The Best and Worst Camera Gear of 2024
Featured by drunk Chris and Jordan :)
Featured by drunk Chris and Jordan :)
Last week Sony officially registered a new camera code in China. This means a new model will be announced withing 3-4 months and I am sure it’s going to be the Sony A7V. There are no confirmed specs of this camera but in the video above I shared my best guess about the specs and also about the possible other new cameras coming in 2025!
Reliable leakier How2fly just reported that Panasonic will announce “something” next week. I still have no idea what it could be. But it’s strange that a camera or lens is announced just before Christmas. So maybe it’s something else like a firmware update or so?
Kazuto Yamaki, the CEO of Sigma, recently shared his thoughts on the company and the photography industry in an insightful, honest, and thought-provoking discussion. The conversation is well worth watching!
At the very end, he offered an intriguing sneak peek: Sigma is developing a telephoto lens like no other. Yamaki hinted that this new lens could be a game-changer for sports and wildlife photographers, saying it’s something they might find very exciting.
While the specifics remain a mystery, a few unique Sigma patents from recent years come to mind, such as:
It’s unclear if this new lens aligns with these designs, but it’s certainly an exciting prospect. What do you think—or hope—Sigma will unveil in 2025? Share your thoughts in the comments!
7Artisans 18mm F5.6 pancake lens specs:
BCN has published the market share data for the Japanese market for October. Canon has overtaken Sony and now leads the rankings. And these were the top 10 best-selling cameras:
Curiosities:
BCN+R reports that despite the camera market recovery after the COVID years “dark clouds are once again looming over the market“. Here is a summary made by Digicameinfo:
The number of digital camera shipments has declined significantly since 2020, but has remained almost flat since 2022, so it seems that the contraction of the camera market has bottomed out. On the other hand, looking at the data on the penetration rate, it is expected to decline sharply in 2024, and the decline appears to be accelerating.
Looking at the digital camera ownership rate by age group, we can see that the ownership rate for younger generations is dropping sharply, but what is striking is that the ownership rate for those under 29 years old starts to rise again in 2024. This could be due to the boom in old and low-priced compact digital cameras among the younger generation.
In summary:
There might be a sort of self fulfilling prophecy mechanism: Camera manufacturers gave up the entry level market and developed expensive cameras. But they are too expensive for most people and so it’s hard to sell them in meaningful quantity. Companies should try to make sub $1000 cameras that are intriguing for the younger generation!