Monday, September 17, 2018

The Competition

So, as you know I really like my A99ii and being able to crop from 42 megapixels really saved me a few times and really helps when you're only shooting with primes. That said, in some ways I am looking forward to switching to e-mount sometimes in the future as a-mount seem to be winding down and mirrorless seem to offer better features.
That said, the e-mount camera that I would want does not exist yet. While the A7rIII is okay and will probably do, I will probably wait for its successor to be a year at least on the market before commiting to a purchase so it might still be two-three years in the future before I start considering a new purchase.
I remember a few months ago we had a discussion on a Sony Facebook group about which camera would we buy if Sony didn't make stills cameras anymore. Nothing really good was available at that point, hitting the sweet spot in terms of price/features.
However, now both Nikon, Canon and soon Panasonic are finally coming out with full frame mirrorless cameras packed with features.
As the Internet is packed with reviews and opinions about the new cameras, I'm only going to be discussing one feature, the two slots. That feature was missing from early mirrorless cameras but of course was available in both the A99 and the A99ii. It is currently missing from both Nikon and Canon's offering and might not even come in a future model by these companies in the next two years. I am still hoping Panasonic will make it happen in it's upcoming release.

Why do we need it? People keep talking about what would happen if a card gets corrupted which is a valid concern, but there are actually more uses for dual slots:

1. Same day editing/slideshow - Sure you can setup Wifi or Bluetooth to transfer jpegs to a laptop or phone, but with current technology that might still be slow and prone to failures. Nothing faster than taking a fast SD card from your camera and putting it in the laptop slot.
2. Second photography - There are a lot of second photographers are out there who as part as their contract are allowed to use the photos for their own portfolio and all of them would be served well by writing RAW files to two cards, one given to them by their employer, the other, their own to take home.
3. Fast card switching - with current SD card sizes you don't need to fish in your bag for a change of card. Even if you need to switch right before an the throwing of the bouquet, it's much easier just switching to the other card than looking through your bag,
4. Emergency card - even if you never ever ever will write to both cards, it is a comforting thought to know that you always have another card there in case your card fails on you, in case you forgot your card in the reader, really any sort of issue.
5. Sorting - I honestly never used writing stills to one card and video to the other. That said, it is one of these features you never ever need until you have a project where it is needed.