Photokina, the largest dedicated biannual photo show in Europe, has opened its doors and shown off its various camera goodies this year.
However, it’s been a tumultuous time in the world of cameras, with the Kumamoto earthquakes in Japan having a devastating affect not only on its communities, but production lines. Which has meant a quieter show for some manufacturers than previous years.
Here are the best camera and the latest Sigma Lens announcement from Photokina 2016
Canon EOS M5
Canon had already made great announcement of the EOS M5 mirrorless camera to the 5D Mark IV earlier this year. Canon joins the club of mirrorless manufacturers offering hybrid (optical plus sensor shift) stabilization, with 5-axis compensation. It has a far more dSLR-like appearance. This is the first Canon mirrorless to incorporate a built-in electronic viewfinder and a real grip. The touchscreen display tilts down for selfies.Canon plans to ship the body and a kit with the EF-M 15-45mm f3.5-6.3 IS STM lens in November for $980 and $1,100, respectively. That new EF-M 18-150mm lens is a compact substitute for the older 18-135mm IS STM, with a longer maximum focal length of 240mm-equivalent, intended as a general-purpose option for the single-lens customer.
Panasonic Lumix GH5
The top dog of the G-series gets its much rumoured update. The GH5 goes one better than the GH4 by including “6K Photo” which can extract a still image from the file. There’s also 4K video capture at up to 60fps.
Other than the video focus the camera remains a similar top-end mirrorless model: delivering super-fast autofocus in a body that houses heaps of customisable buttons and controls, along with built-in viewfinder and vari-angle rear touchscreen.
The camera will be out in early 2017, but there’s no official price just yet
Sony A99 Mark II
After more than three years on the market, the Alpha 99 gets its replacement, the aptly named A99 Mark II.
This full-frame SLT (that’s single lens translucent, if you’re wondering) brings together a 42.2-megapixel full-frame sensor, with a new hybrid face detection autofocus – which combines 399 phase detection points on the sensor, paired with 79 phase detection points on a separate sensor that work continuously together.
Add 5-axis image stabilisation, 12fps continuous shooting, 4K video capture with no pixel binning, and Sony has got one mighty fine stills or video capture device on its hands. It’s not cheap though: the A99 II will cost $4,000 body-only when it launches in November.
Nikon KeyMission Action Cameras
Nikon has gone full action camera: with its already-announced KeyMission 360 ($550) being joined by the KeyMission 170 ($430) and KeyMission 80 (£325). That’s the option to choose 360-degree all-around VR capture, an ultra-wide angle 170-degree angle of view, or a less wide 80-degree angle of view. That’s three different products rather than three different options within the one camera, though. Which seems like an odd choice, given the plethora of action cameras already on the market. The clip-on wearable KeyMission cameras are all tough and waterproof, with easy-to-use touchscreen and SnapBridge sharing built-in.
There was no mention of anticipated 2017 kit either. However like Canon, Nikon had earlier announced their top-end full frame D5 and crop sensor D500, along with the recently announced entry level D3400.
