MIRRORLESS WARS II: Canon vs Nikon, Sony, Fuji, Panasonic!

Tony and Chelsea write:

The first round of the mirrorless wars are over – Canon released the EOS R, Nikon released the Z7 (and announced the Z6), Panasonic announced the S1 and S1R, and Fuji launched the X-T3. We were there at the events as the camera companies battled to win back the full-frame market from Sony. We think some of the camera companies did a great job, while others made some serious mistakes.

Amateur Photographer interview with Leica and Panasonic

Interview with Leica:

Interview with Panasonic:

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(L3) Panasonic S1 and S1R camera might output RAW video?

I just got this from a source:

Hello there, so I’ve come across a small variety of interesting news regarding the new Panasonic full frame cameras from a few credible sources.
Tip #1, A few weeks ago I was on a location scout and started a conversation with a fellow. We began talking about the new Panasonic full frame camera and he informed me that he has a friend in Japan who is working on the full frame sensors they’re producing. He said that his friend told him they are designing them to be able to shoot raw video.
Tip #2, I received this past Monday at Adobe Max in LA where I’m currently workshopping. I went and spoke with one of the Panasonic reps at their booth where I asked the rep about the rumor of being able to shoot raw video. The older gentleman replied, “I can neither confirm nor deny that it will be able to shoot Raw”, and then he subtly, yet meaningfully winked at me in a rather guaranteeing fashion. He then freely offered more information to me by telling me that the 150 megapixel capabilities of their camera will actually be closer to 168MP. With that information, I suspect we will be seeing some great thing from Panasonic this next year.

I have to admit this is not the first time I got this rumor. So probably there is something solid behind it. Of course, you have to expect RAW video to be recorder externally on a special recorder and not internally. That I really can’t see happening any time soon.

TheVerge: “Panasonic’s Lumix S1R is an unapologetically blocky pro camera”

TheVerge thinks:

With its own engineering pedigree and a lens ecosystem that should grow faster than anyone else’s, Panasonic is making all the right moves to catch up with the likes of Sony, the undeniable leader in popularizing the full-frame mirrorless format.

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You can join the new L Full Frame Facebook group if you plan to buy this camera. There you can discuss all features and tests once it’s released!

To readers: While I am working to get some early specs I kindly invite you to stay tuned on L-rumors by subscribing here:
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Matt Grangers thoughts about the Leica/Panasonic/Sigma L Mount Alliance

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You can join the new L Full Frame Facebook group if you plan to buy this camera. There you can discuss all features and tests once it’s released!

To readers: While I am working to get some early specs I kindly invite you to stay tuned on L-rumors by subscribing here:
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New Sigma interview with Lensvid and says L-mount designed lenses will not be much smaller than DSLR lenses

Lensvid interviewed the Sigma CEO and here are some key info:

  • Sigma was working on their own mirrorless full frame camera for several years (with their own mount). However around 2015-2016 Panasonic suggested to Sigma to join forces and create a joint full frame alliance which was joined by Leica (when exactly Leica Joined is unclear) and the Leica L-mount (used on the SL cameras) was chosen for this new partnership.
  • Sigma will make both lenses and cameras with this mount (and will develop new FF Foveon sensor) for their camera which will be available sometime in 2019.
  • Panasonic, Sigma and Leica do not exchange information about future products but they do work on improve the L-mount and make sure future products will be compatible across the system.
  • The new system is currently only for the three companies (this isn’t an open system like micro 4/3 for example), but Mr. Kazuto Yamaki stated that he is not ruling out adding more companies in the future.
  • Some Sigma users asked the company for tilt-shift lenses for mirrorless cameras but this is not a priority for Sigma at the moment (as this is a niche area and the company has a lot of more urgent things on its plate).
  • Sigma always tries to make its lenses smaller and lighter but at least in the art series, it prefers optical performance over size/weight as opposed to the contemporary series which is more balanced.
  • Next year Sigma will start making dedicated mirrorless lenses (we are assuming the intention here is full frame lenses since Sigma already has a very nice APS-C dedicated FF mirrorless line).
  • These new lenses will be smaller but not by much. Mr. Kazuto Yamaki gives an example of Sony’s 35mm FF lens vs. their own DSLR lens with an adaptor and explains that making the lenses significantly smaller might not always be possible even if they are designed for mirrorless cameras from the ground up.
  • Sigma is interested in Phase Fresnel but this doesn’t mean that we will see any lens based on this technology (which Nikon and to some extent Canon) employed.
  • Mr. Kazuto Yamaki agrees that we are at the start of a new area in Photography, one that signifies the move from DSLR to mirrorless cameras. He also mentioned that he believes this is part of a process of change that has been going on for a long time and has been happening every 20-30 years. The last time was the move from analog to digital, before that we had the move from manual focus to autofocus and even before that the move from rangefinder to DSLR cameras.
  • Mr. Kazuto Yamaki predicts that we will see more mirrorless sales than DSLRs in about 3 years. However, DSLR lens sales will probably still be higher (as there will still be many more DSLRs around compared to mirrorless cameras).

Ricoh, Olympus, Zeiss, Voigtlander, Samsung: Who would you like see joining the L-mount alliance?

There are still companies that have not joined the Full Frame mirrorless world or have yet to commit on making L-mount lenses.

I can see Ricoh-Pentax trying to get on board while Olympus may join some times later too. Zeiss and Voigtlander L-mount lenses would be very welcome too!
An unexpected but surely very strong partner would be Samsung with their excellent sensor tech.

So let us know:

Choose the one single company that in your opinion would be the most attractive new partner:

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Share in the comment system why you think a certain company would be better than the others…

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You can join the new L Full Frame Facebook group if you plan to buy this camera. There you can discuss all features and tests once it’s released!

To readers: While I am working to get some early specs I kindly invite you to stay tuned on L-rumors by subscribing here:
RSS feed: http://www.L-rumors.com/feed/
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/L-rumors-266550040642592/
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