2008 has seen its share of photographic and imaging tradeshows but none have come close to matching the giant tradeshow that was Photokina. As a heavy one-upmanship theme roamed the air in the city of Cologne, companies were poised to deliver something stellar, something revolutionary. Based on this year’s show, companies have really changed the way we look at cameras and showed us extraordinary breakthroughs in camera technology. This was precisely the stuff that made this year’s event such a huge spectacle for everyone and here’s a recap of the key cameras that highlighted this year’s show.

DSLRs
On the DSLR front, the biggest news from this year’s Photokina had to be from the big players, Canon and Nikon, who each stunned the world with their respective video-recording DSLRs. Nikon came out the gates early with their DX-format Nikon D90 with movie mode, and Canon ran in second with the Canon EOS 5D Mark II, the first full frame DSLR with video-recording. While these two left the majority of us awestruck, we couldn’t go without mentioning the other new DSLRs unveiled at the show. An honorable mention would be the Canon EOS 50D which has been everything the Canon EOS 40D was, plus a whole lot more.

With all eyes set on the big two, we couldn’t help but feel the emergence of a big three, and we’re talking about none other than Sony here, who’s plunged themselves into contention with the new full-frame Sony Alpha A900. Given a chart-topping 24.6 megapixels CMOS sensor, the A900 is built with venerable features to hang with the best of them. Another big buzz was the Leica S2, which interestingly puts the power of a medium-format camera into the size of a 35mm full-frame DSLR body. A professional's tool, the S2 is with 37.5 megapixels and absorbs plenty of hype on the sensor stressed to be 56% larger than the 35mm full-frame.

Compact Cameras
On the compact camera side of things, there was as much ‘wow’ here as there was with DSLRs. On top of the wide assortment of point and shoots showcased, the most exciting piece of news had to be the Panasonic Lumix G1 based on the Micro Four Thirds System, which seems every bit like a DSLR but without a mirror box viewfinder. In essence, it’s a compact camera with lens-changing ability. The camera looks fun so far with the 2 lenses available, a 14-45mm F3.5-5.6 OIS and 45-200mm F4.0-5.6 OIS.

Another significant piece of news was the much anticipated Canon PowerShot G10, although not quite the ‘GMOS’ camera that some fans were expecting, looks brilliant nonetheless with the 14.7 megapixels CCD and 28mm wide angle, 5x optical zoom lens. A Canon CMOS sensor did however find its way to the Canon PowerShot SX1 IS which features a 10 megapixels CMOS, 20x optical zoom lens (28mm) and HD shooting at 1080p. This comes neatly into competition with Casio’s interesting EX-FH20 that totes a 9.1 megapixels CMOS sensor, 20x optical zoom lens (26mm), stunning 40fps burst and a 720p HD movie mode.

Final Thoughts
The 2008 Photokina showcased a good number of photography products and of all things, thrilled us with a taste of what’s to come in the future of digital photography. From what the key products are indicating, it’s apparent that cameras seem to be in a process of cross-breeding. DSLRs are becoming increasingly like compact cameras with Live-view and video modes enabled, and compact cameras are slowly adding notable DSLR features to their bodies with bigger sensors and now interchangeable lenses. Camera makers are no longer following convention by showing us the unimaginable, redefining and creating new classifications, and ultimately steering the direction of digital camera development. If anything, Photokina shows proof that cameras are getting better and everyone stands to benefit.