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I can almost guarantee that your camera will get more respect. "Mirrorless" implies that it is lacking something while "Mirror Free" implies that a burdensome vestigial device has been removed from a modern design.
Likewise, could we lose the incredibly confusion "Micro Four Thirds" format name and start calling the format something sexy and fun? Something like "Super 35" which means it's almost the same size as standard, Hollywood movie film.
Let's steal advertising know how from the 1980's and start calling it the "Ideal Format" instead. (used by makers of 645 medium format cameras in the era).
Or, better yet, let's call it: Ultra Frame. Just because we can......
Remember, you can download the free Kindle Reader app for just about any table or OS out there....
I can almost guarantee that your camera will get more respect. "Mirrorless" implies that it is lacking something while "Mirror Free" implies that a burdensome vestigial device has been removed from a modern design.
Likewise, could we lose the incredibly confusion "Micro Four Thirds" format name and start calling the format something sexy and fun? Something like "Super 35" which means it's almost the same size as standard, Hollywood movie film.
Let's steal advertising know how from the 1980's and start calling it the "Ideal Format" instead. (used by makers of 645 medium format cameras in the era).
Or, better yet, let's call it: Ultra Frame. Just because we can......
in other news: Belinda and I finished working on, The Lisbon Portfolio. The photo/action novel I started back in 2002. I humbly think it is the perfect Summer vacation read. And the perfect, "oh crap, I have to fly across the country" read. It's in a Kindle version right now at Amazon. The Lisbon Portfolio. Action. Adventure. Photography. See how our hero, Henry White, blows up a Range Rover with a Leica rangefinder.....
How about just calling the others mirrored cameras?
ReplyDeleteNew and improved!
ReplyDeleteNot to mention - "I can't believe it's not a DSLR."
ReplyDeleteKirk, yes, I agree 100%. Micro 4/3, mirror less, compact system camera and the other names just don't make sense to me. How about just a "camera". Plain, simple, descriptive, accurate. So, with your GH4, you would says "I shoot with a Panasonic system camera". I would say, I shoot the Fuji system.
ReplyDeleteHowever, if I were still shooting a DSLR, I'd be inclined (now) to say "I'm shooting with a relic of the mid to late 20th century that happens to have some digital components." LOL.
It’s silly to name mirrorless cameras based on what they *don’t* have, so call them compact system cameras, or compact interchangeable lens cameras, or something similar.
ReplyDeleteAnd call micro four-thirds cameras “quarter frame (QF) cameras”, which is accurate, though admittedly not good advertising.
There is indeed much to be learned from old school marketing : https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XjzBpJ1XYwc&feature=youtube_gdata_player
ReplyDeleteI love my Olympus m43 camera, but the branding and naming of them is bobbins.
Hope the novel's going well,
Mark
Why not just call them cameras and get on with the business of making great images and video?
ReplyDeleteHow about just calling them all cameras?
ReplyDeleteWhen in the late 1800's the "Canikon" of the vehicle industry were making horse buggies, the newcomer, the car, was called a horseless buggy. Then, eventually, when cars reached the mainstream, all the different cars with varying technologies were called automobiles, or autos for short, in most languages.
In other words, patience.
The mirrorless will drop out naturally, eventually, after which they will all be just cameras.
As for Super 35 and other cine formats, S35 would be APS-C. It's actually very close to S35 with a sound track. Micro Four Thirds is a strange "in-betweenie" between S16 and S35.
But just crop the 4:3 frame into 16:9 mode, and you're pretty close to actual S16. Or crop into 1.85:1 when editing. With only a slight crop, you could start calling your mFT Super16 without sounding too cheesy.
Technically they are DSL cameras. They lack the 'Reflex' part (mirror and pentaprism) but they use a single lens for both taking and viewing.
ReplyDeleteOne more vote for abandoning the term mirrorless. Referring to what's not in it makes no sense. Better to invite the owners of larger, heavier camera to unburden themselves of that albatross they've been lugging around. Emphasize small size, light weight, lens and image quality. Glorify the camera as heralding a revolution in photography equivalent to that brought on by 35mm. Plus it provides HD video and audio at no additional cost.
ReplyDeleteI am happy that the acronym EVIL never got any traction. It was evil.
ReplyDeleteI'll side with those who just say "camera." I'll call any of my M43 a "modern" camera, and any DSLR an "old fashioned" camera.
Jim, I like that DSL. Yep, Digital....Single.....Lens. I can go with that. Simple, yet familiar.
ReplyDeletePanasonic calls it DSLM, which, although it has the word you want to avoid, associates itself nicely with DSLR for marketing purposes.
ReplyDelete"DSLM: the DSLR of the future."
It is really important? Who shoot photos doesn't care about definitions, and the ones that care don't shoot...
ReplyDeleteEVF based functions like focus peaking, 2 sec. review with blinkies and display of current settings for WB, exposure and metering are a big plus compared to a DSLR. The phrase used in ads should describe the
ReplyDeletepluses of mirrorless cameras.