Equipment

Latest Camera and Lens Announcements from PhotoPlus Expo 2017 & More

Every year, PhotoPlus Expo comes to New York City to highlight some of the latest tech in the industry, while giving brands an opportunity to launch their newest flagship cameras and lenses for the years to come. While not all brands adhere to announcing over the same weekend (which is why this is a piece relating to announcements over the last three months), we do try to do one of these posts annually. So even if they’re not sticking it out to all share the same release cycle, we’re still going to share some of the latest announcements that we’re most excited to come out. So with that said, let’s look at the latest and greatest releases announced over Fall 2017.

Sony A7R III

Rent the Sony a7RIII

Easily stealing the show this year at PhotoPlus Expo, the Sony A7R III is the latest in Sony’s Alpha mirrorless system and looks to raise the bar even further for photographers who are already being enticed by Sony and their photo developments. Improving on the Sony a7RII in nearly every way, the Sony a7r III features an improved autofocus system, increasing the contrast detection points from 25 on the Sony a7rII to 425 different points. Additionally, the burst speeds have doubled to 10fps, along with a buffer allowing for 76 jpegs or 28 uncompressed raw files in continuous shooting. The Sony a7r III also improves the in-camera stabilization, offering 5.5 stops of image stabilization. Along with 15 stops of dynamic range, the Sony a7rIII also improves on battery life by using the same NP-FZ100 battery found in the Sony a9 system (offering 650 shots compared to the 390 on the previous battery).

Sony 24-105mm F4 G OSS & 400mm F2.8 G Master

Perhaps overshadowed by the announcement of the Sony a7RIII were two additional announcements from Sony. Both in the G Master series of lenses (Sony’s branding for their premium lenses), the Sony 24-105mm f/4 G and 400mm f/2.8 G are two lenses that help round out Sony’s lens availability for the E-Mount system. Though aside from the announcement, little additional information is known on these lenses at this time; which hold especially true for the 400mm f/2.8 G (which currently has a Summer 2018 release date). However, we’ll know more about the 24-105mm f/4 when it gets released at the end of the month.

 

GoPro Hero 6 Black

Rent the GoPro Hero 6 Black

Announced a few weeks ago was a surprising upgrade to the GoPro Hero line, with the GoPro Hero 6. Admittingly, the Hero upgrades have always been marginal upgrades to the system, leaving many without the need to upgrade. However, GoPro added some desire with their latest iteration of the system with the GoPro Hero 6 Black Edition. Offering better image stabilization, and a new faster processor allowing for 4K footage to be recorded at 60fps, the GoPro Hero 6 is a welcomed addition to the GoPro line of cameras.

Canon Tilt Shifts (TS-E 50mm f/2.8L Macro, TS-E 90mm f/2.8L Macro, and TS-E 135mm f/4L Macro)

Rent Canon Tilt Shift Macro Lenses

There is no doubt that Canon makes some incredible tilt-shift systems. However, their lineup of available lenses has mostly remained unchanged for the past decade. While the four tilt-shifts in their current lineup have been great, the new focal ranges are a welcomed change for both architectural photographers and portrait photographers alike. With a 50mm, 90mm, and 135mm added to their tilt-shift lineup; Canon has built these three new lenses with some exciting features. For one, all of them are L series lenses, meaning we can expect the incredible optical performance that we’ve come to expect with the ‘Luxury’ lineup. Additionally, each of the lenses has macro capabilities, giving you a new way to use tilt-shift lenses in your creative work.

Canon 85mm f/1.4L IS

Rent the Canon 85mm f/1.4L IS

Announced back in August, Canon has seemingly said goodbye to the f/1.2 series of lenses, by offering up an updated version of the L series 85mm with the Canon 85mm f/1.4L IS. While the Canon 85mm f/1.2L II is beloved by many, it does have its own set of shortfalls; one of which, being the incredibly slow focus speeds. The 85mm f/1.4L IS has come along, to likely dethrone the Sigma 85mm f/1.4 Art Series as the sharpest 85mm under $2,000, as well as offering an Image Stabilization system promising four stops of stabilization. We’re looking forward to this coming available soon, and expect a comprehensive comparison when that happens.

Sigma 16mm 1.4 DC DN Contemporary

Rent the Sigma 16mm

Announced at PhotoPlus Expo was a new 16mm f/1.4 lens option from Sigma. However, what is probably most surprising about this announcement is that this lens is specifically for the Sony E-Mount system, along with Micro Four Thirds systems. Promising the image quality that we’ve come to expect from the Art Series, the Sigma 16mm 1.4 DC DN Contemporary is a welcomed lens to the Sony E Mount system – a system that is lacking in third-party developers. That said, little else is known about the Sigma 16mm f/1.4, and we’re expecting a price and availability to be announced soon.

Tamron 100-400mm F/4.5-6.3 Di VC USD

Rent the Tamron 100-400mm

Tamron is looking to play catchup with Sigma, by announcing a very versatile 100-400mm f/4.5-6.3 VC lens for both Canon and Nikon. With 4-stops of image stabilization, the Tamron 100-400mm f/4.5-6.3 looks to be a pretty useful lens for those who are looking for an all in one telephoto zoom lens. Additionally, the 100-400mm includes access to Tamron’s Tap-in system, allowing you to perform micro-adjustments to your glass to ensure the utmost in sharpness and image quality.

Olympus 45mm f/1.2 & Olympus 17mm f/1.2

Olympus announced two new lenses in their Micro four-thirds systems that offer pro-quality optics, with incredibly fast speeds. The Olympus M.Zuiko Digital ED 17mm F/1.2 and Olympus M.Zuiko Digital ED 45mm F/1.2 promise incredible optics for the Olympus systems while giving users some new options in focal ranges that were otherwise lacking in options. At 34mm and 90mm 35mm equivalent focal ranges, both of these lenses offer full weather sealing and high-speed autofocus. The 17mm is expected to be released in January, whereas the 45mm is expected to be available later this month.

 

Profoto A1

Rent the Profoto A1

Announced a month or so ago, the Profoto A1 is nearly available for the masses. Admittingly, Profoto was faced with plenty of criticism on the price point of the A1 at $1,000. But the Profoto A1 provides full Profoto Air Remote control in a speed light device, while also using a hot-swappable Lithium Ion battery that allows for 350 full powered shots while controlling all of your other Profoto lights with ease. It also has a blazingly fast recycle time, at 1.2 seconds for full powered shots and looks to be a perfect companion to Profoto users who are looking for a solution for on-camera flash.

XRite I1Studio

i1 Studio Rental

While certainly different than most of the announcements, one of the things people may not know, is that we do carry screen calibrators within our stock of products. Color accuracy of your monitor is one of the most important things you can do as a photographer or videographer and is often something that most people neglect. Routine maintenance of your monitors color accuracy will make your work look better and more accurate, and the new i1Studio allows you to not only calibrate your monitor but your mobile devices as well. While this might just be an asset for those who are working with color sensitive work, it’s nice to see that screen calibration systems are expanding to mobile devices, while becoming more affordable.

 

Did we miss anything? Be sure to post what you’re most excited about in the comments below.

Author: Lensrentals

Articles written by the entire editorial and technical staff at LensRentals.com. These articles are for when there is more than one author for the entire post, and are written as a community effort.

Posted in Equipment
  • Bob B.

    My purchases out of what is above will be the Olympus 45mm f/1.2 PRO (Selling my Nocticron) and the Olympus 17mm f/1.2 PRO. The 45mm will be much faster to focus, weather sealed and has snap MF on my EM1 II. I bet its as sharp as the Nocticron, too…and I will not have that useless aperture ring on the lens. Although…the Nocticron does create a great image I would rather have the proprietary lens for my body from the manufacturer. Its all good.
    I am going to skip the new 85mm f/1.4 for my Canon kit. My 85mm f/1.2L II is just one of my favorite lenses, even if it focuses slow. I think my next move on my FF kit will be to sell my 16-35mm f/4L IS and pick up the 2.8L III version.
    There is so much great gear to choose from!!!!! 🙂

  • Bob B.

    I LOVE my 85mm f/1.2II…. I just learned something though….Roger said that the optical formula is the same as Version I. So all Canon did with the update on V. II was try to improve the focus speed…I did not know that. I thought that it was an optical and mechanical improvement. Mine is definitely my slowest focusing lens….but I just shot some images of a carnival barker last weekend with a 5D IV and I think that the 85mm f/1.2L II is just unique…Works fine on the newer higher rez sensor as far as I am concerned. I have no desire to go to the new f/1.4 version. I also have a Sigma 135mm f/1.8 ART (The BEAST!)….so I got that modern look if I need it. 🙂

  • DrJon

    BTW I find the 85/1.2 II focuses reasonably quickly if you aren’t racking it from MFT to Infinity and back. Provided you are focused in the vicinity I found I could focus on Birds-in-Flight catching stuff out of the air – so if you’re, say, focused at 12m and the action happens at 8m it’s plenty fast enough. However that was with my 5DII and I have a theory that the 5Dsr is a little slower to focus it. The main thing I don’t like about it is the amount of purple on high-contrast (i.e. black-white) just-out-of-focus edges. The new 85/1.4 isn’t grabbing me from the images I’ve seen (plus if I don’t need faster than f/2.8 the 100 L makes a great portrait lens as it’s sharp, has minimal distortion/CA and the bokeh is nice).

  • Let’s remember that the 85mm f/1.2 Mk II was simply a mechanical improvement. The optical formula is identical the the Mk I, so it dates back to a 1989 release; nearly 30 years ago. Talk about aging well!

    I’ll be interested to see if it’s as sharp as the Sigma, but the IS means it probably only has to be close to be successful. A lot of people would rather have the IS than perhaps the absolute sharpest lens.

  • Adam Sanford

    Product photographers should be geeking out pretty hard for the new T/S lenses for the reason Zach just said. Focus stacking is certainly powerful, but it can be a PITA and T/S is one way to skip all that and nail things in one shot.

    Longer T/S focal lengths are also a money way to breathe life into landscape work — I have a friend who loves his Nikon 85mm T/S for landscapes.

  • I was at PhotoPlus Expo last week, and Canon had set up a press meeting with me where the showed me their new Tilt Shifts (and the 85mm), and as someone who never really uses tilt-shifts, I was pretty impressed. Particularly, the Macro capabilities seemed interesting, and when testing it, it allowed me to focus line by line on a business card’s contact info, and then use the tilt properties to bring everything in focus if I needed.

    While there isn’t much practical use for that with the majority of the work I do (portrait), it definitely felt like I was playing with something really interesting and innovative for people more creative than myself.

  • Tim Cooper

    Is it weird that I’ve been hoping for Canon to update the TS/Es since the wide ones came out but now that they’re actually doing it I have a hard time wanting one? I’m not doing a lot of hard-core architecture at those focal lengths and software has gotten so good at adjusting things now.

    I’m looking forward to getting the Laowa 15mm shift macro at some point, more than these. I don’t know, should I be excited about tilt macro? Maybe? I don’t really have the stealth/patience to work macro with live subjects, which has kind of kept me out of the full macro enthusiast mode.

  • As an avid fan of the Canon 85mm f/1.2L II…I hope you’re right.

  • Adam Sanford

    Don’t get me wrong, I’m 100% with you on the value of the new lens:

    1) Must be sharper away from center
    2) IS
    3) much much much faster AF
    4) Focus by wire RIP

    …so it will sell like hotcakes. But considering Canon offers 4x 70-200 lenses, 4x 24-something zooms, a jillion UWA zooms, etc. I’m not surprised at all that they are ‘diversifying their portfolio’ on the prime front as well.

  • Hey Adam,
    Just speculation, hence the ‘seemingly’. Canon broke ground being the only (major) manufacturer to offer an 85mm in a f/1.2 variant, and with third party developers like Sigma nipping at their heels and showing no desire to follow suit with the f/1.2, it seems that that era is passing over. Hopefully Canon continues the tradition and eventually makes a Canon 85mm f/1.2L III, but I think most people agree that 4-stops of built in Image Stabilization has more use than the extra 1/3rd of a stop on the aperture. Pairing that with the significantly faster autofocus on the 85 f/1.4, it seems that the f/1.4 IS is the better option for the bulk majority of shooters.

  • Adam Sanford

    “Canon has seemingly said goodbye to the f/1.2 series of lenses” –> could you back that up with a source? The 85 f/1.2L II is still in production, so it would appear that Canon is simply expanding the line. There will be the bokeh monster for those that want it, and there will be a more modern AF do-it-all 85.

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