Photokina 2016 What I wanted
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| This is the camera I want to see replacing the Panasonic LX100. It fits nicely in a Lowe Pro Portland 30 belt pouch but is a fully featured Proper Camera with a full set of controls for streamlined use by an expert/enthusiast photographer. It could use either a "one inch" or "Four thirds" sensor and in either case have a collapsing lens with a much wider aperture than you could mount on an ILC of comparable size. |
The camera world is facing challenges to its very existence as never before.
What do I want from the camera makers ? Of course in my dreams I want an all-in-one camera which can do absolutely everything without having to carry and change lenses and which fits in a small belt pouch.
A little more realistically I have realised that an approach which I can live with is based on two cameras, each with a fixed zoom lens.
One is a compact camera with a large lens aperture for indoor pictures without flash, which I prefer not to use.
The second is a superzoom model for outdoor use.
What have I got ? Currently my indoor camera, which of course works perfectly fine outdoors, is a Sony RX100(4). This camera makes very good pictures and I suppose I should be happy with it. But it is not a particularly nice camera to use. The controls are cramped and fiddly and the pop-up-pull-out-push-back-push-down EVF gets more irritating the more I use it.
My outdoor camera is a Panasonic FZ1000. This is the best all-in-one camera I have ever owned and the two copies in our family are working just fine.
What upgrades would I like to see ? In the indoor camera department I would like to see either a model similar to the just announced LX10 but with a built in EVF and a better set of controls or a slightly larger model like the mockup shown in this post. This could have a proper handle, larger EVF and more enthusiast oriented controls. This could be thought of as an upgrade and reworking of the LX100 concept. I am still waiting to see if Panasonic decides to produce an LX100 successor.
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| Rear view of the mockup LX100 replacement which I would like to see. |
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| Front view of mockup Lumix LX100 replacement as I would like to see it. |
For the outdoor model I wanted to see an upgraded FZ1000 with a lens equivalent to that in the Sony RX10 (3). The Sony RX10(3) is actually smaller than either the FZ1000 or FZ2000 even though it has a lens with more zoom and a wider aperture than either of the Panasonics.
So why don’t I simply get an RX10(3) and stop grumbling ?
Because the RX10(3) has only plain contrast detect AF (no DFD, no PDAF) and has been reported by users to have some problems focussing at the long end of the zoom and on moving subjects. In addition this camera has a control layout which I do not favour at all.
For a mainly stills shooter like myself the FZ2000 offers little inducement to upgrade from the FZ1000. In terms of specifications the main upgrade feature is a 20% longer lens at the cost of 1/3 stop aperture and an Australian MRRP of $1699. This will probably go to market about $100 less which I consider a very reasonable price for this highly specified camera but for an existing FZ1000 owner the upgrade looks less appealing.
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| This is the camera I wish Panasonic had made instead of the LX10 and Sony instead of the RX100 series. It fits easily in a Lowe Pro Portland 20 pouch but is a fully featured Proper Camera with a full set of controls for the expert/enthusiast user. |
Other brands In recent times I have found little to interest me from brands other than Sony and Panasonic.
Canon has the G7X (2) but this has no EVF and a not-so-good lens. The G5X could work as my indoors/general purpose/walkabout camera if it had a better lens and much better performance especially with RAW capture. The G3X has no EVF on a 25x zoom and sluggish performance making it useful for distant statues perhaps but not much else. As a former long time Canon user I am very disappointed with Canon’s relentlessly mediocre current offerings
Nikon appears to have gone AWL in the fixed zoom lens camera department and none of the other makers is offering anything of interest to me or in several cases anything at all.
What about an ILC ? Panasonic has at last released the definitive M43 G camera in the form of the G80/85. If I were still interested in owning an ILC and doing the interchangeable lens thing, this model would be very appealing.
But none of the lens options make much sense for me.
For the indoors I would be looking at the Lumix 12-35mm f2.8. But at the wide end that is two stops slower than the LX10. The only way to get wide aperture lenses is to use primes. This has no appeal to me at all as it is expensive and puts me back on the changing lenses treadmill. Been there, done that.
At the wide end of the zoom (34mm equivalent) I can use the LX10 at ISO 800 when the G80 with 12-35mm would need ISO 3200. On my tests recent M43 cameras offer about 2/3 to 1 stop better high ISO noise performance than current “one inch” sensors so the compact wins here.
For outdoor use I would be looking at the Lumix 14-140mm but that has a very limited zoom range compared to the FZ models and a smaller lens aperture. I have used this lens on M43 and see no advantage over the FZ1000 in picture quality or anything else.
So Photokina 2016 has been rather a non event for me. The products which appear to have attracted most interest from the press commentariat are prestige medium format models from Hasselblad and Fuji. These may attract the interest of wealthy enthusiasts as status symbols but will be of little interest to camera users who want to enjoy the process of making good photos.
These cameras seem to me like Lamborghinis at the motor show. The masses go ooh—aah and a very small number of wealthy status conscious individuals actually buy one. The manufacturer stays in business because the price for each vehicle is so high. The cars themselves are impractical things which have difficulty negotiating the smallest bump or gutter.
I guess Hasselblad with its long history in medium format and prestige brand name might make this work. But Fuji ? We shall see.
