We are finally getting some clue about the next big new Mirrorless Camera Announcements:
Olympus:
Olympus will unveil a new E-M5 successor with new body design the first week of February!
Sony:
Sony will be the first camera maker to launch a new Sony FE A9 camera aimed for the professional market. The worlds first attempt to kick Canon and Nikon’s ass 🙂
Can’t wait to see new Sony!
5 Responses
If em5 is rangefinder style, has new sensor with higher iso performance and higher mp, and costs like present em5, it could be very interesting indeed.
As to sony, I think a9 has to feature an af on par with the best dslr alternatives, to gain interest. And a price way lower than those, given the few native lenses available.
M4/3 is now a dead end, it wont be long before Panasonic jumps out of the boat. With the popularity of FF and the silly M4/3 prices, the future is there to see.If the new high end Sony features that patent of the moving sensor for AF, allowing the camera to use any old or new manual focus lens, then Canikon should be worried. Having a competitor that uses their lenses without any mount patent infrigement is a nightmare. My Nex7 is fed mainly on Nikkor lenses, some FD glass and the occasional Konica KM, and the camera becomes a completely different beast. Having that possibility in FF, plus AFwould be a dream come true.
I think you are a bit short sighted. Technology is moving to smaller, more streamlined solutions that are flexible and offer tons of features in one small package. This is why more people own a ultrabook or small laptop as their main computer instead of a big, desktop machine.
Just like phones gobbled up the P&S market, so too will smaller sensor cameras gobble up a bigger portion of the enthusiast and pro market. I’m not saying its there right now, but as sensor tech progresses and we reach serious diminishing returns on practical image quality, you’ll see more and more people moving to systems that are smaller overall. Its already happening as some pros already use m43’s and many videographers use the GH4 at least as a B-roll camera.
I don’t believe Panasonic is going anywhere soon, the GH4 is selling very well and they just extended their contract with Leica. I’m not saying that the Pana system is on par with a Nikon or Canon, but it’s acceptable for most hobbyists, at 1/3 of the price for both bodies and lenses, that’s huge for many shooters.
I own the EP5 and now the A7- lots of glass on both ends. The A7 is practically the same size as the EP5- it’s crazy how small they’ve made the full frame cameras. Few things:
1) I still believe Olympus appeals as a secondary system. It’s not expensive depending on what you choose to use. Buy the 45, 25 and 9-18 for instance and a body for under 2k easily. That’s dirt cheap- maybe even cheaper if you get a lower end body.
2) Sony’s A7 lenses are expensive, but non-native options are as cheap as you want them to be. You can now grab a body slightly used for around 1200 or less- which is ridiculous. There are also lenses that are just as small or close to Olympus sized lenses if you so choose- al beit it at slower speeds. Then again, the option for shallower DOF is there- you can’t back track with M43.
3) I don’t think Olympus is dead, far from it. But I do think- with prices continuing to drop- it can only get more competitive and harder to justify spending big chunks of change on M43 when FF is now totally within reach. Most of the vintage lenses out their are FF- which makes using these cheap options more viable for an actual full frame camera. Just my two cents.