The photography industry is evolving rapidly and has seen a lot of ups and down in the past twenty years. With micro four thirds cameras giving way to 35mm film, film cameras giving way to point and shoot and then ultimately 35mm DSLRs and now Mirrorless cameras. The industry has changed as and when consumers have needed it to. During the war, cameras such as Zenit and Zorki were built robustly for the soldiers to take to war. As time went by, camera manufacturers started focussing on bigger image sizes, instant print cameras and so on. But now, we are knocking on the doors of 2019, which may dawn a new era in the camera and overall photography industry. Let’s find out which new camera technology we feel will emerge and will be in 2019’s photography trends.
More Mirrorless Cameras
Sony and Fujifilm have been manufacturing mirrorless cameras for a while now and with technology advancing at a very fast pace, there cameras are now performing as good as, or sometimes better than DSLRs. Mirrorless cameras are smaller in size and easier to carry due to the lack of the mirror mechanism. The digital viewfinder also helps one see the exact output when changing the settings in a camera through their viewfinder. These cameras were generally avoided by professionals in earlier years since it’s inception because of the lack of it’s lens portfolios.
But with big players such as Canon and Nikon entering the mirrorless game this year, all manufacturers have stepped up and released a huge lens portfolio for their mirrorless line up. There are many users who hate switching brands and brand loyalty is something that will be put to test with the camera companies now competing in a level playing field.
DSLR Sales Will Decrease
DSLRs have been the choice of photographers for a long time now. These cameras have established lens lineups, are robustly built and can be built in all price ranges. But with mirrorless cameras slowly gaining ground in the market, DSLR sales may decrease drastically. Many news agencies use DSLRs from Canon and Nikon and were reluctant to shift to a new system till now. This was because a shift would mean changing lenses and accessories as well.
With the two major players entering the high end mirrorless segment, interchangeability might be possible between different systems. This means use of DSLR lenses on mirrorless cameras and vice versa. This can be done with the help of proprietary adapters. These adapters will not reduce the lens’ focussing speeds and other capabilities like Image stabilisation. In 2019’s photography trends, there is a good chance that a large chunk of the DSLR users will shift towards mirrorless. This will therefore decrease DSLR sales.
Video Centric Micro-Four Thirds Cameras
Since ages, filmmakers have used either 35mm or 16mm to shoot videos. Be it in film or in digital backs. The 35mm cameras have been the choice of many filmmakers. Great Hollywood films such as Black Swan, 127 Hours, Avengers, Whiplash and even TV series like Dexter and House have all used DSLRs for their shoot at some point. Documentary filmmakers use the 16mm format more often. But a new format is gaining ground and camera manufacturers are trying to push this format hard on the market. The Micro four thirds, is a format that sits between full frame cameras or 35mm and APS-C sensors. This format allows the camera to be less bulky but provides great quality footage.
The micro four thirds are also mirrorless cameras but differ in sensor size. These cameras have a sensor size equivalent to a 4/3-inch video tube. Having a digital viewfinder also helps filmmakers look at exposure and framing in real-time through the viewfinder itself and not have to look at the screen. Now, having a smaller sensor size has not reduced the resolution as many of these cameras provide the same, and at times more, resolution than a DSLR’s video. Cameras such as Panasonic’s GH5 or Olympus’ OM-D E-M1 Mark II are being made with filmmakers in mind. It will be great to see other companies joining the bandwagon. With the digital space growing at an alarming rate, Vloggers, Streamers and Youtubers can definitely take advantage of this format.
Artificial Intelligence In DSLRs and Mirrorless
If we can have a digital assistant at home for us to switch on and switch off lights and perform other tasks, why can’t we have artificial intelligence in our cameras? Cameras, like smartphones are becoming smarter by the day. Even a few years back, it was unimaginable to ask your camera “GoPro, take a photo” and the camera would follow. Well, now you can. With technology evolving at an alarming rate, camera manufacturers are including features like WiFi connectivity, bluetooth, voice commands and so on for cameras as well.
Artificial Intelligence is already present in many cameras that can detect faces, click photos when it sees smiling faces, connect to your phones and so on. While a personal assistant for all your photography needs may be a long time away, we feel that there may be a good chance that more AI features will be integrated into a camera in the coming year’s photography trends.
Fingerprint Sensors In Cameras
For photojournalists and studio photographers, for media houses and wedding photography teams, several users share a single camera in different times. And every user has his or her own preference. Be it the exposure setting, focus or colour settings and so on. This is where fingerprint sensors come in. Just like a computer has different user settings where a particular user can log-in to his or her user preferences a camera with a fingerprint sensor can scan the fingerprint of the user and immediately change the current settings to that.
This would be a great to see in 2019, if manufacturers do decide to include such a thing. Canon has already patented a fingerprint scanner technology for it’s camera. But it is unclear what they plan on doing with it. With the sensor, one can also be sure that the camera will not fall into the wrong hands and will prevent it from being stolen and used.
Better Lenses
Lenses are as important as the camera body itself. A photographer needs to choose his or her lenses carefully and according to the need. Lenses are also quite expensive so it is best to select expensive and well performing ones than buying cheap ones. Specially if you are a professional. In photography trends of 2019, we expect to see some really great lenses. One of the major complaints most photographers have with DSLRs are that the cameras don’t fare too well in extreme low light conditions.
Next year can be a welcome change for them as many manufacturers, with meteoric advancements in optics, are now creating extremely wide aperture lenses. These lenses can go as low as f/1.2 or even f/1 or f/0.95. Canon’s 50mm f/1 or Leica’s 50mm f/0.95 are great examples. These lenses can shoot at extremely low lighting conditions with relatively lower ISOs providing great images without noise. This year we can expect more of these lenses from different manufacturers as well.
These were our predictions for photography trends of 2019. Let us know in the comments, what you feel should make it in this piece and we will try and include the same!
The Yi Action camera has 16 MP Sony IMX 206 sensor and the Yi 4K Action camera has 12 MP IMX377 sensor. Sensors on both the camera are equipped with f/2.8 aperture and both cameras use Ambarella processors. Both the Yi Action and Yi 4K cameras have a 55-degree field of view. Most notably the former has 6 layered glass while the latter gets 7 layered glass. 
