The leaked Panasonic GF5

We had a good new product announcement start in 2012 with the new Olympus E-M5 and Fuji X PRO 1 cameras. And within the next two weeks also Panasonic, Sony and Samsung will announce new mirrorless cameras and lenses. In Early April I expect the announcement of the new Panasonic GF5, a new m43 Panasonic camcorder a new Sony NEX-F3, a new NEX camcorder, probably a new NEX lens and finally the new Samsung NX-20. Of course there is still room for more surprises (maybe a Nikon 1 high end model?). And on May 10 the new product release party will continue with the highly expected Leica announcement. I really hope the B&W sensor rumor is true. But than I have to go back to reality and admit that even if a camera like that will appear I expect the price to be insanely high. Would love if Sony, Samsung, Nikon or the m43 partners would put a sensor like that on a cheaper camera!

Image on top: A Canon mirrorless concept design (not a real camera!)

I guess nobody is surprised to hear via Canonrumors that “Canon’s foray into the mirrorless world will begin in August with an announcement“. Canon is continually patenting mirrorless stuff like adapters (Click here for example) and lenses (Click here for example). Last year Masaya Maeda, head of Canon’s camera division said “We are considering the technical aspects…We will launch an interesting product next year (aka 2012)“.

The only question is how Canon will make a difference from the other mirrorless cameras. Nikon tried his way with a smaller sensor. Fuji opted for a high quality hybrid viewfinder and APS-C sensor. Sony makes super small cameras and large lenses. I re-post an interview from Impressjapan with Canon talking about the mirrorless philosophy. This may help you to guess better what’s coming from Canon:

– Will you be releasing a mirrorless camera?
Well, the C300 is mirrorless; just very big. But as for a real mirrorless, we will look at the market this coming year in order to make the best decision.

– When you say “look at the market”, are you concerned that mirrorless cameras would affect DSLR sales?
No, just that when you look at the current mirrorless systems and how they are used, there are many different approaches.

– For instance?
For mirrorless cameras, being able to change lenses is certainly a big merit. But you have to wonder, are interchangeable lenses really the only point of mirrorless cameras, considering the added size for the lens mount? When you’re taking pictures, a standard camera size is fine, but when you’re not…

– Right, they’re still quite big.
And on either side, we are challenging ourselves to make DSLRs that are smaller, and compacts that have better image quality. So you have to ask if a mirrorless product is really necessary to fill the narrowing gap. Of course, we are more than capable of making a mirrorless camera, if we decide to.

– So you think current mirrorless cameras overlap DSLR and compact markets?
Right.

– But that doesn’t mean you wouldn’t release a mirrorless that overlaps other markets, right? You mentioned you want to release a mirrorless in 2012.
Well, we want to release a mirrorless next year. But next year, the other markets will also change: there will probably be smaller DSLRs and compacts with greater image quality, which might eat into the mirrorless market.

In short, as the quotations from the interview highlight:
“Do mirrorless cameras really need interchangeable lenses?”
“DSLRs and compacts might eat into mirrorless market”
“Big improvement in image quality for consumer cameras than the past year”

The online PDF is cut short, so I can’t tell if any other information was given. But it was not strictly confirmed that Canon will release a mirrorless in 2012; just that IF they decide to release a mirrorless, they want to release it next year.”

Now start with your guesses! :)

People is going wild about that new M10 camera! It will very likely have a Full Frame Black and White sensor with no Anti Aliasing filter, super sharpness and resolution and what matters more a much greater dynamic range which is even more fundamental for Black and White photography. Under the very unreliable rumors that are floating around the web the most interesting two are:

1) The new M10 will use a new Sony Black and White sensor. Kodak is out of the business and Sony is known for making FF cameras for third party companies.

2) Ricoh will be somehow involved in the production of parts of the new cameras. Apparently Leica production capability is that much limited that they made an agreement with Ricoh for the production of the new Leica M10 product.

Don’t know yet if those rumors are correct or not but this is going to be an exciting camera. I was dreaming of a Black and White sensor for a very long time now….and you?

It’s hard to keep up with all those X PRO 1 reviews. There are already three new full tests! Overall all reviewers are extremely happy with the delivered image quality and all do agree that the major “weakness” is the autofocus and the high price for the body:

1) Trustedreviews (Click here): “While it doesn’t come cheap, the X-Pro1 is a serious bit of kit that is sure to reward those who invest in one.” The camera earns 10/10 points!

2) Techradar (Click here): “The images from the Fuji X-Pro1 are superb. They may not have quite the detail that some full-frame cameras are capable of capturing, but they can beat these bigger beasts for dynamic range and noise control.“

3) Photographyblog (Click here): “It’s great to see another manufacturer join the compact system camera revolution and bring something truly innovative to the party, so if the Fujifilm X-Pro1 suits your way of shooting and your budget, we have no hesitation at all in highly recommending it.“

—

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 dutch magazine Focusmedia (Click here – via PR) posted a set of image sampels and specs.

•   20.3 megapixel APS-C CMOS sensor
•   8 fps continuous drive, shutter 1/6000e
•   i-Function 2.0, Wi-Fi
•   1080p Full HD video capability
• 3.0-inch VGA AMOLED screen tilt
•   Built-in flash and electronic viewfinder
•   ISO 100-12800

Image of the invitation from Steve Huff

Steve Huff just got a special invitation from Leica for a new event on May 10th. Leica says a “whole range of new product” will be launched. Steve says that the date itself suggests that the M10 could be launched. Leica is also working on a new mirrorless system with electronic viewfinder and maybe they are going to announce that too. That is going to be intriguing. Let’s hope leaks will arrive soon!

Real or not this is the very last rumor floating around the chines XITEK forum. While I am pretty sure the NEX-F3 rumor the rest could be a “fake” guess. Anyway, I hope the rumor is real because I like that rumored Full Frame NEX-9 :)

Sony NEX roadmap:
NEX the F3, C3, an upgraded version, 2012 (March)
NEX 5G, 18.3 million pixels, as the upgrade version of 5N 2012 (September)
Full Frame NEX in late 2013.