Digital Photography Review Newsletter: Wednesday, September 26, 2018

Welcome to the 728th DPReview Newsletter

Well Photokina has started and what a start! The team in the office and out in Germany have been somewhat overwhelmed (in both senses) by today's news. As such, this week's newsletter is more of a news digest, just to make sure you've not missed anything.

You might not have been expecting much from Photokina this year. The industry's two biggest brands have already unveiled their major products and it's the final Photokina before the show tries to re-schedule itself into irrelevance. So, a couple of lens announcements and a chance to get hands-on with the Nikon Z7, Canon EOS R, Fujifilm X-T3 and Sony 24mm GM, right?

You could not be more wrong. It's been a cracking opening day at the show, with some of the most exciting news in years. 'What did I miss?' you might ask. Well, let me tell you...

Panasonic and Sigma to collaborate on Leica L mount

Sixteen years after Olympus and Kodak announced the formation of the Four Thirds system, three members of that consortium: Panasonic, Sigma and Leica, announced they will collaborate on a shared system.

All three brands have settled on Leica's L mount (originally the 'T' mount, when the APS-C Leica T model was announced back in 2014). All three brands have said they'll be making lenses and cameras for the new system, which is arguably the biggest coming together of major brands since Four Thirds.

Click here for more about the collaboration

We'll look separately at what Panasonic and Sigma is intending to do with the system, since they're both pretty big news. We won't be looking so much at Leica, since they celebrated the event by launching a new S-series camera.

Panasonic developing S1 and S1R full-frame mirrorless cameras

They exist only as mockups at this point, but Panasonic has given a fair amount of detail about its first two L-mount full-frame mirrorless cameras.

The S1R will be a 47MP high-res model, while the S1 will be a more flexible 24MP camera. Both will offer in-body image stabilization and will be able to shoot 4K video at up to 60 frames per second.

The company also announced three lenses: a 50mm F1.4, a 24-105mm of unspecified brightness and, in an indication of who they're targeting with these cameras, a 70-200mm F2.8.

Click for more details of the Panasonic Lumix S1 and S1R

The company reiterated its commitment to developing the Micro Four Thirds system in parallel, with the announcement of a 10-25mm F1.7 zoom for the smaller system.

Sigma adopting L mount and building full-frame Foveon

Sigma's contribution to the L-mount collaboration extends beyond the lenses that you might expect. It says it will use the L mount in future, rather that its own SLR-era SA mount.

The company also says it's working on a full-frame camera that will use one of its own Foveon sensors behind the L mount. Existing SA-mount lens users will either be able to have their lenses converted to L mount or can use an SA-L adapter that Sigma will make.

Perhaps most excitingly, Sigma says it will make an EF-L mount adapter, which immediately expands the system's attractiveness, while we wait for all the stakeholders to deliver their promised lenses.

Click here for more information

Fujifilm to hit 100MP

Fujifilm also announced it will launch a 4K-capable, high resolution mirrorless camera with in-body stabilization. But in this case it's talking about the GFX series of medium format bodies, and by high resolution it means 100MP.

Oh, and it'll feature on-sensor phase detection for the first time.

Click here to read more

Ricoh working on significantly updated GR III

In any other year the major reworking of one of the industry's few truly classic products would get higher billing, but not this year. Which is a shame, since Ricoh is promising to update and improve just about everything on the camera, without spoiling what makes it so attractive in the first place.

The GR III will still be a 28mm equiv. camera, will still be built around an APS-C sensor and will still feature the classic 'GR' styling that dates back to the small sensor GR Digital of 2004 (itself echoing the look of the GR series of film cameras before that). However, the GR III will include sensor shift image stabilization and on-sensor phase detection, both of which will be a major step forward for the series. It will also add a touchscreen for the first time.

The company says nothing of weather sealing, which is something of a shame, since the GRs (like all cameras with extending lenses) can suffer when the weather has periods of strong fluffy, blustery lint or dusty downpours.

Click here for more about the Ricoh GR III

Fujifilm actually launches GFX 50R

Maybe more unfair than taking so long to get to the Ricoh GR is that I've taken even longer to get to Fujifilm's GFX 50R. A camera that's long been hoped for and one that, unlike many other being discussed today, actually exists.

At heart it's a redesigned variant of the GFX 50S but in a rangefinder-styled body. Essentially a hybrid of an X-E3 and a housebrick, the camera will sell at a considerable discount to the 50S, having launched for just $4500. Better still, and update to Fujifilm's GF lens roadmap shows a 40mm-equiv GF 50mm F3.5 'pancake' lens in the works.

There are also two stabilized zooms in the works, over the next two years.

Alongside the GFX 50R announcement, Fujifilm said that Phase One's Capture One software will now support its medium format cameras both for Raw development and tethered shooting. This is a major addition for the brand, helping make its products fit more easily into some professionals' workflows.

Click here for more about the GFX 50R

Sigma promises 56mm F1.4 for Micro Four Thirds and E mounts

As well as talking about its future system commitments, Sigma unveiled some actual lenses. You know, that you'll be able to buy in the near future.

Most exciting to us is the Sigma 56mm F1.4 DC DN lens. It's a small(ish) portrait lens for the Micro Four Thirds or Sony E-mount. It'll behave as a 112mm F2.8 equivalent on Micro Four Thirds or a 84mm F2.1 equivalent on APS-C Sony cameras, giving a comfortable working distance for head-and-shoulder portraits and a good degree of control over depth-of-field.

If it's anything like the existing 16mm and 30mm F1.4 lenses in Sigma's DN lineup, I'd expect the 56mm F1.4 to be sharp, fast at focusing and sensibly priced. Which is a very likable combination.

Click for more about the Sigma 56mm F1.4 DC DN

Sigma unveils full-frame lenses

As well as the 56mm, Sigma also announced a 28mm F1.4 and 40mm F1.4 as additions to its Art range of primes. Despite being competitively priced, many of the lenses in this series have a reputation for being among the best lenses one the market, optically. They also tend to be fairly sizeable, but if IQ is what you're after...

Sigma also said it will introduce an updated stabilized 70-200mm F2.8 as part of its 'Sports' range. This will be available in Canon EF, Nikon F and Sigma SA mount. We'll be interested to see whether a Sony E mount version becomes available at a later date.

There's also a successor to the storied 50-500mm F4.5-6.3 'Bigma,' in the shape of the 60-600mm F4.5-6.3 'even Bigma-er.' (As no one will ever call it)

Click here to see Sigma's forthcoming lenses

Hasselblad adds XCD lenses

Not to be outdone, Hasselblad used the show to announce three new lenses and a teleconverter. And even these are pretty exciting.

The XCD 80mm F1.9 is the brightest lens the company has ever made. This will be equivalent to a 63mm F1.5 on full-frame, which is a big step forward for the system. There'll also be a 135mm F2.8, giving something akin to a 107mm F2.2 equiv. Add on the 1.7x teleconverter and it becomes a 230mm F4.8 (180mm F3.8 equiv).

Finally, there's the 63mm F2.8 (50mm F2.2 equiv), which will compete head-on with the similarly-specced lens from Fujifilm. All three lenses add significantly to the system's capabilities.

Click here for more

Sony announces, err..

Apparently content to have a significant headstart on their full-frame mirrorless rivals (or perhaps content to highlight this headstart), Sony said little of substance at its press conference, beyond that it's going to keep making lenses: twelve additional lenses (over an unspecified period).

In fairness, the company has only just released the 24mm F1.4 GM lens, so the product development teams probably aren't actually in laurel-resting mode but, other than more lenses, the only thing its promised is Eye-AF that works on animals. Possibly on a new product, some time in the future.

Click to read (slight) more about Sony's briefing

In summary

For a show that's about to surrender its relevance, Photokina 2018 has proven to be more lively than expected. There'll be little bits and pieces over the coming days but this is likely to be it for industry-rocking announcements.

And, if you aren't great at reading between the lines, our take on it is pretty simple: in a declining camera market, the enthusiast and professional are kings (and queens).

DPReview has been covering the show for 18 years and, while there have certainly been shows with more launches in the past, we can't remember a time that heralded so many interesting products for people who really care about photography. In the space of a few weeks we've gone from there being two full frame mirrorless brands to a point where there'll be six by the end of 2019. Along with a what could be a fast 100MP medium format option. And a thoroughly-refreshed Ricoh GR, for the street shooters.

It's going to be a busy year. In a good way.

Richard