Canon launched its next version of Cinema EOS System camera – the EOS C500 Mark II. It is created by expertise and technical knowledge by Canon’s innovative products, and built on the basis of Cinema EOS System, the EOS C500 Mark II is a small and easy to carry 5.9K Full Frame camera. The EOS C500 Mark II’s Full Frame sensor is powered by Canon’s new DIGIC DV 7 processor. Supporting 5.9K internal Cinema RAW Light and 4K 4:2:2 10bit XF-AVC recording, this camera enables professionals to explore Full Frame, cinematic image. It is the first camera in the range with the ability to record 5.9K Cinema RAW Light onto new, faster storage media and CFexpress card slots. Providing professionals with greater flexibility and efficiency and recording of the same file format is also possible to dual CFexpress card slots. The compact size of the camera provides cinematographers with unique creative freedom. With its flexible, modular design, professionals can configure the camera with different expansion units to suit production demand. The EOS C500 Mark II is the first Cinema EOS System camera to feature a user interchangeable lens-mount for EF Cinema Lock, and PL, giving professionals a wide variety of lens selection. It is also the first Cinema EOS System camera to support Electronic Image Stabilisation. The EOS C500 Mark II supports user LUTs, allowing cinematographers to apply or create their own LUTs. Loading them onto the camera for precise-look monitoring, cinematographers can also apply various LUTs for each time period. With the added LUT button, professionals have greater flexibility. The EOS C500 Mark II also includes high frame rate recording up to 50/60 fps in 5.9K resolution with the Cinema RAW Light codec.

Nikon recently announced the development of the Nikon D6 professional DSLR camera and the AF-S NIKKOR 120-300mm f/2.8E FL ED SR VR telephoto zoom lens.

Nikon released the D1 digital SLR camera in 1999, making 2019 the 20th anniversary of the single-digit D series. According to the company, thanks to the imaging know-how cultivated over Nikon’s long history in camera development, Nikon’s professional DSLR cameras have continued to evolve by introducing some of the industry’s most advanced technologies and responding to the strict demands of professional photographers with the ultimate in performance and reliability, even in the most severe conditions. With the D6, Nikon is currently developing its most advanced DSLR to date.

This year also marks the 60^th anniversary of the Nikon F mount. The new AF-S NIKKOR 120-300mm f/2.8E FL ED SR VR F mount lens that Nikon is developing will provide professional photographers in fields such as sports photography with even greater support, claims the company.

Nikon also says that it is striving to expand possibilities for imaging expression and leading the way in imaging culture with both DSLR and mirrorless camera systems, as well as a rich lineup of NIKKOR lenses. Details including release dates, pricing and specifications for these products will be announced at a later date.

Canon has announced two new cameras , one DSLR and one mirrorless with many similar features. The EOS 90D comes through the EOS 80D and features an upgraded sensor, 4K video recording and gets Canon’s Dual Pixel auto focus system. It will cost for Rs. 85,900 approx for just the body and roughly Rs. 96,600 for the EF-S 18-55mm f/3.5-5.6 IS STM kit and and Rs. 1,14,500 approx for the EF-S 18-135mm f/3.5-5.6 IS USM kit. Canon also launched the EOS M6 Mark II, with the same primary features as the EOS 90D, but with an electronic viewfinder and more compact body. It will be available in two colours for Rs. 60,900 approx for just the body and Rs. 78,700 approx with the EF-M 15-45mm f3.5-6.3 IS STM and EVF-DC2 kit and Rs. 96,600 approx with the EF-M 18-150mm f3.5-6.3 IS STM and EVF-DC2 kit.

Both cameras have an APS-C CMOS sensor with a 32.5-megapixel resolution. The cameras also has Canon’s latest DIGIC 8 image processor which enables the Canon EOS 90D to shoot up to 10fps continuous stills, it is a big addition from the 7fps of the EOS 80D. It also has a 45-point, cross-type auto focus (AF) system, and 100 percent viewfinder coverage. The camera also consists of face detection mode. The camera looks almost same to the 80D. You get the DSLR-style hand grip, a alternative display on the top, and a vary-angle touchscreen display. The camera also has built-in Wi-Fi and Bluetooth.

The Canon EOS M6 Mark II is a mirrorless APS-C camera, so the body is a lot more smaller and is made for amateur photographers. It is able of shooting 14fps burst shooting, with AF and AE (auto exposure) tracking and 30fps when using RAW Burst Mode with pre-shooting capability. There’s an optional EVF-DC2 electronic viewfinder attachment, which is part of the bundle if you buy it as a kit. The camera also gets a 3-inch tilting touchscreen display with built-in Wi-Fi and Bluetooth and can shoot 1080p video at up to 120fps.

Canon’s bunch of RF full-frame mirrorless lenses just increased by two lenses. The company announced the new RF 15-35mm f/2.8L IS and RF 24-70mm f/2.8L IS.

The new RF 15-35mm f/2.8L IS USM is Canon’s first f/2.8 wide zoom lens that includes image stabilization (IS). It features 5 stops of stabilization, edge-to-edge sharpness, a control ring, and drip and dust resistance. The lens will be available in late September 2019 with a cost of Rs 1,60,000 approx.

The new RF 24-70mm f/2.8L IS USM is equal in size to the Canon EF 24-70mm f/2.8L II, except it features 5-stop image stabilization. Other features and specs include focus breathing suppression during manual focusing, sensitivity setting during manual focusing, focus ring usage adjustments, and a customizable control ring (that can be assigned to aperture, shutter speed, ISO, or exposure compensation). The lens will be available in late September 2019 with a price tag of Rs 1,65,000 approx.

Panasonic recently launched a follow-up to its Lumix G85 Micro Four Thirds camera known as Lumix G95 in April, and now, the company has officially launched it in India. The camera features built-in 5-axis image stabilisation, 4K video, and a tough design. In India, the camera is accessible with two kit lens options. The one with the 12-60mm f/3.5-5.6 lens is priced at Rs. 94,990, while the other one with a 14-140mm f/3.5-5.6 lens is priced at Rs. 1,09,990. The Lumix G95 is now available in all Panasonic stores in India.

The Lumix G85 camera consists of a 20.3-megapixel Digital Live MOS sensor without a low-pass filter, in order to achieve better details and is powered by Panasonic’s Venus Engine. The camera has 5-axis Dual I.S image stabilisation that has shake defence mechanism till five stops, with a combination of OIS from lens and in-body stabilisation. The new model consists of a rugged design with a magnesium alloy frame, with weather sealing.

The Lumix G95 features an ISO range of 200-25,600, 49 autofocus points, 9fps burst shooting, and a maximum shutter speed of 1/4000. The camera also a 3-inch fully articulating touchscreen with a 1.24K dot resolution and an EVF with a resolution of 2.36 million dots. It features Eye AF, 4K video recording up to 30fps, and advanced shooting modes such as slow motion video at 120fps. The Lumix G95 also has 4K Photo capture that lets you pull out 8-megapixel images from a 30fps burst shot. You also get built-in Wi-Fi and Bluetooth 4.2 for syncing with the smartphone app.

Sony has taken off the cover of its fourth-generation high-resolution full-frame mirrorless camera range, the a7R. Expectedly named the Sony a7R IV, the biggest detail of the camera is its gigantic sensor, which moves the 42.4-megapixel full-frame sensor to a 61-megapixel. This automatically makes it the highest resolution full-frame camera in Sony Full Frame Camera, which is what the a7R lineup is famous for.

The Sony a7R range has always been target at professional photographers who needs ultra-high resolution results for large photo print outputs. Sony maintains that as always, the back-illumination of the sensor helps increase sensitivity and maintain reduced noise levels in low light conditions, which can be critical for extreme photography situatuion.

Other photography specifications consists of an better autofocus system, something that Sony has perpetually improved over the years. The camera now features a hybrid AF system with 567 phase detection AF points that cover 74 percent of the frame, in combination with an additional 425 contrast AF points that cover the rest of the frame. There is also a new real-time eye autofocus mode that can keep the focus locked to a subject’s eyes even when it is in motion, and this applies to video shooting as well.

Continuous shooting is rated at 10fps with continuous AF/AE tracking for 7 seconds in the full resolution, 61-megapixel mode, and up to 21 seconds when shooting in 26.2-megapixel crop mode. In terms of videography, the Sony a7R IV features no-crop 4K full-frame video recording, with full pixel readout in the Super 35mm video shooting mode. It also includes the Sony S-Log 2 and S-Log 3 colour grading logs with up to 14-stop dynamic range, as well as HLG logging for HDR workflow on the edit table.

The other element that has received a sincere upgrade is the electronic viewfinder, which now has a new, 5.76 million-dot UXGA OLED module. The new viewfinder is said to be 1.6x crisper than the one on the a7R III, and comes in two modes standard for 60fps refresh rate, and a high quality mode that presumably consumes more battery but lends 120fps refresh rates to the viewfinder for ultra-fine clarity. Among other new features include a tilting touch display, two UHS-II storage slots, a new digital audio interface to the hot shoe, dual-band Wi-Fi support, a USB-C 3.2 Gen 1 port for high bandwidth data transfer, and claimed improvements in weather sealing of an already excellent chassis. The Sony a7R IV is CIPA-rated for 670 still images in a full battery life cycle, and also has an optional battery grip accessory that can hold two additional battery modules for those who need it. Given Sony’s treatment of India as a prime photography and videography market, we expect it to come to the country soon. However, as of now, we only know that the camera will be available starting this September in USA, at a price of Rs 2,40,000. The local pricing, however, may vary.

Xiaomi Redmi K20 series has been launched in India with new phones – Redmi K20 and Redmi K20 Pro. The Pro variant comes with the latest Qualcomm Snapdragon 855 processor and the price starts at Rs 27,999 for the base storage model. The premium phone will compete with OnePlus 7 series and Asus 6Z.

In terms of camera, the Redmi K20 Pro has triple rear cameras which consist of a 48 MP primary sensor + 13 MP ultra-wide sensor + 8 MP telephoto lens with 2X optical zoom. The pop-out camera on the phone has a 20 MP sensor. In terms of video shooting capabilities, the device has a 960 fps slo-mo feature along with 4K @ 30 fps recording. The phone has a 4,000 mAh battery which supports 27 W fast-charging capabilities. Redmi claims this can charge the phone 58 percent in 30 minutes and completely fill the power cell in 74 minutes. Apart from that Redmi has also added a Game Turbo 2.0 feature that allocates more resources for gaming. Redmi K20 packs in the Snapdragon 730 and also has the Sony IMX582 sensor instead of Redmi K20 Pro’s IMX586. Rest, all other specs remain the same except for an 18W fast charging support instead of 27W. Since Xiaomi has been calling this Flagship Killer 2.0, and its competing One Plus series. The Redmi K20 is priced at Rs 21,999, competing for One Plus 7 and the Redmi K20 Pro priced at Rs 27,999 in India, competing for OnePlus 7 Pro.

Fujifilm launched the Fujifilm GFX100 mirrorless digital camera united with an image sensor with the highest 102 million pixels resolution and color reproduction technology to attain the world-leading image quality. The event had the presence of Mr. Haruto Iwata, Managing Director, Fujifilm India Pvt Ltd., Mr. Dabboo Ratnani, Celebrity and Fashion Photographer and International Editorial, Commercial and Corporate Photographer Mr. Zack Arias. 

The GFX100 is a model of the GFX Series of mirrorless digital cameras. Among digital cameras equipped with a sensor larger than the 35mm full-frame format, this model offers (1) a back-illuminated sensor with phase detection pixels, (2) in-body image stabilization (IBIS) mechanism and (3) 4K/30P video recording capability. Launched in India on 16th July, 2019, the camera will be available at a price of INR 7,86,999/-.

Commenting on the occasion, Mr. Haruto Iwata, Managing Director, Fujifilm India Pvt Ltd. Said that this is indeed a gratifying moment for them and they are excited to announce the launch of the world’s highest 102 million pixels mirrorless camera – GFX100 in India. In Fujifilm India, their endeavour has always been to bind innovation together with service that enhances customer delight. With the launch of GFX100, they have achieved a great milestone in our digital camera business. The launch will further enhance our presence in India and they will continue introducing cameras that deliver an unparalleled standard of optical brilliance that is sure to delight a photographer’s fantasy.

Present at the event and Brand Ambassador for Fujifilm GFX range, Mr. Dabboo Ratnani said that it is a matter of great pride for him to be associated with a cult brand like Fujifilm. The new GFX100 camera embodies a new standard of optical excellence with technological brilliance in new mount and optics; retaining Fujifilm’s renowned legacy. Packed with powerful features, the camera displays Fujifilm’s legendary artistry that will empower users to expand the realm of photographic capabilities. With this association, we look forward to an advanced mirrorless camera experience and witness a shift in the existing imaging industry to newer heights.

On this occasion, the Optical Devices Division of Fujifilm also unveiled the new “Premista” series of cinema zoom lenses. These lenses support large-format sensors and deliver high resolution, beautiful bokeh and rich gradation with HDR (high dynamic range). The Premista Series brings out the maximum capability of large format sensors, which is increasingly being adopted into cinema camera, to provide robust support for high-quality video production. The Premista 28-100mm T2.9 will be available in August 2019 and the Premista 80-250mm T2.9-3.5 will be available later this year at a price of 32 Lakhs approx.