Peak Camera (essay)

We reached peak camera.

What marketing doesn’t want you to know.

Nikon D3! Not bad for a 13 years old camera.

The pinnacle of colours-science: Fuji X-Pro1

I just saw the news release of the new Olympus Something MKIII –the third version of their compact camera. They changed the sensor and a few things, but it’s more or less the same thing: a camera that has no place in the market.

Hear me out: The new iPhone 11 Pro Max’s camera is just so damn good: there’s no way I’d start carrying an m43 body (unless I do video) and when I decide that I want to carry something to take better pictures, any 2007+ DSLR full-frame made by Nikon or Canon will deliver.

My blog got famous by stating two things in 2019: The Nikon D300 is a damn fine camera, despite being almost 13 years old, and the Olympus Pen-F is overrated.

I just recently bought a Canon 1D MK IV and boy does it deliver great pictures. A 1Dx would be better, sure, but if you know what you’re doing, and maybe that’s the problem in these days and age –the lack of people knowing what they are doing–, the 1D mk IV is everything you’d ever need in a camera.

My Fuji X-H1 almost makes photography too easy: 11 FPS with autofocus, tracking and mechanical shutter. Built-in stabilization. 24mp. Touch screen. Quiet shutter. Perfect skin colour every time. Clean ISO 12 800. 14 FPS possible. Electronic shutter. 4k UHD video.

This is a post for those who remember shooting weddings with a top ISO of 3200, and that was pushing it.

There are photographers out there, and then there are lovers of cameras, and some of us happen to be both.

That’s the reason I did not buy a Nikon D500: it felt soul-less. That’s why I got a Fuji XE1: it has soul.

One question remains: What is left to be done? What should we create? What’s the innovation that’s waiting to be discovered?
I cannot think of any. There’s a plateau…and that’s why the cameras are more of the same: the same thing, but repackaged differently, just like new cars since 2010.

True innovation lies when we are willing to cross the boundaries of what’s normal.

The best combo ever: Canon 1D mk IV with a 85mm f/1.2 USM II. Damn hard to beat.

I don’t know. Maybe I’m just getting old (I’m 27 years old after all) and my GAFF (Give A Fuck Factor) is getting lower with each camera release.

The Nikon D6 will be interesting…an image stabilization into their flagship model… That might be the last great camera that will ever be built.