Back in January 2020, I wrote the following in this post here:

“(…) whatever camera you pick, chances are it’s more than good enough for what you do. Whatever brand, whatever system, it really doesn’t matter. Because digital photography has developed past the point of sufficiency.

I’m not saying we are at a stagnant point. Technology evolves everyday so there will always be some breakthrough tomorrow that will open the door for a whole new world.

But we had certainly reached a plateau where high quality is plentiful and accessible for most of us.“

Four years later

And my feelings about this topic remain unchanged. There was no technological breakthrough so cameras did not change much during this time.

New cameras roll out at a slower pace these days. And there are no great leap forwards: just more megapixels, more stops of ISO performance, higher fps.

Camera manufacturers are just beefing up the specs from previous models. Those may make a difference on paper, but perhaps not that important in real world usage.

I mean, why would I spend cash to upgrade from 50MP to 60MP? Or 10fps to 14fps?

Furthermore, new cameras now tend to look exactly the same as their older versions, so there is hardly any excitement when they roll out.

When was the last time a new camera came out that made you yell WOW!, like when the Olympus EP1 came out? Or the first Fuji X100? And remember the Lumix GH1 in dark red?

Okay, as an exception I can think of both Nikon Zf and Zfc. But basically that’s it.

And please don’t even mention Canon.

Hence

Recently there were two camera announcements that would have been big news in the old days, but at present seem to trigger not much interest. I’m talking about the Leica SL3 and the Fujifilm X100 VI.

It doesn’t help that both cameras look exactly the same as their previous iterations, which is no surprise coming from Leica and Fuji. This was always their approach. So there’s hardly any excitement.

Most camera review sites focus on “what’s different” between the new and old versions. As is, what’s there to write about these cameras. Just read the review from the older version.

No point

Yes, no point checking new camera gear now. They are all the same, and they are all good. Unless you are starting now and buying your first camera. Then yes, I can understand your excitement.

But for a camera enthusiast like me, who had the luxury of collecting a bunch of cameras over the years.

From fixed-lens, DSLRs, mirrorless. From M4/3, APS-C, full-frame and even medium format. I have them all and I see no point buying a new camera now.

When was the last time a bought a camera, you ask?

Good question. It was the Fujifilm X-Pro3, back in 2020.

See what I mean?