Re: NR: Nikon Z50 Mirrorless APS-C Camera To Be Announced Soon
Steve Spencer wrote:
I agree that Fuji's strategy has been very good (although of course not perfect), but I don't think the same strategy makes sense for a camera makers that also makes FF cameras with the same mount. Nikon would naturally want people to upgrade from the APS-C cameras they make to the FF cameras they make, so making high end zooms and primes makes little sense. Instead leveraging APS-C for a smaller and more compact system does make sense.
Yet that has been unsuccessful for Sony in the same space (as Sony's APS-C stuff has been stagnant in terms of marketshare for years). It's also in progress of blowing up in Canon's face as they face EF M becoming a zombie mount.
The reality is that regardless of how much camera makers want to sell FF, it's a smaller market by far than APS-C and smaller even than high-end APS-C. Fuji has ridden that into being the only maker with any significant marketshare growth.
The other aspect of this is that high-end normal and wide APS-C lenses can be significantly smaller that same-aperture FF lenses. Sony's new 16-55/2.8 is comparable to the S 24-70/4 in terms of size (non-collapsed of course)
So in my view lenses like the two that are rumored, which are even collapsible make sense. A 16-55 f/2.8, however, would not. Here is what makes sense to me for them to make for APS-C:
And yet people were after Sony for years for one, they finally delivered. Nikon has lost a ton of lens sales in F mount DX due to never updating their two core zooms (the 17-55 and 12-24/4)
Four zooms: two similar to the one's rumored, a 10-20 f/4.5-5.6; and an all in one 18-200 f/4-5.6.
Four primes: 16, 24, 35, & 55 all f/2 and all very small, obviously DX only.
I agree all of those lenses are needed. But Nikon needs high-end APS-C glass as well (and a high-end APS-C body). If they don't do high-end APS-C they'll drop the biggest growth market they have available, the prosumer market. The core of that market has not gone FF and is more likely to buy lenses than consumer APS-C buyers.
Anything else you can adapt F or S glass made for FF and if you really want to stay with APS-C you can adapt F mount APS-C glass, but Nikon needs to be clear if you want better lenses and faster apertures you need to go FF. APS-C needs to provide something FF does not, and higher end glass with faster apertures is something that FF really does better anyway.
Nikon doesn't make any F mount APS-C glass worthy of adaptation beyond the 10-20VR and the 70-300AF-P VR, and maybe the 85 Micro. All 3 of those are really consumer lenses.
DX can deliver fast lenses at a noticeable size advantage to the FF equivalent.
To look at like for like:
The 24-70/2.8 S is 805g, 89mm diameter and 126mm long, with an 82mm filter ring.
The Fuji 16-55/2.8 is 655g, 86mm diameter and 106mm long, with a 77mm filter ring.
The Sony 16-55/2.8 G is 494g, 73mm diameter and 100mm long, with a 67mm filter ring.
That's a noticeable difference for the Fuji and a massive one for the Sony.
High-end glass with fast apertures is actually an advantage for smaller formats.
Sep 23, 2019 at 01:15 PM
Previous versions of mawz's message #14989833 « NR: Nikon Z50 Mirrorless APS-C Camera To Be Announced Soon »
