Over the past year or more, in anticipation of this time–where Nikon, Canon and everyone else would jump on the mirrorless train–I have been testing out and thinking a lot–too much really–about the equipment I use and what the future holds. It has been clear for a while now, at least to me, that mirrorless...
This year I have given a presentation to a few different ASMP chapters on Staying Relevant in the current photo industry. This presentation covers a wide variety of topics concerning the photography industry. Chiefly, it discusses how the industry has changed in the last decade and how photographers can cope with those changes. As with...
The Summer 2018 issue of the Michael Clark Photography Newsletter is now available for download. If you’d like to sign up for the Newsletter just drop me an email and I’ll add you to the mailing list. This issue includes an editorial about the award winning Lighting the Spirit project, a review of the new Elinchrom ELB...
I realize this blog post isn’t going to be that exciting–or that popular. Not many photographers these days actually print their images anymore. It is often said that there will be a giant hole in the photographic record from the last ten or fifteen years because images rarely make it off the hard drives and onto...
Disclaimer: I am sponsored by Elinchrom and work closely with them on some products. I did not work with them on the ELB 500 but I did see prototypes six months before it’s release. Elinchrom has been kind enough to lend me an ELB 500 TTL kit to test out and shoot with for a two...
It’s official. After a few years off, the Surfing Photography Workshop is back and is slated for February 2019. This workshop has been so popular over the last several years that we are putting it on again. This workshop is by far one of the best workshops I have ever been a part of. In...
I am very happy to announce that I will be back at CreativeLIVE in the Seattle studio on April 16th and 17th teaching an in-depth two-day class on digital workflow. The class, entitled The Professional Photographer’s Digital Workflow, will cover everything from image capture to the final print. This is not just a class on how...
Hi Michael,
Thanks for sharing your thoughts about the Mirrorless world.
Since Nikon and Canon entered the full frame Mirrorless focusing most of their marketing on the lens mount itself I have been wondering what are the advantages of having a bigger diameter mount like Nikon vs the Sony smaller mount diameter.
In 1987 Canon introduced the EF mount with a much bigger diameter than Nikon and Nikon was still able to build awesome lenses on pair with Canon.
Do you know what are the advantages of the bigger diameter lens mount?
Cheers
Martim – Hello. There are quite a few benefits to a larger lens mount, and especially with such a short flange distance like the Z series Nikons and R series Canons. First it simplifies the lens design pretty seriously, allowing lenses to be built with fewer elements, which means more light reaches the sensor (i.e. fewer lens surface interfaces). Second, you can also collimate the light so it is striking the sensor straight on instead of being bent at radical angles. This reduces Chromatic Aberration and also allows for much sharper rendering in the corners than previously. Thirds, it allows for using IBIS to it’s full potential. Fourth, in the case of the Nikon, it might mean that we are using the center of the lens more – i.e. the best part of the optics. With the Z7 I have not really seen any CA at all, which is pretty phenomenal. I will discuss this more in my actual review. This covers the basics of a larger lens mount. I am sure there is a lot I don’t know. Nikon released a very extensive PDF all about the reasoning behind the larger lens mount.
[…] I wrote about in my last blog post, entitled Random Thoughts on Mirrorless Camera Systems, while the small, lightweight form factor of the Z7 is great for some situations, it can be a […]
Excellent thoughts about mirrorless Michael! I totally agree that the future will be (or should be) a range of mirrorless cameras incorporating the advantages and minimizing the disadvantages of mirrorless. I’m very pleased with the Z7, but already thinking about a Z850 :-).
Many Thanks for the article. As a long-time (mostly) Leica user I am clearly not in the telephoto or ‘need for speed’ lane. As such, I now cannot imagine having to use those big, long-lens units of my youth! (Especially as most Leica lenses are basically miniaturized.)
At Photokina a few weeks ago the crowds of people around the mirrorless stands were many bodies deep. Probably 75% of them were carrying DSLR cameras so it was possible to see, first-hand, the enormous interest in mirrorless. I did persevere and got to fondle the Nikon Z7. Very nice!