The year 2020 has seen the camera industry somewhat stagnate due to the COVID-19 pandemic. But we've seen various decisions from major camera manufacturers, many of them considering what they could do this year or wait another year before then.
Looking at this year 2021, that's what I (with Chris and Jordan) think you can expect from the big camera brands in 2021.
Canon
Chris and Jordan do well in their analysis of Canon's position: The company is doing really well when it comes to high-end. Right after the EOS R was launched, Canon spent most of its time building its own lens array. By the time I finally released the R5 and R6, there were powerful lenses to back up these two cameras.
The thing is, almost everything the Kaon sells in its line of RF is quite pricey, which makes it difficult for anyone on a budget to get a toe between Canon's mirrorless cameras. DPReview's video duo believes we'll see more inexpensive Canon camera equipment in 2021, including RP replacement, and I'm inclined to agree with them.
Canon also plans to invest more in mirrorless cameras with the M mount connection. As Jordan says, “The Canon M50 Mark II was kind of an embarrassing upgrade.” This Turkish does not deserve the name "Mark II", as Canon updated its firmware and offered it for sale.
I don't feel the company wants to make smaller sensor cameras in their RF camera line, so the M Line is the ideal place to provide this kind of support while the RF line continues to cater to those who want full-frame full-frame cameras.
Canon is hard to predict because while the mirrorless camera game is still hot, the company appears to be very well positioned to do what it wants. The company's strategy in investing in mirrorless cameras seems to have paid off.And now there is so much flexibility in terms of where Canon can take its trademark that is hard to predict. Canon fans have plenty of reasons to remain hopeful.
Pentax / Ricoh cameras
It's easy to guess what Pentax / Ricoh will do in 2021: we'll get the Pentax K3 Mark III. And maybe a new GR under the Ricoh brand, and maybe a Pentax single lens. But the company fell back and forth for years.
The company’s management said it would never produce a Pentax mirrorless camera. But by keeping an eye on the time the company spends making lenses for DSLR cameras. There is no way Pentax could compete at its current pace even if it produced great mirrorless ILC. You have to wait 5 or 6 years before there can be any type of lens to use in such a camera.
I'm a little excited to see how the K3 Mark III integrates an anti-vibration on the sensor because we've never seen this technology in a DSLR before. Aside from that, there is little to be said when it comes to Pentax / Ricoh.
Fujifilm cameras
I have to admit, I can't anticipate what will be released by Fujifilm. I like the cameras, but I have never been a "Fuji man." Jordan has a small list of projections for the company in 2021 that focus primarily on the company's ability to video. Fujifilm has steadily increased its focus on video over the past two years to narrowly intervene in the field of Panasonic's four-thirds of the sensors. I think what Jordan is saying here is a clever guess: expect them to give more to videographers.
I also agree it would make sense to see Fujifilm in action a little more with medium format cameras. Right now, these cameras are big and bulky and still relatively expensive. Fujifilm can try to compress this excellent 100MP sensor into a smaller, more affordable, and more friendly body.
Leica cameras
Chris doesn't think we'll see much on camera road outside of Leica this year. However, over the past two years, Leica has been making a lot of cameras and I think Chris' opinion that we will see more optics from the company this year is a very safe bet.
It can use lenses with L-Mount connection with more interesting and faster glass. I also think Leica should take advantage of its ability to create interesting lenses rather than the current trend for high-performance glass.
We'll get to this more in the Panasonic section, but Leica's autofocus needs to work. It's not a good sign that the SL2 didn't get my attention until I used a manual focus lens. Unlike Panasonic which owns DFD technology, Leica has an efficient contrast-based system without artificial intelligence. Leica either needs to license only what Panasonic owns, or it needs to add the phase detection feature.
Nikon cameras
Nikon has repeatedly appeared in the news this year, mostly due to its financial condition. Things don't look reassuring in the end. But I don't think we've come close to seeing Nikon's end anywhere. No, instead, I think the company will do what it constantly threatens to do: make more lenses for mirrorless cameras and produce another DSLR.
Jordan's expectation of a sports camera with Z-mount lens connectivity to compete with the Sony a9 is a pretty good guess. I agree that we will see a new Nikon sports camera in 2021. But it could be either a DSLR or mirrorless. I'm not sure if Nikon has the technology to make this high-performance mirrorless sports camera. But we know that it can do that with DSLR cameras.
Sigma cameras
Sigma is primarily known as a lens manufacturer, but it technically makes a camera as well. I have doubts about what Jordan says he'd hope to see Foveon camera without a mirror. I have said for years that I expect them to use this technology again and always expect that "this year will be the year."
I bet we'll see a compact, point-and-shoot camera for use in street / travel photography and focus on imagery from Sigma but I doubt it uses the Foveon sensor. It's been so long since she was seen in the camera that at this point, I have to believe that Sigma is having a hard time making itself a compelling choice in the market.
The "I Series" camera is likely to be compatible with Sigma's latest compact primes.
Olympus cameras
Chris and Jordan share my opinion: It's hard not to believe that this is just the beginning of the end for Olympus. Japan Industrial Partners (JIP) bought the Olympus brand this last year, and it is hard not to believe that it will let the brand die slowly.
Financially, I don't know how that would make sense for JIP. Buying Olympus wasn't cheap and letting the brand slowly fade away didn't seem to be a tough financial strategy. I have more confidence that Olympus will last for a while longer than Chris does, but it's really hard to tell. We rarely see new commercial camera owners in the industry, so it's hard to look at situations from the past and as a barometer of what we see now. Unfortunately, we just have to wait and see.
Panasonic cameras
Panasonic is my favorite camera brand, and I have no qualms about saying that. I switched to Panasonic with GH4 and now thankfully use GH5, S1, S5, and S1H.There are many who do not use Panasonic products who say that the company's DFD technology is bad and its insistence on contrast-based autofocus will not make progress, but I disagree. I think Panasonic will stick to DFD and keep improving it. At this point, if Panasonic were to use phase detection, it would have already.
I'm also with Jordan: and I'm 100% sure we'll see the GH6 this year as a small video-focused camera with a micro four thirds four-quadrant sensor that will have at least the same specs as we see in the a7S III. I don't think videographers want more resolution, so the camera will be focusing on absolutely stunning 4K performance.
Sony cameras
I think if 2020 were a normal year, the Sony a7 IV would already be on the market. Sony took a very conservative approach in 2020 because, let's face it, the company doesn't have to take any risks anymore. It kind of has the range of mirrorless cameras, but that won't last forever. As such, we will definitely see Sony launch some great new products in 2021, starting with the a7 IV.
I think Sony will also make a stronger case for its APS-C CropSensor line, and hopefully it will leave behind the Sony a6000. Fujifilm may be using stronger competition, and I think Sony understands that.
Also, some of the older G-Master lenses desperately need a refresh - I'm looking at the 24-70mm f / 2.8 lens.I'm pretty sure we'll see new versions of those lenses coming this year with updated optics and brand new autofocus motors.
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