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Sigma spilled out some info in a new interview with Imaging Resource:

APS-C L-mount lenses:
Yamaki said “we will release APS-C sized lenses for L-mount in 2020“. These will be L-mount adapted lenses of their current APS-C lenses for MFT and Sony E-mount

New natively designed lenses for mirrorless:
Yamaki: “brand-new lens designed for the short flange-back system should be available some time this year.”

Sigma’s most selling lenses are…
….”I can’t tell you the exact numbers, but the most popular right now is Canon, and next is Nikon. Sony E-mount is growing”

About the possibility to make Canon RF and Nikon Z lenses:
…”We are still checking their systems, and it’s a bit too early to make comment. But right now, we’re checking the compatibility between our lenses and their mount adapter. We already know that it works almost perfectly, but in some specific settings and [for some] operations, our lens does not work perfectly [with their adapter yet], like continuous burst mode...”

About the Sigma FE lens sales:
…”Surprisingly good. They like the optical performance of those lenses. It’s better than I expected. But there also are some people waiting for the lens design for the short flange-back, so we are also working on it”

Market is shrinking.
Yamaki believes the market will shrink further: “Maybe [down] 20 to 25% from now, that’s my guess.”

DSLR vs Mirrorless:
…”the market is changing from DSLR to mirrorless much quicker than I thought.“…..”Eventually, I think the majority of interchangeable-lens cameras will be mirrorless.“

Dpreview had a chat with Tamron managers and here are some of the info they shared:

Next FE lens:

People really want a telephoto zoom to cover focal lengths longer than 75mm. We’re looking [into] that.

About future Canon RF and Nikon Z lenses:

Yes, we’re also looking at that area. We have to do a lot of research and development into the reverse engineering, because they don’t disclose the details of their systems, so it’s a really hard job for us.

APS-C vs Full Frame:

APS-C is still important to us, but when we think about the [industry], the full-frame market is expanding, so we’re looking at that market first – that’s the first priority. So gradually we’ll create a [full-frame] line and then at another time we can launch more APS-C lenses. The APS-C market is shrinking quite fast.

Dpreview writes:

The APS-C market is shrinking, and Tamron would be irresponsible to pour significant resources into developing lenses for a contracting market. The audience for lenses designed for full-frame mirrorless, on the other hand, is guaranteed to grow over the coming years. With two FE lenses for Sony already on the market, it was reassuring to hear from Tamron’s executives that longer focal lengths are being planned, to round out the lineup.

Next, of course, will be reverse-engineering lenses for the Canon RF and Nikon Z mounts (it seems unlikely that Tamron will bother with L-mount given Sigma’s head start as a member of the alliance). In our conversation, Tamron’s executives reinforced what we’ve been told by other optical engineers (including Sigma’s Kazuto Yamaki) that designing for a longer flange back distance and adapting that design to shorter mounts is the only practical way to create one optical formula for several mounts. As such, it seems possible that before too long, the popular Sony FE-mount 28-75mm F2.8 might form the basis of new standard zooms for Canon and Nikon mirrorless.

Canon published the new quarterly results and things do not look good in the camera business. They say:

In the first quarter, sales of interchangeable-lens cameras were down 19% to 850 thousand units. This reflects the combined impact of accelerated market contraction for DSLRs, in particular entry-level models, and economic slowdown in China, which is a sizeable market for interchangeable-lens cameras.

The habit of capturing images with smartphones with improved cameras has become a part of daily lives of consumers. As a result, the market for entry-level DSLRs is contracting at a pace that exceeds the outlook we had at the beginning of the year. That said, we expect the user base of professionals and advanced-amateur, people who value the image quality and expressive possibilities afforded by cameras with large sensors and an abundance of interchangeable-lenses to remain. For the market overall, however, we expect the trend of market contraction to continue for some time.

In light of these circumstances, we decided to reexamine our full-year projections for the market and our own unit sales. We now expect the market and our own unit sales to decline 17% to 8.6 million units and 4.2 million units, respectively.

Mirrorless cameras, known for being small and lightweight, are increasing their presence in the market. Amid this situation, we will steadily shift our focus from DSLR to mirrorless cameras with the aim of maintaining our overwhelming competitiveness, which we have built upon DSLRs.

In the first quarter as well, we grew our unit sales of mirrorless cameras at a pace far exceeding the overall market, thanks to such new products as the EOS M50 and EOS R. Additionally, at the end of the quarter, we further enhanced our lineup, with the launch of the EOS RP, a smaller and lighter mirrorless camera equipped with a full-frame sensor and the same new mount found on the EOS R. Additionally, we plan to release six new models of RF lenses within the year. Users have not only praised the performance of these bodies and lenses, but also expressed their high expectations for the R system overall having felt our sense of urgency in strengthening our lineup over a short period of time. We will work to maintain sales growth of the EOS RP, which got off to a flying start, while also successively launching new RF lenses as we work to further stimulate sales of our strengthened mirrorless lineup.

From a profit perspective, in the full-frame sensor category where particularly high growth continues, even among mirrorless models, we will work to improve our product mix, actively expanding sales of both R System products. Additionally, for lenses with high profitability, we will not only promote sales of RF lenses, but also continue to promote the appeal of our broad range of EF lenses. Furthermore, we will work to expand automation initiatives not only to other products, but also other processes, raising our cost competitiveness and linking this to a recovery in profitability.

Next, compact cameras.

For the full-year, we expect the market to shrink by 19% to 8.5 million units and our unit sales to decline 18% to 2.6 million units. This is the same outlook we had at the beginning of the year. Going forward, we will continue our efforts to expand sales of premium G-series models in our effort to link this to a recovery in profitability.

via CanonWatch

Engadget:

While mirrorless cameras have been rising in popularity since at least 2013, driven in large part by Sony’s A7 and Panasonic’s GH cameras, this past year feels like the start of this camera format becoming dominant. Both Nikon and Canon, the last major manufacturers to avoid the full-frame mirrorless market, released feature-packed cameras complete with radically new designs and lens mounts, and we’ve seen ambitious new models from Fujifilm and Panasonic that bring features not before seen in DSLRs. Traditional DSLRs aren’t going anywhere for a while, but expect to see more and more mirrorless designs from all these companies.

Press text:

ZY Optics releases the Mitakon Speedmaster 50mm f/0.95 mark III, designed for Sony FE, Canon RF & Nikon Z cameras

Shenyang China, Apr 17, 2019 – Zhongyi Optics (ZY Optics) have released the new Mitakon Speedmaster 50mm f/0.95 version III for full frame Sony E, Nikon Z and Canon RF cameras.
Offering a natural 50mm perspective along with an ultra-fast f/0.95 maximum aperture, the Mitakon 50mm f/0.95 is a compact prime characterized by its bright f/0.95 aperture to suit working in low-light conditions. It also affords a great degree of control over depth-of-field for isolating subjects from the background and producing selective focus effects.
The new version III features a new optics design which offers a slightly more compact size and a better flare resistance. A carefully-designed 10 elements in 7 groups optics system with 1pc of HRI (High Refractive Index) & 5pcs of UD (Ultra-low dispersion) elements successfully minimizes the chromatic aberrations and delivers exceptional image quality.
An eleven-blade diaphragm helps to produce a softly diffused out-of-focus rendering (bokeh). The enclosure of the lens is made of metal to strengthen its durability.

Pricing & Availability
Mitakon Speedmaster 50mm f/0.95 III is now available to ship and purchase at ZY Optics official website (http://www.zyoptics.net/). The Recommended Retail price (before tax) is USD 799/pc.

About ZY Optics
Shenyang Zhongyi Optical and Electronic Company (ZY Optics) is a leading Chinese camera lens & adapters manufacturer. We currently manufacture lenses and lens turbo adapters under the brand name of ‘Mitakon’ & ‘Zhongyi’.
For more information about Shenyang Zhongyi Optical and Electronic Company Limited and our products information, visit our official website http://www.zyoptics.net

Product Page
http://zyoptics.net/product/mitakon-speedmaster-50mm-f-0-95-iii/

The Digital Camera market is certainly going through a dramatic time. But there is one market that keeps growing and that’s the Instant Camera Business.

And according to this latest leak Fuji is going to announce the new Instax mini LiPlay (see the specs on that PDF file). It’s a hybrid Digital-Instax camera. Nice!

via Nokishita