Is this an APS-C revival ? 6 June 2022

 

The Canon EOS R7 and Fujifilm X-H2S are very similar in size and general configuration. Each has its little idiosyncrasies.

In the early days of digital photography, about 22 years ago, sensors having the same dimensions as a standard 35mm film frame (nominally 24 x 36mm) were too expensive for use in amateur/enthusiast cameras.

As a result most interchangeable lens cameras sold in the last 20 years have used the less expensive  crop sensor, the most popular size being known as APS-C. Most of these, mainly made by Sony have a 1.5x crop factor. Canon versions are slightly smaller with a 1.6x crop factor.

The Canon EOS D30 of year 2000 was a landmark model.   It incorporated many new features such as a CMOS sensor and  Compact Flash memory card thus bringing the Digital SLR within the reach of enthusiast and amateur photographers.

Canon’s initial entry into the mirrorless ILC market was with the EOS-M series cameras and RF-M lenses. But Canon has never really supported this system with anything one might call enthusiasm.

Nikon produced the  D70 DSLR in 2004 and followed this with many more APS-C DSLRs although the majority of these were entry level models for the amateur market.

Sony had been making fixed lens models until it acquired the camera assets of Konica Minolta along with the Minolta A mount. Sony based a series of  APS-C DSLRs on this mount from 2006.  In 2010 Sony introduced the innovative SLT series of ILCs with a fixed pellicle mirror.

Also in 2010 Sony brought in the E mount which is the basis of all Sony’s current full frame and APS-C interchangeable lens mirrorless models. (MILC)

Fujifilm followed Sony in pivoting away from fixed lens models to MILCs in 2012 with the introduction of the X-Pro 1 based on the new X mount which Fuji continues to use for all its APS-C MILCs.

Samsung developed an interesting catalogue of APS-C models but exited the camera business to concentrate on smartphones, which they correctly predicted would become massively more popular than cameras.  

Leica has announced in 2022 it will cease producing APS-C models.

Pentax, which fell behind Canon, Nikon then Sony many years ago still markets one APS-C DSLR but no MILCs.

From about 2017 to 2022 the camera market suffered severe contraction, a process which began in about 2012.

With fewer units sold camera makers sought to shore up their balance sheets by marketing more expensive full frame models which yield a greater return per unit.

It started to look as though crop sensor models might be on the way out altogether. This would have made sense for Canon, Nikon and Sony which could have saved themselves lots of R&D, inventory and support costs by offering only full frame models.

Canon dithered indecisively with the M series, Sony paused production of most A6xxx models.

Nikon put its corporate energy into birthing the Z9 supercamera,  leaving little for R&D on crop sensor models.  Currently Nikon offers two APS-C (DX in Nikon-speak) cameras, the Z50 and Zfc although the inner workings of each are the same. There are only three dedicated DX lenses, a 16-50mm standard zoom, a 50-250mm tele zoom and an 18-140mm multipurpose zoom.  Of course Z mount DX cameras can mount and use FX lenses such as the Z 28mm f2.8 which becomes effectively  42mm on a DX body.

Fujifilm persevered with APS-C mainly because they have no full frame presence.  Even so the pace of new model releases from Fuji slowed in 2021.

Evolution of cameras in one photo. How the overall size reduces as we go from full frame DSLR on the right to APS-C compact on the left.  It's a bit like the story of the three bears. The FF DSLR on the right is a bit too large and heavy. The compact on the left is a bit too small for comfortable handling.  For my money I nominate the R10 in the middle as being in the sweet spot for size, mass, handling, ergonomics and capability.

But in the last few days three  product announcements appear to have given a new lease of life to the mirrorless APS-C crop sensor genre.

First Canon announced the EOS R10 and R7, two completely new and very interesting crop sensor models using the RF mount.

A few days later Fujifilm announced the X-H2S high performance APS-C model and pre-announced the X-H2 high resolution model.

Then Sony announced three interesting new E Mount APS-C lenses, an 11mm f1.8 ultrawide, a 15mm f1.4 wide and a 10-20mm f4 ultrawide zoom.

I think these four cameras  from Canon and Fujifilm and three lenses from Sony will revitalise the crop sensor genre and attract considerable interest from camera watchers and buyers.

Why ?

It’s all about the performance to price ratio. The bang for your buck if you like.

The Canon EOS R7 at AUD 2299 offers very similar levels of specification, capability, performance and ergonomics as the EOS R6 at AUD 3359. In addition the R7 offers several features which the R6 does not.

The Canon EOS R10 at AUD 1459 offers a substantially higher level of specification, performance and capability than the EOS R at AUD 2359 and a much higher level  than the EOS RP at what I suspect is probably an end of model life cycle AUD 1399.

I think those two Canon crop sensor models will sell like hot cakes.

What about the Fujifilm models ?

The X-H2S comes onto the market at AUD 4199 making it the most expensive APS-C camera with a price in line with mid range full frame models. It is more expensive than the Canon R6 and Sony A7.4, is the same price as the Sony A7R.4A and is more expensive than the Nikon Z6.2.

So I very much doubt the X-H2S will be a volume seller. What then, is the point of that model ?

An optimistic view might be that the X-H2S offers, or at least seeks to offer, similar performance to flagship full frame models but at half the price.

A pessimistic view might be that the X-H2S offers similar performance in practice to the Canon EOS R7 but at double the price.

I think Fujifilm wants to lay down a marker which says….we can make a high performance camera with a level of performance to match or better that of full frame models at around the same price point.

It appears to be  a way of raising the status of APS-C cameras from beginners’ cheap and cheerful entry level devices to top tier machines suitable for enthusiast and professional use.

No longer will APS-C play second fiddle to full frame models.

What might Sony’s response be ?

Already they have released the three E mount lenses mentioned above.

But I think they need to re-visit the whole APS-C crop sensor body catalogue.

The original A6000 was released in 2014. The ultra-compact design preferences small size over ergonomics, consistent with Sony’s understanding of the place in the market of APS-C at the time. But every subsequent A6xxx model has the same basic form factor and control layout which delivers a far less engaging user experience than the Canon models or even the Fujifilm X-S10 and X-H2 style models.

If I were advising Sony’s product development group I would suggest they simply put an APS-C sensor in an A7.4 body so all Sony’s MILCs have a similar form factor and control layout, then phase out production of the current A6xxx style models.  I would also suggest they make the crop sensor lenses (E) look very different in some obvious way from the full frame (FE) lenses to reduce user confusion.  Canon has done this with each of the first two RF-S lenses the barrel of which has a smaller diameter (about 62mm) than the outside diameter of the lens mount (69mm), making these lenses easy to identify at a glance.

Nikon could do the same thing by using the Z5 body to house a range of APS-C models.

Nikon had better do something or their APS-C users are likely to leave Nikon for more attractive offerings from the other makers.  

And if I were so bold as to advise Canon it would be to stop messing about with different control layouts, especially on the top deck to the right side of the EVF housing and the upper part of the back which I call the control panel.  Cameras need to be like cars each having the same basic controls in the same places doing the same things. I want to be able to pick up a Canon camera and feel right at home straight away.

I think  Canon, Sony and Fujifilm are probably anticipating a market upturn in 2023-2024 and want to position their product catalogue to take advantage of this and in the process upstage the competition.