Mirrorless Camera News

Starting with the 2014 CES trade show, held at the turn of the year, and continuing through press time for this issue, we’ve seen a goodly number of new products come to the fore. All this is only the start—this being a photokina year we’ll see a whole new round of products, including CMOS-sensor medium formats, with prices to match, coming our way. I trust that this report will give you a good sense of what’s here and what’s coming down the pike. So, here are my quick picks of those products that caught my eye, plus a snapshot of some of the trends.

The Nikon Z6III sits about in the middle of their Z-series mirrorless camera lineup, but make no mistake! The Z6III is way more than a mid-range camera. Chockfull for high-end photo and video features, the Nikon Z6III is sure to be a favorite, durable creative workhorse for years to come.

If you're like most outdoor photographers you often shoot in dirty environments in which dust can enter your camera and wreak havoc on the sensor, especially on windy days. And every time you switch lenses the odds of contamination will increase.

Samsung has just launched a smaller and lighter version of its flagship NX1 mirrorless camera: the highly portable NX500. This little camera, which comes in black, brown, and white versions, uses the same 28MP BSI APS-C sensor that’s in the NX1 along with several other features including 4K and UHD video shooting, the DRIMeV image processor, NX AF system III, and Samsung Auto Shot.

I didn’t realize how much I could appreciate a mirrorless CSC (Compact System Camera) till, after working with the Samsung NX500 for several days, I picked up my Nikon D610 DSLR and realized I was carrying a brick in my hands. Don’t get me wrong, though. I still love my D610 and wouldn’t trade it in for anything (not just yet), but the new NX500 felt like a feather around my neck and in my hands. Even when I added the relatively heavy 50-150mm S-series lens, the combo still left me feeling as if I were working with a lyre, not a harp. Admittedly, like the lyre, it’s not as full-bodied an instrument, but the NX500 still plays a sweet tune.

We all know how big a tomato is. If we see a photo of a GIANT tomato sitting all by itself, we have no idea that it’s bigger than its cousins. To convey the perception of size one must position the tomato near another object of known size—say, an egg or a walnut. Same is true about cameras.