In the final part of our look back at 2016, here are the big announcements and news from September, October, November and December.
September
Canon slashed $3000US off the already discounted price of the C500 and then they almost immediately announced its replacement the C700.
ZEISS introduced the Super35 21-100mm T2.9-3.9 LWZ.3 cinema lens
A Day In Kyoto, the first footage from the Canon Cinema EOS C700, was released online to mixed reviews.
Panasonic, with the help of Codex, announced a new totally-integrated and smaller variant based on the Varicam 35, called the VariCam Pure.
Angenieux announced the Type EZ Series zooms that cover both Super 35mm and FF/VistaVision cameras.
Convergent Design unveiled a new option for the Odyssey 7/7Q+ and Apollo, called Titan. Titan takes a 4K or UHD video signal and then super-samples it down to a HD image. At the same time it allows you to extract two HD windows within that same frame.
Leica announced the M 0.8 Cinema lenses.
The Newsshooter team headed to Amsterdam for IBC 2016 and here are just a few of the many products we reported on at the show:
* Tokina jumps into the Cinema Prime race with 35mm, 50mm, 85mm T1.5 Lenses
* Zeiss adds to full-frame Milvus lens line with 15mm f/2.8, 18mm f/2.8, 135mm f/2
* Hands on with the new Sigma cine lenses * Hands-on with Sony’s 18-110mm f/4 Super 35mm E-Mount Lens featuring a fully manual zoom ring
* Hands on with Angenieux’s Super 35mm/Full-Frame Type EZ Series zooms
* Arri Master Grips offer finger tip control over focus, iris and zoom with old school ergonomics
* Lupo Superpanel might just be the brightest 1×1 LED panel on the market
* Hands-on with the under-$10K Zeiss 21-100mm T2.9-3.9 Zoom
* GL Optics offers PL conversion of the best stills lenses in the world, the Zeiss Otus
* Wooden Camera’s Ultra Arm is modular and flexible
* ARRI Alexa SXT with Bill Bennett ASC
* An end to gimbal setup problems? Varavon show auto balancing gimbal
Canon announced the EOS M5, a 24MP APS-C mirrorless with 5-Axis Digital IS
Samyang announced the XEEN 16mm T2.6
GoPro officially launched the Karma foldable drone aimed at first-time flyers. Little did we know the dramas that lay ahead for the Karma.
Newsshooter also attended Photokina 2016 and here are a few of the stories we covered:
* Panasonic announced the long-awaited GH5.
* Sony launched their a99 II, that brought 4K video to A-mount
* Sigma introduced the 85mm F1.4 DG HSM ART lens
* SanDisk unveils a whopping 1TB SDXC card
* GoPro Hero5 manual control and new feature run through
Shortly after Photokina DJI unveiled the ultra compact and feature packed Mavic drone.
We reviewed the new Sachtler 18P S2 tripod, and the Sony FDR-X3000R action cam.
October
Sony started off the month by releasing Version 8.00 firmware for the F5 and F55 enabling XAVC Class480 recording.
My Future with RED 8K, by Mark Toia. from Mark Toia on Vimeo.
Mark Toia showed us just what a RED Helium 8K camera could do.
The PowerVision PowerEye drone took to flight with a 4K Micro 4/3 camera.
Sony announced the new a6500 with in-body stabilisation and touchscreen AF while using the EVF.
Sony also announced the RX100 V that brought phase detect AF to small sensor cameras.
RED started shipping the EPIC-W and the WEAPON 8K S35.
Sony fixed the overheating issue with a new setting on the a6500.
Sigma announced the prices for their 18-35mm T2.0 and 50-100mm T2.0 Cine Zooms.
Norwegian broadcaster NRK made their first vertical video doc.
We reviewed the Sony RX100 V and how it shoots 5.5K video using the high speed photo burst mode. I reviewed the DJI Mavic Pro drone and the Lupo Superpanel.
November
Sony started off the month posting footage from the a6500 and 18-110mm f4 lens
Freefly attempted to redefine camera stabilisation all over again with the MōVI Pro.
G.L. Optics announced a new range of medium format PL cine lens conversions.
Canon released “The Calling” shot on the Canon C700 by Russell Carpenter ASC and Tyler Stableford.
Lectrosonics announced the PDR, a tiny personal audio recorder with time code
GoPro recalled all of its Karma Drones after power issues saw several of them fall out of the sky with no warning.
Canon announced new firmware for C300 mkII and C300, which added cine servo zoom AF to C300 and audio in 2K crop for the mkII.
Sony introduced FS7 II with electronic variable ND, locking E-mount and higher price.
DJI unveiled the Inspire 2 with 5.2K RAW and ProRes recording and the Phantom 4 Pro.
Life of Pi DP Claudio Miranda ASC shot a DJI short film entirely on Inspire 2 drone cameras.
The Newsshooter team covered the Interbee Show in Tokyo and here are just a few of the stories we covered:
* Atomos ‘Upgrade to HDR’ deals give up to $500 US off a new recorder
* DJI Inspire 2 – how does it compare to the Inspire 1?
* Tascam introduce tiny DR-10L Digital Audio Recorder for the US market
* Saramonic’s budget two input LavMic for DSLR, GoPro and iOS devices
* PROTECH CHOI JIB for camera payloads up to a whopping 500kg
* Wenpod action cam gimbal with kinetic controller for your phone
* Technical Farm Canon 24-105mm f4 L cine conversion with manual aperture
Kipon introduced Leica M-mount 0.64x focal length reducers for Sony and Fuji cameras.
We reviewed the Olympus OMD E-M1 II, the Atomos Shogun Inferno, and the RODELink Newsshooter wireless plug on XLR mic kit.
Chuck Fadely took the Nikon KeyMission 360 for a spin, Director Roger Spottiswoode spoke to us about using Sony a7 cameras on the big screen, and Janne Amunet talked about the amazing Olympus EM-1 II image stabilisation.
December
Taro Irei showed us how to hotrod your Canon C100 Mark II on a budget.
GoPro started shipping the Karma Grip hand-held stabiliser as a separate accessory.
Zacuto showed off their Recoil solution for the Canon 18-80mm servo zoom.
Zhongyi Optics released a full frame 20mm f/2 4.5x Super Macro Lens for $199US.
Sphere – the lens that turns your DSLR into a 360 video camera – was announced.
We reviewed the touch autofocus on the Sony a6500, Bright Tangerine’s Titan Arm and Gripper Tray, Aputure’s Light Storm LS 1/2 LED light , the Olympus OMD E-M1 II, Sony RX10 mkIII, and Sigma 18-35mm T2.0 and 50-100mm T2.0 Cine Zoom lenses.
Fittingly, right towards the end of the year, after all these gear announcements, Mike Sutton wrote a nice article entitled The camera trap: Think twice before financing that dream setup
It was a huge year here at Newsshooter. We travelled the globe and provided you with reviews and analysis from real world working professionals. We pride ourselves on delivering accurate and in-depth information, and most importantly original content that is created by us and not just a re-post of someone else work.
Dan and I and the whole team behind Newsshooter would like to wish everyone a Happy New Year. We look forward to your continued support in 2017.
