little rinky-dink camera bodies, with a large sensor, by the laws-of-physics, still require a large lens.
they need to compete with the A7/A9.
Yeah...the only place the old myth of "smaller and lighter lenses" really has applied is in short focal length lenses on small-sensor MILC rigs...the telephoto lenses for 4/3 and m4/3 and for APS-C are STILL BIG lenses! Look at the size of the 300mm for Olympus...it's a BIG lens....there is by way of physics, no way to make telephoto lenses "significantly and meaninglfully" smaller for small-sensor, mirrorless interchangeable lens cameras (MILC). The big zooms, the long teles, the superzooms...ALL are quite BIG!
But yes, the camera makers CAN or could make small, compact pancake-type lenses in short focal lengths, and they have done so,or still do; Canon has its compact pancake 24mm and 45mm STM lenses for APS-C.Nikon has made the 45-P pancake and the old 50/1.8 Series E and Nikkor models, about an inch long in front of the mount. It **is** possible to make short focal length, very compact lenses; look at the gorgeous Leica and Panasonic and Fuji 23,25,27,40,45mm range lenses! YES! Small! Light!
The other issue is when the sensor gets small, the wide-angles need aspherical elelment designs to render well...need for aspherical ele,ent lens designs drives up the cost and makes lens design tougher, and limits easy zoom lens design offerings, and drives up cost very rapidly. Until more cameras sell, the cost of designing and manufacturing MILC lenses will keep lens prices a bit high, I think.
When we address specifically, Braineack's comment about
small camera with large sensors (Sony A7r series, FX-size sensor) for example, the lenses like the 28-70mm and the 70-200 f/2.8 are MASSIVE lenses, every bit as large as Canon or Nikon d-slr lenses, so you've got the small body, small grip/hand-hold area, and a big-ass lens weighing the machine down, so
the rig is nose-heavy; this is worse than being simply heavy, being un-balnced causes wrist and back strain, and makes the rig just a PITA.
Heavy but balanced is easier to shoot than
lighter but nose-heavy, by far!
*******
MY PERSONAL opinion:
go retro, Nikon. Look at the Nikon SP 35mm film rangefinder...look at the Fuji X series...look a little at the Olympus OM-D E series...all have strong retro design cues!
Nikon Rangefinder SP
Mirrorless interchangeable lens COMPACT camera buyers appreiciate the beautiful, stylish, and classic Leica/Contax/Nikon rangefider design touches....Fuji X cameras look
retro and
gorgeous to me! Olympus's OM-D E is a blatant retro ripoff, and is one of the most handsome cameras of the last 20 years....but the sensor performance makes me not want to own one.
If Nikon were wanting to sell a LOT of MILC....they need to go retro styling AND F-mount. IMHO.