As Photokina just closed its doors, it is time to make a small recap.
Here are , in my opinion, the 5 things to remember about this Photokina :
Archives for September 2014
The Leica booth… Comparison between Panasonic LX100 and Leica D-Lux (updated 09/22)
Leica D-LUX 6 VS Ricoh GR
Leica booth
As Photokina takes place in Cologne every other year, it has a special importance for german manufacturer Leica. Therefore it is not a surprise to anyone that Leica chose to unveil many new products during the fair. This year is no exception with as many as 6 new products.
The Leica booth takes the entire hall 1 and is very spacious.
Even if you had no interest in the Leica products, you should keep time for the Leica booth as it features a huge gallery space displaying the work of many photographers.
Pentax-Ricoh, Olympus & Panasonic booths
Panasonic LX100
Pentax-Ricoh
No last minute surprises here. All new products were announced prior to the show.
It is useful to keep in mind that Pentax-Ricoh like most japanese companies prefer to announce big new products during the fairs in Asia.
The biggest news, in the literary sense of the word is the new Pentax Z, the new digital medium format of the company featuring the 50 MP Sony sensor and a weather-sealing that makes this camera a good choice for wealthy and demanding landscapes photographers.
Going the other direction towards the extra small, one also notice the Pentax QS-1 which in my view is more a cosmetic refresh of the Q7 than a new product.
Nikon & Canon booths : what ELSE is new ?
As mentioned previously in this blog , I have very little interest these days for BIG DSLRs and do not intend to review them on this site. This lack of interest does not come only from the fact that I am no longer in carrying so much equipment but mostly because rules of travel have changed (especially AIR travel) and carrying big DSLRs and big lenses is nowadays more hassle than it is worth.
This comment aside, there is one thing that has been very obvious in the camera industry for the last 18 months or so : Nikon and Canon are a little bit off their game. There is no doubt that there is more innovation to be found among the smaller players, be it the smaller camera brands like Olympus, Fuji or Ricoh-Pentax or the electronic giants (Sony, Panasonic and to a lesser extent Samsung).
Photokina live coverage
Starting tomorrow tuesday September 16th, I will be covering the Photokina fair in Cologne (Germany) which is the biggest camera fair in the world and takes place every other year. As mentioned in my introduction, I will be focusing mainly on “serious compact cameras” and hybrid cameras, meaning mostly camera devices with a sensor ranging from 1 inch through APS size.
As always, most cameras will be officially announced between the period ranging from a few weeks before through the day before the show actually start.
There has been several announcements and “leaks” so far but in the categories mentioned above, the most exciting news seem to come from Panasonic, Canon and Samsung in that order.