Recapping the Biggest Photo and Video News This Week: New Cameras, Lenses, iPhone 17, and More
This has been an extremely busy week for product announcements. While we rarely do recap stories here, we’re making an exception to ensure none of the biggest news flies under the radar. From lenses and cameras to iPhone and software, here is the biggest photography, video, and technology news of the week.
New Cameras From Canon, Nikon, Fujifilm, and More
While niche cameras like the Kodak Charmera, a tiny digital keychain camera, and the Camp Snap Pro might inspire lighthearted photography adventures, there was plenty of news this week in the more professional space.
Canon EOS C50: Canon’s New Video-Focused Full-Frame Camera Features a Brand-New Sensor
Early Tuesday morning, Canon unveiled the EOS C50. It is the company’s smallest and lightest EOS Cinema camera to date, featuring a newly developed 7K full-frame image sensor.
The video-focused hybrid camera ditches the EVF but still has some photo chops. It can capture 32-megapixel RAW photos with autofocus at up to 40 frames per second, which is exceptionally fast. Photographers may lament the lack of a mechanical shutter, though.
The EOS C50 isn’t quite a full-blown R5 C successor, but it definitely has its sights set on dethroning the Sony FX3.
Nikon and RED Launch Their First Co-Developed Camera and it Looks Incredible
Canon isn’t the only company getting in on video leading up to the IBC show in Amsterdam, nor is it the only brand trying to take Sony’s hybrid camera crown. Nikon unveiled the ZR, Nikon’s first Z Cinema camera made in tandem with RED. Speaking of RED, it launched a stripped-down Raptor XE camera this week, too.
“We aren’t holding anything back — our first Nikon camera developed with RED has all the creative controls that filmmakers need, with features that have never been seen in this level of handheld cinema camera,” Fumiko Kawabata, Sr. Vice President of Marketing and Planning, at Nikon Inc., says of the ZR.
The new Nikon ZR has the same 24-megapixel partially stacked sensor as the Z6 III, 6Kp60 12-bit RAW internal recording, dual base ISO, a massive 4-inch display (but no EVF), IBIS, and, perhaps most impressively of all, a very aggressive $2,100 price tag. It also proved extremely impressive in our initial hands-on testing.
The Fujifilm GFX Eterna Has a New Name and a Release Date
The Fujifilm GFX Eterna is officially called the GFX Eterna 55, and it will arrive in October for $16,499.95.
Fujifilm has teased the camera and released features and specifications in drips and drabs over the past year, but now it has been completely revealed. And we even shot a documentary film, No Guarantees, using the GFX Eterna 55.
Canon Revives an Old Point-and-Shoot Camera
This one barely qualifies as “new” since it doesn’t actually have any new features. In fact, it has fewer features than before. In any event, Canon also announced the PowerShot 360 HS A this week.
It takes the PowerShot 360 HS from 2016 and removes a few features, and ditches the purple color option. It will arrive in October for $379.
Lenses From Sigma, Canon, Tamron, OM System, Fujifilm, and Leitz Cine
There were a lot of new lenses unveiled this week, too.
Sigma Debuts Four New Lenses
Sigma announced the 20-200mm f/3.5-6.3 DG Contemporary, a first-of-its-kind full-frame zoom lens. This lens will be available in E and L-Mount later this month for $999 and should be a compelling choice for travel and landscape photographers in particular.
It also fully unveiled the 28-45mm T2, the company’s first-ever autofocus cinema lens. This lens, previously teased, is set to arrive in November for $3,399.
On the prime side of things, the Sigma 35mm f/1.2 DG II Art lens is smaller, lighter, and sharper than its predecessor, while the 135mm f/1.4 Art breaks new ground as the first 135mm f/1.4 autofocus lens designed for full-frame mirrorless cameras.
These are both exciting new lenses for Sony and L-Mount photographers, although they won’t come cheap. The 35mm f/1.2 DG II Art is $1,549, while the 135mm f/1.4 DG Art is $1,899. Both lenses begin shipping later this month.
Canon Announces Its Fifth Hybrid VCM Lens for RF Mount Cameras
The Canon RF VCM series of hybrid lenses already features 20mm f/1.4L, 24mm f/1.4L, 35mm f/1.4L, and 50mm f/1.4L primes, and later this month, it will gain its fifth member: the RF 85mm f/1.4L VCM. The new prime features the same form factor and design as the prior four VCM primes and, thanks to its impressive optical design, does not require digital lens corrections.
The RF 85mm f/1.4L VCM arrives later this month for $1,649.
Tamron Also Announces an All-in-One Zoom for Full-Frame Cameras
Just hours after Sigma unveiled the 20-200mm f/3.5-6.3 DG Contemporary, Tamron announced it is developing the 25-200mm f/2.8-5.6 full-frame zoom lens for Sony E-mount cameras. The lens is the successor to the Tamron 28-200mm f/2.8-5.6 zoom, but now starts at a wider 25mm focal length while maintaining the same relatively fast variable aperture.
OM 50-200mm f/2.8 IS Pro Flexes Micro Four Third’s Strengths
The OM System 50-200mm f/2.8 IS Pro lens has finally arrived. After lots of teasing on roadmaps, the new professional zoom lens has arrived, bringing with it a 100-400mm equivalent focal length range and fast constant f/2.8 aperture. It is a compact, lightweight, and fairly expensive ($3,700) lens.
As it turns out, it’s also incredible.
Fujifilm Debuts Its Most Expensive GF Lens Yet
Alongside the GFX Eterna 55, Fujifilm fully unveiled its GF 32-90mm T3.5 PZ OIS WR lens. The power zoom-equipped cinema lens ships next month for $6,000, making it Fujifilm’s most expensive GF lens to date.
Leitz Cine Launches its First Lenses for Full-Frame Mirrorless Cameras
Leitz Cine, Leica’s cinema division, is releasing its first lenses for full-frame mirrorless cameras. The brand-new Hektor series comprises six T2.1 primes, ranging from 18mm to 100mm. The lenses begin shipping soon for around $7,400 each, which is reasonably competitive in the cinema lens landscape.
The new cinema lenses are designed to be sharp but charming, with Leitz Cine’s engineers using vintage lenses as their inspiration.
iPhone 17 Series
Apple held its annual iPhone reveal event this week in California, debuting the impressively upgraded iPhone 17, the ultra-thin brand-new iPhone Air, and the redesigned flagship iPhone 17 Pro and iPhone 17 Pro Max.
All three phones have a new 24-megapixel front-facing camera and upgraded rear cameras. In the case of the iPhone 17 Pro and Pro Max, the most exciting iPhone models for photographers and videographers, there’s a new 48-megapixel telephoto camera to join the existing 48-megapixel wide-angle and ultra-wide cameras.
On the video side, the iPhone 17 Pro and Pro Max now record ProRes RAW video and support genlock. They also work with Blackmagic’s new Camera ProDock.
And, in other great news from Blackmagic Design this week, ProRes RAW support is finally coming to DaVinci Resolve!
Image credits: Header photo created using an asset licensed via Depositphotos.
