If the camera industry wasn’t hit by the effects of COVID 19, I think that a whole lot could have happened.

The year 2020 was lining up to be one of the most innovative in the camera and photography world until the effects of COVID 19 pretty much tanked the economy around the world. There was so much riding on this. Canon has a new 1DX ready for the Olympics. Sony had the Sony a9 II prepared for it. Nikon had the Nikon D6. But in addition to that, it’s also an even year. Traditionally, this is a Photokina year. But let’s be honest, if Photokina happened this year, no one would have cared because of when it was specifically taking place. So instead, the industry went silent. But I’d like to take some time to think about all the things that could have happened.

Editor’s Note: I don’t know any of this for real. Some of it is speculation, and some of it is my own dreams 🙂

The Sony a7s III or the Sony a9s

Now, we don’t know this for sure. But Sony has confirmed that they were working on another Sony a7s. I’ve heard that there were lots of overheating issues. And apparently, the product was supposed to have come out or at least been announced so far. But we know very little to nothing about it. Perhaps with Sony taking this long though, they’re supercharging it. I’d hope that instead of seeing the Sony a7s III that we’d see the Sony a9s. A Sony a9 level camera with a low megapixel sensor and designed truly for the professional is I think what the industry really needs right now. Sony’s innovation game has been solid, and we’re all very curious about what’s been in the oven.

If anything, this camera would have come out, or we would have seen a development announcement to make the rest of the industry scared. We could probably still see it this year. But who knows.

More Incredibly Innovative Canon RF Lenses

An incredibly valid argument can be made to say that Canon has been the most innovative lens manufacturer in the past few years. We’ve gotten focal lengths and lenses from them that no one has been producing. While everyone is trying to catch up to one another, Canon seems to be fine-tuning their own ship. And that’s wonderful! But what would have been better is something like a Canon RF 35mm f1.2 L USM. The company is bound to repeat itself and bring out their most popular focal lengths from the EF system to the RF system. And we know that lots have been in the pipeline. The company is developing the Canon EOS R5, and we’re all excited to see it. But we’re also really curious about a fuller system that can take on the rest of the camera industry.

For years, Canon has been the laughing stock of several photography circles. And it’s ironic that as they were getting the ball rolling that they had this unfortunate obstacle in their way.

An Image Stabilized Fujifilm GFX 50S Refresh

When Fujifilm launched the Fujifilm GFX100, they did a lot of marketing on how they developed the image stabilization system themselves. IS came to the Fujifilm XT4, and it’s only a matter of time until it comes to the rest of the GFX system. A Fujifilm GFX XXs camera could be in the works with image stabilization. I wouldn’t expect it to come to a 50R replacement, but a 50S replacement is totally plausible. The body is enormous, and there’s a ton of potential room in the camera. An image-stabilized body could do wonders for the system and the lenses.

Olympus Firmware Updates Improving Their AI

In my ideal world, we’d get a new Pen F., But I’ve been told many times that that’s not on any roadmap Olympus has. So instead, we’d probably get improved AI in some of their cameras. And Olympus would really need it. The system is popular amongst wildlife shooters, and animal AF would be a welcome addition. Further, there are lots of landscape photographers who use the system, and implementing the AI for landscape photographers could make the HDR process even better.

Panasonic Introduces Rangefinder Style L Mount Cameras

This is the one that I’d REALLY WANT! Panasonic jumped into Micro Four Thirds with DSLR style cameras. And later on, they created these super sexy and slim rangefinder-style cameras. I firmly believe that Panasonic will do this with the L mount. Imagine the Panasonic GX9 but full-frame. Why would someone not want that? It would basically be something akin to a full-frame Mamiya 7 style camera. If the L mount also made smaller lenses and improved their autofocus, I’d switch camera systems in a heartbeat for a camera like this. In my eyes, it’s the next logical thing for Panasonic to do.

A Lineup of Fast Nikon Z Mount Primes, and a Macro Lens

I don’t really think that Nikon would come out with a slew of new camera updates. But I totally see new lenses. The company has a load of popular f1.4 F mount lenses, and updating them for the Z mount could make the system far more attractive. That and a Macro Lens. For film photographers, the Nikon system is the best for digitizing their slides and negatives. Though I sincerely wish them and their employees all the best, I’m not too sure what else Nikon can do right now.

An Update to Leica’s Point and Shoot Lineup That Doesn’t Copy Panasonic

Years ago, Leica had this whole lineup of APS-C point and shoot cameras. And I seriously loved them. I’d like to see those back in some way or another. Do I think Leica will do it? Honestly, this is another one where I’m not sure. I can’t imagine another M style camera coming out. But something from the T lineup is bound to come. Maybe the Leica CL 2?