Photokina 2008 - What we hope to see
25 August 2008

Since Photokina is right around the corner, the grapevine is vibrating again with what we can expect and people are getting excited. Well some people are at least, we couldn't blame you if you've become a little cynical about those mythological cameras that have been floating around and not materialised. You know what we're talking about, the Nikon D90 and D3X, the Canon 7D and the Sony A900. It's been a very long time since the rumour mill first started churning out those stories of new and improved fancy new snappers and we've had the CES and a couple of PMAs around the world but those shutter-tools remain just as intangible as when the first stories were hurriedly whispered in dark corners.

Oh sure, most of us are probably sick to death of hearing about what to expect and when we can expect them, but bear with us a little. At least in the case of the A900, we've got slightly more substantial information than in the case of the D90, D3x and 7D. Granted Sony seems to have a lot more leak holes for news than others, but that only means that if there's one camera we can be fairly sure of, it's the A900.

Speculation has been running high about the A900 as being Sony's flagship DSLR, its high end product, the crème de la crème of Sony's achievements. What makes the A900 so special? Well the supposed 24.6 megapixels full-frame Exmore sensor. Some of the stories different a little on just how many megapixels but they all agree it's in the two digit zone and it's around the 24-25 mark. This of course means Sony is out to tackle the big players like Canon 1Ds MKIII.

Like all of Sony's creations, the A900 will have sensor shift image stabilization, and like any good DSLR it's got the thumb and forefinger scroll wheels, dedicated ISO and White Balance buttons, slow sync buttons and the likes. At least that's what we can gather from those photos that have been floating around on the net. The only other thing we might hope for is live view. No DSLR is complete without one these days and Sony did very well with the Sony Alpha A350's live view which utilised a tilting mirror and second smaller sensor. It's very likely that the A900 will come out with something similar.

As for those other cameras? Speculation about the Nikon D90 has been rife but we've seen next to nothing about it besides it being a possible Nikon D80 replacement. You can probably expect to see self sensor cleaning technology, which is another must-have on DSLRs, and perhaps a bigger 3-inch LCD. Unfortunately any news on the net seems to be ghostly whispers and speculation, however the D80 has been running full tilt for about two years now and a replacement sounds about right so we've got our fingers crossed.

The other Nikon offering people are hoping for is the D3x. Canon has the 1Ds MK III with 21 megapixels and if the A900 does appear, that means there's an opening in the Nikon field for a camera with amazingly high megapixels. The D3x might be the one to do it, with a prophesized 24.4 megapixels sensor.

In the Canon slate of speculation, a replacement for the Canon EOS 5D is well overdue and a possible 7D has been discussed a few times. Unfortunately the Canon camp seems to be sealed airtight and hardly a whisper ever leaks out to tell us if all this speculation is on the right track. Canon has only been catering to the entry level users so something a little higher would be welcome. They also have an opening for a camera that can compete properly with the Nikon D300 and now the Nikon D700 and Photokina is the perfect place to unveil any new camera.

Photokina isn't very far away so now is the time to be dusting off those old suitcases if you're planning on going for a gander. But even if you're not, there's no reason to sit back and ignore it. Sure some of us were disappointed in the past when those rumours of a new D90 or 7D didn't materialise, but Photokina is the premier fair for photographic industries and if there's a time for those big players to unveil their pride and joys, Photokina 08 would be the time to do it.