[Leica] Nikon mirrorless

Thu Jul 5 10:21:49 PDT 2018

>From a business perspective the game is over for Nikon.  Their sales have
been very disappointing and their latest cameras are unobtanium.  I have
spent considerable time talking to camera sales people who complain
strenuously that they can't even get demo's of D850's. Even when they fake
customers who are allegedly ordering them.  Nikon has great technology both
in noise reduction and in lens performance.  But I can't see them bringing
out bodies that are best in class for video, classic tripod photography,
and sports with the emphasis on focus and framing rate.

Canon is still in denial about mirrorless and is losing share primarily to
Sony.  They still currently have an advantage using 300mm and above lenses
and their new line of ultra-wides is competitive.

Sony is taking market share every day as they excel in video, low light,
and focus/framing rate.  As their lens line up builds out their is less
reason to to stay with legacy lenses although the adapters work pretty well
with Canon lenses especially the newer designs.

Fuji is also gaining market share especially in the general photography; by
that I mean street, general journalism, and niche markets that in aggregate
are a lot of photographers.

As to lenses and the cost to change that is generally not a huge expense.
For most working photographers you can get by with a 24-70 and a 70-200
especially if you use a 2x on the 70-200 for more reach.  Typically you
would also acquire a 14-24 or 11-22 if you are full frame.  Figuring $2500
per lens thats $7500 but you could trade/sell your existing lenses for
something around $3000 if you kept them in good shape and are trading like
for like.  So $4000 for new state of the art lenses isn't a huge amount in
the age of $1000 phones and $150/month phone bills.

Also, bear in mind that the Sigma Art lenses are much less expensive to
less expensive and have been getting reviews putting them ahead of the
majors in all respects.  Take a look at the Lensrental.com blog where they
go into extreme technical examination including tear downs to examine build
engineering decisions.

Photographers will continue to acquire the equipment that allow them to
create memorable images in whatever genre that they compete in.  Currently
Sony/Fuji are building the cameras that satisfy those needs for many.  As
the technology evolves real advantages accrue to changing platforms.
Putting stabilization into the body means lenses are more affordable: this
was an Olympus creation but they stayed in the 4/3 platform that has not
been received as well as hoped.  Extreme ISO performance(Nikon initially
gained market share as they were an early leader) is liberating; I will be
changing from a perfectly adequate body to a new one so that I can shoot at
12000 ISO if need be. (Shooting stars in the southwest US with a 30 second
max speed is driving this)

I believe that the early to market Sony and Fuji will succeed partly
because of the adapters that are available; adapters are available to use
virtually every any lens ever made.  I am not sure that the manufacturers
will jump on new offerings from Nikon or Canon in the depth that is
available for the E-mount and or the Fuji mount.  Part of being a non
leader in sales means that outside vendors don't support you as well,
especially on the fringes.  Plugins for Epson printers are widely
available, not so much for HP.

All the best

On Thu, Jul 5, 2018 at 12:35 PM chris williams via LUG <lug at leica-users.org>
wrote:

> The pro Canon users I know are now using Sony. The Nikon users are now
> using Fuji (like me).
>
> Adapters are a bandaid but won’t be a long term solution.
>
> Chris Williams
> www.zoeicaimages.net
> 504-231-6261
>
>
> > On Jul 5, 2018, at 12:30 PM, Ken Iisaka <ken at iisaka.com> wrote:
> >
> > Not so sure about that. If all the existing AF-F mount lenses can be used
> > via adapter, this can truly signal the end of SLRs.
> >
> > Sony was the first to the market, with a full 35mm sensor, but having to
> > invest in a new set of lenses prevented many from making the jump. If
> Nikon
> > can pave a path for smoother transition, with full compatibility with
> > legacy accessories, as it has historically done, I can see many people
> > embracing the new standard.
> >
> > Nikon's previous mirrorless standard was indeed a failure, trying to
> avoid
> > cannibalising the existing SLR market. But they have now seen that the
> SLR
> > era is over.
> >
> >
> >> On 5 July 2018 at 09:20, chris williams via LUG <lug at leica-users.org>
> wrote:
> >>
> >> Too little too late IMHO.
> >>
> >> Chris Williams
> >> www.zoeicaimages.net
> >> 504-231-6261
> >>
> >>
> >>> On Jul 5, 2018, at 12:18 PM, Akhil Lal <alal at nyu.edu> wrote:
> >>>
> >>> According to nikonrumors.com, Nikon will announcetwo mirrorless bodies
> >>> soon. The lens mount will be new.
> >>>
> >>> I just hope Nikon offers an auto- everything adapter to use current F
> >> mount
> >>> lenses on the new bodies.
> >>>
> >>> _______________________________________________
> >>> Leica Users Group.
> >>> See http://leica-users.org/mailman/listinfo/lug for more information
> >>
> >> _______________________________________________
> >> Leica Users Group.
> >> See http://leica-users.org/mailman/listinfo/lug for more information
> >>
> >
> >
> >
> > --
> > Ken Iisaka
> > first name at last name dot org or com
> >
> > _______________________________________________
> > Leica Users Group.
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>
> _______________________________________________
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-- 
Don
don.dory at gmail.com