Photokina excitement?

There have been several interesting and worthwhile products announced at Photokina, but I’d say that Photokina has pretty much been average—no new flagship Nikon or Canon DSLR, no major breakthroughs like a true-color sensor or a DSLR without an AA filter or really good in-camera HDR. I’m hearing October/November for a possible new high-end DSLR from Nikon or Canon, so I guess announcements will have to wait.

Then again, the 40MP Pentax 645D DSLR pushes the medium format price point almost down into high-end DSLR range. With a 44 X 33mm CCD sensor that is 68% larger than a 35mm DSLR, and a 921K 3" LCD, it sounds quite promising (most MF backs have crappy low-res LCDs).

For me at least, the most exciting product announcement is the Zeiss 35mm f/1.4 Distagon, and I do have more material coming on it in my Guide to Zeiss ZF / Zeiss ZE Lenses. Also, the new Schneider-Krueznach tilt/shift lenses are something I’ll want to get my hands on.

But whatever you shoot, there is a lot involved to get the best quality, and how to do that is what you’ll find in Making Sharp Images.