It’s been an impressive week for news thanks to Photokina. The biennial camera trade show is often said to usher in the biggest photography trends; however, with pretty much everything having already been announced, we’re left wondering when the wow factor will kick in.
From the actual event itself, Olympus showed off the OM-D E-M1 Mark II, SanDisk announced a 1TB SD card, Panasonic introduced the G80, and just about everyone else had an action camera to show off. This was certainly nothing to balk at; the OM-D E-M1 Mark II and G80 both come with weather resistant exteriors and 4K capabilities - but it's something we’ve come to expect from any flagship camera today.
The problem was that everything at the event was on par with expectations. Last year, it was the camera that could film at ISO 4,000,000 and the 250-MP image sensor; and now we’re beginning to see more of that technology make its way into consumer gear.
At Photokina 2014; Olympus showed off its first telephoto in the M. ZUIKO PRO series, Panasonic’s trendsetting 4K compact - the LX 100 - was released, and Canon flaunted its long-awaited 7D Mark II. Photokina 2014 made a statement, it showed that companies were not willing to back down when faced with a fight from high-end smartphones - and the controversial introduction of selfie cameras proved it.
This year, mobile shooters have begun to conquer low-light situations, an area which plagued smartphones for years. Apple’s new iPhone 7 has even found a way to mimic bokeh, but it's all been pretty ho-hum for camera manufacturers.
The biggest news actually came one day prior to Photokina, with GoPro revealing Karma and Fujifilm unveiling the GFX 50S. These two announcements alone garnered more hype than any Photokina panel, presumably because they ventured into brave new territory; portable drones and mirrorless medium format respectively. Both technologies have yet to reach market saturation and will only become more exciting and accessible as they get cheaper with age.
With DJI set to announce its answer to GoPro’s Karma at a separate event on September 27, chances are that companies will be saving its bigger announcements for later when they no longer need to share the limelight, but Photokina still has a few days left to completely blow our minds.
. digitalrev.com2016-10-7 03:00
