Shutterbug Editorial

Forgive me if I catch my breath for a second but I just returned from the PhotoPlus Expo show in New York City and it was an exhausting show in many respects. But I say that in a most positive way.

The annual PhotoPlus Expo trade show and conference, which is one of the leading photography events in the world, was positively hopping this year with a host of new products and lots of buzz from the tens of thousands of attendees. No, there might not have been anything groundbreaking introduced this year at PhotoPlus but there was plenty of new gear to get excited about.

Here’s a quick rundown of the highlights along with links to some of our video coverage at the show:

• Canon unveiled its new professional printer at PhotoPlus: the 17-inch Canon imagePROGRAF PRO-1000, which uses 11 new Lucia Pro ink cartridges plus a chrome optimizer. We got some early, hands-on time with the Canon PRO-1000 and filed this report.

• Canon was also debuting the new Canon PowerShot G5 X, a 20-megapixel compact camera for advanced photographer at the show. Check out our hands-on video of the G5 X here.

• If you like compact cameras, you’ll like the new pocket-friendly Canon G9 X. It uses the same 1-inch sensor as the G5 X but is considerably smaller. Check out our video of the G9 X here.

• Speaking of new printers, we also checked out Epson’s new 13-inch SureColor P400 at PhotoPlus Expo. See our video of this new 8-color printer from Epson here.

• Photographers who like to print should check out Epson's new high-end, professional photo paper line called Legacy, which was introduced at the show.

• In an odd bit of PhotoPlus showmanship, Pentax/Ricoh Imaging was showing off its forthcoming full-frame DSLR camera under glass but by the time we visited the booth, the display had been removed. You can, however, see some pictures of the Pentax full-frame DSLR camera from PhotoPlus here.

• Fujifilm had a brand new lens it was showing off at PPE: the Fujinon XF 35mm F/2 WR. Here’s a video of the new lens from the show.

• Also in the lens world, Lensbaby unveiled the new Composer Pro II with the Edge 50 optic at PhotoPlus. We got our hands on one of the lenses ahead of the release and posted this review.

• Leica fans were ogling the gorgeous new 24MP, full frame SL camera, which is a mirrorless camera but designed to compete with DSLRs. Here’s our first look review of the Leica SL with full resolution, sample images.

• Sony, meanwhile, had its new Sony RX1R II at the show. The Sony RX1R II is a pocket-sized camera that squeezes a 42.4-megpixel, back-illuminated full-frame sensor into a compact black camera body.

• Sony was also showing off its A7S II, a mirrorless camera designed to shoot in low light and to capture 4K video. Does it live up to the hype? Check out our hands-on first look review with full resolution test images and 4K video here.

• Sigma had a “world’s first” product at PhotoPlus: a 20mm F/1.4 lens for full frame DSLRs.

• In the medium format world, Phase One was showcasing the free new updates to its new XF camera system, which includes three new (not free) lenses.

• And finally, last but not least: storage company Lexar introduced a super-fast 128GB Professional SDXC UHS-II memory card at PPE.

As far as camera gear, 2015 really ended with a bang! Looking forward to what’s in store for 2016!