10 questions I'll be asking Canon and Nikon at Photokina - join me and present yours

[Andrew Reid]

It is rare to see a less than positive review of a camera online today and rarer still to see tough questions asked of camera companies in interviews. At EOSHD I don't agree the 'yes man' relationship does the camera companies any favours at all.

Here are my 10 tough questions for Canon and Nikon at Photokina. I'll be asking product managers in person exactly these on the day. It's important to say that although these are quite cutting questions there's absolutely no malevolent intent behind them. They come from me purely as a filmmaker & photographer who wants to see more innovative products from the big two.

Read the full article here

[Tim Naylor]

The first one to develop a full frame camcorder with built in ND's, 422, XLR, etc wins. Ask them if they're developing that. No one seems to have that in the works.

[Stab]

As much as I agree with all of your points, asking these questions is simply useless. You're questions are not really questions, but you are just trying to make the same point with every question:
 

"Look how far behind you are when it comes to video & technical advances compared to your competitors". Don't you see it?"

 

It is rhetorical. Of course they know. They don't care. And you don't need to ask, you can see it from their current line up and releases. They are focussing on the photo market and gave up to compete on video.

 

The only question you should ask is: "Why?"

 

To make more money for a couple of years and then stop the business? A principal? Thinking they will appeal more to photographers if they don't have good video modes? To protect their C-line? (and thus be stupid?)

 

For the rest I would save my breath. You're not going to change them. But we as buyers will.

[elgabogomez]

You should hire Sacha Baron Coen to ask those questions to them :)

[Nikkor]

Ask them if they could make a lens line that's not so unnecessarily gigantic, just take a look at leica r. Oh and please a modern 24-70 2.8, and please make it smaller.

[Superka]

It definitely not just questions, but your personal (egoistic!) critisizm, because Canon and Nikon don't satisfy you. Like a little child.

Most of your questions are  just a flame.

Though Canon and Nikon may deserve some critics, it shouldn't be most of your questions.

That is just my opinion.

[Guest Ebrahim Saadawi]

Very unprofessionally-put questions that will lead to absolutely nothing, not a single usefull answer compared to what a professional journalist could get by asking similar question just in a different way.

[Andrew Reid]

You should hire Sacha Baron Coen to ask those questions to them :)

 

That would be entertaining!

 

Any forum users want to dress up as Bruno and do it?

[madara]

Why does Canon not care about the small to mid range indie fillmmaker? Several loyal Canon shooters like Dave Dugdale and Caleb Pike have ditched Canon for the performance of the GH4. As a longtime Canon shooter, what choice do I have? I'm running a 60D with Magic Lantern, external audio recorder, rigged headphones, etc. Why have you forsaken us?

[leeys]

Wow, that picture of the Df and FE gets around. o_O One reason why it's so thick is that you can just about "see" the sensor stack along with the LCD module.

 

As for questions...

1. Nikon, where is the damn D400? :P

2. Why is Nikon going down with a strategy of using very different sensors to differentiate the FX line? It's an annoyance for a pro to work with two or more different camera types.

3. Will there be a Nikon 1 with an extremely deep buffer (>60 frames, aka 2GB RAM)?

4. Canon, when are the new sensors coming? Proper new sensors. Sony has kicked your arse for some time and it's starting to get embarrassing.

 

Ask them if they could make a lens line that's not so unnecessarily gigantic, just take a look at leica r. Oh and please a modern 24-70 2.8, and please make it smaller.

Not going to happen for a variety of reasons without some new exotic material. Any change is size and weight is going to be small.

 

 

You should hire Sacha Baron Coen to ask those questions to them :)

That'd be hilarious.

[gethin]

The Nikon questions are pertinent. Especially #1. In fact you could almost just ask that, 10 times. In relation to it I'd like to know this - seeing as the don't have a cinema line why is video not seen as a major differentiator between them and the completion? Canon will cannibalise its own sales if it doesn't knobble the 5d line video in some way. Nikon has no such worries. So why no greater emphasis on it? Is it technically too hard? Is it a management failing or philosophy?

[gethin]

PS you might want to preface these questions by laying down some schmooze or they may be the last you get to ask ;)

[slakjaw]

Can we get a kickstarter to fund someone to just smack every single Nikon rep and if they don't like it to smack them again please?

 

Thats the only thing that might wake them up. 

[jalanlee]

Is that a Samurai sword you are pulling out or are you just happy the interview is over?

 

[Don Whitmore]

Very unprofessionally-put questions that will lead to absolutely nothing, not a single usefull answer compared to what a professional journalist could get by asking similar question just in a different way.

This is where news reporting has gotten it wrong. There shouldn't be "professional" questions to ask. You ask the questions that are pertinent, and you don't pull the punches. I'm sick of media sugar coating this stuff. They have the technology to give us what they want, it's their job. Product cycles, or just not enough $ into R&D, isn't our problem. A good company would take a market lead and capitalize on it. They have not. Typical lazy corporate bs. Thank you for calling them out on it.

I know for a fact Sony's internal communication between departments is terrible. Imagine if we had a lart tech company that actually ran well.

[slakjaw]

I agree. Ask them tough questions. just be prepared for BS replies that go nowhere. 

[YouFirstEye]

Put yourself in their shoes and try to understand their logic however flawed or sound.

[tpr]

A fairly obvious question missing from both lists is if they have any 4K capable cameras in the works that will be priced within the reach of non-professionals. In the same vein, you could ask whether we should expect to see other video-oriented features like higher frame rates, zebras, peaking, image stabilization, quiet operation, aperture control on Nikons, and so on, which could lead to an interesting discussion of why projects like Magic Lantern exist and the competing demands of stills and video on a hybrid camera.

 

I'd also be interested in whether they are planning to enter the higher-end the mirrorless market.

 

In general, I'm much more interested in finding out what to expect in the future than badgering them about the lack of emphasis they've placed on video in the past, and I agree with what others have said about the tone of many of these questions. I think you could ask the same questions in a much more positive way. They can be just as difficult, but I think it's better to ask them in a way that makes it sound like you genuinely want to know the answers rather than simply telling them off.

[veron]

That questionnaire is a nice Idea, but I fear you won't get any meaningful answers :/

I'd like to know from the Canon camp when they are going to finally revamp their sensor readout architecture and add the processing to the sensor itself. I think there lies the key to at least 2 additional stop of dynamic range. They have filed several patents covering this but keep sticking to off-sensor conversion.

[Andrew Reid]

A fairly obvious question missing from both lists is if they have any 4K capable cameras in the works that will be priced within the reach of non-professionals.

 

They're obviously not going to answer that.