Sony is set to announce a camera that’s the “one never seen”. We know it is the Sony ALPHA a1.
At a glance:
Preorder at $6,498 at B&H Photo | Adorama
Sony ALPHA a1 announcement live stream:
Sony ALPHA a1 press release after the break
Camera sales are going to drop by around 8% compared to the figures of 2010. The prediction comes from a Canon executive.
Mr. Tsuyoshi Tokura, Canon’s imaging division general manager, gave an interview to Japanese camera website Toyokeizai. He says some rather interesting things there, for instance that 8K video was added to the EOS R5 only for marketing reasons. Another article on Toyokeizai cites Mr. Tokura predicting an 8.2% drop in camera sales.
Mr. Tsuyoshi Tokura predicts annual worldwide shipment of digital cameras with figures below 10 million units for th next years. Reasons for this steady decline in sales figures are seen primarily in smartphones, and then also came the Covid-19 pandemic.
It was a really sharp drop, and sales and purchasing activities stopped, and (sales) were bottoming out […] a large deficit when looking at the digital camera business alone (Takeshi Tokura)
2020 was a difficult year for the camera industry and Canon acknowledges it. In the ever-shrinking camera market only mirrorless cameras are selling well. Canon knows that, and points out the Canon EOS R5 is a best seller (as is the EOS R6).
[via Digicame-Info]
It seems the Canon PowerShot PICK, Canon’s first AI-augmented photo camera for consumers will be released within days.
DC Watch reports that peorders for the Canon PowerShot PICK will start January 29th, 2021. Japanese crowdfunding platform Makuake is where preorders can be placed. It’s not Canon’s first concept camera.
The Canon PowerShot PICK can autonomously decide when to shoot a photo, for instance by recognizing a person’s face expression (smile). Canon touts this as a feature able to capture family photos at the right time. The lens can even move up or down, left or right, and zoom, all done automatically and driven by artificial intelligence. Needles to say, the camera comes with filters, a dedicated app, and all kind of sharing functionality. The Canon PowerShot PICK body is 90mm in height, and 60mm in width and depth.
So far these are the rumored specifications:
A video taken at The Photography Show in 2018 shows the camera.
More to come soon.
The old Canon EOS R5 polemics are getting a heads up from a Canon exec. It’s about 8K video and why it was featured on the EOS R5.
In an interview with Japanese camera website Toyokeizai, Mr. Tsuyoshi Tokura, Canon’s imaging division general manager, said something rather interesting about 8K video on the EOS R5 (emphasis mine).
I don’t think video-focused users are driving the reputation of this new product. However, I was particular about the spec of 8K, and I was enthusiastic to put it out first, ahead of other companies. We have been making efforts to improve video performance at the same time as still images. Naturally, this new product has significantly improved still image performance, and I am not strongly conscious of giving it a big mission to attract video users
The second part I put in emphasis is the interesting part. Although something might have been lost in machine translation from Japanese, it seems to say “the only reason we put 8K on the EOS R5 was to be ahead of competition“. It really sounds that way.
He also seem to say that the commercial success of the Canon EOS R5 was mainly due to the name and the hype built around the camera.
“First of all, it has high performance and strong product appeal. The timing of the release was also great. The camera market has bottomed out significantly since spring, and we were able to launch new products when it recovered. In some respects, the return of the market was a tailwind.”
Mr. Tsuyoshi Tokura seems quite optimistic about the mirrorless market:
The EOS R5 is a professional product, and the price is quite high. Not only the body but also the (sales of) interchangeable lenses for full-size mirrorless cameras are growing steadily, and I feel that it shows the solidity of the R serie
Guess this interview will stir up new polemics about the Canon EOS R5.
Canon EOS R5 reviews are listed here, for EOS R6 reviews see here. The EOS R5 is highly regarded as a stills camera. In particular, the EOS R5 autofocus system seems to be huge leap forwards. User manual are available for download for the EOS R5 and the EOS R6.
Canon EOS R5: [shoplist 62744]
[via EOSHD]
For CES 2021 Canon made something rather cool stuff. How about taking pictures from space using Canon’s imaging satellite?
We reported extensively about Canon’s efforts in outer space. The Canon CE-SAT-1 earth-imaging satellite is one of the micro-satellites Canon put into orbit to take imaging data of the earth. For CES 2021 Canon made an interactive showcase, hosted by astronaut Marsha Ivins, of this technology. And the best part is you can take pictures with the cameras on the satellite.
The Canon CE-SAT-1 is equipped with a slightly modified EOS 5D Mark III camera, capable of imaging a ground area of 6 by 4 Kilometers at a resolution of around one meter. Also on board are a 40cm diameter Canon Cassegrain telescope with 3720 mm focal length and a Canon PowerShot S110 for wide-angle pictures.
You can not freely roam, obviously. You can shoot some selected locations, zoom in and out, frame the image, shot your picture. You even get metadata with your photo (coordinates).
To start shooting pictures from space with Canon’s imaging satellite visit Canon’s dedicated microsite.
[via Digital Camera World]
Sigma’s CEO Kazuto Yamaki revealed somewhat what his company’s plans are in regard to the Canon RF and Nikon Z mounts.
In an article he wrote for ICAN Management Review, Kazuto Yamaki talks about Sigma and how the company evolved over the years. He also reveals some bits about future Sigma lenses for the Canon RF mount and the Nikon Z mount. In a paragraph titled “The future lies in passion“, he writes:
It’s true that the photography market has been systematically shrinking for years – in keeping with more and more people simply using smartphones to make photos and videos. Less cameras sold also means less potential customers interested in buying a lens, which is why our short‑term strategy indeed involves a possibility of introducing lenses with new mounts – to such photography systems as Nikon Z or Canon EOS R. So far, however, the number of orders for our lenses is still above our manufacturing capacities, and especially the capabilities of our R&D department.
To me the statement above means “we will make RF mount lenses for sure but we can’t barely hold up with demand for our other lenses”. Hopefully they can start soon because Sigma lenses are a lot of bang for the bucks.
About the photography market:
Photography market is indeed getting smaller – but it won’t be getting smaller infinitely. According to our estimations, it will reach its minimal size next year, in 2021 – and since then it will stay pretty stable. I would compare the ultimate size of this market to the level of camera sales in times of traditional photography, before the great digital revolution. The true number of passionate people, who want to make photos with high‑quality cameras and lenses is now – and was then – probably very similar.
Mr. Kazuto Yamaki is a remarkable personality, and we recommend you read his thoughts in the article at ICAN Management Review.
[via DPReview]
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