Since the T2i hack turned out to be an idiot-bomb, we move our attention onto where the real action is.
2011 is going to be an interesting year. First off, CES is about to start and there are rumours Canon may introduce a consumer camera which could resemble a fixed lens hybrid camera, featuring a larger sensor…
Canon actually have form with hybrids. The TX1 was meant as a camcorder / stills hybrid. Panasonic have taken the lead with the GH2 being the best hybrid right now because of it’s interchangeable lens mount and if Canon still have an interest in hybrids and are not put off by poor sales figures from the TX1 they will want a bite of the apple. This is a market sector I believe will grow massively as the convergence builds steam, it’s just a matter of time (Just look at how standard mobile phones, compact cameras and MP3 players were absorbed into one device, the smart phone).
Next, we can look forward to hearing about Vitaliy Kiselev’s progress with the potential GH2 hack. We might be in for a surprise from Vitaliy – he actually began with a Pentax hack before he came to work on Lumix cameras. The Pentax K-5 actually has a very nice sensor in it, but it’s video mode is rather limited. Vitaliy is working on disassembling the K-5 firmware as we speak according to his posts at DVXUser here.
It is inconceivable that 2011 will pass without some kind of major update from Canon. The 5D Mark II and 1DS Mark III are both overdue an update now, and Canon chose to virtually sit out 2010 which points to a much busier 2011. I am not a huge fan of traditional DSLRs with bolted on live view implementations but the 5D Mark III could have killer image quality. Personally I just want anything from Canon with a clean image and large sensor with interchangeable lens mount. It could be a mirrorless, a full frame DSLR, anything.
One camera I’d personally love to see a hack for is the Sony NEX5 and NEX3. Again, great sensors and hardware hobbled by a very Playstation-esque user interfaced for consumers to use, not photographers. Very dumbed down cameras. The video mode lacks proper manual control (because Sony believe it too complicated for the point and shoot target audience the NEX is aimed at) and lacks 24p (since Sony believe consumers dislike judder and prefer smooth video-like action). It’d be nice if we had the choice and if a hacker does manage to flick a few switches on the NEX5 it could be very interesting indeed, it is a lovely mirrorless and such an affordable camera.
Unless we have any major surprises this year, my money is on the top two stories being the release of the 5D Mark 3 and Vitaliy Kiselev’s GH2 hack. The GH2 hack is hugely promising because I believe the hardware can actually deliver 1080/60p and 2K, maybe even 3K at a push unlike the much older DIGIC 4 or the previous Venus HD engine. The 40fps burst mode works at a higher resolution than video mode does at 24p. So clearly the hardware has potential, speed wise even if memory buffer sizes and card I/O speed might be an obstacle for Vitaliy.
Despite everyone waking up a bit and loving the new GH2 the halo effect doesn’t seem to have extended to the GH1. Most underrated of 2010 (and ’09) was that camera, by far. The GH1 had very reasonable low light performance – ISO 1600 was more like 3200 on the Canon 5D Mark II in terms of sensitivity. It lacked the same moire & aliasing issues of the Canons and with the hack it had a much better codec, which saved me a lot of drive space whilst delivering a nice and detailed image… much more detailed than the 7D and it’s siblings managed.
Above all this year I think the most important thing for the DSLR community is to maintain a focus on shooting and being creative for our own sake. Doing it for yourself is the fun thing, not necessarily watching tons of work by other people. Talking about cameras is a waste of time unless one goes out and shoots!
Gear has it’s place in our interests and I love covering it. It would be boring if we all gazed at the work of others all day, equally as boring as buying cameras and never doing anything fun with them.
Equipment remains a means to an end for me. Whilst the vast majority of creative work from anyone (even the best filmmakers in the world) isn’t usually a masterpiece, it would be a shame if really good stuff got buried under a flurry of gear-talk. If gear-fanatics really want to be filmmakers then they need to have a voice and a style, get out there and get actors involved, pick locations and build a network of contacts. Without creativity the whole community rings hollow, and a hardcore of people develops who exist just to make noise about cameras without ever having created anything so let’s avoid this and recognise that the DSLR community has some huge talent in it’s ranks, talent that doesn’t need a expensive camera to turn heads.
