Leica, Nikon and Olympus cancelled their participation to the 2020 Photokina show

Photokina issued an official press release about the 2020 show. And there is some surprising news:

“We look forward to strong demand and applications from both the new and the classic segments of companies like Canon, CEWE, GoPro, Sony, Panasonic, Kodak Alaris, Sigma, Tamron, Carl Zeiss, Hasselblad, Hahnemühle, Arri, Rode Mikrophones, DJI and Insta360”, says Christoph Werner, Vice President of Koelnmesse. These are contrasted by cancellations, including from Leica, Nikon and Olympus

I  am very surprised that a  giant like Nikon will not show their products at Photokina. And even more surprised that a German company like Leica will not be at a German show!

 

The Sigma FP is already in production and will be released in autumn

Cinema5D interviewed Sigma CEO Yamaki San. Some info:

– The camera is already in production
– The firmware is now  close to the BETA version
– Sigma hopes to ship the camera in autumn
– Sigma hopes third party manufacturers will make a  headphone accessory for the FP
– Sigma FP will not have flat profiles at start. But they may add it with a future firmware update
– There is no plan to make L-mount pancake lenses yet.

via L-rumors.com

Leica looks at the bright side of life: Camera sales are stronger than back in the film era :)

Mizuwari interviewed Stefan Daniel from Leica. There is a lot of talk about the M-series but there are also some interesting statements about the status of the market:

“If we look at the market in the long term, the number of devices sold today is higher than the best times for film.”

we are seeing growth, and even, very strong growth in 24 x 36 mm hybrid, and a decline in SLR cameras.

Even if the 24 x 36 mm is the fastest growing segment, I’m not sure it will sign the death of smaller formats such as APS-C and Micro 4/3. Because a 24 x 36 mm autofocus camera, be it SLR or hybrid, will necessarily be larger in terms of optics than a device using a smaller sensor.

Interesting he also talked about some people’s fear that Panasonic would abandon Micro Four Thirds:

I can not speak for Panasonic, of course. I do not know their plans either. But I can tell you that at the level of use, formats smaller than the 24 x 36 mm still have good days in front of them, with very strong assets in terms of size. This is why we also offer CL and TL in APS-C …

Always look at the bright side of live :)