Sans Mirror  

We’ve left the traditional summer selling season and are now starting the upcoming holiday one. One thing people are trying to figure out is which cameras are actually be offered by which companies, and what should they consider.

As you probably realize, I’m aggressive in labeling cameras “current” or “older.” If a new model of a camera is launched (e.g. Mark III), then the older model data (e.g. Mark II) gets moved to the older camera folders on this site. 

But a number of camera makers overbuild products during their product cycles, and thus leave those older products on the market. Some keep making older cameras but reduce their price just to have lower cost products on the market. Figuring out what is actually truly considered truly available and not just an unsold relic that your dealer still has sitting around. 

So to answer that question, I did some homework for you. By brand, here are the models the manufacturer is still selling. In the bullets, below, I also indicate what I believe to be the true “current” models in bold. I’ve added parenthetical comments about likely inventory status and any real holiday discount as I write this.

Canon

Canon is all about generating market share, so they often keep older models on the market at low prices.

• EOS M (APS-C)
  • M50 Mark II (mostly just creator kits with a US$100-130 discount)
• EOS RF-S (APS-C)
  • R100 (US$50 to US$100 off)
  • R50 (US$80 to US$100 off)
  • R10 (US$100 off)
  • R7 (US$100 to US$200 off)
• EOS RF (full frame)
  • RP (US$100 off)
  • R3 (US$1000 off!)
  • R5 (US$500 off)
  • R5C (US$500 off)
  • R6 (US$300 off)
  • R6 Mark II (US$200 off)
  • R8 (US$200 off)

As if to further confuse you, the model number in the RF-S line goes down as the camera gets more advanced, but for full frame a higher model number indicates a less capable camera.

What would I consider buying this holiday? The R7 and R10 are interesting APS-C cameras, though they need more lens support. The R6 Mark II and R8 are both comfortably in the state-of-the-art mid-range for full frame enthusiasts.

Fujifilm

Fujifilm for awhile was cycling new cameras constantly, but is currently slimming down their lineup while pushing more up-scale for awhile:

• XF
  • X-H2S (US$200 off)
  • X-H2 (US$150 off)
  • X-Pro3 (has been discontinued, but may be still available)
  • X-T5
  • X-T4 (discontinued, but may be still available in places)
  • X-S10 (US$100 off)
  • X-S20
  • X-T30 II (official status unknown, back-ordered most everywhere)
• GFX (medium format)
  • GFX50S II (US$800 off)
  • GFX100 II 
  • GFX100S (US$1600 off)

What would I consider buying in the Fujifilm line? Well, I actually bought one recently, and it was the X-S20, a really solid basic APS-C camera. I'm less enthused about the 40mp cameras, the X-H2S still doesn't equal a D500 in focus performance in the hands of a trained user, and I've just had and seen in others too many inconsistencies (bugs, sample variation, etc.) that tend to take away the gains of the medium format cameras over a full frame one.

Nikon

Nikon is relatively easy. At this point the original Z6 and Z7 are officially gone, which leaves a lineup with all current models:

• AF-S (DX)
  • Z30
  • Z50 II
  • Zfc
• Full frame (FX)
  • Z5
  • Z6 II
  • Zf
  • Z7 II
  • Z8 
  • Z9

For Nikon holiday pricing, see this article on zsystemuser.com. My recommendations are also on that site.

Micro 4/3rds

The two m4/3 companies are a mix of old and new:

• OMDS
  • OM-1 (US$300 to US$400 off)
  • OM-5 (US$200 off)
  • OM-D E-M10 Mark IV (old Olympus product, likely on its way out)
• Panasonic
  • BGH1
  • GH5 Mark II (US$300 off)
  • GH5S (US$300 off)
  • GH6 (US$500 off)
  • G100 (US$250 off)
  • G95 (US$300 off)
  • G85 (made a comeback, but low stock, US$150 off kit)
  • G9 (US$400 off)
  • G9 II 
  • G7 (US$150 off)

It was strange to see the Panasonic m4/3 lineup sort of resurrect. I'm not sure what happened there, but the lineup is once again full. If you're looking for performance in an m4/3 camera, you have two choices now: OM-1 or G9 II. The problem with the "I want small" choices that remain is that they're not state-of-the-art in many ways, including autofocus.

Panasonic Full Frame

• S5 (US$800 off)
• S5 II (US$300 off)
• S5 IIX (US$100 off)

In some ways, the S5 II is the Oldsmobile of the full frame mid-range choices. A bit different, basically good, but seemingly not a choice most would make. It's a highly competent camera. It's holds up well against the Nikon Z6 II and Sony A7 Mark IV, and may even slot in between those two. At discount, it becomes a camera you should consider, particularly as the L-mount lens set keeps growing.

Sony

Sony’s is one of the worst offenders in keeping products around. In particular, several older A7 and A7R models are malingering on the market. Moreover, there’s a sneaky bit hidden in plain sight: the new models were increased in list price, thus making any sales markdowns on the older ones look even more tempting.

• APS-C 
  • A6100 (US$200 off)
  • A6400 (US$150 off)
  • A6600 (US$200 off)
  • A6700 
• Full Frame
  • A1
  • A7C
  • A7CR
  • A7 Mark II (US$600 off)
  • A7 Mark III (US$500 off)
  • A7 Mark IV (US$200 off)
  • A7 Mark IIIA (US$200 off)
  • A7R Mark IVA (US$200 off)
  • A7R Mark V (US$400 off)
  • A7S Mark III
  • A9 Mark II
  • A9 Mark III (new camera available at end of February)
• Vlogging
  • ZV-E1 Mark II
  • ZV-E10 (US$100 off)

Personally, I'm less thrilled by Sony's lineup than I used to be. There's nothing wrong with most of them, but Sony now has the old Nikon problem of lineup inconsistency and too much model generation hangover. I can recommend an A1. I can recommend an A7 Mark IV. Once I've completed testing, I'd probably recommend the A6700. From there we get into handling choices (the C and E type models), and speciality use. The one thing I'd tend to recommend against is buying any of the non-bold models. They might have been state-of-the-art when they first appeared, but all of them are now well behind that. I'd need even more discount than Sony is given to consider them.

That’s basically the current camera situation. I’d characterize bold entries as “safe to buy,” while non-bold would be buying at the tail end of a product’s life cycle. There’s nothing wrong with buying at the tail end of the lifecycle, but you should be getting a significant discount for doing so, in my opinion.  

Today Fujifilm announced the GFX100 II, a revision of its original top end medium format camera. At US$7500, this reflects a significant (25%) discount from the suggested retail of the previous model, while adding/changing quite a bit. To wit:

• A faster 102mp sensor (2x the read-out speed)
• X-Processor 5 (from 4)
• Frame rates now 8 fps (from 5)
• 4K/60P (from 4K/30P) and 4:2:2 10-bit internal (from 4:2:0 10-bit)
• 8K video
• Subject tracking autofocus
• Improvement of sensor IS to 8 stops (from 5.5)
• EVF of 9.44m dots (from 5.76m), still detachable and tiltable, and now 60 fps with less lag
• A change of storage cards to CFexpress Type B + SD (UHS-II) from dual SD
• Ability to record stills and video to external SSD
• A move to an optional battery grip instead of built in
• Full size HDMI (no longer micro), supports 8K, 12-bit raw
• A change to the NP-W235 battery
• A new Reala ACE film simulation

All these seemingly smaller things seem to add up to a very large change overall. The new version, while not adding pixels, seems to gain at virtually every pain point of the previous model. Which is a good thing, as the original version (not 100s) did have a number of issues that irritated users, particularly given the price they paid for the camera.

I hesitate to write this, as some Fujifilm fans will get upset and send my missives targeting my In Box, but Fujifilm has had a pretty productive last 18 months; I'd say their cameras are no longer trying to catch up, but are now basically in the peloton again. Maybe even leading out the APS-C and MF pelotons. This should keep the other competitors on their toes, which is a good thing. 

Along with the new camera, Fujifilm also introduced their first medium format tilt/shift lens. The 30mm f/5.6 tilt/shift lens is about a 24mm equivalent, while the 110mm f/5.6 tilt/shift macro is a bit over an 85mm equivalent. These two lenses look like excellent additions for the landscape (30mm) and product (110mm) photography community. Along with the two tilt/shift lenses, Fujifilm also announced the 55mm f/1.7 lens that was also on their previous Road Map. The new Road Map includes a powered wide-angle zoom and a 500mm lens.

Today Sony announced three new products that will mostly appeal to the video user: the A7C II, A7CR, and 16-35mm f/2.8GM II. 

Let me explain. The C bodies are slimmed down Alpha bodies with an offset EVF, and which have an emphasis on video/vlogging use over still photography use. They can still be used as still cameras, but in the case of the A7C II, it's basically the A7 Mark IV in the C video style body, while the A7CR is basically the A7R Mark V in the same body. BIONZ XR with artificial intelligence powers these bodies, too.

As video-oriented cameras, they have a reduced dot count EVF (and Rear LCD in the case of the A7CR). These cameras are smaller and lighter to be more gimbal friendly, and the new C body is somewhat thicker, probably for heat dissipation. Because the two bodies max out at 4K60P, another compromise is the single SD UHS II card slot (though you need a very fast card to take advantage of the maximum video capabilities).

I'm not a big fan of offset viewfinder cameras, and you can see why in Sony's own launch video: with the cameras handheld at their eyes, their models are having a more difficult time keeping the camera steady ;~). Good thing the built-in stabilization can perform up to 7 stops (with certain lenses). Generally, I'd tend to recommend the original A7 style body for still photography, but the A7CR is only US$3000, a significant discount for 61mp (including 240mp pixel shift) if you can live with the penalties.

You see the continued video emphasis with the update to the 16-35mm f/2.8GM lens, too. The lens has gotten smaller, lighter, and been reworked so that it doesn't change balance when on a gimbal. That took an impressive array of special elements (8 of the 15) and four XD focus motors.

Here’s the most recent “small” news relating to mirrorless cameras (similar Z System news is on the zsystemuser.com site):

• Canon executives were quoted as saying "we will study where to license [third-party lens requests] based on Canon's own business plan and strategy." This was in an interview in China, so both via what was said and translation issues, there's a great deal of ambiguity still. However, it seems like Canon may be coming round to the Nikon position, where individual lenses are evaluated as to whether to grant a mount license to or not. Frankly, I believe such a position is counterproductive when even one competitor has an open mount policy. 

As an experiment, I’ve started accumulating “small” news announcements into a once-a-week story. This helps me be a little more productive and seems to align with the way most people are coming to this site (once or twice a week, but every week). Here’s the most recent “small” news relating to mirrorless cameras (similar Z System news is on the zsystemuser.com site):

• Pergear announced the 60mm f/2.8 II Ultra-macro lens, an updated version of its 2x crop sensor lens.
• Tamron sent out a Development Announcement for the next generation of the 70-180mm f/2.8 lens. The lens will get a G2 moniker and now include VC image stabilization. Other changes will be a shorter minimum focus distance at the wider focal length, and the inclusion of VXD focus motors instead of stepping motors. The optical design is also said to have been enhanced.
• Zhong Yi Optics introduced three t/1 cine lenses for the Z mount: 20mm, 35mm, 50mm.
• The previously announced Fringer EF-FX Pro III adapter (Canon EF to Fujifilm XF) has started shipping. The main change is added weather sealing.
• Voigtlander announced the 50mm f/1.2 NOKTON lens for the Fujifilm XF system.
• Laowa announced a new wide angle zoom lens for crop sensor mirrorless cameras at a Chinese trade show.