The new DJI Osmo 6 has been announced and is available for preorder in USA at BHphoto, Amazon and in Europe at Fotokoch, Fotoerhardt, Calumet, Amazon EU stores. This camera features a 38MP 1/1.1 inch sensor! Bet this one is made by Sony…
I just received a notification from a domestic optical brand that due to the Double Eleven e-commerce promotion and the much-better-than-expected market performance of their new lenses, the raw material supply chain is strained, with Hoya aspherical lenses in short supply. This has forced the postponement of their new autofocus lens, originally scheduled for release this month. The lens is now expected to be released next month, and some photographers have already been sent out for reviews.
Furthermore, another domestic optical brand has reported the same situation to me. Their entire line of autofocus lenses is performing exceptionally well in the market, with a surge in overseas markets leading to raw material shortages. Their large-aperture autofocus lens, originally scheduled for release this month, has also been forced to postpone. They have taken multiple measures to improve their self-sufficiency in raw materials and increase production capacity to meet market demand. They are also increasing R&D investment, such as developing their own VCM voice coil motor and other core technologies.
It is understood that thanks to the booming development of domestic autofocus lenses, their global market performance is remarkable. More and more users are considering purchasing domestic autofocus lenses. According to overseas statistics, domestic autofocus lenses account for approximately 20% of the global interchangeable autofocus lens market share, showing a continuously increasing trend.
Cosina announced the new Voigtländer APO-LANTHAR 28mm F2 Aspherical E/Z-mount lens (product page here). The lens will start to ship out in December.
Sony E/Z-mount compatible
Equipped with electronic contacts, the lens usage status is reflected in the Exif information of the shooting data. It also has a built-in distance encoder, which supports 5-axis image stabilization on the camera body. It also allows you to zoom in on the viewfinder by operating the focus ring.
Optimized Optical Design
In addition to ensuring a full-size image circle, the optical design is optimized for Sony E-mount sensors, maintaining high resolution all the way to the edges of the screen and suppressing phenomena such as color cast.
Apochromatic design
To accommodate today’s high-pixel digital sensors, axial chromatic aberration and lateral chromatic aberration have been thoroughly suppressed.
Manual focus for precise focusing
The all-metal helicoid unit is machined and adjusted with high precision, and the use of high-quality grease that generates just the right amount of torque ensures smooth focusing, allowing for subtle focus adjustments.
Aperture click switching mechanism
The lens is equipped with an aperture click switching mechanism that allows the aperture ring to be opened and closed continuously without making a clicking sound, eliminating the need to worry about the sound of the aperture ring being picked up when recording video.
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Final Thoughts
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The Yomiuri Shimbun has published an article about recent market trends for compact cameras. Here is the summary via Digicameinfo:
Compact digital cameras, which have been pushed aside by smartphones, are surprisingly gaining popularity. Domestic shipments in 2024 are expected to increase slightly for the first time in seven years. In addition to their ease of use, they are also being reassessed for their ease of creating creative and distinctive images when posting photos on social media.
Bic Camera’s Yurakucho store expanded its compact digital camera sales area in July. The store began receiving a noticeable number of inquiries about the product around 2012.
According to the Camera and Imaging Products Association, domestic shipments of compact digital cameras have been gradually declining since peaking in 2007. By 2011, they had fallen to one-twentieth of their peak. After that, they began to attract attention, especially from young people, due to posts on social media, and in 2012, shipments increased by 47,000 units to 439,000 units, the first increase in seven years.
Manufacturers are also seeing this as a good opportunity. In April, Canon released its first new compact digital camera in six years. Canon Executive Officer Manabu Kato analyzed, “The compact digital camera market is extremely active due to the growing need for video shooting and growing demand from young people.” He said that they are unable to keep up with demand and are on backorder, and added, “We would like to increase production and supply.”