Repeat recipes for the (not really) new camera models!

[danielm]

 

 Is it a new (!) trend for the camera manufacturers who are taking almost the same recipes with few cosmetic alterations and introduce mainly with only new appellations camera models? At least it seems so at this moment that everybody is facing some Mondial production challenges in terms of infrastructure availability and industrial and resources discontinuities. 

For some of the photo novelty avid, that can be highly deceptive in particular when you are looking to the different web photo forum. They are badly in need of real and different photo gear equipment introductions as a same rate we have seen during the digital era beginning. But effervescent productive time periods cannot last for ever and consolidation is now part of the process as the overall market is shrinking as we can see with the present planet economic situation. 

There is no harm to simply refine good existing products as we have done for decades with many iconic camera models during the film-analog era of photographic gear. And we are now producing digital cameras that, in fact, are exceeding our image quality needs in many ways, exposure, focusing, ergonomic, etc. So, the initial race for major improvement for that specific gear format has been replaced by a maintain of the market for (little) upgraded new products that are more and more looking like their predecessors.  

That been said it also true that this actual market stabilization won't prevent an eventual complete breakthrough innovation in non-definite future, it is in the nature of things especially with the human technological history. And it can happens as soon as tomorrow, you never know! 
_____________________________ 
 

 On a lighter discussion base about photo gear, I still hope that the camera manufacturers won't neglect the enthusiasm (but less financially provided) photographers and they will care to further introduce cheaper camera models with competent interfaces and performing image recording sensors. After all these "amateur" photographers are often the backbone of the photographers (pro or not) next generation. 

Secondly, compactness should be a constant preoccupation for the designers of the tomorrow's cameras. There is no necessity to always verse into the photographic equipment size inflation. That can be apply to any photo equipment since mobility is a key point for all the photographers on the run of this fast moving planet. 

Thirdly, the manufacturer computing departments have to develop better user friendly interface environments alongside in using a more comprehensive and universal language. That could be done easily with the participation of all the people involved into the photo industry and beyond as it has been done in the past film analog period. That standardization will be saluted by everyone. 


At the end, the photographic gear industry is facing the same challenges as all others sectors with shortage of resources, environmental preoccupations, significative market (demand) variations over time, and always changing competition nomenclatures. Only the more evolutive ones will ultimately survive until the next moment. This is also in the nature of (material) things. 

Photos Daniel M: Panasonic Lumix G95 / G Vario 12-60mm F3.5-5.6 Power OIS / Bleach By-Pass Effect

 

 

 

[Dallas]

In the old days people bought a camera and it lasted them a lifetime. In fact they became heirlooms to pass onto their children. Since the digital age the companies making cameras have experienced unprecedented growth in bringing out new and (supposedly) better models. That trend is slowing now and I think it's a good thing.

 

New cameras are really just serving an experiential utility for enthusiasts now, because they aren't doing a whole lot more than they did before. The average consumer certainly doesn't need to upgrade their camera every year. Computational photography coming out of smart phones will surpass whatever advantage they had in using a dSLR or mirrorless ILC in recent years.

 

I find myself using my old iPhone 7P more often than any other camera I have ever owned, more for the practical advantages it has than the image quality. If I could also do my product and property photography with it I probably would.  

[crowecg]

I agree about size - I'm really enjoying the more compact set up since I moved to Fuji.

 

I also agree with your concern about reasonably priced, enthusiast models.  In the film days, that could be covered to some extent by the second hand market (and like Dallas mentioned, cameras could last a lifetime and then some), but nowadays, 10 years will probably be the maximum.  Even if we are satisfied with the quality of a 10 year old model, finding things like spare batteries, cables, memory cards and software could be a problem.  I'm already seeing a similar problem with my car - updating the maps in the GPS system is a problem, because the software for that model is no longer supported.  It will probably become a bigger problem as cars become electric  (Buy that old, manual petrol burning monster while you still can - my temptation might be a Chaterham 7).

[Dallas]

I saw there was an announcement by the EU (or some other organisation) that they will stop making fuel powered cars by 2035. That's like 12 years away. Right now the issues we have just keeping the lights on in South Africa for normal use is so bad that when these geniuses with their electric car agenda get their way we may as well all go back to using horses to get around because there will be no fuel or electricity to power any form of car. Thus far in 2022 we have had 100 days of national load shedding, where we range from between 2-6 hours of outages every day. Electric cars... yeah right, that's a great idea. 

 

But yes, Chris, the problem with all these old cameras is getting them powered up. Fortunately I was able to find an a/c power supply for my original E-M1, which is the camera I use for product photography these days. I keep it tethered to a 2010 Mac Mini that runs the Olympus Capture software. That software lets me drop the files into a network drive that is watched by Lightroom. It could run a little faster, but compared to all other methods of operating that side of what I do, it's about as efficient as I can be. The E-M1 had a new shutter installed a few years ago, so it should be good for a while yet. 

 

Regarding your car's GPS, are you able to swap out the head unit at all? I replaced the one in my 2007 Hyundai Tucson with a JVC double din unit that does Apple Carplay / Android Auto. I just plug the phone into the charging cable and I have everything, including music, GPS and voice enabled messaging. SIRI is a bit dense when it comes to understanding my accent, but hey, these days I am in the car about as much time as I am on the john (and that's not a joke). 

[danielm]

3 hours ago, crowecg said:

It will probably become a bigger problem as cars become electric  (Buy that old, manual petrol burning monster while you still can - my temptation might be a Chaterham 7).

Hi Chris,
It is funny you have mentioned this because we just have replaced our family car and have decided to finally buy a new VW Tiguan instead of going for the "buzzing" category and part of the decision was the long term durability factor consideration (the other big was the price level that might electrocute my modest wallet!).
Have a Good Day.

[danielm]

1 hour ago, Dallas said:

Thus far in 2022 we have had 100 days of national load shedding, where we range from between 2-6 hours of outages every day. Electric cars... yeah right, that's a great idea. 

Individual electric cars are already an idea from the past because it is essentially an expensive good that require a now precious energy source, demand specific and polluting resources and, at the end, cannot resolve the traffic challenges into the great urban areas. Simply put they are pricy toy that the average people (like me) cannot afford and their use is not in any ways sufficiently useful in terms of autonomy and transportability.
In one word, I have passed my turn on this.🚂

[Dallas]

Electric cars are around where I live, but as I say, they are just totally impractical given the electricity problems we have in SA. Also, as most of the electricity powering these electric cars comes from non-renewable sources of power, such as coal burning power stations, where exactly is the "green" friendliness coming from? 

 

I used to be all in favour of moving to electric vehicles, but honestly, what I have seen in the past 2.5 years of fiasco from governments all over the world as they attempt to control every aspect of our lives, doesn't inspire me with any confidence in the electric future at all. I can imagine that all these future electric cars will able to be controlled remotely by whatever legislation a government dreams up. So there you are wanting to go somewhere, but discover that your freedom to do that has been shut down by the government because you made a post on social media that they don't agree with, or whatever. 

 

If I am able to make my old car electric and I don't have to install any "remote control" modules or government controlled software, great, I'll be happy with that. 

[danielm]

15 minutes ago, Dallas said:

If I am able to make my old car electric and I don't have to install any "remote control" modules or government controlled software, great, I'll be happy with that. 

It reminds me the old dream to transform film-analog cameras into digital ones...😇

[Dallas]

30 minutes ago, danielm said:

It reminds me the old dream to transform film-analog cameras into digital ones...😇

 

Actually there is a whole sub-culture of these conversions going on. I have seen quite a few old classics being converted to electric by both individuals as well as small operations doing it themselves. The one series I watched was a guy who converted a classic Kombi into electric using Tesla batteries. Check it out. 

 

 

[danielm]

1 minute ago, Dallas said:

 

Actually there is a whole sub-culture of these conversions going on. I have seen quite a few old classics being converted to electric by both individuals as well as small operations doing it themselves. The one series I watched was a guy who converted a classic Kombi into electric using Tesla batteries. Check it out. 

Wow! There is no limit for the true entusiasm!

[Dallas]

This fella is a bit of a cowboy, as you'll see if you watch his whole conversion series, and I think he has more problems with running the vehicle on electric than a VW would ordinarily have (and if you know anything about old VW's you'll know that's a lot of issues!). 

[danielm]

1 hour ago, Dallas said:

This fella is a bit of a cowboy, as you'll see if you watch his whole conversion series, and I think he has more problems with running the vehicle on electric than a VW would ordinarily have (and if you know anything about old VW's you'll know that's a lot of issues!). 

German automobile restorations (VW, Audi, Porsche) are always a big never ending venture to the unknown and into your wallet!🏎️

[crowecg]

11 hours ago, Dallas said:

I saw there was an announcement by the EU (or some other organisation) that they will stop making fuel powered cars by 2035. That's like 12 years away. Right now the issues we have just keeping the lights on in South Africa for normal use is so bad that when these geniuses with their electric car agenda get their way we may as well all go back to using horses to get around because there will be no fuel or electricity to power any form of car. Thus far in 2022 we have had 100 days of national load shedding, where we range from between 2-6 hours of outages every day. Electric cars... yeah right, that's a great idea. 

 

Some models, in combination with a bi-directional charging box, can actually feed back into your domestic supply when needed.  Others come with domestic socket for power take off.  They could actually be quite useful in times unstable supply.  A full electric vehicle can have somewhere between 50-100 kWh of battery, that will actually go a long way for domestic usage.  A plug in hybrid, which may be a more sensible option in a location without good charging infrastructure, will still have 10-20 kWh, certainly enough to keep the freezer cold during an outage.

 

11 hours ago, Dallas said:

 

Regarding your car's GPS, are you able to swap out the head unit at all? I replaced the one in my 2007 Hyundai Tucson with a JVC double din unit that does Apple Carplay / Android Auto. I just plug the phone into the charging cable and I have everything, including music, GPS and voice enabled messaging. SIRI is a bit dense when it comes to understanding my accent, but hey, these days I am in the car about as much time as I am on the john (and that's not a joke). 

 

I keep thinking I should get a new car, so haven’t been too stresses about getting the maps updated.  My day job in infrastructure construction usually means I know enough about the new major roads to not worry about the fact my gps doesn’t show them.
 

 

[Dallas]

Our average daily consumption is 27.1 kWh. I saw that the new Ford F150 Electric can power a full house for something like 3 days, but how long does it take to charge the truck? The problem here isn't just load shedding, it's crumbling infrastructure. Sub-stations were not meant to be turned on and off several times a day, so these things are breaking constantly and general power outages sometimes can last for days. We've been very lucky in the places we have been living, but some of my relatives not so much. Recently they had a 5 day outage. 😩

 

For my money the new Toyota hybrids are the way I would want to go if I was getting an electric car. Self generating electric power that kicks in seamlessly and fuel consumption figures of less than 5L/100km sounds like a winner. I've never owned a Toyota, even though the manufacturing plant for SA is less than 20km from where I live. 

 

But I think the best solution is for people to live and work in the same place wherever possible. In the past 5 months of living in our new place I have not driven more than 400km. 

[danielm]

5 hours ago, Dallas said:

But I think the best solution is for people to live and work in the same place wherever possible. In the past 5 months of living in our new place I have not driven more than 400km. 

I agree in the sens that mobility for mobility should not be seen now as an open-bar for wasting resources and energy (including the human one). Yes, we have the right to move and move ahead but we can do it ore cleverly and efficiently and in doing so we may have a more quiet and reflective way of life with intimate channels of communication with our relatives, friends and neibhors in respect our environment (I am getting philosophical again, sorry).