Huge Lenses, Faster Flash and Leica Goes Wild

September 16, 2014

By Jacqueline Tobin

Day two of Photokina 2014 is drawing to a close and anyone (like me) hoping for a more subdued pace was disappointed (in a good way). We’ve told you about the new Capture One Pro 8, DNP printers and Broncolor Siros, but there was plenty of other notable gear news issuing from Germany.

Here’s what caught our eye:

Leica had the most ambitious product launch of the day. In addition to new lenses, mirrorless cameras and special edition rangefinders, the company introduced a new medium format camera capable of 4K video recording and fast (for medium format) 3 frames per second burst shooting. The Leica S 007 isn’t bound for our shores until 2015 but it’s expected to cost a cool $24,500 when it does land.

They also introduced as special anniversary edition of the Leica M. It’s a sharply styled camera created in tandem with Audi Design and only 600 will be produced worldwide. Interestingly, this digital camera will have no LCD display, only an ISO adjustment knob on its barren backside. Leica said they did this to put the focus back on the photographer and their individual skills. We like to call it suffering for your art.

Speaking of medium format, Hasselblad rolled out a wireless version of its H5D-50c camera. The Wi-Fi 50c can sync with mobile phones for remote triggering and viewfinding. The new wireless 50c features new firmware (which will also be available to existing 50c owners) that give the camera few new tricks, including untethered live view and longer exposure times. Check it out.

Zeiss came to Photokina with a new M-mount lens (perfect for the new Leica rangefinders). It’s a classic 35mm prime lens with ample manual controls and dials to turn. Speaking of turning, you may have to turn over a few couch cushions to afford this puppy. It’s $2,290.

If you’re a Pentax DSLR owner who loves outdoor photography (or spying on your distant neighbors), the future looks bright. Ricoh pulled back the curtain on three new K-mount telephoto zoom lenses at the show. They’re only ready to discuss one lens in any detail, a 16-85mm, while the other two are still under development. Get the details here.

Finally, if you’re looking to coax some more performance from your camera, camcorder or smartphone, Lexar and SanDisk announced some blazing fast SD and microSD cards at the show. Lexar now has the fastest UHS-II SD card in the category while SanDisk takes honors for the fastest microSD card on the market. Read about these speed demons here.