Leica is reportedly working on a compact, large-sensor, interchangeable lens camera that will rival the “EVIL” cameras offered by Olympus/Panasonic (Micro Four Thirds), Sony (NEX), and Samsung (NX). In an interview today with Amateur Photographer, company boss Alfred Schopf stated that consumers “will see something at the next Photokina”, and that the camera will have at least an APS-C sized sensor. Perhaps the new camera will be how Leica finds its way again after being late to the digital game.
(via Amateur Photographer)
The pro-level mirrorless camera Nikon is rumored to be working on (the “Coolpix Pro”) may unfortunately boast a not-so-pro-sized sensor. The latest news to be sweeping across the Interwebs is that the camera will pack a 2.6x crop factor sensor, smaller than the Micro Four Thirds format sensor or the APS-C sensor found in the FujiFilm FinePix X100. It’s also likely that the mirrorless camera would have been announced already had production not been stalled by the devastating earthquake and tsunami that struck Japan.
(via Nikon Rumors)
Image credit: Sensor sizes diagram by Moxfyre
Looks like Nikon has a new 50mm lens primed for announcement. Earlier today a AF-S NIKKOR 50mm f/1.8G product page appeared on Nikon’s website, but was quickly pulled — but not before it was already widely reported (here’s a screenshot of the page). The lens features a Silent Wave Motor for quiet focusing, and a “newly developed optical system employing an aspherical lens element”. It will be compatible with both DX and FX format cameras. No word on when this lens will become official or how much it will cost.
(via Nikon Rumors)
If you think the 5-megapixel sensor found on the iPhone 4 is good, wait till you see the camera found on the next iPhone — it’s reportedly going to be a 8-megapixel sensor made by Sony. The Street wrote back in 2010 that the next version of the iPhone to arrive in 2011 would pack an 8-megapixel Sony sensor rather than the 5-megapixel OmniVision one found in the current phone, and Sony’s CEO Howard Stringer seems to have confirmed that today in an interview with the Wall Street Journal.
Read more…
Nikon will reportedly announce the new D5100 DSLR tomorrow (late tonight for those in the US), and photographs of the camera were leaked onto the Interwebs today. We’ll be reporting on the specs tomorrow, but an interesting rumor is that the camera will have a “Night Vision” option that boosts ISO up to a mind-blowing 102400, allowing you to shoot in near-darkness. Stay tuned for the official announcement!
(via Nikon Rumors)
We may soon see an unexpected player enter the mirrorless camera market: CNET Asia is reporting that GE will be introducing a mirrorless camera by the end of this year:
[...] GE is looking to introduce its first Micro Four Thirds-like camera before the end of 2011. While no other details were revealed, it is clear that the company is hoping to be treated more seriously as a camera-maker. And with GE’s strategy focused on producing affordable cameras, it will be interesting to see how it will change the ILC industry. For consumers, this may also mean that ILCs will finally hit mainstream prices.
General Electric-branded cameras first hit the market in March 2007, and are also known by the brand name “General Imaging”. Who knows… maybe in the future they’ll be one of the dominant players in the camera market.
(via Mirrorless Rumors)
Image credit: General Electric Automatic Iron Box by Marion Doss
It seems like it’s only a matter of time before compact cameras are made to be directly connected to the cloud. According to social gadget website gdgt, Sony is currently working on a digital camera (i.e. not a smartphone) that has a built-in 3G modem that would allow users to easily upload and share photographs using popular services (e.g. Facebook, Flickr, Twitter). There would likely be some level of free service — such as a couple dozen uploads per month — after which users can pay for more use.
One of the gripes people have about smartphone photography is the fact that the devices generally have lenses and sensors inferior to compact cameras. If compact cameras were to gain things like Internet-connectivity and third-party apps, it could completely transform the way the general population uses them.
Is it time for a cloud camera? (via Engadget)
The blogosphere is abuzz today over a rumor that Canon and Apple may be planning to collaborate on an upcoming project. Craig over at Canon Rumors started it yesterday when he wrote,
I’ve received a few pieces of information about an upcoming collaboration between Apple and Canon. What that collaboration is hasn’t been spelled out to me. It could be with the upcoming Final Cut Pro 8, or maybe something more.
The story was soon picked up by blogs and magazines, with everyone trying to make guesses as to what the “secret project” might be (if there even is one). Hopefully it has to do with Aperture or something photography related, though the next version of Final Cut Pro is a likely candidate as well.
Image credit: Canon Laptop by Frank Kehren
Sony and Olympus are headed in very different directions when it comes to DSLR cameras. While Olympus may be looking to step out of the DSLR market in favor of EVIL cameras, Sony is opting to stay put while transforming its line of DSLRs into translucent mirror cameras. During a Sony event in Zaragoza, Spain, company representatives confirmed to Quesabesde that all future Alpha DSLRs will have the translucent mirrors found in the A33 and A55.
If Sony succeeds in this technology shift, it will be quite a change from the 1960s, when Canon introduced their version of the translucent mirror for film cameras but ended up going back to normal mirrors before long.
(via Photo Rumors)
Image credit: Sony Alpha DSLR-A100 and accessory by Jacky W
Apple just refreshed their line of MacBook Pro notebook computers, and one of the new features is a Thunderbolt I/O port, making the MacBook Pro the first notebook computer to have this blazing-fast interface developed by Intel (it was known as Light Peak during R&D). As the technology makes its way into more and more computers, camera makers will undoubtedly begin offering it in their cameras. Nikon Rumors recently received a rumor that the upcoming Nikon D4 will be the first DSLR camera to offer Thunderbolt.
Read more…
