PHOTOKINA 2016 — ALL THE BEST NEW GEAR

Photokina, the largest dedicated biannual photo show in Europe, recently answered rumours — and extinguished rumours, too — with its massive launch of new tech.

Fujifilm’s announcement of the GFX 50S development was one of the stars of the show — a medium-format mirrorless camera that’s set to ship next year. Built around the 51.4MP medium-format sensor found in the Pentax 645Z and Hasselblad X1D50c, it lays claim to being the world’s first medium-format mirrorless camera with a focal plane shutter.

Sony’s new camera release also caused a buzz. After three years on the market, the Alpha 99 met its replacement at Photokina — the aptly named A99 Mark II.

Hasselblad boasted an all-black XiD kit to mark the 75th anniversary of its brilliance in imaging, while Canon got visitors talking with its latest mirrorless camera, the EOS M5.

Olympus announced the development of a new flagship camera — the OM-D E-M1 II — as well as three new lenses. Of these, the M.Zuiko f/1.2 Pro will finally satisfy Micro Four Thirds shooters’ cravings for a standard-angle wide-aperture lens.

Zeiss’ giant walk-through Otus 85mm f/1.4 lens created a stir, as did being able to see five new additions to the regular-sized Milvus and Loxia ranges.

The aerial and action photography market saw GoPro’s first drone, Karma — a flying platform for GoPro cameras. For its part, Nikon also leapt into the action-camera market with the KeyMission 360 — a dual-lens model dedicated to 360-degree video capture.