Photo Rumors

New Pentax AG 360 FGZ II flash unit prototype shown at CES

By PR admin | Published: January 9, 2013

In addition to the MX-1, Pentax also displayed a prototype of a new flash unit at the 2013 CES show – AG 360 FGZ II, which will be the replacement of the current AF-540FGZ model.

Via DC.watch

Posted in Pentax| Tagged CES 2013| 9 Comments

More on the bizarre Polaroid mirrorless cameras

By PR admin | Published: January 9, 2013

Polaroid managed to do one of the worst product launches for their Android based mirrorless cameras I have ever seen since I have been running this blog. There is no accurate information, the press release hardly provides any useful details, but first let’s start with the name – iM1836? Why? When the first rumor about this camera was published on PhotoRumors, I thought this was just the internal name and for the announcement they will come up with something more meaningful and easy to remember.

From the press release we learned that in addition to Wi-Fi, the iM1836 also has Bluetooth connectivity. The price of the camera with a 10-30mm lens is reported to be $400. The 1″ sensor of the iM1836 is placed inside the lens to “prevent a novice photographer from accidentally ruining the interchangeable lenses“. This explains why Polaroid mentioned that their new camera will also be compatible with other mounts – they will probably just announce adapters with built-in sensors to accommodate lenses from different mounts. Techcrunch reported that there will also be a pancake lens for the iM1836 model.

There are also two more Polaroid mirrorless cameras: iM1030 ($300) and iM1232 ($350). All product shown at CES are just prototypes:

The Polaroid iM1030/iM1232 compact interchangeable lens camera features a 10mm-30mm lens in a compact Micro Four Thirds body that’s compatible with a wide range of Micro Four Thirds lenses with available adapter. The vibrant 3.5” LCD display, HDMI output, HD video recording, 18.1 megapixel resolution, auto blink detection and panoramic photo capabilities make this compact camera perfect for every special moment at $299 MSRP. With optional built-in peer-to-peer Wi-Fi (model iM1232W for $349 MSRP), it’s easy to connect to any network and instantly upload and share those great memories with friends via email or social networks.

Polaroid labeled the iM1030 and iM1232 as Micro Four Thirds bodies which is obviously wrong.

Still nobody can explain why the Polaroid iM1836 camera looks like a Nikon 1 J1.

Posted in Polaroid| Tagged Polaroid iM1836| 16 Comments

Sony RX1 got a pretty good DxOMark score: #4 overal rating

By PR admin | Published: January 8, 2013

DxOMark published their test results for the Sony RX1 camera (see my first impressions) and they are pretty good – the RX1 scored #4 on their overall rating list right after the Nikon D800E, D800 and D600:

Posted in Sony| Tagged DxoMark test results, Sony RX1| 29 Comments

The new Sigma 17-70mm f/2.8-4 and 120-300mm f/2.8 lenses are now available for pre-oder

By PR admin | Published: January 8, 2013

The two new Sigma lenses are now available for pre-order in various mounts:

Posted in Sigma| Tagged pre-order| Leave a comment

Fujifilm X20, X100s pre-order options

By PR admin | Published: January 8, 2013

Full list of pre-order options for the new Fujifilm X20 and X100s cameras:

Amazon
B&H: silver | black
Adorama: silver | black

Posted in Fuji| Tagged CES 2013, Fuji X100s, Fuji X20, pre-order| Leave a comment

Lexar announces new 32GB, 64GB XQD and 256GB SDXC memory cards

By PR admin | Published: January 8, 2013

Lexar announced 32GB, 64GB XQD and 256GB 600x SDXC UHS-I memory cards:

Lexar 32GB and 64GB XQD cards:

Lexar Professional XQD card offers a minimum guaranteed read transfer speed of 1100x (168 MB/s)*
New XQD card leverages PCI Express technology to capture high-quality images, 1080p full-HD and 3D video, and up to 100 fames in RAW format in continuous shooting mode**
New XQD Reader leverages SuperSpeed USB 3.0 technology to provide fast transfers, up to five times faster than USB 2.0***
With its thin, portable design, the XQD Reader is an excellent choice for professional photographers and videographers who are in the studio or on the go

Lexar 256GB SDXC UHS-I card:

New 256GB Lexar® Professional 600x SDXC UHS-I memory card provides world’s largest capacity SDXC card for capturing, storing, and transferring high-quality images, and extended lengths of 1080p HD and 3D video content
UHS-I technology offers impressive high-speed performance, with 600x (90MB/s) minimum guaranteed read transfer speed*
Includes downloadable Image Rescue® 4 software to recover lost or deleted photo and video files

Posted in Lexar| Tagged CES 2013, XQD memory card| 6 Comments

Recap of all new cameras/lenses announced at the 2013 CES show during press day

By PR admin | Published: January 8, 2013

Here is a recap of all new cameras/lenses announced at the first day (press day) of the 2013 CES show:

Fuji X100s, X20 (videos) and more than a dozen new compact cameras (X100s pre-order options: Amazon | Adorama, Fuji X20 pre-order options: Amazon | Adorama | B&H).

Pentax MX-1 (pre-order links: black | silver).

Nikon announced two mirrorless cameras, two new lenses, underwater housing and the D5200 DSLR camera for the US market.

Canon PowerShot N, ELPH 130IS, A2600, A1400 compact cameras (pre-order link).

Sigma 17-70mm f/2.8-4 DC Macro OS HSM and 120-300mm f/2.8 DG OS HSM lenses and a new USB dock.

Posted in Other| Tagged CES 2013| 3 Comments

Sigma DP3 Merrill camera officially announced

By PR admin | Published: January 8, 2013

The previously leaked Sigma DP3 Merrill camera is now officially announced (pre-order link). The key specs are:

Posted in Sigma| Tagged CES 2013, Sigma DP3 Merrill| 13 Comments

Polaroid iM1836: the first Android based mirrorless interchangeable lens camera is now official

By PR admin | Published: January 7, 2013

The first Android based mirrorless interchangeable lens camera from Polaroid (iM1836) is now official and it is indeed produced by Sakar as previously reported:

Sakar’s Polaroid-brandediM1836 is the first Android-powered compact interchangeable-lens smart camera that makes it easy and fun for anyone to capture outstanding, professional quality images and instantly share them with friends. The 18 megapixel camera features the latest Android 4.1 “Jelly Bean” operating system, the smoothest and fastest Android OS yet, and comes standard with a 10-30mm optical zoom lens. The Polaroid iM1836 camera will also offer consumers the flexibility to explore their creativity with interchangeable lenses.

Technical specs:

Posted in Polaroid| Tagged CES 2013, Polaroid iM1836| 12 Comments