Technology often goes the way where it starts out big, slow, and expensive, then gets smaller, faster, and cheaper as time goes on. Digital cameras didn’t follow this trend for a number of reasons, and every time I thought I could predict where the industry was going, a curved sphere popped up.
Cameras: The Anomaly of Technology
My first camera was a Canon 350D which was small and had a nifty front end. From there, my camera got bigger and more powerful when I wanted to push my work further. Then when mirrorless cameras became prominent, my camera started to shrink again. Confidently, however, a trip to Tokyo in 2018 by Fujikina made me fall in love with the GFX lineup and its biggest lenses, and for the uninitiated, they come in size and weight. almost twice as much as a Sony mirrorless camera. I love the added size and weight; it’s like I’m engrossed in a skill. It’s just me, though, and mirrorless still dominates the majority, myself included.
This love remains to this day, but my medium format Fuji is not my job. This is not simply because it is cumbersome and tiring to move around, but also in terms of photography; medium format is a slower workflow, considered to not work on all footage. For my work, I’ve always wanted a small mirrorless body that’s capable but also versatile. The past decade has spawned a flurry of bodies that do both, and in fact, cameras are getting smaller, more versatile, and more capable. However, the smaller they get, the more they have to contend with an opponent that just a few decades ago would have seemed unthinkable: cell phones.
Phone cameras 20 years ago were pointless. Around 2002, I bought a Sony Ericsson phone with a camera and although it appealed to me as a teenager, even then I knew it was just a gimmick. Then, with each passing year, phones improved and improved upon the cameras until they were built-in and usable. This more or less has exploded the market for point-and-shoot; why carry that little brick with you when you can use an item in your pocket? 20 years ago, nearly every family had a point-and-shoot camera that was pulled out of a drawer on peak days and holidays, but now even the elderly in society use electricity. cell phone (or sometimes – interestingly – iPad) for any purpose. photography purposes for which point-and-shoot cameras are built.
This has sparked a heated and unending debate about whether mobile phone cameras are blood-loving and heading towards the next camera body for the hobby. I’ve talked about the phone’s role many times as a photographer, and I’d say, it’s been close to my most used camera for several months. However, dedicated, interchangeable-lens cameras have a barrier between them and a modest phone camera: the physical. On phones, the limitations of sensor size and distance between sensor and lens are insurmountable without much impact on the phone’s design and ergonomics. There’s also an easier problem with interchangeable lenses, although carrying around additional lenses defeats much of the point of phone cameras, which is accessibility.
So the right camera is safe from the greedy, encroaching hands of smartphones, right? Well, in this case, physics doesn’t account for computing. AI camera algorithms suddenly created fake depth of field, and while it started off easily to be detected, it’s almost indistinguishable today in many cases. With AI set to only improve, this should have been a death sentence for small cameras; Why buy a pocket camera when your bag usually has a camera in it? The answer to creativity with composition, attractive shallow depth of field, and image quality is now almost unnecessary. And yet, there is a rampant resurgence of small cameras. Why?
The revival of the small and pocketable camera
The answer to the question of why the small camera rose is complex and multifaceted. I’d suggest that one of the main appeals is how fun it is to use them. If you’re a photographer — a beginner, hobbyist, or professional — you probably won’t enjoy using your phone to take pictures, although we can now control more settings. It’s not even necessarily a matter of not being able to change the lens, but rather the process; it’s disconnected, unsatisfactory and too automatic.
Then there is the power of these latest small cameras. I’ll give three examples, so you know what I’m talking about. First is the picture above Fujifilm X100V became an instant cult classic. It sold out at every store I know of, including — and this is really a myth — Fujifilm’s VIP store. I’m lucky enough to be a Fujifilm VIP and I’m considering a purchase, but alas, no dice. Every “influencer” who owns a lens raves about its superb Fujinon 23mm f/2 lens, whose film simulation modes have captured the hearts of many. lots of photographers and of course, the compact form factor. This is all without mentioning 4K video!
Then there’s a slightly lesser known (but still sold out!) Ricoh GR IIIx which is now comfortably under $1,000. It has a longer focal length, 40mm, the GR Engine 6 is well received and it is very small. Interestingly, I’ve seen some photographers complain about the GR IIIx in the same way: it’s essentially a GR III With a longer lens on the front, you want both!
Finally, there are more focused videos Sony ZV-1 has become a favorite of vloggers, but is also adept at stills. The tilting and swiveling LCD touchscreen along with the UHD 4K30p combo is what keeps many YouTubers happy with this body, but the Zeiss 24-70mm f/1.8-2.8 makes it incredibly effective. and flexible.
There are at least 5-10 other compact cameras that I haven’t mentioned yet, including Leica and Panasonic, but they all share a common theme: they’re brilliant and small enough to sometimes slip into a bag. Or even a trouser pocket. You’ll see many photographers refer to them as “travel cameras,” essentially pointing at the same thing.
As much as they can, cell phone cameras can’t seem to dethrone these bodies for photographers and videographers alike. In fact, I believe the phone could be the product that elevates the small camera. Modern phones have shown us how much we miss when we don’t carry our cameras with us, albeit in an unsatisfactory way. Still, I’m still reluctant to carry my full bag with me everywhere – like many of us. Thankfully, there are intermediate options that are small, powerful, and won’t make you lose your sense of photography. Enter, small camera.
