New Zeiss 25mm f/2 Distagon lens is coming

By PR admin | Published: December 28, 2010
The current Zeiss Distagon 2/35 and 2/28 lenses

The current Zeiss Distagon 2/35 and 2/28 lenses

According Diglloyd (paid subscription site) Zeiss will release a new 25mm f/2 Distagon lens (source):

“A new 25mm f/2 Distagon is coming that will likely behave more like the 21/2.8 Distagon.”

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Olympus E-PL2

By PR admin | Published: December 28, 2010
Olympus E-PL2

Is this the Olympus E-PL2?

Pictures of the Olympus E-PL2, that I was talking about few days ago, are now circulating the Web. The camera is expected to be announced within the next two months. Some of the upgrades from the previous model include a direct movie button, a new high resolution screen, maximum ISO of 6400 and a new 14-42mm f3.5/5.6 lens. Several forums report also that some new accessories will be available for this model. One of them will probably be a Bluetooth module (previously discussed here) that will allow photos sharing and possible geotagging through a mobile phone:

Other accessories for the Olympus E-PL2 may include an underwater housing (this could actually be produced by a third party) and some kind of LED light/flash unit (the translation is not very clear).

Olympus is expected to release at least one more advanced camera. There is a good chance that this could be the Olympus Zuiko equipped compact camera prototype that was shown at Photokina:

Olympus Zuiko equipped compact=

Posted in Olympus| Tagged | 5 Comments

Sony will double their image sensor production in the next financial year

By PR admin | Published: December 27, 2010

According to Reuters, Sony will spend $1.2 bln to double its image sensor production in the next financial year. Part of this plan is the buyback of a semiconductor production line from Toshiba that will bring the output capacity to 40,000 silicon wafers a month.

Posted in Sony| 9 Comments

Fuji’s patent for a camera with removable grip

By PR admin | Published: December 27, 2010

Fuji’s latest patent is for a camera with removable/adjustable grip:

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Posted in Fuji| Tagged | 3 Comments

Samyang inquired about a fast 135mm and tilt-shift lenses

By PR admin | Published: December 24, 2010

Two months ago Samyang asked on their Facebook page “Which new Samyang lenses, you like to see in Samyang family” and then commented about a fast 135mm or a tilt-shift lens:

I personally would be interested in a cheap tilt-shift lens solution – there is no need for autofocus and if Samyang can come up with an acceptable IQ, this could be an interesting alternative to the $2000 tilt-shift lenses from Nikon and will probably be available for other mounts as well.

Posted in Samyang| 14 Comments

The FinePix X100 is the starting point of the high-end cameras to follow in future”

By PR admin | Published: December 23, 2010

Quesabesde published an interview with Hiroshi Kawahara, Operations Manager at Fujifilm. The answer to the last question hints at future high-end cameras that will follow the X100:

“Q: With the FinePix X100 Fujifilm comes back into the world of professional digital photography. Is the following step to recover SLR cameras too or is that road definitely closed?

A: I’m happy to hear people commenting that Fujifilm came back to the professional market. The FinePix X100 is the starting point of the high-end cameras to follow in future, and although I can not tell you anything specific at this stage, please look forward to new Fujifilm cameras in the future.”

Posted in Fuji| Tagged | 29 Comments

Fuji X100: the viewfinder

By PR admin | Published: December 23, 2010

Fuji published a new chapter about the X100 viewfinder. In a nutshell:

  • “The viewfinder magnification of 0.5 is generally considered the easiest to see in the case of a camera equipped with a lens with a 35mm focal length (135 equivalent) – not too low and not too high.
  • The X100 viewfinder has a high-resolution 1,440,000-dot, 0.47-inch LCD.
  • The View finder has a shutter too: because the frame is reflected through the prism, and the subject image is passed through the prism and delivered to the viewing eye, the blocking of light from the originating subject image side would enable the use of the LCD image as an EVF (electronic viewfinder) with 100% coverage. In order to achieve this, a ‘Finder Shutter’ is necessary.”

    Posted in Fuji| Tagged | 7 Comments

    Olympus to release E-PL2 in the next 2 months?

    By PR admin | Published: December 22, 2010

    The latest online chatter indicates that Olympus may release a new version of their m4/3 camera line in the next 1-2 months. I do not have any further details, but the new PEN model could potentially be called E-PL2.

    The PMI 2011 show this year will take place in September (the show is usually held in February) and camera manufacturers may still make their announcements in February even without an actual show.

    The other possibility is CES 2011 (January 6-9th, 2011). In the past, CES is usually the place to announce consumer cameras but this however, may change in 2011 since PMI is still nine months away.

    FYI: in November of 2010 Olympus announced the E-PL1s which will be available only in Japan. Olympus E-PL1 was announced back in February during the PMA 2010 show. A black version of the E-P2 was announced in August of 2010.

    Posted in Olympus| Tagged | 7 Comments

    Sony patents translucent mirror for a compact camera

    By PR admin | Published: December 21, 2010

    Sony applied for a patent for a translucent mirror in a camera without a viewfinder. According to the patent’s summary, the composition will be done through the LCD display:

    “In recent single-lens reflex digital cameras, a display such as a liquid crystal display (LCD) panel is disposed on the back of a camera body such that an image inputted to an image pickup device can be viewed using the display. For example, there has been proposed a single-lens reflex digital camera, having no optical viewfinder, that allows a user to take photographs while the user checks an image using a display disposed on the back of a camera body.”

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    Posted in Sony| Tagged | 4 Comments

    The lens of the Fuji X100 camera

    By PR admin | Published: December 21, 2010

    Fuji continues to release pieces of information on the X100 camera:

    “For the X100, spherical lens elements are used as much as possible, and one double-sided aspheric lens made by a glass moulding process has been adopted as the most effective element for delivering maximum performance.

    The sensor has been specially customised just for this lens. Unlike film, the sensors of most digital cameras require incoming light to strike the sensor surface at an angle that is as perpendicular to the sensor surface as possible. Because this is difficult to achieve with a slim lens, the positioning of the microlens on the sensor of the X100 has been customised to allow the capture of light rays with up to a 20° angle of incidence.

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    Posted in Fuji| Tagged | 12 Comments