(Leica D-lux 5)Since the GXG blog started off in 2008, things have been changing fast in the camera market. GXG is meant to, for one thing, share news and views on the serious compact cameras, which in 2008 referred to cameras fitted with 1/1.7" sensor like the GX, GRD, LX, G, P and then the EX and the resurrected S series.
With the advent of the MFT cameras, the camera makers rolled in on the act and the spheres of influence in the camera market gradually shifted. The markets has morphed into a greater number of sub-markets: P&Ss, which is dying in the face of the increasingly sophisticated camera functions of smart phones; back-up serious cameras for enthusiasts; the mirror-less; besides the DSLRs and higher-end cameras.
In the original playing field of serious compacts, Ricoh's once niche market gave further ground to the other players but has hopefully managed to partly regain with the GXR system, notably the M-mount modules. Samsung paced at great speed along its roadmap of mirror-less cameras with an array of cheaper but less satisfactory models; not any impressive move from Samsung yet. Fujifilm caught the market off guard with the X series in endearing retro design recently. Sigma has been humbly following behind with as few models as can be. The big C and N guys jumped on the bandwagon at last with measured steps and respectably a sensor type of their own class which effectively avoids the overlapping of the mirror-less models and the DSLRs.
This trend has given grist for the mills of camera gossips in the last three years. New cameras are always exciting and deserve some discussions. But it seems that those discussions have been titled towards the cameras per se and some very technical bits which probably have no ramifications on how to shot a photo. Regrettably, this trend will go on for the years to come. When I started learning photography, people were more concerned about how to take good pictures; what flash photography is; how to expose a scene and so on. Cameras were nothing but a box. Films were fondly discussed for which brands and types were suited for which specific photography topics. Now, look around the Internet and almost all "photography" sites. The talk and rumours of new cameras are galore. The hit rate and heart beat rate will shoot up upon the launch of a camera, which has become in a regular cycle of weeks. Move to any online sales sites and hear the bitter screaming for money in exchange for some 24 months old cameras. Just tonight, I met with a young man who is selling his GF2 and the viewfinder. GF2 was launched just 12 months ago! I wondered if he learnt enough what the camera could do.
Cameras have certainly preponderated over photography.
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