Competition is good for the consumer and Sony just got some for its Exmor R sensor: yesterday Toshiba announced its own back illuminated 14.6 MP sensor. Let’s see who will be the first camera manufacturer to implement this sensor.
Press release after the break:
I received a tip that Olympus distributors have informed some dealers about an upcoming Olympus EP-1 price drop. This could be caused by the Panasonic GF1 release and/or the new upcoming m4/3 Olympus camera.
The current EP-1 prices are as follow (with 14-44 lens):
Hoya Corporation continues to make public statements about possible “deeper relationship” with another company, possibly Samsung. Those are the words of the COO Hiroshi Yamada (see previous statements of Hoya’s CEO here):
“I don’t know whether we’ll go with Samsung or somebody else, but I can say that we’ll have a deeper relationship with some electronics guys. There will be consolidation in the camera business and a small player like us will be like a small boat on a rough sea. But let me be clear: we will not shut down this business.”
Here is a recap of what happened while I was gone (next time when on the road, I will bring a laptop with me):
Ricoh:
There are also reports for a new Ricoh camera with APS-C sensor (previously reported here).
Olympus:
Sony:
-High quality in 35mm full size image sensor with 14.6 effective megapixels
-Column-Parallel A/D Conversion method
-Ultra high speed digital output (12 digital channel parallel LVDS output)
-12bit-AD converter on chip
-Multiples readout modes
-Scan mode 15.2 frames/s (12bit)
-Window readout
-Diagonal width 43.3mm (type 2.7)
-Total pixels 4752 (H) x 3213 (V) approx. 15.26M pixels
-Effective pixels 4692 (H) x 3115 (V) approx. 14.61M pixels
-Active pixels 4661 (H) x 3096 (V) approx. 14.43M pixels
-Chip size 41mm (H) x 31.9mm (V)
-Unit cell size 7.91μm (H) x 7.91 μm (V)
Will that be the a700 replacement?
Fuji:
FujiFilm kills the rumors of withdrawing its FP-100B and FP-3000B black and white and FP-100C colour instant film.
Kodak:
Kodak is starting its first brand campaign since 2005 with the slogan “It’s Time to Smile”. Could this be a preparation for a new product, for which there are already rumors floating around?
Pentax:
More rumors about the possible Pentax full frame sensor.
Apple:
Aperture X Launching in May 2010 (source).
Last week I attended PDN PhotPlus Expo in New York which explains the lack of new rumors on this site for the past few days. All my questions about future products were answered politely with the phrase “no comments” and I don’t have any rumors to report from the floor.
A recap on all rumors from last week is coming up next.
Some pictures from the show after the jump:
The previous rumors were that Franke & Heidecke would be shutting down its operations for good, but now the latest report from Germany brings some hope to the 89 years old company, producer of the Rollei cult-camera (Google translation):
“In a first extension were 20 employees for outstanding work for two weeks engaged in early October. After this period, a new intermediate solution could be realized by the end of October.”
Kodak is expected to announce an “entirely new type of camera” at CES in January 2010. This rumor is coming from ElectricPig:
“It’s not entirely clear whether Kodak will debut a new category of camera altogether, or a type of camera it has never made before. Could the Big K be about to launch its first ever SLR?”
Via Gizmodo
Update: for unknown reasons Canon pulled the plug on the “Nocturne” video by Vincent Laforet.
Main features (previous rumors were “almost” correct):
The price is 4,999.99 and you can pre-order now @ Amazon.
Vincent Laforet video “Nocturne” shot with the new Canon 1D Mark IV:
Nocturne from Vincent Laforet on Vimeo.
Press release:
“A Pentax representative told me today at the Paris photo show that Pentax will release a full frame DSLR in 2010.”
