It’s Canon EOS-M news day! As you know the camera is now shipping in Asia on [shoplink 100180 ebay]eBay (Click here)[/shoplink] and Amazon Japan (Click here).

And Engadget just posted the first full Canon EOS-M review: “We like the Canon EOS M — far more than we might have expected, given its mediocre performance during our hands-on — but the company’s first mirrorless ILC falls short on several fronts. Professional photographers can affix their pricey L lenses, which is nice, but the dismal focusing performance means SLRs will probably be far more appealing to these users. With the M, Canon is providing a digital camera bridge of sorts in the hopes of capturing the hearts (and wallets) of amateurs looking to step up from point-and-shoots. Indeed, this is far more versatile than what these beginners are used to, yet it’s still built on a simple interface that isn’t intimidating. Granted, this isn’t what the pros had been hoping for, but Canon’s DSLR series clearly isn’t ready to free these users from their hefty housings, leaving the company’s ever-strong professional lineup to live another day.“

Canon EOS-M preorder links:
Full presentation page on Amazon (Click here).
EOS-M Black at Amazon (Click here), Adorama (Click here) and BHphoto (Click here).
EOS-M White at BHphoto (Click here).
EOS-M 22mm pancake at Amazon (Click here), Adorama (Click here) and BHphoto (Click here).
EOS-M 15-55mm kit lens at Amazon (Click here), Adorama (Click here) and BHphoto (Click here).
EOS-M adapter at Amazon (Click here) and BHphoto (Click here).
EOS-M Flash at Amazon (Click here), Adorama (Click here) and BHphoto (Click here).

We still have to wait to see the first Full Frame interchangeable mirrorless system that is not an expensive Leica M. But meantime we can watch closely at the Sony RX1 camera that comes with that superb fixed Zeiss 35mm f/2.0 lens. Sony just posted the first Full Size image samples on Flickr (Click here). And it delivers an impressive performance. Sharpness is great through the full frame. ISO performance is also great (just look at that 6.400 ISO image here on top). Imagine of that camera would have an interchangeable mount. I bet even some Canon and Nikon user would switch over to Sony. Can’t wait to see that FF NEX-9 coming next year…

You can check the price and preorder options of the camera at Amazon, Adorama, BHphoto, Wex UK ,Wex Germany, Sonystore US, Sonystore DE–UK–FR–IT–ES–NL–SE–FI–CH, Wex UK, Wex Germany and more links at Alphacameradeals.

One of the star of the now ended Photokina show was undeniably the new Fuji X-E1. It won the Photokina Star Award (Source Fuji) and had plenty of people visiting their booths. So here is a useful roundup:

There are some new hands-on and news around the Fuji world:
Fujifilm X-E1 in comparison with Competition (youtube)
Compare the Cameras Fujifilm XE1 & X-100 (youtube)
Fujifilm X-E1 Feature Training Video (youtube)
Compare the Cameras Fujifilm XE1 & X-Pro 1 (youtube)
Match Technical Developing Thumbs Up for Fuji X-E1 at Echenique.
Fuji XF1 hands-on by Engadget.
Fuji X-E1 hands-on at Engadget.
Brandon Remler (Click here) is one of the first to show us some image samples taken with the new Fuji X-E1. He also tested the Leica 90mm Summicron on the new X-E1 (Click here to see these shots): “The camera works great with focus peeking at both 3x and 10x magnification.  The EVF is bright and sharp!”
Than we have Photokina hands-on pictures by DC.watch. XF1 first impression review at Digitalcamerainfo. Prototype X lens hands-on at Photographyblog.

Preorders:
Black Fuji X-E1 at Amazon (Click here), Adorama (Click here) and BHphoto (Click here).
Silver Fuji X-E1 at Amazon (Click here), Adorama (Click here) and BHphoto (Click here).
Black Fuji X-E1 with 18-55mm lens at Amazon (Click here), Adorama (Click here) and BHphoto (Click here).
Silver Fuji X-E1 with 18-55mm lens at Amazon (Click here), Adorama (Click here) and BHphoto (Click here).
Fuji 14mm f/2.8 lens at Amazon (Click here), Adorama (Click here) and BHphoto (Click here).
Fuji 18-55mm f/2.8-4.0 OIS lens at Amazon (Click here), Adorama (Click here) and BHphoto (Click here).

Click on the image to enlarge.

Yesterday DxOmark published the full Olympus E-M5 sensor test. DxOmark still didn’t test some cameras like the Fuji X-PRO 1 (same sensor as the new X-E1)the Samsung NX20 and the Canon EOS-M. But I stitched together all best mirrorless cameras to get an overview of the quality of the different mirrorless systems/sensors.

All we can say is that Sony sensors are on top. The Sony NEX-7 is the best ranked camera and close behind we have the Pentax K-01 (with Sony sensor). On third place the Olympus E-M5 (again Sony sensor). Of course, this alone doens’t say if a camera is good for you or not. There are many other aspects that DxOmark doens’t analyze (like resolution, Image stabilization, RAW quality and so on). So don’t be to serious when talking about these results :)

The Sigma DP2 is not and interchangeable mirrorless camera but it is one of these few cameras that are very different from the “others”. So you might be interested to see what a 45 MP Foveon sensor can deliver!

Luminous Landscape tested the camera and writes: “What we’re left with is a high quality pocketable 15MP camera that punches well above its weight; more like a 26MP camera in terms of image quality. It has some operational annoyances, but if you can get past them the overall excellence of the images that the Sigma DP2 Merrill produces will amaze and satisfy even the fussiest photographer. Sigma has finally taken Foveon technology to its long-anticipated potential, and naming this generation of cameras after inventor and founder Richard Merrill is most appropriate. Somewhere, Dick is likely smiling.“

First Impressions: Sigma DP2 Merrill (ThePhoBlographer).

A couple of months ago Sigma stated that they do not plan to launch a new interchangeable mirrorless system. I think it’s wrong. While the DP2 has many flaws the sensor is really amazing at low ISO! I think with the next version of foveon sensors they may be able to challenge any other mirrorless system.

P.S.: Sigma DP2 price and specs at Amazon and BHphoto.

Some big websites finally gave some attention to Smasung NX cameras! Here are the links to the very latest reviews:

Dpreview tested the NX210: “The NX210 is slightly let down by long buffering times in raw mode and the JPEG engine’s noise treatment at high sensitivities but overall it is a powerful photographic tool with a good feature set for its class and enjoyable to use.“

Also Cnet USA tested the NX210: “I like the NX210; I enjoy shooting with it. But I think there are too many confusing choices for automatic operation, and the JPEG quality needs to be better.“

Sansmirror tested the NX1000: “A very competent camera that keeps (most) things simple and straightforward. There’s little to fault and much to praise here. Other than the clunkiness of the WiFi add-on and the fact that the iFn button seems more gimmicky than useful, this is a very strong contender for a basic mirrorless camera. “

German Samsung NX20 review at Cnet.de. NX100 test at ePhotozine.

Now let’s see if Samsung will finally release some explosive new NX stuff at Photokina…. I am talking about the nice protype images they showed us once!

A couple of weeks ago Ken Rockwell said that the Canon EOS-M is the first professional mirrorless camera. Now we will hear the exact opposite form another blogger :) Kirk Tuck says that “Canon missed the whole point”. He writes that the EOS-M “is basically a re-do of their boring G1X bloated compact camera but without the swivel screen, without the pop-up flash and without even the benefit of a creepy, point 85 plastic optical viewfinder.  So you actually get a lot less stuff but the same performance for the same basic price point?  And this makes sense to rational photographers? How?“

You can choose who is right. I think Canon released a nice camera, at least it’s a lot more competitive than the Nikon 1 if you consider the price-features balance. But I am sure Nikon is ready to answer them soon!

P.S.: Hands-on at ThePhoBlographer and  Trendy Nikkei (japanese). Mirrorless camera (pre-)order rankings at Amazon (Click here).

Canon EOS-M preorder links:
Full presentation page on Amazon (Click here).
EOS-M Black at Amazon (Click here), Adorama (Click here) and BHphoto (Click here).
EOS-M White at BHphoto (Click here).
EOS-M 22mm pancake at Amazon (Click here), Adorama (Click here) and BHphoto (Click here).
EOS-M 15-55mm kit lens at Amazon (Click here), Adorama (Click here) and BHphoto (Click here).
EOS-M adapter at Amazon (Click here) and BHphoto (Click here).
EOS-M Flash at Amazon (Click here), Adorama (Click here) and BHphoto (Click here).