After a very quiet time in terms of new camera releases, there’s been a bit of a flurry of activity recently, but to be honest, with now being the buy-in time for retailers preparing for the busy Christmas and New Year period, more activity might have been expected. Nevertheless, the recent newcomers are very interesting in terms of the different ways that their makers are tackling a challenging market situation.
Both the OM System PEN (pictured above) and the Nikon Z5IIC are different takes on how to convince smartphone users of the benefits of actual cameras, beyond it just being fashionable. So far, it’s the fixed-lens compact camera that’s made all the running here, offering the benefits of a much bigger sensor, but still being comparatively small and so still easy to carry around all time.
Panasonic’s Lumix L10 has upped the ante by packing all its mirrorless camera tech into a fixed-lens package that’s bigger and more expensive, but hugely capable so its appeal extends to more experienced photographers. The new PEN has a similarly broader appeal, but with the added flexibility of interchangeable lenses. However, with its kit zoom, it’s pretty close in size to the L10 and also quasi-retro in its looks, which is important because real cameras have to look like real cameras, and that means at least a hint of a more classical styling. The L10 is quite a bit more expensive than the PEN kit, but it’s a better-featured camera, especially when it comes to shooting video, but both cameras are targeting first-time users.
The more left-field offering here is the Nikon Z5IIC which is aiming to slot first-timers straight into a full-frame camera, and a very well-featured one at that. Under the skin it’s mostly the Z5II – the best-selling Z mount mirrorless body at the moment – but there’s no EVF and only a single memory card slot. However, ditching the ’finder makes the Z5IIC smaller, lighter and cheaper; plus Nikon has added a set of subject/scene modes to enhance its appeal as a high-end point-and-shoot. None of this is random, of course. The much-underrated ‘APS-C’ format Z30 has found a niche as a better-featured compact camera so Nikon thinks a full-frame model could do the same… the Z5IIC is as much designed for photographers as videographers, but the emphasis is on it being easy-to-use or, as we were told at the press preview, a “super fun” camera. And, funnily enough, it sort of is.
The Z5IIC still looks a bit on the serious side, but it handles beautifully and with the subject mode AE and subject recognition AF, works brilliantly at a push of the shutter button. It’s still expensive in compact camera terms, but Nikon also sees the Z5IIC as being a longer-term investment with users able to grow with it as they gain experience. Much will depend on how it’s marketed, but the Z5IIC makes a whole more sense than you might first imagine. In fact, it’s actually rather clever. And, if you really want an EVF, there’s always the Z5II isn’t there?
There have always been so-called entry-level interchangeable-lens cameras to attract first-timers, but promoting the idea that you’re getting something less hasn’t really ever seemed like a great idea. Anyone graduating from a smartphone wants to get more serious about photography so they’re looking at a camera that’s going to help them do that. They probably won’t ever use all the features of cameras like the L10, the PEN or the Z5IIC, but they really want to have them… and maybe a big sensor too. Well, why not?
It’s encouraging that we’re seeing some innovative approaches to designing cameras that are more attractive to beginners, but that aren’t the old-school, pared-down, yesterday’s tech models. Thanks mainly to the smartphone, the market is now much more visually literate and savvy – which is why more users want to move to a real camera – and, notably, price isn’t everything. These newbies want the latest and greatest in capabilities and are prepared to pay for them, so it’s more about how they’re packaged and presented. For camera designers, this is about thinking outside the square and maybe breaking with established conventions to appeal to a whole new category of potential buyer… the advanced beginner. And it could be good for all of us.
