Photokina, a momentous event that takes place every other year in Cologne, Germany, was inaugurated way back in 1950, at a time when German cameras and lenses reigned supreme, Kodak dominated the lucrative film and basic camera market, and the Japanese photographic industry was just starting to emerge on the international scene with imitative and innovative cameras and lenses. Despite steady increase in Japanese dominance over the years, the biennial Photokina exposition has remained in Cologne ever since, probably because of its spectacular venue, the Cologne Messe located right on the Rhine river, consisting of 14 cavernous, well-appointed exhibition halls, and with proximity to local and international transportation. It couldn’t have happened to a nicer city!
I attended my first Photokina back in 1970 when East and West Germany were separate entities, the currency was the Deutschmark and the euro was a distant dream, and Americans got 4 d-marks per dollar, making everything amazingly affordable. That was 2 years before Steven Sasson of Kodak invented the digital camera, so everything was totally film-based. I can remember marveling at the new Konica Autoreflex T2, a slightly tweaked successor to the Autoreflex T, the first 35mm SLR with TTL auto-exposure using the shutter priority method. Indeed, the majority of cameras on display were classic optical-mechanical masterpieces like the Rolleiflex 2.8F the exciting new Hasselblad 500C/M, and Leica’s robust, beautifully made SLR, the Leicaflex SL. The camera that caught my eye at Photokina 1972 was the Nikkormat EL (called Nikomat in Europe), the first SLR with an electromagnetically controlled shutter, and Nikon’s first aperture-priority auto-exposure SLR. I snagged an American-badged version of one of these rugged beasts at the show, and I still have it!
I must confess that after having attended 23 Photokina shows with number 24 coming up in a few days, they do tend to blur into one another after a while, but I distinctly remember having my portrait shot on the giant 20×24-inch Polaroid at Photokina 1978 when Polaroid Corporation still had enough money to hire a topnotch portrait photographer from London, and then overnight the print, clad in a brushed stainless steel frame, to my New York office! Two years later at Photokina 1980 I admired the ruggedly sleek new Nikon F3 with manual control electronically controlled shutter, and aperture-priority auto-exposure and loved its ergonomic rounded-edged form that fit my hands so perfectly. It may not be earthshaking by modern standards, but Leica created a lot of buzz at the 1984 Photokina when they brought forth the Leica M6, basically a Leica M3/M4-type 35mm rangefinder camera with a “modern off the shutter curtain” metering system built in. I also clearly recall the dawn of the autofocus age, with huge crowds gathering around the Minolta booth at Photokina 1986 to ogle at the recently introduced Minolta Maxxum 7000, the first fully integrated autofocus SLR. Considerable excitement was also generated by Nikon’s first attempt to compete with it, the competent but somewhat pedestrian Nikon N2020 AF SLR.
The digital era was clearly dawning by Photokina 2000 and there was a host of clunky point-and-shoot digital models introduced by Kodak and most other major manufacturers, and Canon unveiled the PowerShot G1, the brilliant progenitor of the Canon G-series that’s still popular today. Few would have expected that the brilliant Canon EOS 1V would be the company’s last pro-level film SLR, but it was. Perhaps the most exciting new camera at Photokina 2002 was the formidable Nikon D100, the camera that more than any other established the DSLR as the new professional standard. Surprisingly Nikon still kept one foot in the film arena when it unveiled its last pro-caliber 35mm SLR, the Nikon F-6 at Photokina 2004, which remarkably you can still new at Adorama! However, the clear favorite among attendees at the 2004 was the awesome new 12.8MP pro DSLR, the Nikon D2X, a true harbinger of future pro-Nikon DSLRs.
Leica stole the show at Photokina 2006 with the Leica M8, the first digital Leica M, with an APS-H format 10.3MP CMOS sensor, and gilded the lily with the Leica M8.2 at Photokina 2008, a tweaked model with a noticeably quieter shutter. Leica, which has always seen Photokina as their prime new product venue, created a sensation at Photokina 2010 with the Spartan Leica X1 with 12.2 MP APS-C-format sensor and a 24mm f/2.8 (36mm equivalent) lens aimed at serious street and art shooters. At the same time they unveiled the upgraded Leica V-Lux 2, with 14MP 1/2.33-inch CMOS, a sleek compact model with 25-600mm-equivalent zoom lens. That brings us up to the last Photokina in 2014 where I first got to handle one my favorite Canon DSLRs, which is thankfully still in production. Yes, it’s the Canon EOS 7D Mark II, which has a super-sophisticated 65-zone AF system, a 20.2MP APS-C-format CMOS sensor, can shoot full-res bursts at up to 10 fps, has ISO settings expandable to 51200, and has a brilliant pentaprism viewfinder. If nothing else it shows just how far we’ve come over the last 4 decades.
What’s shaking at Photokina 2016?
Before every Photokina the prognosticators are out in force, and 2016 is certainly no exception. Some have predicted that the forthcoming show will be short on new introductions due to supply problems in Japan resulting from recent earthquakes, but others are more upbeat. As usual, there are countless rumors and innuendoes on new products on the Internet, and , spoiler alert, some leading manufacturers release new products just before the show opens to quell the rumor mill. A good example this year is Canon, who just released full specs and images of its new blockbuster 24.2MP APS-C format EOS M5 (go to the Adorama website to see it). Another not too well kept secret is the Olympus OM-D E-M1 Mark II, an upgraded, top-of-the-line model with 20MP Micro FourThirds sensor, 4K video capture, and big improvements in image processing AF system, viewfinder, and image stabilization. It’s clearly aimed at pros and serious enthusiasts.
Fujifilm is allegedly planning to release a new digital medium format camera along with 3 lenses using an electronic mount at a competitive price of around $6k, and there have been persistent rumors that Nikon may finally bite the bullet and release their mirrorless contender that’s been in the works, despite setbacks caused by the Kumamoto earthquake. On the DSLR front, we can expect to see an upgraded broad-spectrum Canon 6D Mark II that includes some 5D Mark IV technology in the AF system, and an upgraded Nikon D820 that includes some tech elements lifted from the Nikon D5 and/or D500. Other possibilities: a new Fujifilm X100F to replace the highly regarded X100T that’s been around since 2014, a new super Canon G model with a 1-inch sensor that surpasses the G5 X and G9 X, and based on recently filed patents, a new, more advanced Sigma 24-90mm f/2.8 DG OS HSM ART lens.
Leica has kept pretty mum about their new Photokina 2016 products, but the Leica T is pretty long in the tooth and due for a new model, and some forecasters are expecting a new Leica M (could it be the M241 or will it have a more creative name?) possibly with a dedicated ISO control and a bigger LCD. I’ve heard some speculation that it will also include a new 40MP sensor, and that would be sensational, but I’m skeptical. However, we are likely to see a new Leica X-series model as well as a new line of M-mount cine lenses. And speaking of lenses, we’re pretty confident that Tokina is releasing a full-frame 20mm f/2 FIRIN E-mount lens in full-frame Sony FE configuration. Finally, there will definitely be a big focus on everything having to with drones at Photokina 2016, including new cameras from Go-Pro, drone camera Natural ND and Polarizer filters from Tiffen, and of course a glorious gaggle of new drones. Now there’s something I wouldn’t have expected when I first attended Photokina back in 1970-:)
cover image courtesy of: Sorbis / Shutterstock.com
