CP+ is the camera trade show for consumers put on by CIPA, the organization that the Japanese camera companies formed to monitor the camera industry and set standards.
This year, the "show" runs February 25 thru 28. I put the word "show" is in quotes because CP+ 2021 was shifted to an online-only event due to the pandemic. It's still an important event, as many of the camera companies target their early-in-the-year announcements around this event. We've already seen Fujifilm (GFX100S, X-E4, lenses) and Sony (A1) make announcements, but there will certainly be more. I expect at least two more cameras and a number of lens announcements still likely to be made in the run-up to February 25th. It's possible that, because of the online nature of the show, we'll see a camera maker target February 25th itself.
Sigma, Tamron, and Tokina have all been relatively quiet lately, so it would be likely that we'll see new lens announcements from them, including, perhaps, some new mount offerings. Pentax still has a crop-sensor DSLR to actually formally launch, of course, having done multiple gender reveal events already. This is the first event—and on home turf, at that—where the newly formed OM Digital Solutions will be active, so don't be surprised to see some significant OMD news. Panasonic will have at least one new L-mount lens (70-300mm), and they've been mostly silent on the m4/3 front for quite some time.
The two companies that have been the most quiet, Canon and Nikon, are the ones I'll be watching most carefully. We're three months past the last Canon lens announcement, and four months past their last ILC announcement (the lame M50 Mark II). Nikon has said that they're trying to act faster, but we're four months since their last camera announcement and five months past their last lens announcement. Both companies badly need a PR punch at the moment, even if not from a top-end product.
Many of the camera makers run contests and other promotions alongside CP+. For instance, Nikon is giving away six Z6 II+lens kits to Instagram posters using special hashtags with their images during February (open only to Japanese addresses, unfortunately). Also of interest are some of the speeches and discussions, for instance: Keynote: The Past, Present and Future of Sport Photography, and Panel: What Mirrorless Brought to the Industry. But the thing most of us in the press look at are the "state of the market" presentations and publications that typically accompany CP+. Already we've had the projection for 2021 sales (up 13% in ILC). Next up will be the Japanese customer user survey results.
You can register for the online event at the link at the beginning of the article. It's unclear just what you'll be able to see yet, though it appears that most of the companies will have show-specific sites active.
