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

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

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

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?

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

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

Canon EOS-1D Mark IV now offcial

Update: for unknown reasons Canon pulled the plug on the “Nocturne” video by Vincent Laforet.

Canon EOS-1D Mark IV

Main features (previous rumors were “almost” correct):

  • 16.1 MP APS-H CMOS sensor
  • 10fps at up to 121 JPEG burst
  • 45-point AF system with 39 cross type sensors
  • Full HD (1080p) movies with manual control
  • High ISO up to 102400
  • 3.0” Clear View II LCD with Live View mode
  • Dual “DIGIC 4”
  • EOS Integrated Cleaning System

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:

Read More »

Posted in Canon| Tagged | 5 Comments

Also tomorrow: a new video camera from Sony (EX1R)

You can see Sony’s teaser on this website:

Sony-EX1R

Expected is Sony EX1R with the following specs:

sony-ex1r-specs

Posted in Sony| 2 Comments

Pentax representative: Full frame Pentax DSLR in 2010

“A Pentax representative told me today at the Paris photo show that Pentax will release a full frame DSLR in 2010.”

Source

Posted in Pentax| Tagged , | 10 Comments

Rumor: new Canon on Tuesday, October 20 (Canon 1D Mark 4)

UPDATE – latest Canon 1D Mark IV specs:

  • 16 Mpix
  • Dual DIGIC
  • Native sensitivity of ISO 25.600
  • Boost to ISO 102.400
  • 12fps
  • 1080p @ 24/25, 30 & 60 fps

There will be a Canon event in Australia On October 20th. The main theme is the 50th anniversary of Canon SLR. Of course a new 1D Mark 4 camera with very high ISO is expected. This sounds like a logical response to Nikon’s D3s 102400 ISO that was released few days ago (see low-light D3s video here).

50years-canon

Posted in Canon| Tagged | 25 Comments

Ricoh mirrorless camera

Ricoh will have a presentation of a mirrorless APS-C camera on November 12th, 2009. The camera will be available in December 2009. I am expecting more details in the next few days.
This is the information I posted two months ago on this rumor:

Ricoh is working on a compact camera based on Pentax’s K mount. It’s not clear if they would use the exact K mount or the M 4/3 approach by keeping the mount diameter in-tact and reducing the distance so that older K mount lenses still can be used via an adapter and a new series of new “micro K mount” lenses will be introduced.

Posted in Ricoh| Tagged | 12 Comments