2016 was considered a year to be forgotten by most, but in the world of digital cameras and video production, it has been a remarkable year. Canon, Sony and all other major manufacturers released new models that enriched the market and made new benchmarks of performance. In 2017 we can expect the same trend to continue since Nikon, Canon, Sony and Panasonic have all hinted that new releases might overshadow the achievements of the previous year. Let’s take a walk through some of the most exciting cameras we will see on the market this year.
Sony Alpha A7 III
Every video professional has felt a certain amount of excitement when they heard what the first Sony A7 camera will offer to its users. Since then, four years have passed, and in the meantime, Sony Alpha A7 has established itself as one of the best cameras for photography of video production. Particularly designed for low light conditions A7 and A7R models have been highly praised by the industry experts.
Sony announced that the latest model of A7 series will become available on the market during 2017. The new mirrorless model will have 70 to 80 Megapixels, that will allow for better picture quality than any of the model’s predecessors could provide. Its ISO sensitivity features will remain equally remarkable, and its range will go from ISO 50 to 102,400. If this is the case, the difficulties that low light conditions created are now the thing of the past. Video features of this camera are its true appeal, but at the market price just under 3.000$, it isn’t the most affordable piece of equipment on the market at the moment. You can read more about the Sony A7 III at the following link
Canon EOS C100 Mark III
The release of the Canon EOS C100 Mark II Cinema is music to the ears of event videographers, Indy filmmakers, and documentarians. It’s rumored that the new Mark III, will be capable of recording 4K video at 60 FPS, which at this point is an astounding feature by all industry standards. In addition, the camera will have a Built-In Dual Pixel CMOS AF hardware that will make life much easier for the cameraman who searches for dynamic scenes but has struggled with keeping his focus on the mark.
It’s worth noting that the ISO feature of the upcoming C100 Mark III are as good as they get with the highest ISO value at 102,444. Also, the camera offers a possibility of capturing the RAW material on an external hard drive, which can be particularly useful for the long seasons that last for hours. This model will most likely find itself on the market in April 2017. We can only wait and see if the new Canon camera will manage to overshadow its famous predecessor. In the meantime, you can look for more information about the upcoming model at this link
Nikon 1 J6
From the industry’s standpoint, this is the only lightweight on this list. This isn’t the camera for the ad you are directing, it probably isn’t the first choice for the events or any other professional shooting. However, Nikon 1 J6 is mirrorless and can record both Full HD and 4K, which makes it a great choice for video enthusiasts who just wants to capture amazing images, without too much worry about the technical side of cinematography.
At this point, it remains unclear whether or not Nikon will replace the 20.8-megapixel sensor, featured on the previous model J5, with a more potent sensor that will allow better image quality. The release of the new model is scheduled for February 2017, but there is no official confirmation from Nikon that this information is accurate. You can follow the updates here.
Canon EOS 6D Mark II
Canon’s 5D series has made more than just a little noise over the years, so it is no wonder that there is quite a lot of excitement surrounding the 6D Mark II model. There is a lot of speculation going around regarding the actual release date of the camera, but most sources agree that it is safe to say that it will happen during the spring or summer of 2017.
The 6D Mark II will have a 25MP sensor along with dual card slots that allow capturing larger quantities of material in one go. Both Full HD and 4K video options are available at 60 and 30 FPS. There is a lot of talk about the introduction of a new super-telephoto lens that will accompany this model, but it remains to be seen how much of it is just talk. As the year progresses, more information will become available. The latest updates on Canon EOS 6D Mark II are accessible at this link.
Lumix DC-GH5
Lumix GH4 has been a darling of the video professionals, because of its ability to produce highly detailed images. The range of different scenes it can cover made it very handy for all sorts of video productions in the widest range of settings.
It is hard to live up to such a famous and groundbreaking predecessor, but Lumix DC-GH5 seems to be even more promising than its now already iconic forerunner. It can create 4K videos at 60 FPS, while its max bit rate can go as high as 400 Mbps. It features Wi-Fi, Bluetooth, 10-bit internal recording, 20MP sensor among countless other amazing options. The starting price of the new video production superstar camera should be around 2000$, which is more than affordable for a camera that possesses such potential. The shipping will start in the first several months of 2017, but there are no official dates yet. GH5 offers a lot of promise, but it remains to be seen how it will be accepted by the leading industry professionals. The latest updates are available at this link.
Although it is too early to become overly excited about any of the cameras on this list, it seems as if the year ahead of us will bring some of the best recording equipment video professionals have seen in years. It remains to be seen whether or not the models will live up to the expectations and overshadow the fame of their predecessors.