Canon 550D Leica M9 Leica X1 Olympus E-P2 Olympus E-PL1 Samsung NX10
Is the announcement of the Canon 1D X, proof of an impression I'm getting that the camera market is splitting into "niche" products?
It seems to me that the general, all-round jack of all trades, master of none camera doesn't really exist any more, nor are companies actively pursuing it. Perhaps via internet forums and the much quicker feedback that we as photographers can give them, they are finally realising that we all want different things in a camera. Some want speed, accuracy, build quality, great low noise performance above all else and are prepared to give up a few megapixels and wonderful low ISO performance to achieve that. Press, Sports, Wedding, Social and Events photographers could be seen as being in that catergory.
Then there are those who value image quality above all else. They want lots of MP's, great performance at, primarily, low ISO's and a manageable size and weight. They are prepared to forego great high ISO results and don't particularly need lightning fast response times and the abiity to work in a tropical rainstorm. Many Landscape, Travel and Studio photographers might fall into that catergory.
No camera keeps everybody happy, but from what I described as their "core market" Canon seem to be getting a pretty positive response to their new camera. Indeed, if I was still shooting weddings, events etc. (and assuming I could lift it up!) the 1D X would be an appealing camera. Though, for what I do now, its not a camera for me, I do applaud Canons decision to go with performance improvements over more MP's.
Nikon and Sony are going different routes. The rumoured D800 and a9xx full-frame upgrades will apparently have a monster 36MP sensor. But in terms of speed and general performance I'm sure the new Canon will win hands down.
All of this, of course, doesn't mean that all of us will get our "perfect" camera, but it may mean that many of us get something that is closer to our needs than what has been offered in the past.
