Canon 6.7mm f/1.4 lens patent
Canon 3.6mm f/1.2 lens patent
Canon 12mm f/1.2 lens patent for 1" sensor
The most interesting patent applications this week come from Canon: 6.7mm f/1.4, 3.6mm f/1.2 and 12mm f/1.2 lenses.
Canon 24-70mm f/2.8 IS lens patent
Canon also filed patents for a 24-70mm f/2.8 IS and 24-80mm f/2.8 IS lenses (full frame).
Ricoh announced a new limited edition GR camera featuring "magnesium-alloy body sheathed in a metallic vintage green wave-tone finish with a high-gloss shine". The price is $899.95 (compared to the $796.95 for the regular model) and it will start shipping next month:
In this YouTube video Winfried Scherle (Carl Zeiss AG Camera Lens Division Senior Vice President and General Manager) mentioned that Zeiss will soon introduce a new Touit Macro 1:1 lens "with outstanding performance". This is most likely the 50mm f/2.8 Macro lens that is currently scheduled for release on November 8th (the lens was initially announced at Photokina last year).
He also mentioned that next year Zeiss will release more FE full frame lenses for the Sony a7 camera (see lens roadmap).
Zeiss is also working on new manual focus full frame lenses for the Sony a7/a7r models (from Carl Zeiss Facebook page):
For everyone that is considering to buy the new Sony a7 camera - you may want to wait a little bit since Nikon is rumored to announce a new full frame hybrid camera with the following specifications:
Update - some additional specifications:
During this official a7/a7r video introduction, a Sony representative mentioned that there will no longer be NEX branded cameras (starting at the 3:09 mark) - all future models will be under the α (Alpha) name just like the recently announced a7/a7r full frame mirrorless cameras:
Sony is still committed to the A-mount and a new mid to high-end A-mount camera body is currently under development and is expected to be released in 2014:
Panasonic Japan published a new lens roadmap. The newly added lenses are:
If you are considering the new Sony α7 or α7r full frame mirrorless cameras, I highly recommend reading those Q&A published on Sony's blog:
Some additional hands-on and preview videos of the latest Fujifilm X-E2 and Fujifilm XQ1 cameras (including the new firmware update for the X100):
FYI: Fuji advertises the X-E2 as having the world's fastest AF.
The Latest Nikon Rumors