This is an interesting article that Kai Wong (the Chinese dude who speaks in English accent on DigitalrevTV youtube channel) ... this is only meant as an interesting read, not to bash Canon or Nikon ... disagreements are welcome, but kindly refrain from hate posts please. Thanks
As published in http://www.digitalrev.com/article/canon-and-nikon-past-their/MTc3MzU1MDAz
22 Dec 2013 by Kai Wong
Fancy dress parties are hateful. It's not the taking part that irks me, it's the having to see other people take so much pleasure from lazily dressing-up in attire that adheres to a stereotype of what it's supposed to represent. It makes me feel a little sad for the people who go to those 1970s disco nights wearing an off-the-shelf kit consisting of: big 'fro, shiny flares, big collars and big sunglasses. It makes you wish the 70s was an object just so that you could punch it in anger, but the fact of the matter is that the 70s was actually pretty cool. Kind of.
That brings me neatly to Nikon's fancy dress disaster: the Df. What a shambles. In a nutshell, it's a D610, with a Nikon FM - a classic SLR from the 70s - costume on and not a very good one at that. Nikon designed the Df to be a cool blend of digital sensibilities fused with a nostalgic nod to the charming classic minimalism of a film camera that was once used by the masses decades ago. The trouble with the execution, however, is that it has ended up being not so much a tribute to the FM as it is a parody. If you wanted to satisfy your nostalgic desires or wanted a DSLR that works like a fully manual SLR then you'll be severely disappointed with the Df.
Outside of the pro market, I sometimes wonder if Nikon is getting a bit fuddy-duddy. Canon too. Nikon and Canon are having a bit of an identity crisis (or is that mid-life crisis?). They can both produce pro-grade products well, with higher end DSLRs that continue to sell well. So well that they don’t want to make any of their lower end stuff anywhere near as good for fear of harming the sales of the top end stuff. They're also incredibly cautious when it comes to their entry into the mirrorless camera market. Although they are aware that mirrorless is a threat to entry-level DSLR sales, they have no choice but to enter this segment but while still trying to get people to buy their DSLRs. Canon, like Nikon, still don’t seem to get it either.
The Canon EOS M2 was announced recently, which is more or less the same camera as the EOS M albeit with wifi and faster autofocus speed. But, frankly, you couldn’t have gotten any slower than the autofocus speed of the EOS M, so the only way was up. Not that this product announcement is really relevant anyway as it seems like Canon will be keeping this camera as an Asia-only release, if reports on the net are to be believed. No crying shame there mind you, as the EOS M2 is about as tantalising as a used bar of soap (the EOS M2 is seemingly designed to look like one too).
When Canon and Nikon try to be cool and different the result is somewhat lame. It’s like listening to an Uncle try to drop some words he found on urban dictionary into a conversation - it’s embarrassing. Although they seem to understand that there is a market for people who like mirrorless cameras or stylish cameras, their efforts lack substance. It feels like they think that it’s enough to produce something that is all about the superficial qualities and without any real depth to the product. Sony is quite the opposite: they have made some interesting products recently - a7 & a7R, RX1, QX10 - with cool tech albeit encased in something as bland looking as one of their TV remotes. The game is changing, and props must go to Sony for realising that life outside of DSLRs isn’t just a load of fancy dress.
As published in http://www.digitalrev.com/article/canon-and-nikon-past-their/MTc3MzU1MDAz
22 Dec 2013 by Kai Wong
Fancy dress parties are hateful. It's not the taking part that irks me, it's the having to see other people take so much pleasure from lazily dressing-up in attire that adheres to a stereotype of what it's supposed to represent. It makes me feel a little sad for the people who go to those 1970s disco nights wearing an off-the-shelf kit consisting of: big 'fro, shiny flares, big collars and big sunglasses. It makes you wish the 70s was an object just so that you could punch it in anger, but the fact of the matter is that the 70s was actually pretty cool. Kind of.
That brings me neatly to Nikon's fancy dress disaster: the Df. What a shambles. In a nutshell, it's a D610, with a Nikon FM - a classic SLR from the 70s - costume on and not a very good one at that. Nikon designed the Df to be a cool blend of digital sensibilities fused with a nostalgic nod to the charming classic minimalism of a film camera that was once used by the masses decades ago. The trouble with the execution, however, is that it has ended up being not so much a tribute to the FM as it is a parody. If you wanted to satisfy your nostalgic desires or wanted a DSLR that works like a fully manual SLR then you'll be severely disappointed with the Df.
Outside of the pro market, I sometimes wonder if Nikon is getting a bit fuddy-duddy. Canon too. Nikon and Canon are having a bit of an identity crisis (or is that mid-life crisis?). They can both produce pro-grade products well, with higher end DSLRs that continue to sell well. So well that they don’t want to make any of their lower end stuff anywhere near as good for fear of harming the sales of the top end stuff. They're also incredibly cautious when it comes to their entry into the mirrorless camera market. Although they are aware that mirrorless is a threat to entry-level DSLR sales, they have no choice but to enter this segment but while still trying to get people to buy their DSLRs. Canon, like Nikon, still don’t seem to get it either.
The Canon EOS M2 was announced recently, which is more or less the same camera as the EOS M albeit with wifi and faster autofocus speed. But, frankly, you couldn’t have gotten any slower than the autofocus speed of the EOS M, so the only way was up. Not that this product announcement is really relevant anyway as it seems like Canon will be keeping this camera as an Asia-only release, if reports on the net are to be believed. No crying shame there mind you, as the EOS M2 is about as tantalising as a used bar of soap (the EOS M2 is seemingly designed to look like one too).
When Canon and Nikon try to be cool and different the result is somewhat lame. It’s like listening to an Uncle try to drop some words he found on urban dictionary into a conversation - it’s embarrassing. Although they seem to understand that there is a market for people who like mirrorless cameras or stylish cameras, their efforts lack substance. It feels like they think that it’s enough to produce something that is all about the superficial qualities and without any real depth to the product. Sony is quite the opposite: they have made some interesting products recently - a7 & a7R, RX1, QX10 - with cool tech albeit encased in something as bland looking as one of their TV remotes. The game is changing, and props must go to Sony for realising that life outside of DSLRs isn’t just a load of fancy dress.
