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... and I'd love to have this if it just modified the firmware of my camera to act as a webcam native webcam. As is, this is a cumbersome kludge. Perhaps futu

... and I'd love to have this if it just modified the firmware of my camera to act as a webcam native webcam. As is, this is a cumbersome kludge. Perhaps future cameras will have this option. But I doubt it. My expectation is that the camera market will continue to shrink as companies like Sony have completely missed the concepts of ecosystems, open standards, compatibility, and people wanting to do anything Sony didn't predict. At the same time, the imaging market will continue to grow with lower-quality but standard, compatible devices like cell phones and webcams. It also leaves most A-mount users out. Even cameras one generation back are left out (A99, A77). Sony basically shat on its entire userbase in the move to E-mount. Perhaps Canon, Nikon, or Panasonic will pick them up. But I doubt that too. There's an increasingly narrow niche which big cameras are forcing themselves into. Older users aren't always moving from dying mounts. Newer users expect apps and interoperability. I'm wondering how much longer this whole house-of-cards will last. Olympus just gave up claiming "market conditions." The problem is always outside....

andromeduck 6y ago
Sony is using the Canno EF playbook and it's working. The E mount is also by far the most open FF ILC system available.
- murgindrag 6y ago
  To the extent dominating a collapsing market can be called "working" * Digital camera makers sold over 120 million units in 2010 * This was down to under 20 million units in 2020. * 2019 was around 15 million. 2020 was starting down from there, even pre-COVID, and I think COVID. And it is the most open player, much like Symbian used to be for cell phones. I prefer to use my cell phone to my big cameras for no reason other than not having to mess with things like memory cards. That's all stupidity by the camera makers. There's no reason the devices can't play well in an ecosystem. I can spend 5 minutes futzing around to get a camera to use my cell phone as a remote.
strogonoff 6y ago
> My expectation is that the camera market will continue to shrink as companies like Sony have completely missed the concepts of ecosystems, open standards, compatibility, and people wanting to do anything Sony didn't predict. … Newer users expect apps and interoperability. I think Sigma is getting it right. FP can natively act as a regular webcam. From get go, they are publishing an SDK for developers and 3D models of the body and all accessories as STEP files for accessory makers. Frankly, their approach is a breath of fresh air.
- murgindrag 6y ago
  Sigma seems to get everything right. They're cameras are a bit niche. That makes sense for a minor player, but I'm not in their niche. I think if they made one a bit more mainstream, with: * a native mirrorless mount * converters to take A-mount, F-Mount, and EF-Mount lenses natively (and perhaps more) they'd sell like hotcakes, though. Sigma just might do it. Even out of feeling bad for Alpha users left out in the cold by Sony, and be surprised when people buy it.
  - strogonoff 6y ago
    Frankly I’d be more than fine if Sigma did not spend effort on adding another mount (M lenses, EF lenses can be adapted to L) and instead focused on their full-frame Foveon body or came up with something else crazy and uncompromising. I love to bits their maverick approach.

andromeduck 6y ago

Sony is using the Canno EF playbook and it's working. The E mount is also by far the most open FF ILC system available.

murgindrag 6y ago
To the extent dominating a collapsing market can be called "working" * Digital camera makers sold over 120 million units in 2010 * This was down to under 20 million units in 2020. * 2019 was around 15 million. 2020 was starting down from there, even pre-COVID, and I think COVID. And it is the most open player, much like Symbian used to be for cell phones. I prefer to use my cell phone to my big cameras for no reason other than not having to mess with things like memory cards. That's all stupidity by the camera makers. There's no reason the devices can't play well in an ecosystem. I can spend 5 minutes futzing around to get a camera to use my cell phone as a remote.

strogonoff 6y ago

> My expectation is that the camera market will continue to shrink as companies like Sony have completely missed the concepts of ecosystems, open standards, compatibility, and people wanting to do anything Sony didn't predict. … Newer users expect apps and interoperability. I think Sigma is getting it right. FP can natively act as a regular webcam. From get go, they are publishing an SDK for developers and 3D models of the body and all accessories as STEP files for accessory makers. Frankly, their approach is a breath of fresh air.

murgindrag 6y ago
Sigma seems to get everything right. They're cameras are a bit niche. That makes sense for a minor player, but I'm not in their niche. I think if they made one a bit more mainstream, with: * a native mirrorless mount * converters to take A-mount, F-Mount, and EF-Mount lenses natively (and perhaps more) they'd sell like hotcakes, though. Sigma just might do it. Even out of feeling bad for Alpha users left out in the cold by Sony, and be surprised when people buy it.
- strogonoff 6y ago
  Frankly I’d be more than fine if Sigma did not spend effort on adding another mount (M lenses, EF lenses can be adapted to L) and instead focused on their full-frame Foveon body or came up with something else crazy and uncompromising. I love to bits their maverick approach.