Do Canon, Fujifilm and Sony launches point to a new future for APS-C?

Of course, coincidentally there is a possibility of playing a fair role, but the last few days have made me feel more confident than I might have felt in a while as a standalone format about the survival of APS-C. As a primarily APS-C shooter myself, it comes as a promising reverse to the way things are trending.

Since mid-May we have seen the introduction of mid-enthusiastic grade APS-C bodies built around Canon Mount which is the most promising. We’ve seen Fujifilm launch an ambitious range-topping APS-C model: a high-speed still and video model that brings stacked CMOS capabilities to a more affordable point on the market (in relative terms, at least). Then, yesterday, Sony announced three APS-C lenses for its e-mount system, after several years of almost exclusive focus on full-frame.

It feels like a change. Following the suspension of production of several a6x00 cameras in response to chip shortages, it was suggested that Sony’s APS-C efforts were being undermined. And, despite the existence of the Z50 and Z fc, it seemed that Canon and Nikon’s focus would be primarily on full-frame users.

So is this the beginning of a wholesale APS-C revival? I don’t think so, but there are positive signs, though.

Full-frame 35mm film via APS-C

Bringing APS-C to Mount is like a confidence vote for the format it plans to support in the long run. But the history of big brands supporting their APS-C users is not the happiest.

The suspicion was that APS-C was an evolutionary cycle that was about to turn into a dead-end, and that its fate had been created from the beginning. In the early days of DSLR cameras were built around APS-C and APS-H sensors that could be made economically but could be mounted on a ‘full-frame’ mount to allow continued use of lenses designed for film. This means that systems with multiple formats have been created using the same mount, but can return to the original, well-supported format if they can, with an underlying incentive for the manufacturer.

And, with very few exceptions, the story goes the same way: here are a few standard zooms (one or more kit options and a premium F2.8), a wide-angle zoom (12-24mm F4) and so on. Want a 35mm equivalent? Use older, larger and more expensive 24mm, want something wider than that? I point you back to that 12-24mm F4. Want a telephoto lens that can reach 70-200mm but without size and weight? You probably have to rely on a third party for this. Or pay for the actual size and weight of 70-200mm and wonder if you can see the full potential of it.

Of course this behavior as a red-headed honest child with APS-C got worse when full-frame sensors became affordable enough to sell outside the pro market. Manufacturers can promote their focus in full-frame (neglect of / APS-C?) As if it’s an advantage, and the fact that you just bought a really nice (/ expensive) APS-C camera was really a stepping-stone because you’re a ‘ Upgrade path was’.

Whether you want to be or not.

APS-C does not have to be a stepping stone

As someone who has spent decent money on an under-served APS-C system, I’ve always been a little skeptical about the benefits of a ‘one-mount’ solution: it always seems like a great excuse for under-support mid-range users and their one. Try selling bigger, more expensive cameras, as APS-C is not a completely valid end-point.

While it is true that there is no ‘upgrade path’ from Fujifilm’s X-Mount to a full-frame system, it is true to say that one is less needed, as the system has high-end options, so your existing lenses will continue to add whatever you add. Beautiful as well as to perform their same function.

As an avid photographer I have always found a balance between the size, price and image quality of the APS-C work but it suits me. However, with the full-frame body becoming less expensive and smartphones getting better, I understand why many interested photographers as well as manufacturers are focusing on a larger format, even though lenses are becoming more expensive and bulkier than ever before.

But recent launches suggest that APS-C should never be pushed into a small, non-enthusiastic niche.

Does APS-C have a future?

Ironically, I think the most recently launched models are the ones that have the most sales, the ones that tell us the least.

The Canon EOS R10 and R7 are likely to sell well: they have a well-respected brand name in front of competitively priced mass-market cameras (as there is a huge market for cameras these days). They seem to be bringing the latest AF advances to the market segment that will benefit them. Lovely but hard to believe that Canon has gone to great lengths to support enthusiasts with affordable lenses. Like Nikon’s Z50 and Z fc, they look like cameras that can only be used with their kit lens or become a stepping-stone to the whole frame.

But Enthusiastic APS-C?

It is worth noting that the EOS R7 is not a fast-shooting, large-buffered semi-pro sports camera such as the EOS 7D series camera, and there is no obvious difference in the naming system between the R7 and R6 to fit such a model. Similarly, there is no sign of replacing the mirrorless D500 with technology from the Z9. Or something like a mini a1 from Sony.

The 40fps, 10-bit ProRes video-capturing Fujifilm X-H2S is one of the top APS-C cameras we’ve ever seen.

But that doesn’t mean the high-end APS-C is over. Stacked in Fujifilm’s X-H2S format brings CMOS technology and performance. The entry and mid-level full-frame looks $ 2500 more expensive than the camera (you can get the highly capable Canon EOS R6 or Sony a7 IV in the same sense), but only the X-H2S and OM system OM-1 that it offers. The latest sensor technology, burst shooting on camera and video technology with a launch price of less than $ 4500. Like Ricoh’s Pentax K-3 III, Fujifilm’s X-H2S suggests a belief that a high-quality APS-C camera would be more suitable for some people than a mid-range full-frame, especially if backed up with a wide range Is done. Suitable lenses.

A new niche, perhaps?

Sony’s latest APS-C lenses all suggest that the company sees video and vlogging as a place where the format can excel. And some steel shooters will appreciate having smaller, wider prime options.

Yet it is Sony’s three lenses that I find most interesting. Its trilogy wide-angle suggests that it’s more of an APS-C niche, not for enthusiastic photographers but more for vlogging (and perhaps somewhat gimbal or drone work, where the size and weight advantages of the APS-C are important). This time I understand; A smaller sensor can read faster and be more stable than a larger sensor, so it lends itself quite naturally to video. And let’s not forget that APS-C is basically a 3: 2 version of the Super35 format that has been used for many years for professional film and video, so there’s no reason to worry about quality limitations.

Somehow the future

While Nikon, Canon and Sony’s Focus full-frame lenses seem to confirm the ‘one-mount’ skepticism, I’m glad to see such a varied range of APS-C launches. Even if you’re not into Vlogging, the 22.5mm Equive 15mm lens attached to the work of Sigma and Tamron (and the 16-55mm F2.8 of 2019) makes the e-mount look more like an APS-C system ‘upgrade’. You can live forever without feeling strong-armed. Fujifilm then promises three new primes and another high-end body for X-Mount before the end of the year. And, who knows, maybe Canon will surprise me by expanding the RF / RF-S ecosystem enough that APS-C could end on its own.

As I write this, I hear that Sony has resumed production of some APS-C cameras: more reason for APS-C users to feel positive.