At last! Panasonic S1-S1R cameras will be officially launched on January 31!!!

The long wait will be over soon! Next week and more precisely on January 31 Panasonic will announce the full S1-S1R specs! Preorders will open on the same day. Here is a roundup of the confirmed and rumored specs via L-rumors.com:

Panasonic S1
24MP
L-mount
4k60p
Dual IS (in body stabilization and in lens stabilization)
Contrast AF (DFD technology)
Industry highest resolution EVF (Rumor: Could be 5.6 milion dot)
Deep learning AI
1 XQD and 1 SD slot
3-axis tiltable LCD
100% weather sealing
High Resolution mode (eight consecutive images are captured while shifting the sensor)
HLG Photo
Ships in March
Rumor: Price around $2,000
L-rumors.com

Panasonic S1R
47MP
L-mount
4k60p
Dual IS (in body stabilization and in lens stabilization)
Contrast AF (DFD technology)
Industry highest resolution EVF (Rumor: Could be 5.6 milion dot)
Deep learning AI
1 XQD and 1 SD slot
3-axis tiltable LCD
100% weather sealing
High Resolution mode (eight consecutive images are captured while shifting the sensor)
HLG Photo
Ships in March
Rumor: Price around $4,000

Panasonic S lenses:
50mm f/1.4
24-105mm (Rumor: f/4.0)
70-200mm (Rumor: f/2.8)

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You can join the new L Full Frame Facebook group if you plan to buy this camera. There you can discuss all features and tests once it’s released!

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Pentax says the “Q development is not discontinued” and that there will be a major (mirrorless?) surprise in 2019

The new Nippon Camera magazine contains an interview with Pentax. The translation has been provided by Pentaxforums:

About their direction for 2019
They’re not the kind of company that can come out with large numbers of cameras. They plan to continue prioritizing cameras and the photographic process with customers in mind. The first topic for 2019 will be the all new GR III.

Quite a lot of the interview was about the GR III, and I’ll just refer you to the thread in the GR III, where I already posted about this. Post #499 of the following thread.
Ricoh GR III – Page 34 – PentaxForums.com

Pentax centenary
– It’s actually the centenary of the optical company that was the precursor to Pentax that celebrates it’s centenary this year.
– The actual date is in November
– They are considering how to celebrate the event, but cannot share details yet.
– They don’t think that merely putting a 100-year logo on products is what their customers are hoping for. (The implication is they will do something more)

About Q and 645
– Q has been highly valued for it’s compact size by core users. They are looking at the situation with the Q, and it is not accurate to say development in discontinued. (I think this should be taken with a pinch of salt, because in Japan, Q bodies are only available from Ricoh direct, some shops list the lenses as “production ended”, and that macro disappeared from the roadmap)
– Regarding 645, the next model is currently being considered. 645 is a very important product to the company and they are not stopping the line. (Resolute answer)

Lenses
– The interviewer mentioned that 645 users are worried about the lack of new lenses. They have not stopped development. However, for now their priority is for FF K-mount lenses.
– They have a lot of demands from full frame users, especially for lightweight tele zooms.
– They 85mm on the roadmap has been put back, but it is still coming (the strong implication is that prioritizing the tele zooms pushed back the 85mm).
– The DA* 11-18 is in the final stages of development. They expect to make an announcement before CP+.
– They are also planning a “surprise” for next year. (I take this to mean a lens not on the roadmap, because of the context of the comment)

About FF/MF mirrorless
– They expressed respect for the competing FF mirrorless systems, saying that they have many good points.
– However, they are more interested in serving their customers than following trends. They will listen to user requirements, not be swayed. (This was difficult to understand, but I think this means they are going to stick to their judgement, rather than caving in to peer pressure)
– They seem positive about Fuji’s entry into the MF market, because they think it will draw more attention to the MF market.

The K-1 upgrade
– They are proud of their achievement in clearing the logistical hurdles to making this possible.
– The reaction has been positive.
– (I can’t understand what they say about noise reduction, but it seems that they are aware that opinion is divided on the approach to noise reduction in the K-1 mark II)

The SDK
– They haven’t seen much development yet, but the reaction was greater than expected. They are currently gathering information. and looking forward to what users do with it.

There will be no Fuji X-H2 this year…

There is one thing we all love about the X-H1: It is the only Fuji camera with in body stabilization.
And now to the bad news: If you hoped to get a new X-H2 in 2019 well…sorry folks…according to Fujirumors you will not geat the X-H2 this year.

I do hope Fuji has the plan to add on sensor stabilization on all their future cameras tough!

The soon to be announced Panasonic 70-200mm L-mount lens has 77mm front filter,0.92m close focus and f/2.8 aperture

L-rumors spotted this new image posted on Digitalcameraworld. This new updated prototype lens unveiled some more new details:

From its size and 77mm front filter thread, it look almost certainly to be a 70-200mm f/2.8. You can also clearly see that the closest focusing distance of the lens is 0.92m (3.02 ft).

Panasonic is rumored to announce the full specs and pricing of the S1-S1R cameras and S lenses in 1-2 weeks!

Obvious rumor: Canon to release a 100MP camera sometimes in the next years…

There is a rumor via CR where they say that Canon might introduce a new Canon EOS-R 100MP camera as early in 2020. This is a kind of very vague rumor that will obviously become true as the Megapixel race will never stop.

So rumor or not, we know this is going not only going to happen with Canon but also with Nikon, Sony and Panasonic future FF cameras too.

An example: I bet the Sony A7rIV or A9r which is likely to come sometimes in late 2019 and early 2020 or 2021 (LOL) will have a close to 100MP sensor too. Sony officially said their FE lenses can resolve 100MP resolution.

Upcoming: Olympus E-M1X announcement this week and Panasonic S1-S1R full release soon after!

 

On Jan 24 Olympus will finally announce their new E-M1X beast camera. $3,000 to get all the tech Olympus can offer:

  • Effective Resolution 20.4 megapixels
  • Continuous Shooting Speed 18 fps
  • 50 MP Handheld High Res shot functionality. Building on the HiRes innovation on the E-M1 MK II where a tripod was required, the E-M1X can now take a 50mp HiRes shot handheld. Using a tripod it can now produce 80mp images.
  • World’s best Image stabilization: In combination with a M.Zuiko IS PRO lens, this technology enables the 5-axis sync IS to compensate for approx. 7.5 shutter speed steps.
  • Totally new AF system with various AF target modes and settings and intelligent subject tracking.
  • With locked AF, the E-M1X features high-speed sequential shooting at a maximum of 60 fps to capture split-second moments that the human eye cannot see. With AF/AE tracking, a maximum of 18 fps may be reached.
  • Key OM-D Movie video capabilities: 4K and C4K, OM-Log400, Different levels of IS, 120 fps high-speed shooting in Full HD
  • Anti-flicker shooting capabilities
  • Integrated field sensors to add detailed metadata to pictures and video
  • Live ND feature for slow shutter effects without an external filter.
  • Dust, splash, & freezeproof. Weatherproofing maintained even when connecting microphone, earphone or remote control cable
  • Integrated field sensors to add detailed metadata to pictures and video
  • Two UHS-II SD card slots for high-speed responsiveness
  • Two batteries in innovative cartridge system and USB charging capabilities
  • The sensor dust reduction system now features an improved Super Sonic Wave Filter (SSWF) with a special coating which vibrates 30,000 times per second further reducing the possibility of dust or dirt ruining photos and equipment by factor 10
  • Capture up to 2,580 images before having to recharge. Featuring USB Power Delivery (USB-PD) from up to 100 W power sources, both batteries in the camera body can be fully charged in approximately two hours
  • A new Wi-Fi capture allows tethered shooting without a cable and makes it possible to transfer images wirelessly to a computer with the Olympus
  • Weight 997g
  • Body (WxHxD) 144.4 x 146.8 x 75.4mm
  • Price £2,799, available April

And few days later Panasonic will at last give us the full S1-S1R specs and preorder options!