In a recent press event in Japan for the unveiling of the new Touit lenses, Zeiss showed an updated roadmap that in addition to the existing ZM, ZF/ZE/ZF.2, the not yet released high end DSLR and Touit lenses, also had a fifth unnamed product line marked with a question mark. Maybe this will be a new line of lenses designed for Micro Four Thirds or medium format cameras. Last year Zeiss said that they will not make Micro Four Thirds lenses because the m4/3 sensor is too small.
Olympus filed patent 2013-88725 in Japan for their own wearable computing device in the form of glasses, which similar to Google Glass, will also have a built-in camera and display. The patent doesn't provide any other details or technical specifications.
Few years ago Nikon released the Media Port UP300x head display and have also filed several related patents since.
A reader informed me that Samsung released the code for the NX200 and NX300 mirrorless cameras as open source based on the Cortex A9 quad core CPU and Neon coprocessor. This means that everyone can download it and make their own modifications, fix bugs, add new features, etc. As far as I know, this is the first major camera manufacturer to release their source code to the public. Could this be the beginning of the open source camera?
Think Tank Photo announced a new Test Drive program and the release of a new version of its largest rolling camera case, the Logistics Manager 30. With the Test Drive program you get to try out any of Think Tank’s very popular Retrospective soft shoulder bags for 30 days for free. Currently they are also running free FedEx ground shipping on all U.S. orders through May 31, 2013.
According to this interview with Sigma's CEO Mr. Yamaki, the new 18-35mm f/1.8 DC HSM lens (price is not yet announced) will be released this summer. So far there are no plans to develop NEX and MFT versions of that lens.
Olympus to drop the cheap V series point and shoot cameras:
"Olympus said it will eliminate its V series of compact cameras – the cheapest in its lineup, selling for less than $200. Its camera business posted a loss in the last fiscal year through March, because demand for compact cameras turned out to be weaker than expected, the company said."
The Swedish website Cyberphoto published a blurred image of a new Fuji camera that is rumored to be a new entry level, interchangeable lens X model. The original post and photo have since been removed, but the question remains - is there really a place for another Fuji X system camera? The X-E1 is pretty small and the only way you can go smaller and cheaper is to remove the EVF or create an "entry level" model with the old 12MP sensor from the X100 (less likely). If such camera is really announced, it will basically be like the Nikon Coolpix A or Ricoh GR, but with interchangeable lenses. Do you guys really see any purpose for such model given the current Fuji line-up (XF1, X20, X100s, X-E1, X-Pro1)?
Adobe Camera Raw 8.1 release candidate for Photoshop CS6 is now available for download with support for the cameras and lenses listed below:
Adorama has a 48 hours deal on the Rokinon 8mm f/3.5 aspherical fisheye lens for Canon, Nikon and Sony mount: $229 with free shipping if you use code S0511113 at checkout. This offer will expire at 3pm EST on May 16th. Here is some additional info on that lens:
The Latest Nikon Rumors