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 p.1 #19 · Why are all new lenses getting bigger and heavier? | |
Chris_88 wrote:
Well, plenty of people (yours truly not included) want/need f1.4 lenses. You might remember the reaction to Sony releasing smaller lenses such as the 55 1.8, 35 2.8, when the a7r and a7 were first launched in November 2013. There were plenty of people on the net who kept complaining about the lack of a trinity of f2.8 zoom lenses and faster (read: f1.4) primes. Those who did the complaining also included plenty of pros (let's not get into a definition war of what that entails here, please) who told Sony they had a need for speed.
Now, part of that may be marketing talk by Sony. However, if you look at the industry as a whole, this is the direction that we are headed in. Just look at Leica. The m-mount is generally considered the poster child for compact, high-performing lenses. However, once you add AF and other features, the size goes up quite a bit, as you can tell from looking at the SL mount version of popular m-mount lenses such as the Lux 50 APSH or the APO Cron 75, not to mention those big zooms.
What is more, people expect their fast glass to perform at very high level ideally right from f1.4 and preferably all the way into the corners. Pixel peeping doesn't help, especially given how demanding 40-50 MP sensors are. Given that 100MP will come to MF pretty soon and then trickle down to FF at some point in the future, this arms race and the resulting demands on lenses are only going to increase....Show more →
Great summary, Chris.
Just a reminder to folks -- 35mm cameras originally were cute little rangefinder models with pop-out lens that could fit in a pocket. From a simple desire to utilize movie film, these machines grew into the behemoths of the professional DSLR. I understand why they grew, and all the precision and features they offered. No complaints here!
I feel it is only a matter of time before mirrorless bodies increase in size and weight. We already see the high quality lenses increasing in size, such as the Sony 50/1.4 (a very highly regarded image maker). With these new Canon mirrorless (and don't forget the outstanding Sigma 24-35/2 Art), and the introduction of a range of long lenses, Sony and others will continue to beef up the size and weight for top models.
I wouldn't be surprised to see Sony enlarge and beef-up their lens mount in five more years as part of the super-sizing and future-proofing efforts. In my opinion, Sony has the weakest mount and overall construction compared to CaNikon -- those new mirrorless mounts, on top of new lenses, are going to be causing a lot of ripples and sparking imaginations.
To be sure, there will always be high quality smaller cameras in the FF format (as were APS-C to DSLRs), but they might eventually be considered more enthusiast, than advanced amateur/professional quality.
A few things I think we can be sure will happen:
Resolution will continue to increase
Highest quality glass will be desired to get the most out of that resolution
Bodies will grow to support such lenses and furnish more sq/in for controls, viewing, and gripping surfaces.
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My prediction is that this wave will start to peak in around five years, following improvements in computing power for both PP image processing, and also increasingly sophisticated computers in camera bodies.
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