Sans Mirror  

The International Broadcasting Convention in Amsterdam is about to start, and prior to that we have lots of video-related announcements happening. The big one today is the Canon EOS C50, Canon’s smallest Cinema camera to date, and one that clearly targets recent Sony FX models, such as the FX3.

With a 32mp full frame sensor, the US$3900 C50 tops out at 7K/60P and open gate up to 30P. Designed in the now usual soap-bar style for these video-oriented cameras (no extending grip), Canon has pre-populated the body with extra 1/4” mounting studs, two of which on top allow for the mounting of an XLR soundbar/handle. While it can take still photos, the C50’s aligned and numbered buttons default to video functions. The body is deeper than the usual mirrorless camera due to fan and ventilation. Overall, the C50 sits between the vlogging-oriented R50 V and the the bigger EOS C80 (Canon also announced firmware updates for their other Cinema cameras).

Along with the C50, Canon introduced the 85mm f/1.4L VCM lens.

Meanwhile, Sigma used IBC to introduce three new lenses: the 20-200mm f/3.5-6.3 Contemporary, 135mm f/1.4 Art, and an updated 35mm f/1.2 Art. Sigma’s video 28-45mm f/2 was also shown again (to be available in November).

Other announcements should come in the next two days (the show opens on September 12th).

Hasselblad today introduced the X2D II 100C, which by my count is the fourth clear refinement of the original medium format mirrorless camera. 

For once it feels like Hasselblad—owned by DJI—has finally managed to address the common handling/usability complaints the original design generated. Things we generally have taken for granted for some time, such as a physical control to move the focus cursor and continuous autofocus, for instance. Couple those things with some additional customizations, and I think you have the real standout items for this new version of the camera.

But that's not what's getting all the press. The "big" news is that the X2D II 100C has a LiDAR autofocus capability and defaults to HDR photography (the default image format is HEIF, but you can also get Ultra HDR JPEG and raw files). As part of that last bit, both displays are now OLED and P3 Color Space profiled.

Let's start with LiDAR (Light Distance And Ranging). This is essentially a light array where time to the subject and back is measured. Distance = speed of light * time divided by 2. With implementations like Hasselblad's, there is a limit to its useful distance (typically 40' indoors, half that outdoors). But it's extremely beneficial in low light, as its unseen light array produces accuracy that a phase detect array can't get in such situations. The X2D II 100C uses all three focus methods (LiDAR, phase detect, and contrast detect) as best suits the situation. 

Coupled with the addition of AF-C (continuous autofocus) and subject detection (human, animal, vehicle), the X2D II 100C now can track and follow motion, though it is definitely still not an action camera (3 fps, leaf shutter blackout, etc.). It's the AF-C nature of the new focus system that "fixes" the problem with the previous cameras (all AF-S only), not specifically the technology behind it (others get solid AF-C performance from just phase detect).

Meanwhile, that "HDR" in the X2D II 100C is essentially the same thing others have been doing with HEIF/HEIC for some time now: extended the highlight range of capture by three stops. To see that in output, however, you need supportive HDR display technology, which, while showing up more and more, still has standardization issues. HEIF isn't a browser-supported standard, though there are extensions available. Apple, meanwhile, has standardized on HEIC. The new JPEG "format" includes a brightness map so that devices that support that can display the clipped highlights properly. 

Personally, I'm curious as to why Hasselblad jumped on HEIF HDR as the default with the X2D II 100C. That seems contradictory to the way I see medium format cameras currently being used (mostly landscape and commercial photography, neither of which can count on extended highlight display in output). 

All the above said, it feels like a lot of rough edges were taken off the original X2D with the updates, particularly this last one. Whether that gives Hasselblad some true traction in the camera market again, I'm not sure, though the US$800 price drop, despite the US tariffs, will help with that.

Along with the new camera, Hasselblad also introduced a new 35-100mm f/2.8-4E lens (28-76mm equivalent).

The tariff bullying has had a real impact. Prices just keep changing upwards here in the US for camera gear, even as camera makers juggle country of production and other things to try to avoid them. The latest of those making "adjustments" was Fujifilm, where pretty much everything went up up 7% to as much as 11% on August 1st. This time around, the pricing will apparently hit dealer backorders if still outstanding on August 1st. 

Canon and Sony have both raised almost all their prices, with Nikon currently having only raised prices of products manufactured in China. Nikon is going to raise non-China product prices on September 1st, and I'm hearing that Canon, Fujifilm, and Sony aren't done adjusting their prices. Given the usual monthly sales and promotions, by the time Labor Day rolls around you're likely to see a different number after the dollar sign here in the US.

The recent "trade agreements" with several countries, including Japan and the EU, make it likely that we'll see everyone has to do another round of adjustments. (Why is "trade agreement" in quotes? Technically, while trade agreements are negotiated by the executive branch, they must be ratified by the Senate [Constitution Article II, Section 2, Clause 2]. Most Americans seem unaware of this, including, apparently, half of the US Senate.) 

All this repricing is fortunately not coming in the two periods of greatest camera sales—one's already passed, the other comes at the end of the year—but it's raising a lot of issues for everyone. What I'm seeing (and hearing from the dealers I talk to) is that we had a lot of "early buying," basically people getting new gear before the prices push up further. What we haven't seen yet is camera makers shifting distribution to non-tariff countries, i.e. avoiding bringing equipment into the US. 

The US economy right now is confusing everyone—including the person running it—as parts of the economy appear to be impacted by all the current administration's yo-yoing, while other parts currently seem impervious to it. Personally, I believe the US camera business won't show significant impacts until the holiday rolls around. One of the things about new taxes—and make no mistake, tariffs are a new tax—is that the initial responses to them tend to be exaggerated, and it takes months before you can see the actual, long term impacts. For example, if you bought a camera in the US earlier this year because you were worried that prices would go up too much, you're not in the market for a camera again (and prices will have gone up by the time you are). 

For this Web site, the repricing has presented a bit of a problem. I list several thousand products on this site, and it's a US-centric site. Thus, the current "Price" listed on various pages is now wrong for the majority of products here. I use list price, so I can't even use a shortcut, such as to build a widget that fetches the B&H (or other store) price. Thus, my apologies if the pricing on this site is incorrect at the moment. I'm in the midst of doing site redesigns, and I haven't gotten to sansmirror yet. My eventual "solution" will be to do a quick pass on pricing for current cameras, and leave lenses and other items for later.

Yes, I know I'm behind the other Web sites on this news, but I don't have direct access to Panasonic any more, and it's taken a couple of days for me to verify a few things and fully wrap my head around the two new models.

I've listed the original S1 and S1H as "older models" pretty much since the S5II appeared on the scene. They've been out of stock here in the US for quite some time. Now we have two new S1's, the S1II and the S1IIE. These new models are built on the same body size/style/controls as the original S1 models, but have some wrinkles inside (and a slightly different tilt/articulating LCD on the back). 

The first problem everyone is going to have is that Panasonic isn't being consistent with naming policies across their line. In the original S1 pairing, the S1 was the base model and the S1H was the more video-centric. Now, the S1II is the more video-centric, and the added-letter S1IIE (E is apparently for Essential) is the more base model. The differences between the models are subtle, but important. The S1II uses a new 24mp stacked image sensor, while the S1E uses the older 24mp image sensor, which drives the performance differences.

One question I was trying to get answered is whether the S1II's stacked sensor was the same as the Nikon Z6III's. I believe it is, at least to a point. It appears that Panasonic is accessing it differently than Nikon does, and that could be because of small changes to the frame offload speeds, or it could be that Panasonic is just using different modes that were already built into that sensor. This difference shows up at 4K/120P, for example, where Panasonic is using a 1.17x crop and Nikon a 1.5x crop. There are differences in how the captured data maps to pixels as well as rolling shutter (the Nikon produces direct pixels and has a faster rolling shutter). 

Little differences like this are important, because we have quite a few choices at 24mp full frame mirrorless now (including six from Panasonic!). The S1II seems to go up against the Nikon Z6III, but the S1II is US$3200 and the Z6III is US$2500 (often on sale at an even lower price). It's tough for Panasonic to make inroads against the big three here in the US, and specs, dealers, and price are now all issues Panasonic is fighting.

Nowhere in Panasonic's press releases or marketing information I've seen so far do they actually seem to know how to market their six different 24mp cameras (S1II, S1IIE, S5II, S5IIX, S9, and BS1H). In the S1IIE features list the sensor is listed as "inspired by the performance characteristics of the Lumix S5II," which tells you nothing. Those of us in the press these days are dealing with AI driven press releases, but I'm failing to even see the I in Panasonic's. Nothing tells me which 24mp camera to buy, let alone why I should buy it instead of Canon's, Nikon's, or Sony's. Update: Panasonic France has published an Instagram post that tells you which one to buy based upon your Zodiac sign (no, I'm not making that up). This feels like "stuff the channel and see if it sells" product management, not clear, user centric marketing.

I'm also going to once again call out Panasonic on a continued flaw in their strategy: Canon, Nikon, and Sony now all have a full line of still cameras that are video hybrids, as well as dedicated video cameras, both of which use the same mount. Canon has standardized on RF, Nikon/RED on Z, and Sony on FE. Panasonic's dedicated professional video line is still a strange mix of EF, B4, PL, the L box camera, and camcorder (built-in lens). 

Maybe someone from Panasonic's US team will reach out to me and try to fully describe their "vision" here. After all, I live a short drive away from their HQ. But I suspect not, because I'm not sure they know.

Why is Canon seemingly going all-in on APS-C (except for lenses, buzz, buzz)? Counting only "current models," with the recent R50V introduction we now have five full frame cameras (RF) and five crop-sensor ones (RF-S) from the Red logo crew. I'm told that Canon isn't done with APS-C yet, and we'll get at least one additional crop sensor camera announcement this year. 

Meanwhile, Nikon is at six full frame cameras (FX) but only three crop-sensor ones (DX). Sony's current lineup consists of eight full frame cameras (FE) and four crop sensor ones (E), with two of the latter being six years old. 

It's all about market share. Canon's stated goal is to keep 50% of the on-going camera market. You simply don't attain that level of market dominance without a plethora of products for the proletariat. Yes, US$1000 full frame mirrorless cameras have proven profitable to sell, but that happens at a lower margin than the camera companies desire. That's why those entry full frame models use old, established tech (image sensor, processor) , as the big R&D investments for that tech have already been diluted across a lot of product.

I'm pretty sure that the business dynamics today are still much as they were through the DSLR era: the image sensor and processor are the two most expensive components in a camera; full frame image sensors, even the older ones, are at least 3x the cost of an APS-C one. Remember, the rule of thumb is 3.5x the cost gets passed to the consumer, so that makes the actual change to the list price all the way up to 10.5x. Thus, if you want to have pricing and sales flexibility at the low end, you really want to be making APS-C cameras. 

Curiously, I noted a change in Nikon management plans over the past year. Coming out of the pandemic their management plans were touting that they'd concentrate on higher-end prosumer/pro products. Lately, that same management has shifted to "support all generations of fans," a subtle way of saying that lower cost, lower capability products do have a place in their lineup. The recent Z50II at US$910 (body) is arguably the best of the bunch in its price class, so Nikon continues to try to find customers in the price-sensitive crowd. 

All the camera companies are now looking more for future customers, too. The group that started in film SLRs, transitioned to DSLRs, and now is buying at the highest end of mirrorless is older and about to get smaller in size. You've seen the result in all the camera marketing materials lately: creators, influencers, and other euphemisms for "find a new, younger customer to hook and grow with."

It wasn't a coincidence that Canon introduced the R50V with the V1 here in the US. While CanonUSA's marketing team—which has been decimated several times now—wasn't able to get the message out, here it is in a nutshell: "We have cameras that appeal to those who want something more than their phone offers them. That starts with our new large sensor compact camera, the V1, which is targeted at creating videos and stills that stand out from the pack; to the also new R50V, which offers a step up into the world of interchangeable lenses with even more video and image capability; all the way to our long-established and respected RF mirrorless lineup that has models that range from entry level to top-of-the-line professional and even extends into Hollywood cinema. Start with us, and we'll have you covered as you grow into new needs and capabilities."

You don't get 50% market share by selling only the top kit (e.g. RF mirrorless). Indeed, the recent sales numbers I've seen is that both Nikon and Sony have basically cratered Canon's previous big lead in the pro market. For those of you with short memories (or who weren't born yet ;~), Canon's rush to huge success in film SLRs starting in 1990 was centered around a marketing campaign that told you that you could take action tennis photos just like a pro—or at least Andre Agassi—with this thing called Rebel. 

So here's the challenge for Canon: where's the marketing campaign to go with the R50V? "Built for creators. Made for video." seems both me-to, as well as a bit displaced. "For the Stills Photographer" is a paragraph at the bottom of their product overview, almost as if they remember, oh, the camera can take stills, too. True creators produce both stills and video, even if they concentrate on video (curiously, Canon plays up vertical movies without mentioning TikTok or Reels or anything else that says that Canon understands what a creator does). 

I've been pretty harsh on the camera companies for their poor marketing skills over the years. Confusingly, their marketing has gotten worse—far worse—to the point where today even the crudest AI could do a better job. 

The bottom line is that it takes more than just some new product to win market share. I get a sense that there's some clearer strategy and planning going on in Canon HQ and R&D with regard to mirrorless (finally!). But I also get the sense that they don't know how to deliver the punch line.