Faster Digital Imaging Innovation Pace Means More Choices for Photographers
Feb 19, 2021
Increased Digital Imaging Innovation Favors Universal, Modular Waterproof Housing Systems
It's an exciting time for the digital imaging market — at least for consumers. The migration from film to DSLR introduced a host of digital resources into the camera, but mechanical components still created functional bottlenecks in the imaging workflow. With the advent of mirrorless, almost all imaging functionality transitioned into the digital domain — unleashing the traditional speed of innovation across capture, processing, transfer, and storage, while enabling post-production computational technologies to migrate upstream toward capture itself.
Simultaneously, the optical side has caught up. The depth and breadth of mirrorless-compatible lenses now rivals that of all other technologies. Photographers and cinematographers worldwide have more choices than ever to execute their visions and create content.
There's no arguing the benefits of older technologies — film's narrow depth of field and dynamic range remain compelling. But it's equally difficult to argue against the innovation found in today's imaging market, in both photography and video.
Source: DIY Photography
The Fuji GFX100s is a good example — it takes the company's flagship medium format body and shrinks both its size and price by nearly half with minimal feature compromise, bringing it in line with full-frame cameras like the Canon EOS R and Sony A7/A1 series. RED and Blackmagic are similarly broadening their cinema camera lineups to price points accessible to a much wider range of creators — including RED's KOMODO, Sony's FX line, Canon's EOS R Cinema, and the Pocket Cinema 6K.
And smartphones and GoPros are equally wonderful tools as part of any creator's kit — their main limitation being optics. No amount of computational photography can fully compensate for smaller sensors and shorter focal lengths. The net result: today's content creator has a wider range of choices than ever, in an increasingly affordable, portable, and mobile form.
Why Modularity Matters More Than Ever
When we started Outex, one of our core goals was to build a versatile system that lets users mix and match cameras and lenses for any desired outcome. That advantage has never been more relevant. In today's era of rapid innovation, it literally pays to have a modular housing system that fits multiple cameras and grows with your needs — both creatively and practically. Outex works with film, DSLR, mirrorless, and many medium format and cinema cameras, along with their corresponding lenses, anywhere and in any environment.
The example below from our News section shows Nikon Ambassador Lucas Gilman using a prototype Nikon Z6 tethered to an Atomos Ninja V recorder, housed in the Outex Pro Kit Large with dome port.
The system also supports additional use cases with tripods, lighting, grips, and tethering — external connectivity for power, data, and control. Whether it's a tethered Pocket Cinema camera tripod-mounted off the side of a moving boat filming whale migration, or a powered camera connected to an external battery for a glacial time-lapse, almost any configuration is possible with the camera, lens, and tools you choose.
Whatever camera you shoot with today — or upgrade to tomorrow — Outex is designed to grow with you.