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| Shanghai 2011 |
I hate changing lenses. I find the whole business of having to buy, carry and change lenses to be the least appealing feature of interchangeable lens camera (ILC) ownership.
I look forward to the day when all my photographic requirements will be met by one or a few cameras each having a fixed zoom lens.
If there was just one camera which could do it all that would be a welcome miracle or maybe an achievement for future technologies.
In the meantime I think that with existing technology, there are three cameras which might keep me happy.
The basic technical challenge can be summarised easily enough in two simple statements:
1. For better image quality use a larger sensor.
2. For more zoom range and wider lens aperture use a smaller sensor.
So we have the Nikon Coolpix P900 with an amazing 83x zoom range. But the sensor has a diagonal of 7.7mm, about the size of one of the buttons on the same camera. So image quality is one of the limitations of this camera (the other being performance) and many other superzoom models.
The Panasonic Lumix FZ1000 tries with some success to strike a balance between sensor size and zoom range. The sensor made by Sony has a diagonal of 15.9 mm, for substantially better image quality than the P900. But the zoom range is much less at 16x.
Each of these cameras is trying in its own way to be a ‘universal, do everything ‘ model. Neither is particularly compact so they are not looking to occupy that space in the market.
But I want some thoughtful camera maker to take a slightly different approach based on a ‘two model’ concept. Each model complements the other.
Model 1 is the indoor/low light/general purpose model with a large aperture (small f numbers) lens spanning very wide to slightly long normal range, say 20-100mm focal length equivalent (5x zoom) and f1.4-f2. The sensor would be about ‘four thirds’ size (diagonal 21.5mm).
I expect this model would be about the size of a Panasonic FZ300. Performance and operation would be geared to the expert/enthusiast/professional user.
Model 2 is the outdoor/sport/action/wildlife/birding model with a lens spanning about 35-800mm equivalent (23x zoom range) and an aperture of about f2.8-f4. This might have a ‘1 inch’ (15.9mm) sensor resulting in a camera larger than the FZ1000 or a smaller sensor around 11mm diagonal (the so called 2/3 inch size, currently used by Fuji X20 and X30 cameras) allowing for a physically smaller and/or larger aperture lens.
This model would also have performance and operation suitable for the expert/enthusiast/professional user.
A day out with the camera would usually involve taking one or the other but both would fit readily in a moderately sized camera bag.
I did say three cameras because sometimes I just want one compact sized, unpretentious camera which I can take anywhere, carry all day and with which I can get a decent photo just about anywhere.
There are in fact several existing cameras which might come close to fitting this specification.
The Panasonic LX100 has good picture quality in a compact package but would benefit from a fully articulated monitor, built in flash and maybe a few more pixels. Also I find the modern Mode Dial + Control Dial user interface ergonomically preferable to the ‘traditional’ layout found on the LX100.
The Canon G5X would come close but for its sluggish RAW and continuous focussing performance.
The Sony RX100 (3) or (4) have good image quality and a large lens aperture but their diminutive size makes them easier to carry than use. That pop up EVF would really irritate me.
The just announced Panasonic TZ100 with the same sensor as the G5X and RX100(3) but greater zoom range might also be considered in this space although the lens aperture is rather small at f2.8-6.5. At least it has a built in flash for indoors/low light.
It seems to me that each of these cameras is circling around the realisation of my ideal third camera but none has quite put it all together yet. Not to my satisfaction anyway.
We shall see what the future brings.
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