Photo Rumors

DxOMark test score for the Canon EOS 6D is out

By PR admin | Published: December 14, 2012

DxOMark published their test results for the Canon EOS 6D camera. The sensor performance of the 6D is almost identical to the 5D Mark III. The Nikon D600 still scored significantly higher then the 6D. From DxOMark conclusion:

Posted in Canon| Tagged DxoMark test results| 25 Comments

Sony RX1 review: first impressions

By PR admin | Published: December 13, 2012

I have to admit, I am not a big fan of Sony cameras. I understand that the NEX-7 and RX100 are top performers in their categories, but for some reason they never “clicked” for me. My mirrorless/compact solution of choice for the past two years has been from Fuji (X100 first, then X-Pro1). I also rarely see a new camera that impresses me right from the announcement, since most of the companies recently just copy what the competition is doing (I guess Fuji and Leica are exceptions here). Since Sony is the new kid on the block, they have to play aggressive and they have delivered several innovations in the past few years, but they still had to convince me that they have something for me. I have been lusting for a compact full frame camera for a while – maybe since Leica released the M9 over three years ago. When the first RX1 rumors started floating around, I was immediately intrigued. Few days ago I received my RX1 and here are my first impressions and few sample images. Since there is still no RAW support for the RX1 (with the exception of the RAW converter provided by Sony, which I have not tried yet), all images in this post are taken directly from the camera (standard JPG mode; no post-processing; NR, lens distortion, shading and chromatic aberration all set to ON/AUTO. I will have a follow-up post with more details on the Zeiss Sonnar 2/35 lens and some ISO performance tests. Update: today Adobe released Lightroom 4.3 with RX1 support. Download links: Win | Mac.

Click on images for larger view, or just check the full resolution JPG files on flickr.

f/2, ISO 100:

f:/4, ISO 100:

The RAW file from the above image can be downloaded here.

f/5.6, ISO 100:

Posted in PR reviews, Sony| Tagged Sony RX1| 40 Comments

The release of the Panasonic GH3 delayed till December 29

By PR admin | Published: December 12, 2012

Panasonic Japan announced a delay in the release of their latest Panasonic GH3 camera (body only). The new release date is December 29. 2012. The company is planning to produce/sell 8,000 pieces a month:

Posted in Panasonic| Tagged Panasonic GH3| 14 Comments

New Pentax 645D camera without IR filter announced in Japan

By PR admin | Published: December 12, 2012

Ricoh Japan announced a new version of the Pentax 645D medium format digital camera that will be produced without the IR filter and will be called Pentax 645D IR. In addition to achieving some interesting photography effects, infrared photography is also used by museums, libraries and in forensic investigations. The company foresee only 100 units to be produced/sold annually. The price of the 645D IR was not announced.

Posted in Pentax| Tagged Pentax 645D| 11 Comments

Photoshop and Illustrator CS6 updated with Retina display support, more Creative Cloud features

By PR admin | Published: December 11, 2012

As the rumors suggested, today Adobe announced HiDPI (Retina) displays support for Photoshop CS6 and Illustrator CS6. There are also new Photoshop CS6 capabilities available to Creative Cloud members:

Immediate support for HiDPI (Retina) displays for Apple MacBook Pro. This feature was also made available to perpetual license customers as a free update.
Smart Object support for Blur Gallery and Liquify.
The ability to quickly export CSS code for text and objects, and import color swatches to easily design incredible websites.
New workflow timesavers including Crop tool refinements.
3D enhancements including improved live (OpenGL) previews of shadow effects and additional control over illumination using 32-bit color picker to create glow effects.
Conditional Actions that automatically select the appropriate Action based on user-defined rules, giving users enhanced image processing speed.

The latest Photoshop 13.0.2 and Illustrator 16.0.3 updates for CS6 can now be downloaded from Adobe’s website.

More information will be revealed during the Create Now Live event that will start later today.

Update – here are few videos demonstrating the new CS6 features:

Posted in Adobe| Tagged Adobe Photoshop CS6| 2 Comments

What else is new? [weekend digest]

By PR admin | Published: December 9, 2012

Yongnuo YN-300 is the world’s first LED light with a “built-in photometric system” that will adjust ambient light levels automatically. The YN-300 is currently available on eBay for around $80. Full specs can be found here.

Bloomberg: Apple-Google team up for $500 million-plus Kodak patents bid.

Until December 25, 2012 you can get 10% off orders at Phottixstore.com. Use the discount code 10xmas at checkout to claim your 10% savings.

One of the rumored new features for Adobe Photoshop CS6 is Retina display support. Details will be unveiled at the upcoming Adobe event on December 11th, 2012.

Fujifilm X10 compact camera is now $100 off till December 22, 2012.

Posted in Other| 3 Comments

RIP Zeiss Ikon film rangefinder camera

By PR admin | Published: December 7, 2012

After the silver Zeiss Ikon film rangefinder camera ($1,600) was discontinued earlier this year, today Zeiss entirely stopped the manufacturing of all versions the Ikon. It seems that Zeiss has no plans to introduce a digital rangefinder like the Leica M in the near future. In addition to the Leica M7 and MP, Voigtländer also still produces several different classic film rangefinder camera models.

Posted in Zeiss| Tagged To be discontinued...| 46 Comments

Sigma patents several APS-C lenses with image stabilization

By PR admin | Published: December 6, 2012

Simga’s 2012-234169 patent has calculations for 30mm f/2.8, 30mm f/2.5, 28mm f/2.8, 24mm f/2.8, 50mm f/2.8 and 55mm f/2.8 lenses designed for APS-C sized sensor. The interesting part is that the described lenses have built-in image stabilization. On few occasions in the past Sigma has made statements that they are not interested in developing a mirrorless interchangeable lens system camera. My guess is that those patents are for future DP compact camera models (like the DP1 and DP2). Here are some of the lens designs mentioned in the patent:

Posted in Sigma| Tagged Patents| 4 Comments

Next Canon EOS M mirrorless camera rumored to have EVF

By PR admin | Published: December 5, 2012

The next mirrorless camera from Canon is rumored to have a built-in EVF (the above pictures are a mockup). The first EOS M model did not come with an EVF because Canon felt that the current technology was not advanced enough. The company reportedly will not venture in hybrid or optical viewfinders for their future mirrorless models. The new EOS M camera is expected to be released towards the end of 2013.

Image credit: dlinney/dpreview

Posted in Canon| Tagged Canon EOS-M| 19 Comments

Canon Powershot G15 and Sony NEX-6 DxOMark test results

By PR admin | Published: December 3, 2012

DxOMark released their test results for the Canon Powershot G15 and Sony NEX-6 cameras. Here are their conclusions:

Canon G15

This is a good result overall and when considering the G15’s other features such as the flexibility of the new high-speed zoom and reduction in size over pervious iterations it’s a extremely well-balanced and attractive package. For consumers the choice remains whether to spend more an equivalent micro four-thirds camera with a number of lenses to match the same kind of flexibility or whether to restrict that versatility somewhat by selecting a more compact model such as the S110. Alternatively, you could consider the G1X or Sony RX100, both offer superior low–light performance with only a small premium to pay in both size and price.

Posted in Canon, Sony| Tagged Canon PowerShot G15, DxoMark test results, Sony NEX-6| 13 Comments

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