Olympus EP-2 is near

By PR admin | Published: October 30, 2009

Olympus EP-2 leaks continue to show up online which is a good indication that announcement is imminent and very close:

e-p21

The next picture is the electronic viewfinder VF-2 (Google translation):

An external installation, E-P2-specific high-resolution electronic viewfinder, which has 1.44 million pixels, 100% field of vision and 1.15x magnification, while the ultra-high contrast and brightness characteristics of the video camera can even add an external color comparable to the viewfinder. It also provides a refractive adjustment function.

External microphone adapter EMA-1:

Shoe accessory attachment port and allows you to use the optional stereo microphone to achieve high-quality stereo linear PCM recording.

* Can not be installed on the accessory shoe used in conjunction.

external_mic

Posted in Olympus| Tagged | 1 Comment

Rumor: Kodak will unveil a new 3D DSLR camera at CES

By PR admin | Published: October 29, 2009

kodak-logoYes, you read this right – the rumor is Kodak’s “entirely new type of camera” could be a 3D DSLR camera. Kodak used to make DSLR cameras before and it seems that they have found a niche market and decided to explore it. Just few days ago Kodak reported 26% drop in sales (source: WSJ) and I can imagine how the company can become more aggressive and try to introduce something new.

I cannot mention the source of this rumor, but I consider it serious enough to publish it here.

At CES (January 2010 in Las Vegas) Kodak is also expected to announce a new version of the Kodak Zi8 pocket camcorder.

Posted in Kodak| 9 Comments

First official Olympus E-P2 leak

By PR admin | Published: October 28, 2009

Update: the E-P2 link is still there and it leads to a page with a broken image link:

olympus-ep-2-leak-rumor

Coming to you directly from the Olympus website in China:

olympus-ep2

The official announcement is expected on October 31st:

olympus-ep2

Posted in Olympus| Tagged | 9 Comments

Toshiba announces its own back illuminated 14.6 MP sensor

By PR admin | Published: October 28, 2009

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.

toshiba-sensor

toshiba-sensor-2

Press release after the break:

Read More »

Posted in Toshiba| 2 Comments

Olympus EP-1 price drop

By PR admin | Published: October 27, 2009

olympus-ep1-prI 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):

Posted in Olympus| 2 Comments

Pentax will have a “deeper relationship with some electronics guys”

By PR admin | Published: October 26, 2009

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.”

Source

Posted in Pentax, Samsung| 5 Comments

Rumors recap

By PR admin | Published: October 26, 2009

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:

  • Olympus Germany claims that there will be no E-3 successor in the foreseeable future (source).
new Olympus Lens 12-16mm F2.8-4.0 SWD, It is still out of stock.
The others information are the Price at € 889,00 and the Lens diameter is 72mm.
  • New Olympus lens 12-16mm F2.8-4.0 SWD (lens diameter=72mm) was listed on an European retailer with a price of € 889,00. After this dpreview post (with a screenshot) the lens was removed.
  • If our previous rumor is correct, Olympus should be releasing the next m4/3 camera on October 31st. Some rumored specs can be found here.

Sony:

  • Rumors of a new full frame Sony sensor:

-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)

  • The November edition of Popular Photography hints about a A700 replacement that will be released soon (source). The exact quote from the magazine: “…may be an oldie, but it’s still a goodie for its rugged build, fine imaging, and thoughtful design. We strongly suspect Sony will bring out a replacement soon.”
Will that be the a700 replacement?

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).

Posted in Apple, Fuji, Kodak, Olympus, Pentax, Ricoh, Sony| 10 Comments

Back from PDN PhotPlus Expo

By PR admin | Published: October 26, 2009

PDN-photoplus-expo-2009

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:

Read More »

Posted in Canon, Olympus, Sigma, Sony, Zeiss| 4 Comments

What will happen to Franke & Heidecke?

By PR admin | Published: October 20, 2009

rolleiflex
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.”

Posted in Franke & Heidecke| 5 Comments

Kodak will bring a “Entirely new type of camera” at CES in January

By PR admin | Published: October 20, 2009

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

Posted in Kodak| 17 Comments