CES 2016 Preview: Digital Cameras and Drones

Expect new compacts and camcorders at CES, and maybe a sneak peek at some professional gear.

CES 2016 is shaping up to be an interesting show for the camera industry, but not because of new products—more on those later. But the most intriguing story going into the show is about Samsung's place as a cameramaker—at least for cameras that aren't built into smartphones.

The company's mirrorless NX line has been around since 2010, but a recent spate of rumors and news have left its future in question. The rumor mill started buzzing about Samsung exiting the camera business entirely, and while the company quickly denied it, there have been signs that some sort of shakeup is coming. It has stopped sales of its flagship NX1 in the UK, and is phasing out sales in Germany.

There was a period in November when the various camera rumor sites were all but convinced that Nikon was acquiring Samsung's camera division, but those rumblings have petered out after a denial from Nikon.

I'd be lying if I said I knew what was going to happen with the NX system. My instinct tells me that Samsung is not yet ready to give up on it in the U.S. But it wouldn't be the first time that the company has dropped a system—it used to market rebadged Pentax SLRs under the GX umbrella, before it moved to mirrorless cameras.

But it has been a while since a new camera or lens has come to market. And the pro-grade 300mm telephoto prime that Samsung has been showing off at trade shows since Photokina 2014 has yet to come to market. If you own an NX camera, keep a keen eye on CES announcements. And if you are considering buying an NX camera, it may be worth it to wait until after the show to make that decision.

Cameras and CamcordersAside from that, I expect CES to be CES. Canon has refreshed entry-level models in its compact PowerShot line every year in recent memory, and it would be surprising if that changed in 2016.

Pro photographers can usually ignore CES—announcements of serious gear are pushed back to the Japanese CP+ show in February, with a few crumbs left for WPPI in early March, also in Las Vegas. But this year might be different. Nikon announced development of the D5 last month. I wouldn't be shocked to see it properly unveiled in Las Vegas, but a safer bet is seeing a prototype under glass on the show floor.

Ricoh showed off its perpetually upcoming full-frame Pentax SLR under glass in New York at September's PhotoPlus show. Well, it did for at least a few hours—the display was pulled from the show floor for unknown reasons. The company is promising a release in the spring, so hopefully it will be on display under glass, just as the K-S2 was last year.

Traditional camcorders with long zoom lens and the handycam form factor are dwindling in number, but they're still out there. Like its PowerShot line, Canon has refreshed its Vixia camcorder series every year in recent memory, and Panasonic also seems to be on a yearly schedule with its camcorder series. I wouldn't expect that to change in 2016.

But smaller, GoPro-style action cams are the growing market segment now. They'll be plentiful at CES. We'll probably see a few marquee, name-brand models announced, and undoubtedly there will be countless no-name models on display with budget build and price points.

DronesAnd that can be said for drones as well. Last year I saw a menagerie of models, many of which still haven't materialized as actual products, including the now infamous Zano. And I'd expect to see that again. But this time around the majority will promise 4K video.

I'm not sure if we'll be seeing new models from more reputable manufacturers like 3D Robotics, DJI, Parrot, and Yuneec. 3D Robotics Solo looks like it's going to stick around for the time being. DJI refreshed its entry-level Phantom line last spring, and has rolled out a camera upgrade for its pro-grade Inspire within the past few months, and Parrot just announced the Bebop 2.

We could see some new gear from Yuneec. Its Q500 would benefit from an update, and while it's pro-level Tornado has been on display before, it's not readily available for sale. When I took it out for a test flight in October the CGO4 camera wasn't on hand.

And there's GoPro. It's promised to deliver its Karma drone in 2016. CES seems like a very natural launchpad to show the aircraft. It'll be interesting to see just what kind of aircraft the GoPro comes up with.

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