When Sigma UK announced their reward points program, they actually provided a monetary value of JPY400,000 (around $4800) that will be distributed to existing SD1 owners. The US press release from last month did not specify the exact value of the rewards plan. The initial SD1 price was $6,899, the new price is $2,299 - a $4,600 difference.
Fujifilm issued a statement about the "white disc/sensor blooming" issue reported few months ago. In addition to the Finepix X10, the X-S1 camera is also impacted. A new firmware for the X-S1 will be released on March 21st. The second part of the statement is confusing - Fuji have developed a modified sensor that will resolve the issue and it will be available from late May 2012. Will all current Fuji X10 owners get their sensor replaced? Will the new sensor be included only in new X10 cameras?
Some additional Sony a57 coverage:
This is the full press release for the new Sony a57 SLT camera. B&H is already taking pre-orders for the a57 body only for 699.99.
SAN DIEGO, March 12, 2012 — A wider palette of creative options is now accessible to more shooters with the α57 camera, the newest addition to Sony’s popular line of A-mount cameras employing Translucent Mirror Technology.
The innovative Translucent Mirror design directs incoming light to the CMOS image sensor and the AF sensor at the same time, allowing full-time continuous AF during both still and video shooting. Users can also frame, focus and preview shots in real-time on the high-resolution Tru-Finder™ electronic viewfinder, which offers a wide viewing angle and 100% field of view. This allows photographers to capture exactly what they see on the screen.
Zeiss posted another teaser on Facebook for the upcoming Distagon T* 2,8/15 ZF.2/ZE super wide angle lens:
Pentax filed a patent 201048084 in Japan for a 90mm f/2.8 (medium format) and 60mm f/2.8 (full frame) macro lenses.
Sony is expected to announce the new Sony a57 SLT camera next week. This will be the replacement of the already discontinued a55 model. Here are the basic specs:
The Latest Nikon Rumors