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The new cameras and lenses presented at Photokina 2016 — the biannual photography trade fair in Cologne, Germany — showcased new technologies that once again push back the industry’s limits, with 6k photos, 4k video, interchangeable viewfinders and 360-degree video.
New products from camera-world heavyweights unveiled at Photokina 2016 include lenses from Leica
and Canon’s 5D Mark IV professional SLR and EOS M5 mirrorless camera, none of which proved particularly groundbreaking. Nikon didn’t present much in the way of new products, apart from an entry-level SLR (the D3400) and a new lens (AF-S Nikkor 105mm F1.4 E ED).
Fujifilm presented the GFX 50S,
expected for release in 2017, featuring a sensor packed with more than
51 megapixels. The show’s real
sensations came from Panasonic — whose GH5 films 4K video at 60 frames per second and takes photos in 6K mode, setting a new record — and from Olympus, with its OM-D EM1 Mark II, shooting 60 photos per second in burst mode. Note that Chinese manufacturer Xiaomi, famous for its smartphones, launched its first mirrorless camera under its Yi brand, with the Yi M1.
The week was above all marked by GoPro’s announcement, including its latest-generation cameras (Hero5)
and its first drone for aerial photography and video. The GoPro Karma
is a folding device with an onboard stabilizer to help keep it steady in flight. It’s compatible with the Hero4 and Hero5 camera ranges and is due out at the end of 2016.
As for 360-degree video, the trade fair saw Kodak unveil its Pixpro 4KVR360, which, as the name suggests, films ultra-high-def 360-degree
video. It’s due for release in 2017 and will rival the Vuze, which can also
film 3D 360-degree video and is already on sale. Finally, Western Digital stood out with its prototype SanDisk SDXC card offering 1TB of storage. After all, memory card manufacturers will have to adapt to accommodate these new technologies which increasingly need huge storage capacities.
Photokina’s organizers report 191,000 visitors to the 2016 event.