Welcome to the new MirrorlessRumors theme!

After many months of work and lot of issues to solve our first beta of the new MirrorlessRumor theme is online.

The first thing you have to know is that this isn’t just a redesign. We completely rethinked the way a rumor site should work!

What I learned from these years on MirrorlessRumors is that:

1) There are many mirrorless camera owners that have the knowledge and passion to share interesting news. They can finally do that directly without having to contact the administrators!

2) For me (the admin) it is impossible to be online 24h per day. And with your help I can avoid to miss important news or rumors. This will keep the site always up to date.

That’s why:

From now on this becomes a community where everyone can post directly news and rumors! To do so you are kindly invited to become a member of this site. Check out what you can do by clicking on the Member Panel you see on top right of the site (it shows only after your registration and login).

 

How it works and what you can do:

1) You can submit articles that will be reviewed by our admins (for now this is just…me). If approved they will get online.

2) You can comment articles

3) You will get votes for approved posts (100 points) and 1 point for every like on your posts or comments (or -1 point if someone dislikes)

4) If you want and I can trust you…than you can ask to become an admin. As admin you can write posts without my moderation and review other members articles.

 

What do you gain by joining the community?

1) You can promote your work, your sites and let the community know who you are! You are free to write post and link back to your Blog and Portfolios. Use MR to get known!

2) Less trolls. Now only approved members can comment and heavy trolls will be first warned and eventually kicked out if they don’t follow the very basic rules of respect.

…and many more “reasons” to join will be online soon!

 

Remember:

This is just a very early beta. We need to launch the site as it is to check out if everything works fine before we do keep adding features. So please, join the site, try the features and I hope you will like what we have done so far!

 

Thanks a lot!

Peter, Andrea, Ale, Doug, Patrick, Stefan

 

P.S.: today there will be problems with signup from facebook and twitter until the domain propagates well.

 

 

Leica will launch a high quality system camera based on their own mount.

A fake mirrorless Leica render by leicarumors.

 

It’s really not a surprise but at least we can confirm it via our own very trusted sources. Leica’s new mirrorless system will not be part of any current mount. Leica has chosen to go their own route and will offer their very own mount. The cameras will be built by Panasonic and what remains to be answered yet is if Panasonic will join the system with their own branded cameras too. I think it would be good for Leica to have them onboard. it could be a remake of the Oly-Pana partnership that made MFT that successful. But I still think the chances stay very low for this. Probably Leica want to give away their “exclusive” character?  

Canon EOS-M2 quietly announced in Japan only.

Canon decided to announce the EOS-M2 in Japan only (for now). The real new big feature is the 2.3 times faster AF thanks to the Hybrid CMOS AF II system. It also solves the black out screen issue from the previous model. It will cost 64,800 yen which is around $620 and ship this month already (in Japan). Here is a size comparison between the EOS-M (left) and the new EOS-M2 (right):

More pictures here (Click on them to enlarge): Images via Engadget Japan.    

X-PRO1s coming first half of 2014?

If the rumor posted by Fujirumors is correct than we will get two new X-mount cameras soon. The Fujica styled camera and the Fuji X-PRO1s. Easy to guess that the XPRo1 will use the same X100s tech (speak EVF, AF and so on). There is still no info about that Full Frame and fixed lens Fuji that will be announced in 2014. But this could be the big Fuji camera surprise at Photokina in September. And maybe it will be the first camera with organic sensor too?

Rumor/news roundup: Five Zeiss FE manual lenses. Olympus PRO lens delay. E-M1 and Fuji fw updates.

 

Image ont op shows some general Zeiss lenses.

Have to catch up with some bigger news:

Rumors:
Really amazing. Zeiss will launch five manual focusing E-mount Full Frame lenses at Photokina 2014 (Source: SonyAlphaRumors).
Olympus 40-150mm PRO zoom coming second half of 2014 (Source: 43rumors).

Firmware:
Fuji is going to release a massive firmware upgrade (Source: Fujirumors).
New Olympus E-M1 firmware update (Source: 43urmors).

 

 

New Pentax 08 wide zoom Q-mount lens.

Today Pentax announced the release of a new Q-mount wide anle zoom. It’s the smallest and lightest ultra-wide angle zoom of any mirrorless system. It’s 17.5mm-27mm (FF equivalent) and has a f/3.7-4 aperture.

Press text:

RICOH IMAGING U.K LTD. is pleased to announce the launch of the PENTAX-08 WIDE ZOOM ultra-wide-angle zoom lens, designed exclusively for use with super-compact Q-mount digital lens-interchangeable cameras.

The latest model in the high-performance Q-mount lens series, the PENTAX-08 WIDE ZOOM is the world’s smallest, and lightest ultra-wide-angle zoom lens on the market.* When mounted on the PENTAX Q7 camera body, it provides focal-length coverage from 17.5mm to 27mm (in 35mm format), making it suitable for a wide variety of subjects including snapshots, architecture and sweeping landscapes.

* The world’s smallest, and lightest ultra-wide-angle zoom lens with a focal length of 20mm (in 35mm format) or shorter at its wide-angle end, as of November 1, 2013 (based on RICOH IMAGING research).

Major Features

1. Super-compact, ultra-lightweight design

The incorporation of three molded-glass aspherical elements in its optics, means that this zoom lens has the shortest overall length (approximately 38mm) in the Q-mount zoom lens range and features a super-compact body weighing a mere 75g. With its pocket size and unique focal-length coverage from 17.5mm to 27mm in 35mm format (with a Q7 camera body), it can be used for a wide range of subjects and applications — especially for  shooting in confined spaces where the subject is close to the camera, and for scenic photography with exaggerated perspectives. Its machined-aluminium barrel cam assures a smooth, comfortable zooming operation.

2. Exceptional visual description

The incorporation of a moulded-glass DSA (Dual Super Aspherical) element in the first optical group means this lens reduces distortion to a minimum. By incorporating two ED (Extra-low Dispersion) glass elements and one super-low-dispersion glass element in its optics, it delivers clear, high-resolution images with edge-to-edge sharpness, while effectively compensating for chromatic aberration over the entire zoom range.

3. Other features

  • Inner-focus mechanism for high-speed, low-noise AF operation

  • Quick-Shift Focus system for instant switching to manual-focus operation after the subject is captured in focus by the camera’s AF system

  • SP (Super Protect) coating to keep the front surface free of dust and stains

  • Built-in lens shutter equipped with an ND (neutral density) filter and an iris diaphragm

RRP: £429.99
Availability: TBA

What’s up with Samsung, Canon and Nikon?

Sony, Olympus, Panasonic and Fuji are fully pushing their mirrorless system while big companies and Samsung, Canon and Nikon seem to not have a clear vision about their future strategy. This is the situation:

Samsung: They should announced the NX20 successor in January-February. In general Samsung will focus on new High End Camera and Lens products.

Nikon: The Nikon 1 system isn’t selling as expected and the future seems uncertain. With the new Nikon DF announcement they once again confirm that DSLR is their present and future strategy. There is no rumor about any APS-C or FF mirrorless camera release in 2014.

Canon: DPP (Digital Photo Professional) already had listed the EOS-M2 but it seems like Canon is delaying the camera release. Like Nikon also Canon sees the mirrorless camera industry as a “non-serious” market.

Of the three companies Samsung is the only company really investing and believing in mirrorless. But it looks like they still didn’t find the way to make their system successful.