2024 in review: the most important trends in photography this year

2024 in review

2024 is just about to end, so we thought it would be a good time to look back and identify some of the trends that began to emerge or continue to strengthen throughout the year. This isn’t a recap of all the news that’s happened – we’ll be releasing one of those soon – rather it’s a comprehensive look at the direction the industry is headed, which can give us an idea of ​​what 2025 may hold. What to expect during.

global shutter

It’s hard to say that global shutters were a trend in 2024; In terms of consumer mirrorless cameras, there was only one with the technology, the Sony a9 III. However, considering the benefits it offers – the ability to sync with full-power flash at almost any speed, the ability to shoot stills at 120fps, and 1/80,000 sec for capturing even the fastest subjects without blur Ability to use shutter speeds of up to – We fully expect this to lead to more high-end sports/action cameras.

This doesn’t mean that the a9 III’s sensor is perfect. Compared to its rolling shutter counterparts, it hits full image quality with its 250 base ISO, meaning it has about a stop more noise than most of its competitors.

However, if you need the performance provided by a global shutter, chances are none of these caveats will be a deal breaker. We mention them only to say that we don’t expect to see global shutters in cameras that focus on image quality above all else, such as the Sony A7R series or the follow-up to the Nikon Z8 – at least. In 2025 or not. Even 2026.

physical color mode control

This year, it felt like every other camera had a physical control for color modes. Fujifilm’s Film Simulation dial, included on the X-T50 and to backport one to another camera – and Nikon included a button to bring up its Picture Control menu on the Z50II.

Physical color mode controls are nothing new. we saw one Olympus Pen-F In 2016. But this is the year they definitely became a trend.

Only time will tell whether they stick or not. Camera manufacturers will likely pay close attention to whether consumers really value being able to easily change the look of their photos and videos using physical buttons or dials. If that happens, this year’s crop of cameras likely won’t be the last we see with color mode controls.

APS-C shooters have more options than ever

2024 was the year Canon and Nikon began allowing more and more third-party APS-C lenses on their systems. At the beginning of the year, you only had a few options if you wanted a third-party autofocus lens for RF or Z-mount. Now, you have much more.

This change came from some of the usual suspects as well as some smaller companies. sigma And Tamron It was the first to announce that they would bring their lenses to RF mount, but Samyang slipped under the wire with an announcement That, too, will begin production of lenses for the system.

Most of Sigma’s DC DN Primes are available on Z-mount From early 2023But this year, we have seen subsidence Of autofocus prime to become available for the system from brands like Siuri And Wiltrox.

However, there are still shortcomings in the lineup for each brand – there are no great telephoto options, and no fast zoom Z-mount lenses – which is why we’d like to see this trend continue into 2025. If we’re really dreaming, perhaps Canon and Nikon will allow more third-party full-frame glass, but we’ll save our fantasies for a different article.

The rise of small full-frame lenses

Speaking of full-frame glasses, this year we’ve also seen a trend towards smaller, lighter full-frame lenses. Panasonic’s 18-40mm F4.5-6.3 for L-mount is the most obvious example – the company says it’s “the smallest and lightest interchangeable zoom with autofocus for full-frame mirrorless cameras” – but Sony FE 24-50mm F2.8 It’s also a great, compact new lens that packs a punch on a small body like the a7CR.

Even big lenses are getting smaller – from Sigma Second generation 24-70 F2.8 10% lighter than its predecessor, a difference that will definitely be noticeable in the eighth hour of shooting a wedding. Sony’s 85mm F1.4 GM II There is also a claimed 20% reduction in weight compared to the original.

Again, this trend isn’t exactly new. We’ve seen some lenses that have been largely defined by their size; Canon’s Original RF 70-200mm F2.8 From 2019 onwards Sony’s 70-200mm F2.8 GM II Come to mind from 2022. But with further advancements in optics and manufacturing techniques, we expect to see more full-frame lenses emerge that will be smaller and lighter than those that came before… even if they still won’t be able to beat the Fujifilm . XF 16-55mm F2.8 R LM WR II.

AI era

Nearly every industry is flooded with AI-related news in 2024, and photography is no exception. The continued proliferation of AI-generated images and text has sparked almost endless debates About which place, if any, technology is in photographySome people are even going to the extreme that the ubiquitous ability to generate images would destroy the art form entirely (assuming those comments aren’t also AI-generated).

It’s not all existential doom and gloom, however, as some companies have used AI to improve the photography experience rather than replace it. For example, the new Canon EOS R1 and R5 II have Action Priority AF modes, which use machine learning-based algorithms to determine which subject to focus on during key moments in certain games. This can be thought of as context detection rather than subject detection which has become table stakes for most cameras. The EOS R1 and R5 II also have built-in AI-derived noise-reduction and upscaling functions, should you choose to use them.

AI-powered denoising and upscaling are also making their way into photo editing software like Lightroom or apps from companies like Topaz Labs. And while Adobe has added a lot of generative AI features to Photoshop, we’ve also seen other AI-powered improvements, like its distraction prevention mode and Adobe Camera Raw’s new adaptive profile And reflection removal feature,

Whatever you feel about technology, it’s almost certainly here to stay. The good news is that there is another aspect of the AI ​​trend that companies are working on this year. Improving transparency around AImaking tools for Prove authenticity of photo Or show exactly how it has been manipulated, either by AI or by more traditional means. The technology is far from being ubiquitous, but it seems likely that we’ll see it spread across more and more platforms as AI becomes even more prevalent.

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