2018 camera market Infographic shows how bad things are going…

Lensvid published this new Inforgaphic based on the 2018 CIPA data:

The bottom line is very bad though. We are below 20 million units per year and mirrorless cameras don’t gain as much traction as you might think (2% increase per year vs. 12% decrease in DSLR). For the first time, interchangeable lens cameras surpassed the sales of compact cameras (not surprising, to be honest). If you look at the entire decade you see an unbelievable drop of 84% from 2010 to 2018 in the number of cameras sold/made per year.

The lens market is also going down (except interestingly in the Americas where you have a small increase). Maybe the most important thing and something that we have been looking at for the first time is prices (it isn’t a direct number – CIPA gives the number of cameras/lenses and the amount of money these products were sold for – but it is not clear sold to whom – since the manufacturers do not sell directly to people and there are sometimes a lot of middle man in between).

Anyway – for what it is worth we see a trend which we already know of in the numbers – in 2018 fewer cameras were sold but for more money, it is even more obvious in lenses – the companies reported more money coming in from lenses in 2018 than in 2017 despite selling fewer lenses so you can do the math on what this means for lens camera/lens pricing and what will probably happen if the market will continue to shrink in 2019…

Click on this image to see the full size infographic:

I wonder how all these camera manufacturers will survive if things will go even worse the next couple of years…

Full article on Lensvid.com!

Eija Shirota from Olympus: We are considering applying the “Deep AI” to additional cameras

Digitaltrends interviewed Eija Shirota from Olympus. There is a lot of tech about the new tech but also a clear confirmation from Olympus that the new Deep AI tech will be built-in on future Olympus models too:

Question: Do you see using more deep learning algorithms on future cameras?
Answer: Yes, we are considering applying this technology to additional cameras. But, the current challenge is that this camera has two engines. We need big power to run this algorithm, and this can’t be achieved by all the models, so we have to consider which models will receive this technology. But the answer is yes.

E-M1X Preorders:
Olympus E-M1X in USA at Amazon, GetOlympus, Adorama and BHphoto.
Olympus E-M1X in Europe at Calumet Germany, ParkCameras, Jessops, WexUK.

New Kamlan 7.5mm f/3.2 lens announced

Kamlan announced this new lens that should be available soon on on Amazon:

FS 7.5 mm F 3.2

Focal length: 7.5 mm
Maximum diameter: F3.2
Minimum aperture: F16
field angle of 160 degrees
format compatibility: APS-C
Lens construction: 6 groups seven
shortest focal distance: 10cm
Focus: manual focus (MF)
Mount: Micro Four Thirds
Dimensions: 48 x 58 mm
Weight: Approximately 250 g
* Filter installation impossible
Shop front estimate price: around tax 25,000 yen

via DC.watch

a bit of everything…


Portrait of a Soviet Lens; JUPITER 8 “RED-P” Version

Does Micro Four Thirds Really Need a New Camera Manufacturer? (ThePhoBlographer).
Soligor 1.33x Panasonic GH5 with 25mm f1.7 // Anamorphic lens test with AF// Chung Dha
Teru Kuwayama: What is Photography? (Explora).
Canon CEO thinks the digital camera market will shrink further the next two years until we finally hit the bottom (Mirrorlessrumors).

Jan: “Here is an example (in German) of what the Lumix LX100 can do as a compact travel camera. It is still a great camera if you want to travel light.
https://youtu.be/eaumBL5656c

Share your best pictures on our new Instagram MicroFourThirdsGallery.

Plenty of news on the facebook E-M1II group, Panasonic FF and the GH5 group.

Olympus financial report released: Imaging Business reports big loss in revenue

Olympus released the Q3 financial report. And while the company as a whole is doing ok the Imaging Business reported a major revenue loss. Also the forecast had to be revised down:

Part of the loss lies in “The impacts of ceased operations at the Chinese manufacturing subsidiary”. So this should be a one time loss only. But another more important cause of the loss is the “intensified competition“.

We have to keep in mind that Olympus did not announce new products at last years Photokina and this certainly had a big impact on their financial results. I hope the new E-M1X and the next new product launches will invert this trend.

a bit of everything…


Panasonic S1 and S1R New Features at CES 2019

Best telephoto zoom lens of the year is the Panasonic 50-200mm f/2.8-4 OIS DG Vario (Imaging Resource).
Six Tips for Super Blood Moon Photography (GetOlympus).
Rhino Makes Camera Movement Easy with the RŌV Pro Slider (Explora).
Tony Northrup Panasonic L-mount lens roadmap prediction (L-rumors).

Eric:this music video was entirely shot with a GH5: www.seizethe.video

Share your best pictures on our new Instagram MicroFourThirdsGallery.

Plenty of news on the facebook E-M1II group, Panasonic FF and the GH5 group.