The low end problem.

Tom Hogan has an ongoing discussion on Nikon and its problems. He notes that they probably make best of class Digital SLRs (particularly the D5 and D500) and their lenses are brilliant. But… they have lost the low end. No one buys small compact cameras.

Because we carry one. Consider this photo.

It was taken with my cellphone (Sony Xperia Z5) which has a 22 MP two thirds sensor camera with a reasonable sony lens: the photo was automatically loaded to google photos as a jpeg. I saw the scene, stopped, and took some shots. This one was processed in google photos.

The workflow here matters. I save the photos as raw and jpegs and export the jpegs. But I hardly ever, for casual shooting, look at the raw. I cannot adjust and expose for shadows as I can with a film or digital camera. If I had a DSLR, mirrorless or film camera with me I would have used them… but I was driving home after the gym, and I don’t carry such in my gym bag.

The good digital cameras have killed the small point and shoot Digital autofocus camera. And it is starting to leak into sports. Most of the crossfit videos that are uploaded (it is open season) are shot not with a video camera or Micro 4/3 or DSLR… but using a cellphone.

Even though the DSLR is better and a G4 or even a gopro would run rings around one. It is because uploading the files to judges via social media is seamless.

The best camera is the one you have with you. The best workflow is a simple one. Sony has this figured out at the low end, as does Apple, and Samsung. And Microsoft, and most generic Android phone makers.

The traditional camera makers have lost that market. They need not only be clearly and obviously better — in image noise and sharpness — they have to be as easy as Instagram. They are not.

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