new (and future) camera boredom

Luke

Legend
Location
Milwaukee, WI USA
Name
Luke
I was just looking ahead to Photokina and I must say that there are ZERO cameras that I am interested in, unless there is a surprise. I'd be vaguely interested in the Canon mirrorless if it has some retro style and dials for everything, but I'm guessing that ain't happening. So I can sit pat with my gear for a good long time and enjoy it.

For me, photography has always been 2 hobbies. The actual photography (my favorite part) and following along with the technology end and gear innovations. The 2nd part seems a lot less interesting to me lately. I've tried a bunch of different cameras this year and frankly none of them have really satisfied me 100% (or even close). And looking at the output, they are really all about equal. It makes me wonder what sort of innovation could entice to try something new.
 
but more seriously ...

... the last roll of 35mm film I shot had some images on it that satisfied me more than almost any others from my digitals ... they aren't images that have attracted many comments from others, but just give me a good feeling when I look at them ... it's given me a big pause for thought about what I'm pursuing "photographically", but most immediately it has killed all interest in new digital cameras for me ... I can certainly spend a lot of time going wow! at the lvel of detail I can discern at 100% zoom on some digital images, but it's such a dead end for me in all truth ... I still love my Olympus, but I can't imagine feeling I need to "upgrade" to a newer m43 or different system ...
 
I must say I don't feel the same at all!
The E-M5 is to me close to the perfect CSC, although I don't know if I really need a CSC in the first place.
The XP1 has some very interesting sensor innovation going on, which might finally lead other camera manufacturers to stop blurring away their sharpness with AA filters too.
The RX100 looks to be bringing DSLR-level IQ to shirt pocket sized cameras, particularly at wide ange where it's still fast, but its sensor is really amazing at higher ISO's too, so it should be the first really pocketable camera that gets great results above ISO 800, even if its lens at tele is quite slow.
I'm really curious to see what the Panasonic LX6-not-7 and the Olympus XZ2 will bring to keep competitive with the RX100; we already know that Samsung is going for the smallish sensor-very fast lens route.
I'm curious to see how other manufacturers will respond to Olympus' TG-1. I love the idea of an enthusiast-oriented rugged / waterproof camera with a focus on IQ and manual controls, and the TG-1 is a (long-overdue) first step in the right direction but not quite there yet.
 
The photography hobby is always more interesting and more fun to me than the camera hobby, no matter what equipment I've got available to use. But since changes in camera technology can occasionally make a big difference in the photography part (not in terms of how you see or what you see, but sometimes in your ability to GET the shot you see), I enjoy staying abreast of the camera part too. I'm not terribly excited about anything new at the moment either, but jeez, within the past several months I bought a new X-Pro and two lenses and a new OMD as well, so I HOPE I wouldn't be lusting after anything else new YET! I'm actually mildly excited to see how Panasonic and Ricoh and the other makers respond to Sony's new RX100 because I've sort of had a love / hate thing with these little all-in-one cameras since I first tried an S90 a couple years ago and I'd love it if the quality of these little buggers is now at the point that its mostly love / love rather than love / hate. But time will tell and if I don't end up getting anything new in a tiny compact, that'll be just fine too.

But in terms of "REAL" cameras, when I first got into digital a couple years ago after lots and lots of film shooting (and processing) in my youth, it took me only a few months to get back up to speed enough to figure out everything I'd like to see in my dream digital camera and what was lacking in what I had available at the time. And both Olympus and Sony have been inching toward my ideal camera over the past couple of years. And, for me, Olympus hit it and hit it HARD with the OMD - it just basically does everything I'd ever hoped for really well and a couple of things I'd have never thought of or dared hope for that I've come to really really like a lot too. Its the whole package for me. So I'm glad I hung in there and checked out all of the new stuff as it came along. And Fuji also grabbed me with their neo/retro Miata approach to the classic film camera with mind-blowing digital image quality and I'm really really glad to be able to have the X-Pro also, but that's kind of purely a "shooting experience" camera that I love on very different terms from the OMD. In terms of what I need to do the kind of shooting I like to do, I can't imagine anything I'd want that the OMD doesn't do with the set of lenses I already own for it. I'd be extremely bummed to lose the Fuji for some reason, but its more about my mental health and having something that's just a totally different kind of fun to shoot with and sort of a reminder of days gone by (the good parts, which for me is an important reality check about how I shoot) rather than something that makes it easier for me to get any given shot. In a way it makes it harder and that's kind of the point. Lots of people see that as a bug and can't stand the Fuji approach as a result - I see it as a feature and love their approach. Sort of the yang to the OMD's ultra-modern ying. Having both keeps me in balance - with only one I'd feel like I was ignoring a big part of my photographic psyche.

So at this point, small cameras and sensor technology has gotten well up to my threshold for more than good enough. Incremental changes going forward aren't as likely to excite me as some of the steps to this point either. But who knows - maybe there's a whole new photographic "killer app" in development out there somewhere that I'd have never thought of that will lure me in after another year or two? I sure didn't see the OMD's IBIS coming and wouldn't have asked for it, but now that's here, DAMN I'm glad I have it and if I hadn't planned to buy the OMD anyway, that might have been enough to pull me in. Same with the ability to fire in manual focus by touching the rear screen ANYWHERE, which is an absolute dream to the street shooter in me. So I'll keep an ear to ground to see what they think of next, but I'm really wanting for NOTHING at the moment and that's a really nice feeling. My gear does everything I'd ever want it to (not being a big time sports or wildlife photographer) and that's a pretty cool thing and its never been true until very recently...

-Ray
 
Ahhh...

Alas I want to try everything but can't. In fact the film cameras I have collected over the span of a year and a half are seeing little love other than my possessing them yet I really don't crave so much anymore because I realize I have many things still untried. Mind you that one of my little toys isn't a fraction of some of the compacts discussed here on SC and everything I own isn't wouldn't get me a pro level DSLR let alone half a Monochrom.. so while I have a little guilt for not jumping on what I have, it's not a lot of guilt. It is enough to relieve me of GAS though.

I do want to see what Canon is going to bring out because if it at least can do what my dslr can do at a smaller size [and I can use my macro lenses] then I might go that route if it doesn't cost an arm and a leg. I am going to have to surrender my DSLR to my daughter for college or buy her one. Since she won't be concentrating solely on photography, it being part of her second major art degree, I would rather not purchase new. What I have will help her learn what she needs to. Unfortunately if she has it I don't. And if she does study abroad like she wants to I wouldn't feel right relieving her of it and the chance to capture the places she travels to. But I have time. And as long as film holds out I have backup.

I haven't been doing this long, a few years, though have always had an interest in photography. It's funny that the Canon AE-1 that I longed for, for years as my children grew up, I could have now and have had two chances but refused them. Learning is a lot easier on digital IMHO because you don't spend a lot of money on bad exposures. But there is still something special about film that draws me. I should play there before it's gone.
 
I don't NEED anything else right now, but I'm still interested in what is over the horizon. The E-M5 (and associated system) has already nailed just about everything that I wanted plus some things that I didn't realise that I wanted in an interchangeable lens camera. From the first shutter release to the first import onto the computer I just knew that it was (for me anyway) the missing piece in Micro 4/3. The Canon G1X was also been wonderful but is a totally different camera to the E-M5. For some reason I still have thoughts about a larger sensor mirrorless camera but I'm waiting for a system that hits the right spot. Sony, Fuji, Samsung, maybe Canon (and who knows if Nikon have any ambitions beyond the 1 series). Don't really know what direction Ricoh and Pentax will take from here either. That's my main interest in new cameras going forwards. Tiny compacts with big sensors like the RX100 are fascinating developments but I just don't have the need or want for a pocketable camera.
 
No way it could live up to the hype, but I feel pretty satisfied with the E-M5 and my m4/3 glass.

The one thing on the horizon that is keeping me checking the rumors blogs is the Nikon D600. There are a lot of times when I am out shooting that a bigger camera would be no big deal. Plus, I have never owned a FF digital (or even a DSLR for that matter!), so I kind of feel like it would be nice to know what its like to shoot what everything else is compared to (crop factor, noise, etc.). Maybe I have to experience lugging a big(ger) kit around, like most everyone here already has, before I realize how good compacts are? :D

Now that I think about it, I also am interested to see what the new PENs look like.
 
I agree in the CSC space. I am curious on the Canon side, and I would like a Pen update, but I am not salivating at any prospects.

I am, however, VERY interested in a possible Nikon D600 (compact, entry level full frame DSLR) and it's Canon equivalent. I love the feel of FF, and would likely get one with a 50mm 1.8, if it was released, and small enough (like D5100 or smaller than a 60D). Other than those, I'm set. If the FF isn't released, then I'll just update a Pen, and if there's no new sensor in a new Pen, then I'll just sit tight for another 6-12 months.
 
Wow Kyle....those Fujis are news to me. I'd personally be more excited about a higher end Fuji so I could benefit from the market being flooded with used X-Pro1s. Used bodies are already occasionally showing up under $1,300. But frankly, I can't imagine what either of those cameras could be. I need to photograph a bunch of rare records and prepare some auctions for September anyways. Just a little more incentive.
 
I don't NEED anything else right now, but I'm still interested in what is over the horizon. The E-M5 (and associated system) has already nailed just about everything that I wanted plus some things that I didn't realise that I wanted in an interchangeable lens camera. From the first shutter release to the first import onto the computer I just knew that it was (for me anyway) the missing piece in Micro 4/3. The Canon G1X was also been wonderful but is a totally different camera to the E-M5. For some reason I still have thoughts about a larger sensor mirrorless camera but I'm waiting for a system that hits the right spot. Sony, Fuji, Samsung, maybe Canon (and who knows if Nikon have any ambitions beyond the 1 series). Don't really know what direction Ricoh and Pentax will take from here either. That's my main interest in new cameras going forwards. Tiny compacts with big sensors like the RX100 are fascinating developments but I just don't have the need or want for a pocketable camera.

I'm looking for something with the IQ of the E-M5 without the weatherproofing and all the other bells and whistles for the price of say an E-PL3. And the camera has to have a grip, unlike the E-PL3.
 
I'm looking for something with the IQ of the E-M5 without the weatherproofing and all the other bells and whistles for the price of say an E-PL3. And the camera has to have a grip, unlike the E-PL3.

What did you think about the new G5? I thought it looked pretty interesting... sounds like a GH2/multi-aspect sensor?
 
Wow Kyle....those Fujis are news to me. I'd personally be more excited about a higher end Fuji so I could benefit from the market being flooded with used X-Pro1s. Used bodies are already occasionally showing up under $1,300. But frankly, I can't imagine what either of those cameras could be. I need to photograph a bunch of rare records and prepare some auctions for September anyways. Just a little more incentive.

I wonder what they would do with a higher end Fuji? It would seem like weatherproofing wouldn't be helpful, given the lack of it on the lenses. More mpx (based on 24mpx Sony sensor)? Maybe PDAF sensors for fast AF?

Oh, the other thing I would like to see on the lower end, is a built in flash. Kind of an ILC version of the X100, but maybe with the latest 16mpx sensor. I would actually vote for the traditional filtering, just to make PP/raw conversion a little easier. It would seem like that may be enough to keep the price point lower than the X-Pro1 anyway.
 
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