Coming soon…

[crowecg]

There are rumours flying around about a number of gear announcements in the next few weeks.  There is a Nikon announcement this coming week, with rumours strongly suggesting a Z8.  Sounds like it will be the Z9 internals in a smaller body.  
 

Fuji also have their X-Summit at the end of the month.  Rumoured announcement of X-S20, possibly old sensor with new processor.  The other thing that is probably more interesting to me will be the xf 8mm lens that has been on the roadmap for a while.  Possibly also some updates to a GFX model too.

Also hearing of an announcement by Canon, but not sure what that might be as they just released the R8 and R50 cameras recently.  If you have heard anything about this, please add it to the comments below.  
 

Sony are not to be outdone, with rumours of a new a6700 model, but not sure when that will be.

 

So what do you think?  Any of these enough to tempt you to upgrade?  Or are these new models just minor tweaks to try and keep brands fresh?  There have only been a few models recently that seem to have really shaken things up, the Fuji X-T5 (even more so than the X-H2 with which it shares a lot of features) last year and the Nikon Z9 about 18 months ago.  As supply chain issues and chip shortages become a thing of the past, will we see some more tempting models which bring something new to the market?

 

[Andrew L (gryphon1911)]

Nothing there interests me at this point.  I’m happy with my current Z6. Yes the Mark 1!

 

i might look at a Z6 Mark III if the enhancements make sense. I don’t need high mp.  I want clean high ISO. 

 

what I really want is the Nikon Z equivalent of the D500.  An APS-C version of the Z9. 
 

Right now, the current competition in that space is running their crop sensor cameras at a great price point. $1499-$1799. 
 

Nikon brings that out and I’m a buyer on pre-order. 

[Dallas]

Nope. The new stuff does the same things as the old stuff and by my reasoning if you can’t do it with the old stuff the new stuff isn’t going to change that. 

 

That said, I do foresee a Fujifilm X-E4 in my future as a personal camera with maybe one or two small lenses. 

[crowecg]

7 hours ago, Dallas said:

That said, I do foresee a Fujifilm X-E4 in my future as a personal camera with maybe one or two small lenses. 

 

That might be a challenge, the only models that seem to be in stock here in Australia are those released in the last 12 months - the X-T5 and X-H2/2s.  I've seen a few articles describing everything else as discontinued.  Hopefully there will be replacements at some point, particularly at the cheaper end of the range, although it looks like they are focusing production at the more expensive end.

 

13 hours ago, Andrew L (gryphon1911) said:

what I really want is the Nikon Z equivalent of the D500.  An APS-C version of the Z9. 
 

Right now, the current competition in that space is running their crop sensor cameras at a great price point. $1499-$1799. 
 

Nikon brings that out and I’m a buyer on pre-order. 

 

Nikon do seem to have a habit of ignoring and not fully developing their products for the APS-C (DX) market.  If they'd paid a bit more attention, I might still be shooting Nikon.  Since moving to Fuji, I've bought more lenses than in 20 years of Nikon film and digital - and still manage a smaller, lighter bag!

 

[Dallas]

1 hour ago, crowecg said:

That might be a challenge, the only models that seem to be in stock here in Australia are those released in the last 12 months - the X-T5 and X-H2/2s.  I've seen a few articles describing everything else as discontinued.  Hopefully there will be replacements at some point, particularly at the cheaper end of the range, although it looks like they are focusing production at the more expensive end.

 

Hmmm, interesting. I am sure I saw an X-E4 in the store that loaned me the X-T5 a few weeks ago. I have made some friends in the Fujifilm family so will see what the situation for the lesser models is in SA. But this would probably only happen later in the year if at all. I still have to upgrade some of my working gear, including getting an upgraded gimbal for real estate video as well as a Silicon chipped Mac Mini. My old Intel model is really creaking under the weight of the work I am throwing at it these days. 

[crowecg]

well, the Z8 landed pretty much as rumoured - Z9 internals in a smaller body.  I don't quite get the comparisons people are making with the DSLR line, which in the past had been a choice of speed or resolution.   Now Nikon has 3 high resolution bodies, the Z7, 8 & 9, with the later two having significant speed bumps over the Z7.  Will there be future upgrades to the Z7 or is it pretty much done for?  Perhaps a hold out for those who want or need a mechanical shutter.

 

The Canon announcement was a strange one - Powershot V10.  A 1" sensor, but attempting to depart from the traditional camera look.  The shape and controls make it something that you handle in a similar manner to a phone.  Not sure how this will go - is there really that much interest in a camera that handles like a phone?  Is the 1" sensor enough to tempt people away from just using a phone?  

[crowecg]

Another interesting ‘coming soon…’. Pentax is making a new film camera.  Whilst there may be a new SLR at some point, rumours are that the first will be a fixed lens compact, with manual winder.   Now will that be as small as my Fuji mirrorless?

[Dallas]

And I saw new record players at a department store last weekend. 

 

Now if only we could rid the world of software developers it could be a wonderful place again.  

[crowecg]

After the last Canon rumour turned out to be a vlogging compact camera, they managed to also slip out the R100, possibly one of the cheapest mirrorless interchangeable lens cameras around at the moment.  A slightly different approach to many other manufacturers who seem to be moving away from the cheaper end of the market.