9/5/14 The Morning Coffee: Another One Bites the Dust

A Good Morning to you—

Looks like another favorite camera is about to go the way of all things, replaced by an as-yet unannounced update—the Panasonic GX7 (which Carl Weese uses and loves) is currently almost 1/3 off at B&H Photo. Amazon has a few black ones left for only a few dollars more.

It's useless to protest, but I confess I don't like the quick obsolescence of today's cameras. I understand the reasons, but it seems a waste after a while.

Joel Meyerowitz still uses a Deardorff that was made the year he was born, which I believe was 1938. Henry Wessel uses a Leica M3, which was last available new in 1966. Me, I have trouble putting enough exposures on my digital cameras to justify the expense before they're suddenly old news.

Well, the GX7 is a lovely little camera, fun to use. The Mazda Miata of cameras, you might even say. And at least a few people will get a nice bargain on one. Hurry up and use it up, though.

•     •     •

The computer moves this morning. I hired help, which might be stupid. But (speaking of stupid) I don't want to underestimate my talent for messing things up. I should be back online by tomorrow. But if you don't hear from me for a few days, you know where I am—on the phone with Applecare. Wish me luck with that!

This whole moving business is almost over.

•     •     •

And speaking of Carl Weese, he's our September Print Sale—two absolutely gorgeous platinum/palladium prints made from digitally enlarged negatives. You'll be hearing more about that soon.

Hope you have a digitally enlarged day, in your nook of the world.

Mike

"Morning Coffee" is auto-published weekdays at 3:30 a.m. Central Time today to be in time for morning coffee breaks in the UK and Europe. For those who rise later, it will be there. The feature is a month-long experiment to give people something to check in with while I'm busy moving.

Original contents copyright 2014 by Michael C. Johnston and/or the bylined author. All Rights Reserved. Links in this post may be to our affiliates; sales through affiliate links may benefit this site.

TOP's links!

(To see all the comments, click on the "Comments" link below.)
Featured Comments from:

Shaun: "Excellent, looking forward to Carl's print offerings, still really enjoying the platinum/ palladium prints from Carl's print sale four years ago."

Mike replies: Four years ago?! That shocked me...the years do go by quickly. But you're right, it was April 2010.

Comments

[Richard Parkin]

The Panasonic GX7 has been almost exactly that price (allowing for VAT) here in the UK for some time.

[Tony Collins]

Good-oh That mean another slew of barely used Panasonics glutting on Ebay. My G3 and GF2 were obtained second hand for derisory sums and surprisingly have not failed to take great pictures despite their obsolescence.

[Steve Jacob]

The GX7 is not really a waste if it goes out of production, unless of course people throw the old one on the scrap heap when they buy a GX8. It's just that the production run finished, they sold all the stock and the new model has a few tweaks.

All the cameras I stopped using were recycled - someone else is using them now. Like second hand Miatas and new Miatas, I would love to pick up a well loved second hand example of the current model with lots of life in it. It's no less fun to drive than it was when it was released.

[BrianW]

Nobody is forced to stop using a camera just because its manufacturer stops making that type. That's as true for digital as it was for film.

[psu]

The short lifetime of the Panasonic cameras is more of a reflection on Panasonic than anything inherent in the digital market. Yes in general product lifetimes are shorter, but the "one year and out" syndrome is more a reflection of bad products than anything else.

The better cameras seem to have longer lifetimes, although even the Leicas top out at around five years, probably. That said, Nikon still seems to be happily selling to D700, so maybe that one will make it to 10.

[Shaun]

Excellent, looking forward to Carl's print offerings, still really enjoying the platinum/ palladium prints from Carl's print sale four years ago.

[Paul]

I bet you'd love to see Panasonic produce a BW only sensor of the GX7.
Maybe you should write a post on how to see luminances only. Who knows you may to find a few more converts for your cheap BW only sensor camera.

[Gordon Lewis]

It all depends on how you look at it, Mike: If you're an early adopter, quick discontinuations and price drops suck, especially if you don't want to hold on to your equipment and squeeze out every last cent of value.

If you're a late adopter, then you benefit from a lower price for the same equipment. You also get to wait and see what sorts of problems crop up once the shine wears off and the equipment has been on the market for a few months.

I've been both. These days, being a late adopter is a lot easier on the wallet and the psyche.

[Steve Biro]

Interesting, Mike - I just sold my GX7 last week. And the thing is, I'm not 100 percent sure why. What is for sure is that wasn't being used much. There was much to like about the GX7 but it never seemed to be my first choice for anything. Likewise, I sold off my Fuji X-E1 and X10 - this from a guy who really likes the rangefinder form.

I assure you GAS wasn't the motivator of the sales. Like you, I have no replacments lined up. I still have my Pentax DSLR kit with all of that glass that took me years to collect. And I have my Olympus E-M5. These are my oldest digital cameras. There's got to be a message in there somewhere.

[Stephen Strangways]

The endless march of upgrades is just fine by me. When the Olympus E-P1 was launched in 2009, I drooled over it, but It was just something I wanted to play with, making the $750 body-only price hard to justify. I finally acquired one early this summer for $100, and that was the perfect price for a fun carry-around camera. The images i've been getting from it have been perfectly satisfying.

I'd like to pick up an E-M1 to add to my collection, but I can wait a couple of years until they're going for $200.

[tdar]

Funny I read this post with a "new" camera on my lap, trying to figure out how its shutter release worked: a Kodak Panoram 1D, made in 1907.
(Enjoying a quiet coffee as my wife had taken the baby out. Given his obsession with cameras, particularly their straps, patience was in order.)

And despite one of the doors only hanging on by a few sinews of Moroccan leather, the film I put through it - 120 Tri-X with spool ends filed a little to fit - showed no signs of light leaks, variable speed banding etc.
Here's the accidental double exposure: https://www.dropbox.com/s/td9rkefaq7e1ax1/_DSC7352ex.jpg?dl=0 - shutter button doesn't return fully sometimes it appears.

[Steve G, Mendocino]

Mike:

Continued best wishes on the move. RE: the model change rate of digital cameras, it just goes to show that these days they are dedicated computers with a bolted-on sensor and a lens on the front. Model changes are a the computer industries' pace, like it or not.

And I would have been clicking on the GX7 link instantly a few months ago, but I'm still loving and learning the Sony RX10. A bit larger and heavier than optimum, but the lens/sensor combo continues to please.

[Joseph Kashi]

The alternative to frequent updates is a slower improvement of available technology and at least a few camera manufacturers going bust.

Digital technology has improved at a very rapid pace compared to film technology and that's to our benefit. At the same time, prices for better imaging technology have dropped significantly.

If someone is happy with an adequate older camera and doesn't want to make a shift, then there's no reason why they are forced to upgrade every few years. Pentax, Nikon, and Canon dSLR owners can still effectively use good-quality lenses made a few decades ago.

[Roger Engle]

Just because they are closing the camera out doesn't mean it's obsolete, it will still have the same image quality that people have loved when the newer model is released. And as far as Miata, I still think the 1st generation is the prettiest! Had a 90 and 91 and if I find a 97 for sale reasonable.....

[Jon Schick]

Oh no my GX-7 isn't any good any more.... But then neither is my Oly E-1 and I love using them both. And on to a much more interesting topic, there I was thinking I was going to buy an MGB now the kids are just about ready to leave home (I'm a Brit after all) and then you start making me take notice of Miata's (or MX-5 as we call them here). So, should I be looking for a Mkii or Mkiii?

[JohnMFlores]

As a former owner of a '90 and '99 Miata, I don't think that I'd call the GX-7 the Miata of cameras. What we're looking for here is affordable fun with just a handful of revisions in the last 25 years, each a small step forward, each with its soul still intact.

I can think of just one camera line that fits that description–Ricoh GR.

[Kenneth Tanaka]

Like others, I don't consider manufacturer discontinuation an automatic invalidation of cameras. At least not any more. It was, indeed, just a few years ago when each successive model introduced improvements that made its predecessor look feeble. But today the practical generational improvements are slim, especially in the small world of micro four-thirds.

Speaking of which, early this summer I was planning to exit micro four-thirds entirely. But I was seduced into trying a GX7. I used it throughout the summer and decided that its weaknesses were not worth the effort. So just as I'm preparing to sell it... Oh well, at least it's not something big, eh?

[Mike]

Hmmm... seems that the GX7 being discontinued is a rather nasty rumor that is apparently not true, according to someone I know with very credible inside info at Panasonic. There is no direct replacement planned, and the new cameras about to hit the shelves will be in addition to.

Don't write it off just yet. It's a very good stills camera. I use GH4's for my pro work where I need the high frame rates and super video. However, for my personal work, the GX7 is my favorite.

[BrianW]

Last year I sold off my full-frame Canon and more than half of my EF lenses, but I kept my nine-year-old 20D (mainly because it's not worth selling). Since then the 20 has been seeing more use than the 5 had in three years, and I'm remembering how much I like the two lenses that I kept, with the 1.6x factor. And I can still print up to 10x15" if I'm careful and don't need to crop. Come December I'll have been using the 20D for a decade.

(Of course the main reason that I got rid of that gear was the results and the enjoyment that I've been getting from my X100 and my NEX-7 kit - but they're both yesterday's news by now also.)