It has been a very exciting photokina so far this year, if not the most exciting in the past decade. It’s good to see that Canon and Nikon finally make 35mm full-frame digital cameras more affordable, namely, Canon EOS 6D and Nikon D600. Sony’s A99 may be innovative, but I’m not a fan of electronic viewfinders. Sony’s RX1, however, is the first camera of its kind. Making it a fixed-lens camera doesn’t seem to be a good move to me though. If it were an interchangeable-lens camera, it would have been the killer product of the year!
Then it comes to a bunch of new cameras from Leica. I’m very excited about the ‘Leica M’ although I don’t like how it’s named. It’s like Canon makes a camera called ‘Canon EOS’, Nikon makes a camera called ‘Nikon F’, or Hasselblad makes a camera called ‘Hasselblad H’. You got the point. Anyway, live view is a big plus for me because all my Konica Hexanon lenses can then be adapted to the camera and focus through the live view. Extending ISO to 6400 is also nice. Maybe Sony or Fujifilm will make 35mm full-frame interchangeable-lens cameras that cost much less than the Leica M. But I think waiting for a yet-to-be-announced camera is usually a waste of time. So if Sony or Fujifilm is going to do it, I would hope they make the announcement sooner than later.
Carl Zeiss launches a new line of professional lenses for Canon and Nikon, which is a good news for many photographers. They also introduce many new lenses for various formats, including those for Fujifilm X series cameras. Fujifilm is adding more XF lenses and the 14mm f/2.8 lens is very appealing to me, as well as the 23mm f/1.4 lens. Voigtlander’s 21mm f/1.8 M-mount lens is a nice addition to their line as well. I have been thinking about which 21mm lens to get since I sold my Zeiss C-Biogon 21mm f/4.5 ZM lens, and now I have one more option.
Hasselblad — let me take a deep breath — announced the failure-of-the-year camera: Hasselblad Lunar! It’s the first digital camera with APS-C size sensor that costs more than a 35mm full-frame digital camera. Many people said it’s a re-branded Sony NEX-7 (and I agreed) but Hasselblad denied such a claim and tried to defend themselves. In my opinion, whenever a new product is announced, it should be very clear where the targeting customers are. With the Hasselblad Lunar, I really can’t see where the targeting customers are and who is going to buy one. Hasselblad fans, maybe?