The camera market has changed and, I suspect, we’re going to have to adapt to a new reality for cameras, one in which there is a wide array of cameras available, but they won’t necessarily be designed for existing photo enthusiasts. Recognizing that we’ll see fewer like-for-like replacements and that some of these future models aren’t designed for us will avoid a lot of confusion.

Camera makers are trying new things

You can see this proliferation already happening, with several brands creating vlogging models, to the point that Sony has developed its ZV series that sits completely apart from its Alpha or Cyber-Shot ranges. Similarly, though riding on the coat-tails of the existing X-series branding, Fujifilm released the X half: a camera specifically and explicitly designed for people who don’t currently buy cameras. And Canon showing off demos of retro-styled cameras that project an image onto a screen that is then photographed, giving them more in common with the X half or even the early I’m Back modules than with the EOS range.

Don’t mistake “not for me” with “that doesn’t make sense.”

If you’re the kind of person who owns several cameras or has owned a series of cameras over the years, some of these models aren’t going to make conventional sense, because they’re designed to be something different for different people.

But don’t mistake “not for me” with “that doesn’t make sense.” And don’t assume that camera makers are going to follow their existing patterns or your existing preconceptions.

Some of which are unconventional

While it shares most of its specs with its predecessor, the new Panasonic Lumix DC-ZS300 isn’t a like-for-like replacement, much less an upgrade. But the result is a camera significantly cheaper than its obvious rival and it’s less expensive in real terms, than the previous model. Image: Panasonic

For instance, we’ve just seen Panasonic launch the ZS300 / TZ300, an updated version of its large sensor travel zoom, It has essentially the same specs as the TZ200 from 2018, but no longer includes a dedicated viewfinder.

Whereas we understand why the Ricoh GR has no viewfinder: it’s a camera aimed at enthusiasts and specifically a group of enthusiasts who’ve loved previous generations of GR and keep telling Ricoh that a small camera is more important than adding a viewfinder. It’s not quite the same situation with the ZS300, which is aimed at a broader, perhaps less experienced market. It also replaces a model that did have a finder, making the omission all the more striking.

User keep telling Ricoh that a small camera is more important than adding a viewfinder to the GR

However, it’s worth noting that the majority of compacts ever sold had no viewfinder, and most people weren’t willing to pay extra for the models that had them. Also, while the devilry of inflation means the price of ZS300 is higher in money terms, if you take inflation into account, it’s priced significantly below the $1050 that the ZS200’s launch price would equate to today. And, for reference, its most closely comparable rival, Sony’s RX100 VII, currently sells for $1689.

So while it doesn’t appear to make sense when compared with its predecessor, there might be some logic in what Panasonic has done. We’ve requested one and hope to see how significant the impact is.

Wishful thinking won’t make these cameras into something they’re not

The Nikon ZR says “Red” on the back and “Cinema” on its shoulder. It’s not trying to be a photo camera, and adding a viewfinder and mechanical shutter to cannibalize Z6III sales is the last thing I’d expect Nikon to do. Photo: Mitchell Clark

And, as cameras diverge from traditional patterns, it’s worth recognizing when that’s happened. I’ve written before about people commenting about the Panasonic S9 and Nikon ZR as if they’re small photographers’ bodies, or are just one misguided step away from being them. That’s misguided.

In the case of S9, I can see why that is: it looks so much like a large Lumix GM that I can see why so many people want to project their unrequited desire for such a camera onto it. But the S9 is a vlogging camera with no mechanical shutter, and it’s just not much fun as a photo camera. The distinction should be even clearer in the case of the Nikon ZR, in that it’s full of video features such as 32-bit float compatibility and says Red on the back in large, capital letters.

Nikon didn’t almost manage to make a rangefinder shaped photographers camera and miss, any more than Panasonic did with the S9

This should make clear than Nikon didn’t almost manage to make a rangefinder shaped photographers camera and miss. They didn’t forget to add a viewfinder, are unlikely to create an optional viewfinder, given they don’t generally sell, and the camera wouldn’t suddenly gain a mechanical shutter even if they did so. And if you add a mechanical shutter and viewfinder, you basically create a direct competitor for the Z6III and no longer have a more affordable vlogging model.

There will still be cameras for you

Please don’t interpret this as me saying: “there won’t be any more cameras for you, and you need to just accept it.” Not least because I’ve always been a big fan of small cameras, I prefer a camera with a viewfinder and I’m much more of a photographer than videographer. It’s not just that I understand the desire for some of the hypothetical cameras that aren’t being made: I share it. My initial enthusiasm for mirrorless was spurred by the prospect of cameras that was smaller than DSLRs but offered much better IQ than compacts.

We may not have had a new Pen but Fujifilm’s X-E5 isn’t conceptually a million miles from one. And the X100 series might give a clue to the future of the camera market. Photo: Richard Butler

And, to an extent, some of those cameras do exist. The Fujifilm X-E5 moved decisively back towards offering a level of control and build quality that enthusiast photographers expect. Better still, it arrives in what’s now perhaps the most extensive and complete lineups of lenses for APS-C that’s ever existed, meaning you can pair it with small, capable lenses, just as I’d hoped would be the case. That doesn’t quite make it a GM substitute, but it’s not so far from being a Pen alternative, and it’s much closer to those cameras than the S9 and its full-frame lenses could ever be.

There can be only one

There may be a lesson in the continued evolution of the Fujifilm X100 and the Ricoh GR, even when rivals such as the Nikon Coolpix A and Fujifilm X70 crashed and burned. And in Canon’s continued production of the G7X Mark III, even as its former competitors have disappeared from the market and take up their place in the records of our database and as increasingly risky eBay purchases.

You won’t see every camera maker competing in every niche

From where I’m sitting, I suspect the new reality will see some camera series discontinued or never updated, while an increasing range of unexpected, niche cameras arrive instead. These won’t necessarily resemble the things we’ve seen before and won’t be trying to address the same people who previously bought cameras. There will continue to be plenty of interesting cameras for photographers but, especially away from the top-selling, do-everything models, you won’t see every camera maker competing for every niche.

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