In a perfect world, CES would be more like the Canon Expo. Once every five years, Canon takes the most mind-boggling moonshot products from its R&D labs—both functional prototypes and new devices that are actually for sale—and brings them on a four-city tour. Paris, Shanghai, Tokyo—and this past week, Canon Expo 2015 hit Manhattan.
The event is distilled down to the most futuristic things Canon has in the works. There are 250-megapixel imaging sensors, 8K surround-view movie theaters, cameras that record detailed color video in the pitch-black darkness, and inkjet printers the size of three-bedroom apartments. And it’s all under one roof. You’re walking around in a sci-fi movie, except everything around you is a functional piece of technology.
Many of the most fascinating cameras, sensors, displays, and printing technologies on display are in the prototype stage, but quite a few of them are actual products for sale. Granted, the ones that are on sale will set you back a ton of money, but a slice of the future isn’t cheap. Here are some of the highlights from this year’s show. As far-fetched and fancy as some of this stuff may seem, keep in mind that things like 4K displays and video were considered crazy-futuristic during the last Canon Expo in 2010. Now our phones can do it. By the time 2020 rolls around, this stuff might be everywhere.
