CES 2018?

[VidThreeNorth]

Any thoughts about CES 2018? It starts on the 9th if I remember correctly.

 

[VidThreeNorth]

I am not surprised that no one seems interested in CES. In most years, that has been how I saw it. This year, I think I will find a few things interesting.

There is a widespread rumour that Panasonic will introduce a new camera called the "GH5s" which will be a video oriented body with lower resolution that the current "GH5" but much better sensitivity, giving it ISO's close to the Sony "A7Sii" at a price a bit higher than the "GH5".

That is somewhat interesting to me. I am not jumping up and down excited because I do not have anywhere near that kind of money to spend on a new body. In fact, although CES 2018 will be a good enough platform for launching such a camera, it is really too "Pro" oriented for that show.

I would be more interested in a replacement for the current GX85, which could feature a newer chipset for better battery life and cooler running. It would be a good year for such a camera since the current CX85 is a couple of years old now.

Sony:

It looks like Sony has finally dropped the "a5000" in Japan and maybe in North America. This would be a good move. I would also suggest dropping the a6000, and a3000 (if you consider the a3000 as a camera that was actually launched in North America in the first place). That would leave the "a5100" as the only camera in their "E-mount" line not supporting 4K video. If they do this, then they should bring out a new "a5xxx" camera just above the "a5100" but with support for 4K video. I would take this opportunity to upgrade the camera to the new "a9" battery, and add a "microphone input" jack to further move it to a better balanced "hybrid" camera.

It is my impression that interest in "action cameras" and maybe even 360 VR cameras have hit plateaus. They are selling, and improving, but the interest in the average person on the street is "so what?" I think VR camera sales will still increase this year, a bit, but "huge growth" is not going to happen.

Xiaoyi:

The Yi-M1 has been out for over a year now and with the version 3.0 International firmware, I find that I like the camera well enough. It is not a wonderful camera, but I find it a useful addition to my M43 equipment. The main reason I bought it was to add some 4K video ability to my set of cameras, but without a big investment. I did not intended to make a "big jump" and target 4K as my primary format. I had decided to continue mainly in "Full HD", and I still feel that I do not want to convert to 4K overall. But Yi has shot themselves in their feet. Though the Version 3.0 Int firmware does answer most of the criticism testers gave them, not even one has re-tested the camera. And I do not really disagree with that response. Yi should have waited a good half a year and maybe introduced the camera when Version 2.0 Int came out. And there is still a lot that could be done in another firmware upgrade.

So what will Yi Technology do next? Will they abandon the camera? Will they take what they have learned and bring out another M43 camera? Will there be a Version 4.0 Int firmware? I would not be surprised is something is said around CES 2018.

Anyway those are the things I am looking for for CES 2018. Yes, this year, I am finally interested in this show again.