It feels like yesterday that we were reporting from CES, yet another year has flown by and the AP team has once again touched down in Las Vegas ready to report on all the latest innovations and releases in the world of imaging. This year’s reporting trio sees Deputy Editor, Richard Sibley, Deputy Technical Editor, Michael Topham and Videographer John Layton bringing you all the very latest news, interviews and product information on what is rumoured to an exciting year for imaging releases at the show.
So what are we expecting to see? A brief visit to the Las Vegas Convention Centre two days prior didn’t give a huge amount away, but from the number of advertising boards that were being erected around Las Vegas Convention Centre it suggests Sony, Nikon, Panasonic and Polaroid are eager on making their presence known early in 2016.
After an extremely quiet 2015, could Nikon be gearing up for a much busier 2016? Nikon’s eye-catching advertising boards are aplenty outside the Las Vegas Convention Centre.
The major release that’s rumoured from CES this year is the launch of Nikon’s new flagship DSLR – the Nikon D5. Nikon had what can only be best described as a quiet 2015, with the D5500 and D7200 being the only two DSLR’s launched. Nikon full frame users had little to get excited about in 2015 other than the launch of a few FX lenses, the most enthralling of these being the AF-S NIKKOR 24-70mm f/2.8E ED VR and the AF-S NIKKOR 200-500mm f/5.6E ED VR.
Should the Nikon D5 be announced at CES 2016, Nikon will be getting 2016 off to a better start, targeting professionals who demand nothing but the best in what should be remembered is an Olympic year. Could the D5 possibly be the first Nikon camera to feature 4K movie recording? Fingers crossed Nikon will excite us with more products at CES 2016 – the fact they’re flying journalists from the UK to Las Vegas specially for CES 2016 suggests there could be plenty to report on so watch this space.
As for Sony, rumours are rather thin on the ground as to what we can expect to see at CES 2016. There’s talk that we could see a new action camera of some description and a few new FE mount lenses for the Sony Alpha 7-series system. In years gone by new lenses haven’t had much of a mention during Sony’s Press Briefing so we’ll be keeping a close eye on the line-up of lenses in Sony’s glass cabinets to see if there’s anything new to report. Of course we shouldn’t forget that Sony promised no fewer than 20 lenses in the Sony FE lens lineup by 2016. Though this promise hasn’t been met it’s exciting that new lenses may well be on the way. Who fancies a Vario-Tessar T* FE 24-70mm f/2.8 ZA OSS? Now there’s some wishful thinking.
Could Sony be about to expand its range of full-frame E-mount lenses at CES 2016?
A CES show wouldn’t be complete without a few product announcements from Panasonic. In years gone by CES has been the place where the manufacturer launches a new member in its TZ-range. Last year’s show gave us the Panasonic Lumix TZ70 which put in a sterling performance when we reviewed it last January. We’ve got used to Panasonic announcing a new member in the TZ-series each year at CES, but we’ll just have to be patient and wait a few more hours to see if CES 2016 offers us anything new.
AP’s resident videographer, John Layton will be capturing our first-look hands on videos at CES 2016.
CES Unveiled 2016
The first event on our agenda is a visit to CES Unveiled – an event that brings innovative technology companies, press, buyers, industry analysts and tech industry influencers together to showcase new products and trends leading up to the International CES. Held at the Mandalay Bay, this pre-CES event is a great opportunity to get hands on and get a glimpse into new imaging technologies that we can expect to see at the show. Though we’re unlikely we’ll see any major new cameras, we’ll be keeping our eyes open for weird and wonderful imaging innovations. Last year’s event showcased some new ideas from drone manufacturer DJI who will be be attending the event again this year. We’ll be posting a roundup of the most interesting products on show at CES unveiled 2016 so be sure to check back for more.
