With a medium-format system on the way from Fujifilm, Panasonic bolstering its video-centric GH line and the wraps off some serious glass from Sigma, yesterday’s various Photokina unveilings had us surprised, impressed and slowly attempting to justify needing it all in our lives at once.
Some of the most exciting news came from Olympus, whose upcoming, 4K-shooting OM-D E-M1 II and tasty M. Zuiko Digital ED 12-100mm f/4 IS Pro and M. Zuiko Digital ED 25mm f/1. 2 Pro lenses cement its commitment to the enthusiast/professional user. And at the other end of the spectrum? The Pen E-PL8, a model that’s admittedly very handsome but whose reasons for existing aren't entirely clear.
That’s not to say that when it does eventually land it won't be a fitting photographic companion for the entry-level user. On the contrary, not only does it look like a viable step up for those with some of the earliest Pen models, but with a well-rounded spec sheet so closely matched to the popular E-PL7, we expect it to be just as fine a performer.
Refreshed exterior aside – and just to stress again, it is lovely to look at – very little has changed.
But it’s this similarity that is the issue, the fact that very little has moved on from where we were two years ago. Refreshed exterior aside – and just to stress again, it is lovely to look at – very little has changed. Sure, there are changes to the GUI and you can also now shoot at 8. 5fps rather than the E-PL7’s 8fps, but you’d be hard pushed to find anyone who would consider it to represent any real progress from the previous E-PL7. Or indeed, to some extent, Pen models before that.
Naturally, it would unreasonable to expect every manufacturer to make equal leaps in progress in each category. Not only does this ignore the fact that products are not only announced every two years at Photokina but throughout the year, but it also doesn't make the most commercial sense. Nevertheless, an announcement as underwhelming as the E-PL8 does raise a question: if Olympus could introduce something better in the E-PL8, why has it chosen not to?
Perhaps because the Pen line has taken something of a back footing to the more enthusiast-focused OM-D family, or perhaps because the market at which the camera is largely aimed probably doesn't really care if the camera is x times better/faster/more fully featured than before. Many have already pointed to a slew of features that could have been included – notably the company’s five-axis image stabilisation system, but potentially a built-in EVF or Dual Fast AF system too – although including these would obviously elevate the E-PL8 – and its price – into enthusiast territory, territory that’s sufficiently covered by the company’s O-MD offerings.
Manufacturers have known for some time that everything a novice user could conceivably want in such a camera is already in place, and the only room for progress is to either include something revolutionary that doesn't cost much to implement or, in the absence of this, gimmicks that wouldn't be at home anywhere else. Look through the last couple of generations of cameras and you’ll see the latter in spades: the second Baby Scene mode nobody asked for, or Sony’s Auto Portrait Framing option that believes it’s more intelligent than its results often suggest. And this is before we’ve even started to consider the Pentax K-S1.
You can't help but wonder what the situation will be like in another couple of years time, whether similar potential updates will indeed update a camera in any meaningful way, and where this will leave the entry-level sector. Just as smartphones and tablets ate their way into the budget compact market, causing manufacturers to develop their enthusiast compact and superzoom-style camera lines to remain at the table, it’s possible that their progress here will in turn chip away at their most affordable interchangeable-lens systems.
Up until a few years ago the idea of a reasonably sized camera with a relatively large sensor and a lens with a healthy zoom range that wasn’t prohibitively slow was just that: an idea.
Sure, large-sensor superzooms like the Sony RX10 III and Panasonic FZ2000 are pricey right now, but for how much longer will this be the case? Up until a few years ago the idea of a reasonably sized camera with a relatively large sensor and a lens with a healthy zoom range that wasn’t prohibitively slow was just that: an idea. Yet now, these models are on their second and third generations. As larger sensors and longer and/or brighter lenses have trickled their way into smaller bodies, it follows that the appeal of the budget interchangeable lens camera has waned.
If you’re concerned about the lack of innovation in the entry-level market, it's quite possible that you’re not the intended audience for that kind of camera. Yet, such investments involve buying into an ecosystem, one that is shaped by demand and driven by the need for innovation. Not only that, but many people turn towards more affordable options in a manufacturer’s stable as secondary cameras to more advanced primary bodies, particularly if they know that model has been fortunate enough to inherit the same sensor or other features from a model higher up. Needless to say that any changes that do take place will happen over a period of time rather than overnight – just don’t be surprised if a future Photokina leaves nothing of any interest for the novice user.
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. digitalrev.com2016-10-7 03:00
