Where are the camera and lens rumours?

Why there are fewer and they all seem the same

Still looking for the new camera rumours…

Very much ‘in development’

I’ve maintained a few rumour pages on this site for longer than any of the xxxrumors.com sites have been around, but I’ve always had a slightly ambivalent attitude towards keeping the pages going.

On one hand, I’d much rather the site was known for the articles and reviews I write, but then again, a look at the traffic stats over the last few years shows that an awful lot of the visitors to the articles first came to the site via a rumours page…

I’ve always accepted that some people have a powerful dislike of rumours, but the fact is that far more people are drawn to them. My own few pages are distinctly provided for interest/entertainment/amusement rather than a serious prediction service.

Most you see is wrong or guesswork

As camera sales volumes have dropped back from the peaks of 2010/11 there has been a similar decline in reliable rumours and the number of people looking for such info.

Experience tells me that not much of the details of the stuff that appears more than six months out from a product announcement will come to pass, unless it’s something pretty obvious, like Canon bringing out a new Rebel/xxxD some 12-18 months after the last one.

The best predictive tool in the past was a look at model release timelines, although the 1D4 -> 1D X step, with the end of the 1Ds3 was one that I let my own interest in what I’d potentially use for my work cloud my attitude to what I heard.

The timeline for Canon

and Nikon

I’ve noticed distinct changes in the way rumours appear and spread over recent years – many of the manufacturers have got much better at keeping hold of information (stricter NDAs for example).

I’ll be keeping the pages going for the time being, since I’ve got fairly efficient in updating the pages.

Changes

At some point I’m looking to expand aspects of the Northlight Images site with some specialist forums (colour management, digital black and white), however I suspect that area will be rumour free.

If you’re a regular reader, please do let me know what you like/dislike about the site – just remember that I’m a working commercial photographer and the content is largely written in my spare time ;-)

Update 2017: I’ve working for over a years on a complete update and re-design for the site and now it’s here.
I’ve kept the rumour pages with a whole new way of presenting them.
Hopefully it makes them easier to maintain and still offer timely information.
The forums idea has been put on hold, partly because it took over a year to update all of the content on the site, but mainly because I realised just how much effort they required to run and maintain. I’d rather put that effort into reviews and articles for the site…