Pentax K-01 is almost as good as the Sony NEX-7.

DxOmark (CLick here) just published the full Pentax K-01 sensor test. The camera uses the same K-5 sensor which by the way is made by Sony. And the results are very good positioning the K-05 as second best mirrorless camera ever right behind the NEX-7. I really cannot fell in love with that camera design but I have been a Pentax K10 user for a long time and really like their usability and image quality. So I am not surprised to see a result like that.

The K-01 is in Stock status check via [shoplink ‘Pentax K-01’].

First leaked Samsung NX210 image sample and new full Canon G1X review.

Our friend Peter from Photorumors just “found” that image sample taken with the Samsung NX210. It has been taken at ISO 800 but sadly there is no full size copy that can be analyzed. So it isn’t really helpful after all. But he also got an interesting tibits. Samsung delayed the NX20 release after seeing the Sony NEX-7. They needed more time to improve the Electronic Viewfinder.

One more thing: Dpreview (Click here) just posted the full Canon G1 X review. The camera earns a Silver Award: “Overall, the G1 X is an excellent camera for some but not for everyone. If you are aware of its shortcomings.“

Voigtländer Bessa R3A review.

This is a Mirrorless website but who said I would post digital stuff only? I am glad to finally link to a film camera review :)  My friend Carl Garrard (Click here) tested the [shoplink ‘Voigtländer Bessa R3A’ ebay]Voigtländer Bessa R3A (here ot find on eBay)[/shoplink]: “The Bessa R3A is comfortable well built, feature packed (for a film camera) and has the competition beat in some of its specifications for a much lower price. There’s nothing chincy on the Bessa R3a for near $700.00, and when you compare this camera to a Leica or Zeiss rangefinder you might wonder why you’d want to spend more money on those cameras with the Leica M mount.“

Nice camera and unlike Digital Cameras this will last for your long life time!

New Mirrorless reviews and news

Here is a short recap of some mirrorless related news of the week:

Canon G1X versus Panasonic GX1 test at DCfever (Click here).
Canon G1 X exhibits light leak / internal reflection (Imaging Resource).
Samsung NX200 review at Imaging Resource (Click here).
Canon G1X review at DCresource (Click here).
Canon G1X image samples at Photographyreview (Click here).
Samsung considering Android based camera (Engadget).
Olympus E-M5 video at Quesabesde (Click here).
Ricoh will release the A16 24-85mm f/3.5-5.5 on March 23th (DSRLcamera)
Samsung NX200 review at DigitalPhotographySchool (Click here).

Fuji X PRO 1 versus Olympus E-M5 test.

It’s easy to guess that the new Fuji X PRO 1 has a better image quality than the new Olympus E-M5. Now the chinese testers at DCfever (Click here) are showing us for the first time how great the difference is. Just click on the image below to enlarge the ISO test:

Suprised? The X PRO 1 is way better. But this deoesn’t mean it is a better camera than the E-M5. The E-M5 is a lot cheaper and has many “mature” features like the super fast AF and 5 axis stabilization. You cna rpeorder the X PRO 1 (Click here) and the E-M5 (Click here) at Amazon.

Fuji in Stock at Jessops, shipping at Amazon and reviewed by LL.

For the first time the X PRO 1 is in Stock in UK at Jessops (Click here). And it is now temporarily out of Stock at Amazon US (Click here). This means the first stocks are shipping :)

Nick Devlin posted the second part of his X PRO 1 review at Luminous Landscape (Click here): “This camera can see in the dark. Its performance up to ISO 6400 is nothing short of remarkable, in particular for an APS-C sensor. This is the first camera I have used where ISO is just not an issue.” He really fell in love with the image quality and hybrid viewfinder but also found some flaws like the not so top performer 18mm lens and the usual slow autofocus.

All new Fuji X lenses tested by ePhotozine.

We already know almost everything about the new X PRO 1. But how good are the X lenses? That question has been now answered by the reviewer team from ePhotozine:

1) Fujifilm Fujinon XF 18mm f/2 R Lens Review (Click here to read it): “Optically this lens is capable of delivering superb clarity in the central portion of the frame when stopped down a little. It is a shame that sharpness levels drop off towards the edges of the frame, and doubly so that this optic suffers from noticeable chromatic fringing towards the edges of the frame. Even with this lens’ imperfections, it is a pleasure to use, so long as its weaknesses are taken into consideration.“

2) Fujifilm Fujinon XF 35mm f/1.4 R Lens Review (Click here to read it): “With this lenses ability to deliver extremely sharp images, it should win many fans amongst users of this new camera system.“

3) Fujifilm Fujinon XF 60mm f/2.4 R Macro Lens Review (Click here to read it): “Sharpness is excellent from corner to corner, CA is pretty much non-existent, and other optical problems like distortion and falloff are also very well controlled. Unfortunately those wishing to use this lens primarily for macro work may find the issue with internal reflections a little too frustrating. The price is about right for the excellent build quality and features, but this lens will really sell itself on its near-perfect optical performance.“

In Summary the “weakest” lens is the 18mm f/2.0. The other two are very close to perfection. Now let’s hope Fuji will announce the other lenses soon! I am particularly interested in that rumored 14mm f/1.4 lens that could arrive this year :)

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The Fuji X PRO 1 camera can be preordered:
in USA/Canada at Amazon (Click here), Adorama (Click here), Bhphoto (Click here), Epxansys US (Click here) and Expansys Canada (Click here).
in Europe at Jessops UK (Click here), eBay Italy (Click here) and Expansys UK (Click here).
in Asia at Amazon Japan (Click here) and eBay Japan (Click here).

The Fuji X 18mm f/2.0 can be preordered:
in USA/Canada at Amazon (Click here), Adorama (Click here), Bhphoto (Click here).
in Asia at Amazon Japan (Click here).

The Fuji X 35mm f/1.4 can be preordered:
in USA/Canada at Amazon (Click here), Adorama (Click here), Bhphoto (Click here).
in Asia at Amazon Japan (Click here).

The Fuji X 60mm f/2.4 macro can be preordered:
in USA/Canada at Amazon (Click here), Adorama (Click here), Bhphoto (Click here).