of around 13mm. Despite the extreme specifications, Venus Optics has successfully minimized the weight of the lens to less than 0.5 pounds (215g) and 2-inch (53mm) long. This compact and light lens comprises of 15 elements in 10 groups with 2 pcs of aspherical elements and 3 pcs of Extra-low dispersion elements. This optical design successfully minimizes the distortion and chromatic aberrations to its lowest but at the same time, delivers a superb optical performance from corners to corners.

The extreme 113° angle of view and ultra-fast f/2.8 aperture allows photographers to create impressive astro-photography shots with ease. It also gives photographers a fast and wide-angle option for landscape photography and low-light shooting. For videographers, the compact size of this lens is friendly to the use of gimbals or even handheld shooting without much of shaking. The lens is designed with a 49mm filter thread which gives additional portability for screw-in filters. It comes with both Sony E, Fuji X & EOS-M mounts.

Availability

The Laowa 9mm f/2.8 Zero-D is currently available to pre-order in the official website of Venus Optics (http://www.venuslens.net/) and their authorized resellers. Recommended Retail Price in US (without tax) is USD 499/pc. Pricing may vary in different countries. The first 100 orders will get a set of Laowa 49mm filters for FREE (CPL + UV + ND1000). Shipping is expected to start from early April.

Specifications

Focal Length: 9mm

Max Aperture: F2.8

Angle of View: 113°

Format Compatibility: APS-C

Lens Structure: 15 elements in 10 groups

Aperture Blades: 7

Min. Focusing Distance: 12cm

Max Magnification: 1:7.5

Filter Thread: 49mm

Dimensions: 60 x 53mm

Weight: ~215g

Mounts: Fuij X, Sony E, Canon EF-M

Articles: Digital Photography Review (dpreview.com)

 
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Sony interview: ‘If cameras are going to develop, manufacturers have to develop mirrorless technologies’

16 Mar
Kenji Tanaka, Senior General Manager of Sony’s Digital Imaging Business Group, pictured in Yokohama for the 2018 CP+ show.

At the recent CP+ show in Yokohama, we sat down with executives from several major camera and lens manufacturers. Among them was Kenji Tanaka, of Sony. In our interview we discussed the new a7 III, as well as Sony’s plans to attract more professional users, without ignoring entry-level and APS-C customers.

The following interview has been edited slightly for clarity and flow.

What is your target customer for the new Alpha a7 III?

We describe it as a basic model but maybe our definition is different [to other manufacturers]. What we mean is that any customer can use this model. Many professionals could use the a7 III, I think. I hope that many kinds of customer will be happy with this model, so we’re not strictly defining a target customer for the a7R III.

The new Sony Alpha a7 III is ostensibly an entry-level model in Sony’s a7-series lineup but despite its relative affordability, it’s packed with features.

Sony had a very busy year last year – what are your priorities going into 2018 and beyond?

We’re displaying the 400mm F2.8 [at CP+] – of course many articles are written about the a7 III, but as well as the camera bodies, the lenses are very important. Especially lenses like the 400mmm F2.8 – sports photographers are a new category for us.

One of the most important lenses for sports photographers is the 400mm F2.8

Last year we launched the a9 and some sports photographers are already using the a9, for example at the Olympics, but one of the most important lenses for sports photographers is the 400mm F2.8. The weight is very light. Usually sports photographers use monopods because the lenses are very heavy, but the weight of our 400mm F2.8 is very light, and you can use it handheld, which makes it easy to create different kinds of photographs. We already announced the development of this lens, and the launch is scheduled for this summer.

How important is feedback from sports photographers?

It’s very important. Not only when it comes to quality, but also durability. The winter Olympics for example, with the low temperatures, whether a product works in those tough conditions is very important. Whether or not we will launch a new product, the proof of concept is very important.

For a product aimed at a hobbyist, maybe it’s less important but for the 400mm F2.8 we’re really dedicated to create a ‘monster’ lens.

Sony was showing a prototype of its forthcoming 400mm F2.8 at CP+, which Mr. Tanaka sees as an essential weapon in Sony’s arsenal of lenses if the company is going to attract professional sports photographers to the brand.

There have been questions about the weather sealing of a7-series and a9 cameras. Is this something you want to address?

In really bad conditions, in really heavy rain, will photographers keep on taking pictures [for long periods of time?] I don’t think so. In those conditions, most photographers will use some kind of rain cover. But of course durability is very important. Photographers should be able to shoot [in poor weather]. We have an internal ‘weather test’ and for each kind of customer we will aim to produce products with adequate durability.

For a professional camera, the requirement for durability is higher

Is that something that your professional users are asking for?

Yes. But we need a balance between durability, and size and weight. For a professional camera, the requirement for durability is higher, but for hobbyist kinds of camera, the priority is smaller size and lower weight.

Tamron and Sigma are now creating lenses for Sony FE – is this a good thing for Sony?

Yes, it’s a good thing. The E-mount is an open standard – anyone can create a lens for the E-mount system. Of course there are criteria for compatibility, but because we think that the E-mount is a good technology, we think that the open format is good for the market and good for customers.

Tamron’s first lens for full-frame Sony mirrorless cameras will be the upcoming 28-75mm F2.8 zoom. Sigma is planning its own range of native E-Mount primes and zooms, too.

How long will it be before Canon and Nikon join Sony and mirrorless full-frame becomes the norm?

This is just my personal opinion, but I think that maybe by next year’s CP+ you’ll see full-frame mirrorless cameras from Canon and Nikon. I think [by then] they will be participating in this market.

If cameras are going to develop, manufacturers have to develop mirrorless technologies

Just look at our technologies, like eye focus. All of those are made possible because of data from image sensors. In DSLRs, the data comes from separate sensors. The main imaging sensor is blacked out, 90% of the time by the mirror. The sensor is turned off. But the imaging sensor is very important. So if cameras are going to develop, and be able to capture the moment [more effectively], manufacturers have to develop mirrorless technologies. So within one year, I think.

Do you think we’ll see mostly mirrorless cameras at the 2020 Olympic Games in Tokyo?

Yes.

How many of those cameras do you want to be made by Sony?

Many! But the professional market is very conservative, so we’re taking it step by step. We saw some photographers using the Alpha 9 at this year’s winter Olympics but of course the majority was Canon and Nikon. But the number of Sony photographers is increasing.

The Sony Alpha a9’s innovative wide-coverage autofocus system makes it a powerful tool in the hands of an experienced sports photographer.

A lot of our readers want more Sony APS-C lenses…

We know that some people think we’ve neglected the APS-C market, but it’s just an issue of prioritization. A couple of years ago we introduced the a6500. Then the next year we introduced the a9, and the a7R III. But we think that the APS-C market, and APS-C customers are both very important, because the majority of the market is APS-C, and we’re developing many kinds of APS-C products, so please be patient – we will never ignore APS-C.

Some of your competitors keep flagship products up to date over time with firmware updates. This seems like the opposite strategy to Sony. Is this something that might change?

We’re still in the early stages of challenging the market with our products, and the new model cycle is relatively rapid, compared to our competitors. But the next step is to increase our market share. And if we want to reach new customers, we need [to make] new types of cameras.

We’re still in the early stages of challenging the market with our products, and the new model cycle is relatively rapid

Sony makes a lot of key devices, for example image sensors and processors. I’m originally an engineer. Engineers always want to provide the latest sensor, the latest processor, and so on. Maybe this is one of the reasons our product release cycle is faster than some of our competitors. [But] user-upgradable software is very important. Our new model cycle is speedy, however I think that firmware updates are something we should offer.

Editor’s note:

Our conversation with Mr. Tanaka was candid and interesting, coming in the middle of a very busy period for Sony. The company has released a lot of high-end products over the past 18 months, and shows no signs of slowing down. We don’t know how far out the new 400mm F2.8 sports lens is, but given recent sightings of at least one working prototype ‘in the wild’ at the winter Olympics, it could be pretty imminent.

Mr. Tanaka knows that Sony won’t have the full-frame mirrorless field to itself for much longer, and welcomes the competition

Mostly I came away from this interview with the strong sense that Sony isn’t planning on resting on its laurels. Mr. Tanaka knows that his company won’t have the full-frame mirrorless field to itself for much longer, and welcomes the inevitable competition from established DSLR manufacturers like Canon and Nikon, as well as third-party lens manufacturers like Sigma and Tamron. As he correctly points out, some of the most useful features to emerge in the photography market in recent years could only have been possible thanks to mirrorless technologies, and Sony deserves enormous credit for developing and perfecting many of these technologies faster than any other manufacturer.

Sony will not ignore either APS-C users, or entry-level full-frame customers

It was very reassuring to hear Mr. Tanaka stress the importance of durability, as well as technology in Sony’s high-end cameras. Concerns have been raised about the ability of some of its products to withstand use in wet conditions, but clearly this is something that the company is mindful of – especially in cameras and lenses designed for professional use.

That’s not to say that Sony is focused entirely on breaking into the professional market. Mr. Tanaka was at pains to reassure us that Sony will not ignore either APS-C users, or entry-level full-frame customers. The new a7 III is proof of the latter point – a ‘basic’ model in Sony’s terminology, but one that I suspect will satisfy the needs of many enthusiasts and even professionals.

Previous Sony interviews:

CP+ 2017 – Sony interview: ‘We need to offer new imaging experiences’

‘We want to make lenses that can be used forever’: Sony engineer discusses G Master lenses

Interview: Kimio Maki of Sony – ‘the customer’s voice is the most important data for me’

Articles: Digital Photography Review (dpreview.com)

 
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Canon CEO: ‘we will go on the offensive… in the mirrorless camera market’

14 Mar
Presentation chart from Canon’s Corporate Strategy Conference, indicating its goal to seize 50% of the interchangeable-lens camera market.

There it is, clear as day. One week after a Canon executive said in an interview that Canon is finally willing to cannibalize DSLR sales to invest in mirrorless, Canon CEO Fujio Mitarai has made an even more definitive statement during his presentation at the company’s Corporate Strategy Conference on March 6th.

A summary of Mr. Fujito’s speech can be found in this PDF, but the relevant paragraph—in which he’s talking of growing markets Canon will become more involved in—is quoted in full below (emphasis added):

Within existing businesses, there are market areas that are growing, such as color devices in MFDs and laser printers, and mirrorless in cameras. In these segments, by launching differentiated products that only we can provide, we will stimulate the market, grow our sales, and secure additional market share.

For example, in our core camera business, in addition to our overwhelming share of the DSLR market, we will go on the offensive and work to expand our sales in the mirrorless camera market, which is exhibiting remarkable growth. This will allow us to reach our goal of 50% market share of the entire interchangeable-lens camera market.

50% market share “of the entire interchangeable-lens camera market” is no small goal, and the declaration that Canon will “go on the offensive” to expand sales in the mirrorless market lends some official credence to rumors of full-frame mirrorless prototypes. It also makes this prediction by a Sony executive feel all the more prescient.

Articles: Digital Photography Review (dpreview.com)

 
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Sony executive predicts Nikon and Canon will go full-frame mirrorless within a year

13 Mar
Kenji Tanaka, Sony Senior General Manager of the Digital Imaging Business Group | Photo by Carey Rose

Earlier this month at CP+, we sat down with several camera company executives for in-depth interviews about the photo industry, trying to tease out what the future holds for the cameras and lenses of tomorrow. One of the people we spoke with was Sony’s Senior General Manager of the Digital Imaging Business Group, Kenji Tanaka, and he had an interesting prediction. He told us to look for Nikon and Canon full-frame mirrorless “by next year’s CP+.”

We’re still working on finalizing the full interview for you, but we wanted to share this tidbit right away:

One of the reasons that companies like Sigma and Tamron are creating native Sony FE lenses is that they’re looking forward to a future where full-frame mirrorless is the norm. How long will that be?

This is just my personal opinion, but I think that maybe by next year’s CP+ you’ll see full-frame mirrorless cameras from Canon and Nikon. I think [by then] they will be participating in this market.

Just look at our technologies, like eye focus. All of that data comes from the imaging sensor. In DSLRs, the data comes from separate sensors. The main imaging sensor is blanked out, 90% of the time by the mirror. The sensor is turned off. But the imaging sensor is very important. So if cameras are going to develop, and be more able to capture the moment, manufacturers have to develop mirrorless technologies. So within one year, I think.

Rumors of Nikon and Canon full-frame mirrorless cameras have been swirling for years, but no official confirmation has ever come down the pike. The best we’ve managed to get so far is this somewhat vague statement from Nikon, and confirmation that Canon is now willing to cannibalize its DSLR sales to invest in mirrorless cameras.

Obviously Kenji Tanaka does not speak for Canon or Nikon—he even made sure to mention this was his “personal opinion”—but he has a much better high-level understanding of the camera industry’s ins and outs that most of us. In other words: we take his ‘personal opinions’ quite seriously.

The latest whispers on the rumor mill claim there’s a Canon full-frame mirrorless prototype in the wild, and up until CP+ came and went, many were hoping to see a full-frame mirrorless from Nikon at the show. As we move further into 2018 and look ahead to Photokina, Photo Plus Expo, and next year’s CP+ show, maybe all of those rumors will finally start paying off.

Articles: Digital Photography Review (dpreview.com)

 
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