There’s probably no better setting to enjoy the latest camera gear than CP+, the world’s biggest photography show, which takes place every year in Yokohama, Tokyo, Japan, since its 2010 debut. After all, Japan is the home of modern photography and leading brands Canon, Sony, Nikon, Fujifilm, Sigma, Panasonic and more.
2025’s instalment opened to the public on February 27 and the doors closed on March 2, and we were lucky enough to grab a day wandering the jam-packed halls, ogling at the latest gear from the world’s best camera and lens brands.
There was a lot of activity in the lead up to the show, with big announcements including the new Canon PowerShot V1, Sigma BF, Panasonic Lumix S1R II and Sony 400-800mm F6.3-8. CP+ was the first public showing of these exciting products, plus there were plenty of hidden gems to be found.
So let’s take a loot at the 6 most exciting cameras, lenses and moments at the show, plus other honorable mentions.
1. Most exciting – Sigma BF
It won’t be for everyone, but Sigma’s BF mirrorless camera was certainly the most memorable new camera at CP+. It was announced on Feb 24 and at the time we described the BF as a ‘boldly minimalist full-frame camera’.
It’s the BF’s radically different design that’s got the camera world talking; it is made in Japan, but it adopts a minimalist Scandinavian design and then some.
The Sigma BF is made from a single piece of aluminum and its simplicity reminds us of the Leica CL; with touchscreen, a few multi-function buttons and a stripped back user interface. There are few bells and whistles; no hotshoe, no viewfinder, not even a memory card slot (just built-in memory) – the list goes on.
This simplicity is what sets the BF apart, although we think a fixed lens would have simplified matters further. Instead, the 24MP shooter takes L-mount lenses. One thing’s for sure though, we can’t wait to get our hands-on this tiny camera to properly discover what it’s made of.
2. Most popular – Canon PowerShot V1
The rush towards the Canon stand when the CP+ 2025 doors opened on day one told us one thing – the PowerShot V1 vlogging compact would be the star of the show.
And with good reason. The Sony rival packs a powerful feature set for video and photography into a compact body with secure grip. The 1.4-inch sensor is essentially the same size as Micro Four Thirds, just in 3:2 aspect ratio, and bigger than the 1-inch sensor in Sony’s ZV-1 II, plus there’s a stabilized 16-50mm F2.8-4.5 zoom lens.
Handy video features include a built-in 3EV ND filter, mic and headphone ports, plus a cooling fan for unlimited record times. Photographers can enjoy support for hotshoe accessories such as a flashgun, plus super-fast 15fps burst shooting using the mechanical shutter – or double that when using the electronic shutter.
We think the PowerShot V1 strikes the right size and features balance, especially for video-first enthusiasts, and will be conducting an in-depth review really soon.
3. Most powerful – Panasonic Lumix S1R II
Announced just a day before CP+, the Lumix S1R II is a powerhouse for video and reasonably priced alternative to Sony, Nikon and Canon flagship mirrorless cameras.
A new 44MP full-frame stabilized sensor is on board, with 8K open gate video recording in the pipeline after a firmware update, plus 32-bit float audio recording via an XLR adaptor. There are way too many video features to sensibly cover here – you can find out more in our Lumix SR II hands-on review.
Suffice to say, the Lumix S1R II was the most powerful new camera on display at CP+. It’s a comprehensive upgrade of the Lumix S1R, especially for videographers, with a significantly smaller body akin to the Lumix S5 II.
Oh, and a neat new Lumix Flow app was on display too – it enables users to connect a mobile phone to the Lumix S1R II (and Lumix S5 II / GH7) for use as a monitor – neat.
4. Under the radar – Sigma 16-300mm F3.5-6.7 DC OS Contemporary lens
Two gargantuan lenses were being shown off at CP+; the Sony FE 400-800mm F6.3-8 G OSS and Sigma 300-600mm F4. Yet in the shadow of those long telephoto zooms for full-frame cameras was a lens that we think could ultimately prove to be the biggest hit – the Sigma 16-300mm F3.5-6.7 DC OS Contemporary.
It’s made for APS-C cameras and delivers an equivalent 24-450mm focal length – an 18.8x optical zoom that’s the biggest zoom for mirrorless cameras yet. This versatile travel lens will inevitably come with certain image quality compromizes, but with today’s editing tools like Topaz able to sharpen and denoise photos to impressive standards, we think super-zooms like Sigma’s 16-300mm are more compelling than ever.
The Sigma 16-300mm is available for L-Mount and Sony E-mount from April 2025, plus Canon RF and Fujifilm X Mount from May 2025 and costs just $699 / £599 – a potential bargain given it could be the only lens you ever need!
5. Biggest comeback – Zeiss
CP+ proved to be a big moment for Zeiss. The German maker of premium manual focus lenses displayed the Otus ML 50mm f/1.4 and Otus ML 85mm f/1.4 – its first lenses in several years, and its very first offerings for mirrorless cameras.
The Otus 50mm and 85mm lenses are exclusively manual focus, feature a fast f/1.4 maximum aperture and solid metal build and are, impressively, available for Sony E, Canon RF and Nikon Z mirrorless camera bodies.
The new mirrorless lenses are a little less expensive than Zeiss’ Otus lenses for DSLR cameras, but still cost a fair whack: the 50mm costs $2,500 and is slated for an April release, while the 85mm lens will cost $3,000 and is due to come later in 2025.
Zeiss already has a stellar reputation with pro portrait photographers who like characterful bokeh and who don’t mind sacrificing the convenience of autofocus. That optical quality now combined with mirrorless camera tech, such as manual focus peaking, could be a powerful combination.
6. Sony’s most telephoto lens – the 400-800mm F6.3-8 G OSS
Another super popular product at CP+ was the Sony FE 400-800mm F6.3-8 G OSS lens – attendees were required to join a digital queue and wait their turn before scaling the balcony to give the long telephoto zoom a road test (sadly no wildlife to photograph in the CP+ halls).
So what’s so special about the 400-800mm lens? Well, it’s Sony’s first-ever telephoto lens to reach the 800mm focal length, and it works with 1.4x and 2x teleconverters, meaning there’s the potential to double that reach to 1600mm (with fairly impractical maximum f/16 aperture).
The lens is dust- and moisture-resistant and features an internal zoom and focusing – the latter being a pleasant and most welcome surprise. Most enthusiast zoom lenses extend as you zoom in and out, but not Sony’s – its center of gravity is essentially unchanged and there’s no risk over dust / moisture ingress through the lens barrel.
Sony says the 400-800mm lens will be available from early March 2025, costing $2,900 / £2,550.
Honorable mentions
CP+ 2025 treated attendees to plenty more than the six cameras and lenses mentioned above. In no particular order, here are the best of the rest products that impressed us:
- Viltrox 35mm F1.2 LAB – a premium fast aperture autofocus prime lens for Sony full-frame cameras
- Sigma 300-600mm F4 DG OS – flagship long telephoto zoom lens for sports and wildlife
- Samyang AF 14-24mm F2.8 for Sony – first zoom lens of its kind to accept threaded lens filters
- Voigtländer Heliar 75mm f/1.8 – solid metal lens with special bokeh, for Sony cameras
- Sony 16mm F1.8 G – a reasonably priced ultra-wide-angle prime lens with Sony’s latest features
- Tokina AT-X 11-18mm f/2.8 X – a wide angle zoom lens for APS-C cameras, with constant f/2.8 aperture
- TTartisan 14mm F3.5 – a tiny, lightweight and low-cost lens for APS-C cameras with 21mm equivalent focal length
- 7Artisans 24mm f/1.8 lens for Nikon Z-mount – also coming to Fujifilm X-mount soon
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