douglaurent said:
People say that camera sales are massively falling because of smartphone use - but nobody talks about one major difference between smartphones and DSLRs:
- With a current iPhone 7 or Samsung S7, hardly any realistic wish for features and functions is left open. It's very hard to imagine which real essential things the manufacturers should come up with in the future. If you own one of the top smartphones of one of the leading manufacturers, there are no real reasons to complain about the few specs that are better in the competitor's product. You can survive with the functions of the current smartphones for decades, and it feels like as if everything's there.
- With a Canon DSLR that is 5-10x as expensive, you can easily make a realistic future wish list of a few dozen relevant missing points, because those functions are already implemented in lots of other existing products by the competition (many in mirrorless cameras). While the quality of the cameras is great in itself and you can use them for many years to come, a lot of things are limited, and logistics and workflow are not as convenient as they can be. A lot of extras and multiple devices need to be bought to be able to have allround capabilities.
Final result is: A 2016 smartphone just feels good and not like an expensive thing to buy for what it gives you. A 2016 Canon camera feels expensive, because you know the company has left out many things and didn't even pretend to try to release the best they can do. That is also the main difference to Sony. An A7RII or A99II feel much more as if it's the best Sony could come up with at the time.
Maybe Canon should try to release products that include all they can give at the moment, and more people than now will see the reasons why it makes sense to buy them and feel good about it, although they have a smartphone and/or an older Canon product.
+1 - full agreement.
No matter, how much the Canon Defense League may be in denial.
However, smartphones still have 2 major disadvantages vs. (good) dedicated cameras:
* fixed focal length or puny zoom range, no possibility to change lenses/focal lengths
* no viewfinder
yes ... many users are willing and able to live with these constraints and capture excellent images despite of it.
but ... smartphones are no truly universal photographic tool
and ... most existing cameras are neither
Thats why I am pushing for as small as possible but fully functional solid state cameras - with capable sensor, capable AF system, capable viewfinder and capable lens mount and lenses.
In APS-C sensor size Sony A6500 + E-lenses and Canon EOS M5 plus EF-M lenses and Fuji XT-2 and X-lenses are "almost there", with various deficiencies in all 3 systems.
In FF sensor size, only Sony has an entry with A7 II cameras + FE lens family. But is is still some ways off, namely: current A7 II camery bodies are too bulky [goal would be RX1R II size and form factor], UI is still far from ideal and most importantly: there are no good, small and affordable FE lenses available.
Meanwhile, in late 2016 neither Canon nor Nikon nor the rest of the industry have anything on offer in the mirrorless FF category. And if anything at all, Canon is likely to bring a *fixed-lens* FF mirrorless compact cam only, which shares ione of the 2 main deficiencies with smartphones, only at a much higher pricepoint ... stupid, Canon! Very stupid. And they don't live up to it, but prefer to attribute sinking profits to Brexit and currency fluctuations instead. Crazy stupid. :
