2019.01.17 06:00

In my previous article, I suggested that Panasonic's way of getting full-size SLR users from other companies to switch to the "LUMIX S series" was to give them away for free to photographers who get a lot of media exposure.

Actually, I have experienced something similar to this.

I started taking railroad photographs when I was five years old. I used a Minolta HI-MATIC AF camera that I had at home with a fixed 38mm f/2.8 lens that was not interchangeable. Since I could not use a telephoto lens, which is often used in railroad photography, I mainly took pictures of stopped trains on station platforms.

My first SLR camera was the first Canon EOS model, the EOS650, released in 1987. I introduced it together with two zoom lenses, the EF35-70mmF3.5-4.5 and the EF70-210mmF4.

As I wrote in last year's article, the "EOS650" was introduced to the market earlier than originally planned, so it could not be said to be highly finished. As is obvious from the exterior, the EOS650 still lacks the mode dial (located on the left shoulder of the body) that is characteristic of EOS cameras, which are known for their ease of operation.

It seems that the mode dial was first used in the EOS10QD released in 1990. Since then, many EOS models other than the professional EOS-1 series have continued to use the mode dial. When the EOS650 was developed, Canon was unsure about the operability of auto-focus SLRs, and it was evident that the company was experimenting with it.

Although the EOS650 had a slow continuous shooting speed (3 fps) and lacked motion-predictive autofocus, the ability to use telephoto lenses, which are often used in railroad photography, was a welcome feature. After a while, a third-party (Sigma) 400mm f/5.6 super-telephoto lens was also introduced. A photo I took of the Blue Train "Fuji" heading for Tokyo in the rain near the S curve between Nebukawa and Hayakawa on the Tokaido Main Line was published in Gakken's camera magazine "CAPA.

When I was in the third year of junior high school, I applied for the "CAPA" monitor gift program. I was lent a Canon EOS-1HS single-lens reflex camera and a high-end EF28-80mmF2.8-4L USM standard zoom lens, and after submitting a report on how I felt after using the camera for a while, I would receive the camera and lens. I applied for the camera on the spur of the moment and was overjoyed to find that I had won. It was a professional camera seriously developed by Canon, and its performance was incomparably better than the "EOS650.

This was the start of my publishing railroad photographs taken with Canon equipment in various railway magazines (it is common to write the names of the cameras and lenses used in the photographs). The biggest reason I have continued to use Canon EOS for more than 30 years is that Canon gave me the best SLR camera for free. I would like to express my deepest gratitude to Canon Sales (now Canon Marketing Japan) and the Gakken CAPA editorial department for generously giving a professional camera and a high-end standard zoom lens (a total of almost 400,000 yen) to a junior high school student who was unknown in the world of railroad photography at the time.

Having fallen in love with the ease of use of the Canon EOS, when asked for advice on selecting a camera model by someone who wants to start photography with an interchangeable lens camera, I often recommend a suitable camera and lens from the Canon EOS series after asking about their photographic subject and budget.

Canon offers a wide range of models from the professional EOS-1 series to the entry-level EOS Kiss series. This makes it easy for photographers to choose the best model for their purposes and budget.

Meanwhile, Hiroaki Fusezuka, Manager of the First Product Planning Section of Panasonic's Product Planning Department, told Digital Camera Watch in an interview:

"We believe that the LUMIX S is intended for professionals and is targeted differently than the full-size mirrorless cameras already on the market."

The company responded, "We are not going to make a professional model. Since the already existing "LUMIX G series" under the Micro Four Thirds standard is responsible for the entry to mid-range models of mirrorless cameras, it seems that the "LUMIX S series" is intended to produce only professional models.

Many users have already pointed out that a serious drawback of Sony's models, which pioneered the full-frame mirrorless camera market, is their weak dustproof and splashproof performance. A professional camera must be designed to perform at its full potential even when used in desert sandstorms, typhoons, and other storms, and in cold climates such as the Arctic and Antarctica. Panasonic seems to have taken all possible measures to ensure dustproof and drip-proof performance and cold-weather use (see video below for details).

Panasonic has not yet revealed the brightness (maximum aperture value) of the lenses for the standard zoom lens and telephoto zoom lens among the first three lenses for full-frame mirrorless cameras to be released. Normally, one would assume that the brightness of the 24-105mm lens would be F4 and that of the 70-200mm lens would also be F4, but the fact that they dare to conceal this information suggests some kind of intention.

Is this a tactic to draw attention to the camera world by causing various speculations to fly around? It is a tactic to attract attention by sparking various speculations in the camera world?

first appearance : AGORA