DJI tipped to launch its first mirrorless camera soon – 5 reasons why that could be a game-changer
Canon, Nikon and Sony might be assuming the brace position
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DJIis best known for drones like the incomingDJI Neo, but it’s also been quietly disrupting other camera spaces. And now some new rumors are predicting that it could soon make its biggest splash yet, with its first dedicated mirrorless camera.
The rumors come from Andrea Pizzini atSony Alpha Rumors, who has previously been a reliable source forSony-related launches. He says that “two trusted sources” have told him that DJI is planning to “launch something big in September” and that the most likely scenario is a “new mirrorless product that will compete more directly against Sony,Canonand Nikon.”
These rumors come with a couple of caveats. Firstly, the sources aren’t from inside DJI but from insiders at unnamed Japanese camera manufacturers who are apparently bracing themselves for a big DJI bombshell in September. Also, there’s been no specific leak hinting at what kind of product DJI apparently has in store, so talk that it’s a mirrorless camera (for stills and video) remains speculative.
That said, a DJI mirrorless camera wouldn’t be a huge surprise given its recent history – and it could genuinely justify the oft-used ‘game-changer’ label. For a start, a mirrorless camera would sit neatly in DJI’s current lineup. On one hand, DJI already makes non-mirrorless cameras – theDJI Pocket 3, for example, which currently tops our list of thebest vlogging camerasyou can buy right now.
On the other hand, DJI also owns Hasselblad, which makes niche medium-format cameras like theHasselblad X2D 100C(above). These rumors are predicting something that sits somewhere between the two – a DJI-branded mirrorless camera with interchangeable lenses. That’s why the rumors refer to it as a “more direct competitor to the Japanese manufacturers” that currently dominate the camera world.
Unfortunately, those “trusted sources” haven’t specified whether DJI might be prepping a video camera or hybrid camera, nor what lens mount it might use. But if the rumors are true, there are plenty of hints within DJI’s existing products that give us an idea of the most likely scenario – and a DJI camera that would theoretically be a major deal for non-professionals…
Why it could be a game-changer for cameras
The world’sbest camerasare incredible image-making tools, but they’re also nearly all hampered by some legacy issues (usability, connectivity, convoluted menus) that the Japanese giants haven’t been in a huge rush to fix.
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If DJI combined the existing tech from across its Ronin, Pocket, and Hasselblad lines, it could instantly raise the usability bar and make hybrid cameras feel like they’re actually from the same era as our phones.
Firstly, there are camera menus. While models like theSony A7C IIhave improved the situation, most of thebest mirrorless camerasare still more approachable for pros than amateurs. As we discovered in ourHasselblad X2D 100C review, its minimalist Scandinavian menus are a joy to use and feel “more in line with smartphones than most other camera touchscreens.” Despite its tiny size, even theDJI Pocket 3is more intuitive than many cameras.
Then there’s connectivity. Most cameras are still relics from a pre-smartphone era when photos were stored on SD cards and laboriously transferred to laptops. Sending photos to your phone remains a glacial experience in most cases, but DJI could easily replicate theLeica SL3, which uses a combination of Bluetooth and Wi-Fi MIMO tech to send full-size DNGs to your phone in a few seconds.
Like Leica, which for some reason remains an outlier in the camera world, DJI could also make an interchangeable lens camera with internal storage. TheLeica M11, for example, has 64GB of internal storage, while drones like theDJI Mavic 3offer up to 1TB of internal storage. DJI could quite easily put that into an actually affordable camera and make it a mainstream feature.
Fourthly, as Sony Alpha Rumors has speculated, DJI could theoretically add an e-SIM to its camera to make a truly modern mirrorless hybrid. That could potentially let you wirelessly back up photos from an internal SSD for peace of mind. While that would be nice in theory, DJI hasn’t really done that with its drones aside from pro models like the Matrice series. So we think this feature, plus the idea of third-party apps on cameras, could be ones to file under ‘wishful thinking.’
Lastly, a more realistic shake-up for mirrorless cameras from a new DJI player would be lenses. TheDJI Ronin 4D, which we called “the Hollywood Steadicam for (nearly) everyone,” has an interchangeable mount that works not only with DJI’s DL lenses but also with L-Mount, E-mount, and M-mount glass. If a DJI mirrorless camera could do the same for a much lower price, it could be a versatile new player.
What’s actually realistic?
These DJI mirrorless camera rumors have sparked a lot of wishful thinking about what new features the drone giant could bring to mirrorless cameras – some of it realistic, some a bit more far-fetched.
The more important question is arguably why DJI might want to make a traditional interchangeable lens camera. Aside from film-like compacts like theFujifilm X100VI, the growth area in cameras is video, and this is one of DJI’s strengths.
That’s why a larger version of something like aDJI Pocket 3with interchangeable lenses (or a smaller version of theDJI Ronin 4D) is arguably more realistic than a hybrid rival to theNikon Z6 IIIorSony A7 IV. Another potential strike against a hybrid camera, as opposed to a video-focused one, is DJI’s ownership of Hasselblad, which it’s previously referred to as its home for stills-shooting cameras.
Also, while the loomingDJI drone ban in the USonly affects its flying cameras, it could also have a chilling effect on a more ambitious launch, given the size of the US camera market.
So while these DJI mirrorless camera rumors are exciting, we’re approaching them with caution – and are anticipating a camera that has a closer genetic resemblance to DJI’s existing Pocket or Ronin lineup than the Canon-destroying revolutionary that many are hoping for.
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Mark is TechRadar’s Senior news editor. Having worked in tech journalism for a ludicrous 17 years, Mark is now attempting to break the world record for the number of camera bags hoarded by one person. He was previously Cameras Editor at both TechRadar and Trusted Reviews, Acting editor on Stuff.tv, as well as Features editor and Reviews editor on Stuff magazine. As a freelancer, he’s contributed to titles including The Sunday Times, FourFourTwo and Arena. And in a former life, he also won The Daily Telegraph’s Young Sportswriter of the Year. But that was before he discovered the strange joys of getting up at 4am for a photo shoot in London’s Square Mile.
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