Camera manufacturer mention “The most important cameras and lenses of the past 25 years”

Launched 15 years ago the Lumix G1 was the first mirrorless camera

Dpreview had a chat with all major manufacturers and asked them about their most important products in the past 25 years.

Nikon:
Nikon Z9: Because it’s a landmark in technology, pointing to the capabilities made possible by its parallel readout sensor.

Fujifilm:
Finepix X100: That was the first camera when we stepped up from selling point-and-shoot, entry-level compact cameras. This was our first attempt to do that, using the APS-C-sized sensor. X100 was a huge success, which gave us confidence. We wouldn’t be here if we didn’t have the X100,” he says Fujifilm’s “If that failed, we would have been in a very difficult position.”

Sony:
Sony RX1: The RX1 is the beginning of our photography culture. Before that, we had launched RX100 series but still inside the world of Cyber-shot, kind of. RX1 is definitely a different world compared with our previous circumstances. That was a very memorable development period.”
Sony G Master lenses: From these G Master lenses, our technology improvement accelerated and our customers also changed. Customers rated our product highly and that’s become a very big motivation for our designers and our engineers. This generated a very positive momentum from this point onward.

Tamron:
Tamron 28-75mm F2.8 Di III RXD: That was a new concept because it was a fast lens, but we changed the focal length from 24mm to 28mm, and users accepted this concept. We knew that if we had a unique concept and we could let users know what that concept was, then people would understand. After that, we started to change, and we started developing unique lenses.”

Sigma:
Sigma 35mm F1.4 Art: If we’d failed with the launch of the 35mm F1.4, Sigma may not have survived until today. It was very fortunate that the customer received it very well and we could survive in the industry.
Sigma 18-35mm F1.8 Art: After we launched the lens, we realized that videographers and cinematographers really loved that lens. So with the introduction of this lens, we started getting interested in joining the cine lens business, so I love these two lenses.

OM System:
Olympus Camedia C-2000 Zoom: The change from film to digital left a big impression for me.

Canon:
Canon EOS Digital Rebel: It played a very important role in shifting [the market] from film to the digital DSLR,” says Go Tokura: “Since 2003, Canon has sold more than 1 million of them.

Panasonic:
Lumix DMC-G1: It was the first camera of its kind. Fifteen years ago, no professional photographer used mirrorless, but now almost all professional photographers use mirrorless.

Here is the list of Sony, Leica, Panasonic, Canon, Nikon, Sigma announcements coming in May

There are multiple announcements coming in May. Here is what has been confirmed to be announced:

Sony

  • Sony ZV-E10II  (speculation says it uses same A6700 sensor)
  • New APS-C “vlogger focused” zoom kit lens

Panasonic:

  • New entry level camera (not a successor of any current model)

Leica:

  • New D-LUX 8 (similar to the D-LUX7 with new sensor)

Sigma:

  • New 24-70mm f/2.8 II for Sony E and Leica E (more compact and optically improved compared to the predecessor)

Nikon:

  • Nikon Z6III (still unclear if it’s coming in May or early June)

Canon:

  • Canon R5III (still unclear if it’s coming in May or early June)

Panasonic will announce a new “unprecedented” Lumix camera in May

Trusted sources confirmed that Panasonic will have a major announcement in May! The interesting tidbits is that this will be a completely “new kind of Lumix model”

The source has not yet provided any details about what this camera will be. But certainly do not expect a successor to a current model. We can only speculate that it could be a new fixed-lens camera, a Vlogger model, or perhaps a compact camera with an L FF mount. What do you wish for?

Topazlabs now launched a new website showing off the features of their AI apps

Topaz recently released the brand new Photo Ai 3.0 (click here). Now it has also completely revamped its website so that you can get a better overview of all the features. Take a look at the presentation pages: Photo Ai, Video AI, GigaPixel AI.

One more related news: PetaPixel tested all most known upscalers and claims GigaPixel AI is the best:

Overall, I was most impressed with Gigapixel AI. The results for the low-resolution file are especially excellent, far surpassing my expectations. It produces excellent levels of detail with minimal (or no) additional artifacts, even when going beyond 2x. I also enjoyed the UI of Gigapixel AI more than the other programs. It was clean, modern, and simple to use with an ideal way of seeing the preview of the upscaled images.

In Japan: Digital camera market will turn positive in 2023 for the first time in 13 years

After a decade long decline in 2023 the camera market did increase by 7% compared ot the previous year. I suspect the camera market sales will stay constant in the upcoming years with no meaningful increased or decreases. This is actually good news as it will make it more predicable for companies to stay in this market.

A couple of key info contained in the report (via Digicameinfo):

  • Research firm GfK Japan announced on the 18th that the domestic digital camera market will turn positive in 2023 for the first time in 13 years. Sales volume was 1.2 million units, an increase of 7% from the previous year. This was driven by interchangeable lens cameras. The decline had continued due to the spread of smartphones, but this appears to have come to a halt. The digital camera market has continued to decline since peaking at 10.4 million units in 2010.
  • Looking at unit sales in 2023 by type, interchangeable lens cameras increased by 9%, and compact cameras increased by 6%. Interchangeable lenses also grew by 4%.
  • This is the second consecutive year of positive growth for interchangeable lens cameras. The number of products over 100,000 yen increased, and the proportion of products in the 100,000 to 200,000 yen price range increased 7 points from the previous year to 46%. The average price (excluding tax) rose 4% from the previous year to 172,000 yen.