ilc

Canon is celebrating its dominance of the interchangeable lens camera (ILC) market, as it says it has been the top dog for 20 consecutive years.

Ordinarily, it is the end-of-year results that are the most interesting as they provide a picture of how the year has gone and what the outlook for the next year is. However, with this report, Canon has confirmed three critically important aspects of the camera market which gives it increased confidence going forward.

Hong Kong-based camera manufacturer NONS has announced the SL660, an interchangeable lens camera that accepts Canon EF lenses and shoots to Fujifilm Instax square instant film.

Canon has filed a patent for a new "image pickup-up device and adjustment mechanism" that appears to be a high-powered clip-on-style telephoto camera accessory for smartphones.

Canon has patented a handheld camera that combines a design reminiscent of the DJI Osmo (now called the OM) with its RF lenses and a rotating hinge. The flipping lens hinge is described as making it much easier to switch between forward-facing and selfie views.

A Hong Kong-based company called "NONS" has created a M42-mount ILC that can be used to shoot Fujifilm Instax Mini film. They're calling it the world's first M42 mount SLR instant camera, and it allows shooters to pair easy-to-find Fuji Instax film with much-beloved (and often very cheap) classic M42 lenses.

Talk of a Canon full-frame mirrorless camera has been swirling around the rumor mill for years, but if you were expecting a full frame ILC to arrive any time soon, the latest rumors are going to disappoint you on both counts.

Ricoh last night unveiled the newest camera in its portable Q-Series line of mirrorless shooters: the Pentax Q-S1. The new camera is beautiful, and extremely customizable in that regard, but if you were hoping for serious hardware improvements, you might be left wanting.

Samsung is reaching out to the smartphone generation today with the release of its thinnest and lightest interchangeable lens compact yet. Actually, to be more accurate, they're reaching out to the smartphone generation with the thinnest and lightest ILC EVER: the NX Mini.

In about a month's time we might have a new contender for world's thinnest interchangeable lens camera. Leaked images and specs from earlier today indicate that Samsung is working on a new camera dubbed the NX mini, and this cam is going to be tiny indeed.

The camera industry is turning into a two-tier market, with Canon, Nikon and Sony DSLRs at the top, smartphones at the bottom and nothing in the middle, according to a recent Reuters report that finds little traction for mid-tier camera makers counting on mirrorless to save the day.

GoPro cameras may be ready to migrate from helmets to film schools thanks to the Ribcage, an in-development assembly that allows the tiny action cams to be outfitted with interchangeable lenses.

Canon's first mirrorless camera, the EOS M, received mixed reviews when it first hit the market, mainly because of its slow autofocus. Canon is hoping to address those concerns with the newly-announced EOS M2, but it looks like this one might not even make it to the US or Europe.

We're losing count of all the new gear announced in October so far, but one thing's for sure: if you have G.A.S. you're in serious trouble. Now joining Nikon's D5300, Sony's a7 and a7R, Panasonic's GM1 and more are two fresh cameras from the Fujifilm camp: the X-E2 and XQ1.

We told you about the upcoming Panasonic GM1 back in September when the rumors first surfaced, but now we have the first leaked photos of the camera that intends to claim the title of "world's smallest interchangeable lens camera" without compromising on quality.

It's hard to look at  the spec sheet on the upcoming Sony A7 and A7r mirrorless compacts and not be impressed. With a 36 MP full-frame sensor (on the A7r), compact body, interchangeable lens system, and a price tag that undercuts most full-frame DSLR's by a good margin, some will be tempted to call it the perfect camera on its expected announcement date of October 16th.

A few might agree with that sentiment, but a better way to look at Sony's newest wunderkind is as a manifestation of the trend towards diversification in the digital camera market.

For travel shooters and those looking to keep their kit light, new Interchangeable Lens Compacts (ILC) have been a major boon. But the real beneficiaries of the rise of this new system -- still less than five years old -- are the companies that make them. However, in order to maximize those benefits, manufacturers of ILCs need to establish the format as viable and resilient. For some, that means working together rather than against one another.

Let’s take a moment to reflect on mirrors. Mirrorless interchangeable lens cameras, like the Olympus Pen E-P5 or Samsung  NX300, have enjoyed increasing popularity over the past few years, and it’s become clear that they are more than a passing fad.

This motley collection of high-tech cameras filled the gap that existed between bulky DSLRs and compact cameras, but manufacturers are now starting to expand their mirrorless lineups in hopes of attracting a wider cross-section of photographers, including professionals.

Update: It seems that this rumor was off base. The latest word is that there is indeed a 2/3 sensor coming, but it will appear in a new XS2 fixed lens camera. The upcoming entry-level X-Series camera will continue to feature a APS-C-sized sensor. That makes a lot more sense.

We've heard that Fujifilm is primed to make some camera announcements this summer, and according to Digicame-Info one of those announcements may be a new entry-level X-mount mirrorless camera. The camera is expected to be announced in the summer (possibly June, according to PhotoRumors) and made available in the fall for anywhere between $550 and $700.

But it's not the price, release date, or even the existence of a potential entry-level mirrorless ILC from Fujifilm that has people talking. Instead, it's the rumor that the camera will come to market sporting a tiny 2/3-inch X-Trans CMOS sensor.

Samsung only has a couple of weeks before the rumored "sometime between January and April 2013" timeframe for an NX2000 "smart" ILC release runs out, and just on schedule, a FCC filing with a top and front schematic of the camera has come to light.

Japanese electronic industry analysis company BCN has published a new report (in Japanese) on the current landscape of the mirrorless camera industry. Using data gleaned from retailers and manufacturers over in Japan, it reports that three companies -- Olympus, Sony, and Panasonic -- account for nearly 70% of mirrorless camera sales in Japan. Nikon and Canon, both relatively late to the mirrorless game, are fourth and fifth (respectively), with a combined share of 22%.

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Pentax has just announced the Q, the world's smallest interchangeable lens camera (ILC). Unlike existing ILC cameras, which have large sensors despite their tiny bodies, the Q has a tiny 1/2.3-inch sensor that's more comparable to the sensors in point-and-shoot cameras. Thus, the Pentax Q can be considered the world's first interchangeable lens point-and-shoot camera, though it is packed with the features and manual controls found on ILCs and DSLRs.

The camera shoots 12.4MP JPEG or raw stills at up to 5fps, records 1080p video at 30fps, and offers the traditional shooting modes found on DSLRs (i.e. P, Av, Tv, M). ISO goes up to 6400, there's a 3-inch LCD on the back, and a funky onboard flash pops up in a strange way to help illuminate your photos.