Tony writes:

The past year has been disasterous for camera manufacturers, and it looks like some of them could go into bankruptcy in the next few years. Nikon and Olympus each reported 3 straight quarters of losses. Sony & Fujifilm don’t report the profits and losses for their imaging departments, but it can’t be good. Pentax and Panasonic seem like afterthoughts to their bigger parent companies… and nothing is getting better any time soon. First, I go through every major manufacturer and discuss my take on whether they’ll still be making camera gear in 3-5 years. Some of the predictions might surprise you. But what really happens if your camera manufacturer decides to shut down? It’s happened before, so I take a look at how the process unfolded and what it means to end users. Do you need to sell your gear immediately because resale value plummets? Can you still get your cameras repaired?

There is a new crazy game going on now: Find the EOS-R5 price on some exotic store that nobody every knew it existed before :)

This time it’s a Romanian shop name F64 that lists the Canon EOS R5 for 20.999 Romanian Lei. That’s about $4,000.

Now, while I believe this is again just a placeholder price I would certainly be happy to see the real camera price to be $4,000. I think it will sell well.

via CanonWatch

Six reasons I think mirrorless cameras are better than DSLRs! This is entirely personal!

Panasonic has announced the new 20-60mm lens and you can preorder it for $597 at BHphoto, Adorama, FocusCamera.

Press text:

Panasonic Launches a New L-Mount Interchangeable Lens for the LUMIX S Series Full-frame Digital Single Lens Mirrorless Camera
LUMIX S 20-60mm F3.5-5.6 (S-R2060)

Newark, NJ (May 27, 2020) – Panasonic is proud to introduce a new interchangeable standard zoom lens, the LUMIX S 20-60mm F3.5-5.6 (S-R2060) based on the L-Mount system for the LUMIX S Series Full-frame Digital Single Lens Mirrorless Camera. Designed for professional use, the LUMIX S Series pursues uncompromising photographic expression with its high-quality cameras and lenses.

The new LUMIX S 20-60mm F3.5-5.6 is a compact, lightweight standard zoom lens that covers from ultra-wide 20mm to standard 60mm focal length for versatile use including landscape photography. The wide viewing angle makes it easier to shoot indoors where space is limited and stunning close-up capability of 5.9 inches / 0.15m (maximum magnification 0.43x) supports still life photography. The new LUMIX S 20-60mm F3.5-5.6 also ensures smooth, high quality video recording because of a mechanism that suppresses focus breathing, which can an issue in interchangeable lenses designed for still image photography.

With 11 elements in 9 groups, the use of 2 aspherical lenses and 3 ED (Extra-low Dispersion) lenses effectively suppresses both axial chromatic aberration and chromatic aberration of magnification. Astigmatism is also corrected with these aspherical lenses, achieving high resolving performance. Furthermore, a UHR (Ultra-High Refractive Index) lens achieves uniform image quality from the center to edges of the image while contributing to downsizing of the lens unit.

With its compact, approximately 12.3 oz / 350g of light weight, the LUMIX S 20-60mm F3.5-5.6 features stunning mobility. The rugged dust/splash-resistant* design withstands use under harsh conditions even at 14°F / -10°C for high mobility. In addition, a fluorine coating on the front element repels water and oil and prevents them from attaching. The filter diameter is 67 mm, with a 9-blade circular aperture diaphragm.

Panasonic and L-Mount system alliance are committed to the development of L-Mount lenses for the further expansion of its lineup to fulfill the needs of end users .

The LUMIX S 20-60mm lens will be available at the end of July for $599.99.

*Dust and Splash Resistant does not guarantee that damage will not occur if this lens is subjected to direct contact with dust and water.
•Design and specifications are subject to change without notice.