WHAT’S LIKELY TO BE HOT AT PHOTOKINA 2016
DURING THE LIFESPAN of this issue, the world’s biggest exhibition of imaging products will take place in the historic German city of Cologne. Photokina remains a hugely important showcase for new products and while today’s commercial imperatives mean that no manufacturer can delay a launch for too long, the timing of the 2016 event is just about spot-on for a number of significant announcements.
Everybody is eagerly awaiting the Canon EOS 5D Mark IV, and there’s been a few clues as to what its feature list might look like from the EOS-1D X Mark II… such as a memory card slot for the CFast format (plus one for SD cards), 61-point autofocusing (with the latest version of Canon’s ‘Dual Pixel CMOS AF’ system), 216-zone metering, and touchscreen controls. It will, of course, be capable of recording 4K video. However, it’s likely to have a new full-35mm sensor with a higher resolution (rumoured at 28 MP effective).
Also due for imminent launch is the Mark II version of Olympus’s OM-D E-M1 mirrorless flagship which will have some of the features already seen in the PEN F such as the 21.7 megapixels Micro Four Thirds sensor. It’s almost certain the E-M1 II will record 4K video too, and there’ll be upgrades to the EVF, autofocusing and image stabilisation plus the provision of dual SD card slots.
One rumour that won’t go away is that Fujifilm is planning a rival to Hasselblad’s X1D mirrorless digital medium format camera. Prior to the latter’s release, we thought the two might be being confused as Fujifilm was part of the original XPan and H1 programs, but the rumours persist that the Japanese are planning their own camera also based on Sony’s ubiquitous 50 MP 33x44 mm DMF sensor. Three lenses are planned as well. Of course, Fujifilm has form in this area, having built many interesting 120/220 rollfilm non-reflex cameras in the past… and it probably makes more sense than introducing a new full35mm mirrorless system. Frankly, we’re not entirely convinced, but it will be a lovely surprise if it does happen and Fujifilm is very much on a roll at the moment.
Talking of full35mm mirrorless cameras, we’ve mentioned before that Sony is really only just getting started with its popular A7 Series and there’s much more to come. The obvious next step is a fully pro-grade A9 and A9R duo, the latter with at least 60 MP on tap (possibly more) while the former will be capable of much higher speed shooting to appeal to sports photographers… probably leveraging the capabilities of XQD memory cards (of which Sony is a manufacturer). It’s still possible that Sony could make its own mirrorless DMF camera – going straight to 100 MP resolution, as it makes this sensor too – but it’s doing so well in the full-35mm space, it’s really hard to see it confusing matters with an all-new system which would sell a lot fewer units than, say, an A9R.
Can we expect anything else significant on the mirrorless camera front? Oh, you mean something big from either Canon or Nikon? We doubt it very much. Both are seemingly locked into their D-SLR programs and until there’s a serious decline in sales, they’re not going to change course… by which time, of course, it could very well be too late.
Look out for our full round-up of Photokina 2016 in the next issue.