This is where Ian Burley, DPNow's editor and founder, shares his unique thoughts and impressions on subjects that he hopes will be of interest to others on the subjects of digital photography and other related or loosely related topics! You can follow DPNow Editor's blog on Facebook and Twitter, too.
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Posted 12-07-10 at 05:35 PM by Ian
Tags camera industry, launches, new features, photokina
We're in a bit of a camera industry lull at the moment. Apart from Sony, none of the big camera brands have launched new DSLRs recently. And this isn't so surprising as we're into the heart of July and nothing much happens in the way of new product launches from now until the beginning of September. At the end of September it's Photokina time in Cologne, Germany. This humongous international photo industry trade show takes place every two years and my calendar for the week starting 20th September is already filling up with meetings booked at the show.
There is undoubtedly feverish activity behind the scenes as engineers and marketing people struggle to get their new camera projects finalised in readiness for the run up to Photokina - and don't forget another big show based in Germany, IFA, in Berlin. This show is more rooted in the TV and video home electronics end of the market, but it's certainly a domain that digital photography has a claim to.
I believe that we will look back on these years as a golden age for photographic hardware innovation. The only drawback is that cameras become out of date so fast. Compact models can be routinely replaced on a six monthly cycle. DSLRs do last longer and there are some that are still on sale new that were first seen up to three years ago, but 18 months is a more usual life cycle.
Then the question is, do you buy now or hang on a little longer? What are the must-have new features? Better sensors, HD video, geo-tagging, smaller and lighter form factors, etc.?
Or is all this just a distraction from the most important thing of all, your photography?
There is undoubtedly feverish activity behind the scenes as engineers and marketing people struggle to get their new camera projects finalised in readiness for the run up to Photokina - and don't forget another big show based in Germany, IFA, in Berlin. This show is more rooted in the TV and video home electronics end of the market, but it's certainly a domain that digital photography has a claim to.
I believe that we will look back on these years as a golden age for photographic hardware innovation. The only drawback is that cameras become out of date so fast. Compact models can be routinely replaced on a six monthly cycle. DSLRs do last longer and there are some that are still on sale new that were first seen up to three years ago, but 18 months is a more usual life cycle.
Then the question is, do you buy now or hang on a little longer? What are the must-have new features? Better sensors, HD video, geo-tagging, smaller and lighter form factors, etc.?
Or is all this just a distraction from the most important thing of all, your photography?
Total Comments 3
Comments
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"is all this just a distraction from photography?"
Yes - But I've just had a "play" with the Sony NEX-5 and was very impressed. Technology has always held a fascination for me, however it has to be of real use and not something that while extreamly clever is rarely, if ever, used.
I often feel that we are being drip fed small additions rather than step change improvements. So maybe this lull will result in something significant being launched that will be noteworthy and provide an advance in Image Quality...Posted 12-07-10 at 06:31 PM by Graham_of_Rainham 
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The NEX-5 has a lot going for it. The sensor is excellent and so is the build quality and video performance. I do think the user interface is half-baked - and I'm convinced it has been designed with touch screens in mind. The icon-centric UI makes much more sense in that respect. I do worry that lenses will be enormous relative to the body. And the lack of an eye-level electronic viewfinder is an issue that needs addressing. Have you seen this:
IanPosted 14-07-10 at 12:16 PM by Ian 
Updated 29-01-13 at 03:47 PM by Ian -
If you have recovered from the rather disturbing video above
- you might like to know that Sony today announced a NEX movie camera, see:
http://dpnow.com/7266.htmlPosted 14-07-10 at 05:44 PM by Ian
