Once upon a time (as all the best folk tales begin), camera launches were simple. A maker announced a camera, the secret was out, you could buy it straight away – or at least order it. Now, after years of reporting on camera launches and reviewing cameras, I do think that the whole camera product cycle has slowly but inexorably descended into chaos.
1. First, the rumor
You can’t blame the rumor-mongers. It’s all good traffic, the modern day manna for an influencer economy. Some rumors are obvious, notably new versions of cameras that use tech we know the makers have got. Some are based on ‘leaks’, which are often firmed-up versions of what we might have known was coming anyway. The surprise is gone and replaced by expectation, and a wait of unknown length before we learn more. So, to be clear, the surprise is gone, long before the wish can be fulfilled.
2. Then the development announcement
This often applies to lenses, often but by no means always from Tamron, and tells us to expect this or that new lens soon. It can also apply to cameras, like the Lumix GH6. This is the manufacturers trying to build anticipation and excitement for something that isn’t finished yet, but when it is, they want people ready and willing with their cash.
3. Then the launch
The product is official, with all the specs revealed, all the features, all the possibilities. At last! But wait, you can’t buy it yet. The launch also includes the date when the manufacturer expects, or hopes, it will become available to buy.
4. Then the wait
So often, for weeks, or even months after the official launch, you cannot buy this product anywhere. Eventually it arrives in stock, but only so long after the initial buzz of excitement that you could be excused for having lost all interest.
This, I think, is where today’s product publicity has come unstuck. Camera manufacturers, with some complicity from camera and rumor journalists, have attempted to extend the period of excitement, not from hours or days or even weeks, but into months or even years. This ‘slow launch’ strategy will maximise traffic over the longest possible period, but I wonder if the makers realise that they are creating a demand that users will eventually satisfy elsewhere instead of waiting.
Does anyone remember how long it was between the launch of the Panasonic S full frame cameras at Photokina (the rumors started long before) and when you could actually buy one, try one or read a proper review? I do.
The fact is, by the time you can actually buy the product that’s been so hyped, for so long, you’ve lost interest. Or is that just me?
How about a more recent example – the Sony A7R V? The rumors started way back in March 2021, a year and a half before the launch. They were wrong, but they were already creating an appetite – and appetites are transient. The leaked A7R V specs of July 2021 were remarkably accurate however, more than a year before the camera’s official launch. With hindsight, this is looking like a drearily predictable roadmap, not a sudden technical breakthrough. We had to wait until October 26 2022 for the official Sony A7R V announcement and I wrote a hands-on Sony A7R V review the next day – but you still couldn’t buy one. Just the other day (this is December 2022) I got an email from a major US retailer to say that the Sony A7R V was now in stock. I’m not sure I care any more. This isn’t news, it’s archaeology!
I think camera makers have made a major strategic mistake. I think they’re only looking at traffic, and they are paying the price. By the time you can buy the camera you’ve been reading about for months, you don’t care any more.