Mythical Camera?

[Mike Farley]

A couple of years ago, Zeiss pre-announced its ZX1 camera, rather prematurely as it turned out. It broke new ground, not by having an Android operating which, while unusual, had been tried by Samsung some years ago but by having the ability to run Lightroom CC for in camera editing. There was some activity during 2019 which suggested it would soon be on the market but since then all has been quiet. Now, according to DPReview, B&H in New York has it on pre-order for a whopping $6k. There inso indication of a release date, other than it is "coming soon".

https://www.dpreview.com/news/534523867 ... b-h-for-6k

I never saw the Samsung EK Android based camera but they are still available via outlets such as eBay. The one person I knew who had one loved it, although start-up time was around 30 seconds as I recall. So far as I know, this is one of the details which Zeiss has not yet confirmed. Not just the price will be substantial, judging by the hands-on article published by DPReview last year. The camera looks as though it will be large for a fixed lens model. Large pockets required both to pay for and accommodate it. I also wonder whether the market has moved on since 2018. 37.4 megapixels is more than enough for most purposes, but looks meagre for the cost.

An innovative concept by Zeiss, but is it really the camera which will break new ground for photography?

[Mike Farley]

This blog post neatly sums up what most are probably thinking. The camera might just about have been viable in 2018 but the specs look dated in 2020. It is a white elephant that despite its more conventional approach is set to join the likes of Lytro and the Light L16. Stefan Daniel's comment about the electronics rings true, as well. Anyone looking to spend that sort of money would be better off investing it in a Leica Q2 and foregoing the convenience of in camera processing.

https://www.macfilos.com/2020/10/06/zei ... long-last/