In a year that was packed with notable product launches, a few stand out for various intriguing reasons. In no particular order, here’s our list of 2024’s most original additions. Just in time for the holiday season, some of them might find a place on your gift list too.
Pentax 17
It’s been quite a while since any of the big brands launched a new 35mm film camera, but Pentax had been remoured to have something in the works for several years. When it finally came to market back in June, the Pentax 17 caught many observers off guard.
This entry-level point-and-shoot boasts a handsomely classic retro-looking design – no surprise there – with a manual winding mechanism, plus top and bottom plates crafted from magnesium alloy. In another nod to its film-era antecedents, it sports a capable 25mm f/3.5 fixed lens that’s based on the optics first found in the Espio Mini dating back to 1994.
But in a striking departure from convention, the Pentax 17 also features a novel half-frame format to capture two 17x24mm images on a single 35mm frame, effectively doubling the number of shots per roll of film. What you get is a pair of side-by-side vertical-format photos in an aspect ratio comparable to the ones a smartphone produces – in a clever move no doubt aiming to appeal to today’s digital-era content creators and film camera holdouts.
Tamron 90mm f/2.8 Di III VXD 1:1 Macro Lens
Launched in September, this is another back-to-the-future story, similarly with its own unique twist. The much-loved Tamron 90mm f/2.8 originated in the pre-digital days of 1979. The first digital version appeared in 2004, with additional updates following in 2012 and 2016. In another first, the latest is optimized for use with full-frame mirrorless cameras, specifically Sony E-mount and Nikon Z-mount.
Marketed with the tag line “Tamron’s legendary 90mm macro is reborn for mirrorless,” the new Tamron 90mm f/2.8 Di III VXD 1:1 takes the myth-making another step further – and in the right direction. It’s been resurrected with the company’s first 12-blade circular aperture. Designed to deliver perfectly circular bokeh with minimal vignetting, especially when shooting in the macro range, it also produces stunning starburst effects when stopped down.
Sennheiser PROFILE Wireless 2-Channel Set
A pioneer in the realm of wireless audio, Sennheiser offers a wide range of microphone systems from high-end professional to entry-level options. Designed for freelance creators and videographers, the new Profile Wireless is a case study in shrewd German engineering.
The 2-Channel Set kit includes two tiny clip-on mic transmitters with clip magnets and windscreens, plus receiver and charging bar, along with cables, adapters and carrying pouch, all at an incredibly comfortable price point.
Cutting-edge wireless audio capture and transmission performance aside, the ingenuity of this portable system reveals itself fully in its modular design: each of the major components fits snugly into the charging bar, which can also be reconfigured as a mic handle when handheld versatility for vlogging and similar applications is called for or as the situation requires.
Leica Q3 43
In many ways, the latest Leica Q3 may seem like only a modest update from its immediate predecessor, packing the same high-performance 60MP full-frame sensor, hybrid AF system and 8K video recording capabilities, along with a price tag to match.
Nothing to sneeze at, for sure, especially if you tread among the well-heeled and are in the market for such a high-end specialty item, but in this case the newly upgraded lens is the real selling point.
The previous Q3 featured a 28mm fixed focal length, with all the limitations that such a challenging wide angle entails. The new Q3 43 boasts a more versatile 43mm focal length (hence the name of the camera), which lends itself to a more appealing range of applications, including portraiture. But that’s not all.
This beauty of a lens is an APO-Summicron 43 f/2 ASPH, the latest member of a family of Leica APO lenses considered to be among the best in the world. The “APO” is short for apochromatically corrected, meaning an optical design engineered to align the red, green and blue wavelengths of light entering the lens onto a single point of focus, resulting in a sharper image without colour fringing.
The lens is an optical masterpiece designed to complement the compact proportions that these Leica Q series cameras are known for – a pocketable option for anyone with deep enough pockets.
