Breakthroughs for Canon in 2010
From humble 1 and 2 MP beginnings we have seen DLSR’s reach double figure MP breakthroughs to take over from SLR’s in just about every way. The days when film and develpment ate away at photography budgets are long gone.
I inititally decided to wait for the 10MP level to switch over to DLSRs.They were soon proved wrong Digital camera technology came up to scratch very quickly, with 2,6,10 and even 20MP’s Film suffered a blow from the start of the Digital camera revolution.
In the beginning high MP’s were at a premium and cost a bundle, but these days you find mega-MP’s in Cell phones and pocket cameras.
This meant that the serious DSLR players had to come up with something (or a few things) greater. MP’s are no longer a distinguishing factor. The race among SLR (Now DSLR) makers is all about:
Processers that can deliver high FPS and Great file sizes and store them in milliseconds. Exchangeable lenses with their own array of modern features like autofucus and image stabilisation or vibrations reduction The architecture behind the lenses, including the lens electronics vs the camera electronics and where to house the function such as image stailisation. Sensor architecture… sizes, aspect ratios, lens interaction. Architecture – Lenses, sensors, processor, storage. Computerer based artificial intelligence. (A DSLR these days has more processing power than banks needed for national networks in the 70′s and 80′s!)
The list is supremely impressive and the remaining contenders in the DSLR race have proven that they can utilize an array of technology, including optics, micro electronics and micro mechanics like no other industry can.
DSLR spend is heavily skewed in this market. Nikon and Canon claim close to 40% market share each. In a world market this vast being in the race in the remaining 20% is no mean feat and Sony, Pentax, Minolta, Kodak and several others are holding their own technology wise.
Just how does each player compete in such a competitive high tech market?
There is no doubt that once you have the technology, marketing is the next big gun. Brand recognition will carry a product over some rough patches, but if everybody excells you need to be innovative, imaginative and hit the market’s soft spots or get into their hearts, whatever the case may be.
In the race between Canon and Nikon, Canon has led with higher MP’s. Nikon has an edge with a slightly larger sensor and lower end pentaprism usage. Both can claim excellent ergonomics and Nikon fans always refer to some form of ‘right feel’ to their favourite models.
The race is tough and there are many excellent DSLR’s on the market. 2010 saw a large number of amazing Digital Camera releases and it is hard to pick winners in such a crowd. But Canon stood out with two of the greatest consumer DSLR’s, the Canon T2i and Canon 60d. See the reviews here: canon Rebel t2i and the Canon EOS 60d review.
The focus for DSLR’s in 2010 went beyond the MP race into other functions. The rapid invasion of DSLR’s into the Video market proved to be a good wave to ride. We saw a number of announcements claiming sophisticated Video technology but as newer cameras of all manufacturers were released they showed up weaknesses in the earlier models. Video features were crammed into DSLR relentlessly:
Video and sound, HD video, Frames per second, True HD, live view, autofocus, live focus, in camera editing, better and better LCD technology and external sound. Not least was the spate of increases in pixel options from 640 to 1080, etc.
In this frantic race cluttered with constantly improving features, with each manufacturer trying to find just the right mix at the right price to capture more consumer spend, Canon’s EOS Rebel T2i and EOS 60D found two sweet spots, at the higher end of the Rebel range and in the middle of the very narrow Prosumer range.
Both Cameras were announced with an array of leading edge features that seemed to be right on the consumer Dollar target. The main features that made people take note and spend their well earned dollars were:
- A smugde proof, 3:2 aspect ratio, 1080Px LCD
- On target ergonomics
- A vastly improved HD movie capability
- External Sound features.
- Yet again higher pixel Sensor(18MP)
With these two cameras, Canon hit the sweet spot in the DSLR market in 2010. Can Canon follow this up in 2011? Canon’s release of the T3i early in 2011 seemed to continue the trend, but the market is still to respond. Was there enough of a gap in the market between the T2i and the 60d?
Perhaps Nikon or Sony will give Canon a race this year. They are sure to respond in earnest. Nikon certainly roared back into life with the release of the D5100. It will be interesting to see how this plays out.
Forced Perspective Photography Lesson, Panasonic Lumix GH2 Sample Video
