Update #2: Panasonic GF2 will be available in Japan on December 3rd (source).
Update: another Amazon UK entry lists the GF2 at £599.
Panasonic usually reveals their pricing 30 days before the camera is released for sale, but according to Amazon UK, the Panasonic GF2 will cost £729.99 and will be released on January 24, 2011:
FYI: Panasonic GF1 currently sells for almost half price (£404).
InfoTrends published a report (digital camera market forecast for Western Europe) in which they outline that connectivity will play a major role in the camera development over the next 5 years:
“Sharing images instantly with friends and family is becoming a more important aspect of photography. Smartphones currently provide this ability, but digital cameras generally do not. Consumers will soon come to expect that cameras will interface with any device that they use to store, share, manage, and print their photos. As connected devices become more widespread, cameras will need to become connected to compete.” (Mette Eriksen, Director at InfoTrends)
Tamron filed a patent for what appears to be an update to the current SP AF10-24mm F/3.5-4.5 Di II lens. For comparison, here is the current model:
The current Olympus E-PL1 model
Over a month ago I posted a rumor about a new Olympus EP-3 camera that will be released in the November-December timeframe. Today digicame-info reports that Olympus will release a new PEN E-PL1s camera with a new kit lens on November 16th, 2010. The article also mentions that this upcoming camera has been the reason for the E-PL1 price drop (currently selling for around $520).
The Olympus PEN line has been refreshed every few months in the past: E-P1 was announced in June of 2009, the E-P2 was released in November 2009 and the E-PL1 in February, 2010. A new model before the holiday shopping season makes sense.
Dpreview member redcrow has a very good track record when it comes to “predicting” upcoming Samsung NX products (see previous posts here and here). Redcrow’s latest comments suggest that Samsung is working on “multiple” image sensors for NX bodies that will be released next year. A new 85mm f/1.4 lens is also expected.
In another post from two months ago, redcrow mentioned that Samsung will release also a new “DSLR style” camera.
What can I win?
Today’s giveaway is for a “Photographer’s Guide to the Panasonic Lumix LX5” book (paperback) that just got released few days ago.
How do I win?
The rules are simple – just leave a comment to this post and retweet it or share/like it on Facebook. If you are not into social media, just tell a friend (I will not check). One comment per person please. Don’t forget to add your email address in the “Email” field (not in the comment section) – it will not be visible to the public and it will only be used to notify you in case you are the winner. I will close all comments in one week and will randomly pick the winner.
The best part?
The publisher is willing to ship this book anywhere in the world.
More details about the book after the break:
There is a a rumor coming from Australia that Phase One is working on a digital back with live view for medium format cameras that will be able to record RAW video.
This picture of Pentax equipment found on flickr is showing a new Pentax A* 135mm f/1.8 lens. Here is a close-up of the lens:
For comparison, this is how the old Pentax A* 135mm f/1.8 lens looks like (image source: eBay):
There has been a stream of new sensor announcements in the past few days (see here and here). This is because of the Vision 2010 show that starts tomorrow in Stuttgart, Germany.
Today we learned more about the Sony “Super 35mm” sensor that is inside the new Sony digital motion picture camcorder. The next diagram show that the new Sony sensor has four times bigger pixel size than a regular DSLR camera:
I will not cover new sensors that are not tailored for the photo/video industry (like this one).
Update: another 8MP sensor for smart phones got announced today.
Similar to Samsung, Sony also filed a patent for a liquid lens. Instead of rotating the focus ring, like on a traditional lens, liquid lenses are controlled by electricity that changes the different refractive indexes of the liquid the light passes through:
“Disclosed is a liquid lens element. The liquid lens element includes a main body, a lens surface, and a first reflection surface. The main body has a light incident surface and a light exiting surface and includes a liquid chamber formed therein. The lens surface changes orientation of light that exits the light exiting surface by being electrically deformed, and the lens surface is formed of an interface between two liquids that are contained in the liquid chamber and have refractive indexes. The first reflection surface reflects part of light that enters the light incident surface toward an optical axis of the lens surface, and the first reflection surface is provided to the main body.”
One of the main advantage of liquid lenses is small size and low power consumption which will make them best suited for the cell phone industry.
