Equipment
Biggest Photo & Video Announcements for Late 2023
This fall has had some spectacular announcements in the photography and videography world, with near gear pushing the bounds and making productions easier than ever. And while we plan on carrying all of these big announcements, it’s not always viable that we write long reviews of each product (Though if you want our expanded thoughts on any of the products mentioned in this article, let us know in the comments). So, it felt like it was appropriate to highlight a few of these big announcements and discuss them with you in case it was missed in your own news feeds. So let’s look at some of the biggest announcements in the photo and video space over the last couple of months.
Sony a9 III
Perhaps the biggest announcement of the year comes with the latest flagship from Sony, the Sony a9 III. While Sony’s naming structure feels a little convoluted at times, most have figured out that the 9 Series of alpha cameras are the flagship cameras designed to have unprecedented speed for those who need to get the most out of their camera, on both the photo and video side. The Sony a9 III is no exception to that, giving you a camera capable of shooting both 24-megapixel stills and 4K 10-bit video at 120fps. However, the big selling point comes in the form of its global shutter, which allows you to capture photos with no limitations to the flash sync speed, and also allows you to capture fast-moving video without the jelloing effect commonly seen in rolling shutter cameras. We’ve written about the global shutter on this blog recently, and I was actually on a podcast just the other day discussing it, but to summarize, this feature is nothing short of incredible, and we fully expect the competition to catch up and make this a standard in the coming years.
Sony 300mm f/2.8 GM OSS
The second announcement to come from Sony these past couple of weeks was with the missing piece in their telephoto lineup, the Sony 300mm f/2.8 GM OSS. Marketed as Sony’s lightest telephoto ever, this lens weighs just shy of 3.2lbs, making it easy enough to handhold, and almost 2lbs lighter than the competition from Canon, and 1/3rd the weight of the Nikon competition. Paired with its incredibly lightweight design, it has built-in stabilization and a drop-in filter slot. While not expected to be available until February of 2024, we’re excited to get our hands on it, and you can preorder your rental here.
Canon RF 24-105mm f/2.8 L IS USM
Sony wasn’t the only one breaking molds with new lenses, and Canon proved just that with their latest announcement of the Canon RF 24-105mm f/2.8 L IS USM Z lens. While an acronym mouthful, the Canon RF 24-105mm f/2.8 makes its mark as special for its gained stop from the previous iterations of 24-105s at f/4. Using Two Nano USM Motors, Canon was able to achieve the previously impossible, all while maintaining the built-in image stabilization system. Expected to arrive right before the holidays, we’re excited to get our hands on this lens and expect it to be a really big seller for both photographers and videographers.
Canon RF 200-800mm f/6.3-9 IS USM
Next on the lineup is the Canon RF 200-800mm f/6.3-9 IS USM, a budget-conscious option for those who want to experiment with telephoto photography. While its $1900 price might seem the opposite of budget-conscious, when compared to the Canon 800mm f/5.6L IS and its $17K price tag, it is incredibly cheap by comparison. Initial impressions of the Canon RF 200-800mm f/6.3-9 IS USM have been really positive, and if you further have doubts, let me remind you that our founder and optics genius, Roger Cicala really loved the Canon RF 800 f/11 IS STM – the previous budget friendly telephoto lens from Canon.
Fujifilm GFX 100 II
Along with a couple of new lenses, Fujifilm also dropped their latest medium format camera for the GFX system with the Fuji GFX 100 II. With the impressive 102-megapixel 43.8 x 32.9mm BSI CMOS Sensor, the Fujifilm GFX 100 II promises to be an incredible camera for both videographers and photographers alike. On the video side, the Fujifilm allows you to use a silky smooth medium format sensor to capture 4K60 video with 10-bit output. For photographers, you’re getting an incredible sensor capable of capturing 8 fps stills, and if you slow that down, you’re able to capture it all in 16-bit color – an incredible feat for any camera, let alone one with a medium format sensor. Additionally, the Fujifilm has 8 stops of stabilization built-in, and frame.io integration for those who use the video side of things. I’ve personally used this camera a bit, and expect my first impressions in the coming week here on the Lensrentals blog.
Nikkor Z 135mm f/1.8 S Plena
The final big announcement from these last couple of months comes with the Nikon Z 135mm f/1.8 S Plena. With this lens, Nikon promises edge-to-edge sharpness from the Plena – the moniker for Nikon’s latest top-tier in quality and performance. While both Sony and Canon have already released their own 135mm f/1.8 variants, Nikon seems to tease that they’re leading the race when it comes to overall sharpness. Available now, we’re excited to do our tests on this lens to see if it’s as great as everyone has been saying it is.
Are there any big product announcements you think we missed? Feel free to chime in and share your thoughts in the comments below.
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