Photo Rumors

Olympus E-PL1s announced, for now only in Japan

By PR admin | Published: November 15, 2010

The rumors were true: the freshly announced Olympus E-PL1s features a new M. ZUIKO DIGITAL 14-42mm F3.5-5.6 II kit lens and for now will be sold only in Japan.

Changes from E-PL1 version (all Google translated):

A zoom lens kit included with the product, the smaller and lighter, can also shoot video optimized “MSC (Movie & Still Compatible) mechanism,” equipped with “M. ZUIKO DIGITAL 14-42mm F3.5-5.6 II”, “M. ZUIKO DIGITAL ED 40-150mm F4.0-5.6” to change
ISO6400 high sensitivity for shooting
Body color, white / red / black deployed in three colors. The same color as the body color body side frame
Lithium-ion battery compatible with the new safety standards “BLS-5”, Li-Ion battery charger “BCS-5” Bundle

Posted in Olympus| Tagged Olympus E-PL1s| 10 Comments

Sensor presentations on the 2011 IEEE International Solid-State Circuits Conference

By PR admin | Published: November 15, 2010

Some of the interesting sensor presentations from the 2011 IEEE International Solid-State Circuits Conference are from Sony and Samsung:

“23.9 A 1/2.33-inch 14.6M 1.4μm-Pixel Backside-Illuminated CMOS Image Sensor with Floating Diffusion Boosting by Samsung

23.11 A 17.7Mpixel 120fps CMOS Image Sensor with 34.8Gb/s Readout by Sony”

The full program can be downloaded here.

Via Image-sensors-world

Posted in Samsung, Sony| 6 Comments

Panasonic GF2 gets a price and a release date updated

By PR admin | Published: November 13, 2010

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).

Posted in Panasonic| Tagged Panasonic GF2| 8 Comments

Connectivity: key to camera market growth in the next 5 years

By PR admin | Published: November 12, 2010

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)

Posted in Future of Photo Equipment| 9 Comments

Tamron filed a patent for a new 10-24mm f/3.5-4.5 lens

By PR admin | Published: November 11, 2010

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:

Posted in Tamron| Tagged Patents| 18 Comments

New Olympus PEN E-PL1s camera on November 16th?

By PR admin | Published: November 11, 2010

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.

Posted in Olympus| Tagged Olympus E-PL1s| 11 Comments

Samsung working on a new 85mm f/1.4 lens for NX mount

By PR admin | Published: November 10, 2010

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.

Posted in Samsung| 8 Comments

PhotoRumors Giveaway #2: “Photographer’s Guide to the Panasonic Lumix LX5” book

By PR admin | Published: November 9, 2010

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:

Posted in Panasonic| Tagged Panasonic Lumix LX5, Photo Rumors giveaway| 44 Comments

RAW video recording coming to PhaseOne digital backs?

By PR admin | Published: November 9, 2010

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.

Posted in Phase One| 15 Comments