In Korea there is a new rumor about the next Samsung flasgship smartphone camera featuring a new 150MP sensor. Sammobile.com translated the rumor:

Samsung may be developing a new 150-megapixel sensor for flagship phones, according to a fresh rumor passed along via Twitter. It claims that the sensor has a footprint of around 1 inch and that it uses the same Nonacell technology that was employed by the Galaxy S20 Ultra’s ISOCELL Bright HM1 sensor.

The rumor further suggests that Xiaomi will be the first third-party company to utilize the 150MP shooter in one of its flagship phones scheduled to be unveiled in Q4 2020. Other companies including Oppo and Vivo will supposedly employ the module in the first quarter of 2021. They’ll pair the sensor with the unannounced Qualcomm Snapdragon 875 chipset which will presumably beat at the heart of their premium models.

Nonacell is seemingly reviving the race for more pixels

Now, since the sensor is said to rely on Nonacell technology, it should combine nine pixels into one to achieve higher light absorption. And because the sensor is said to have a resolution of 150-megapixels, the final shots should technically have a pixel count of around 16MP, as opposed to the ISOCELL Bright HM1 sensor which delivers 12MP shots.

It’s interesting to see how this camera technology is giving Samsung a real incentive to aim for a higher pixel count for its sensors. For the most part, the race for more pixels had slowly died off in recent years, but the introduction of Nonacell is seemingly reviving that philosophy, even though it may be doing so for different technical reasons.

Samsung could be creating this sensor specifically for its clients in China; in other words, there’s no way to be certain that the Korean giant will use the same exact sensor in one of its future flagship phones such as the Galaxy Note 20 or Galaxy S21. But a variation of it, at least, is likely to be developed for Samsung’s own purposes.

This MP race will never end…

Fujirumors reports that Fuji scrapped the X-E line and there will be no new X-E4 model. Finally Fuji landed on planet earth and just like all other companies is starting to realize that it’s pointless to have a zillion of camera lines :)

CanonWatch is starting to hear whispers about a possible new crazy 150MP Canon EOS-R camera. This camera surely would be a headline grabber and attract the curiosity of the photography community. I am pretty sure Sony is working on a 100+ MP camera too that may become the future Sony A7rV.

Does it make sense to have 150MP images? Of course not….but who cares :)

Here is the list copied from CanonWatch about the possible next nine RF lenses:

• Canon RF 24-105mm f/4-7.1 IS STM (already confirmed)
• Canon RF 100-500mm f/4.5-7.1L IS USM (already confirmed)
• Canon RF 1.4x Extender (already confirmed)
• Canon RF 2.0x Extender (already confirmed)
• Canon RF 10-24mm f/4L
• Canon RF 35mm f/1.2L (rumor)
• Canon RF 50mm f/1.8 MACRO IS STM (rumor)
• Canon RF 85mm f/1.8 IS STM
• Canon RF 70-135mm f/2L ​​​

Rumored lenses via CR

CanonWatch reports two new rumors:

The Canon EOS M5 Mark II (all rumors) might be announced later this year, in October 2020. Along with the EOS M5 Mark II, Canon could also announce an EF-M 52mm f/2 STM lens and an EF-M 18-45mm f/2-4 IS STM lens (a new kit lens I guess). The EOS M5 Mark II should have IBIS and 4K video.

And:

The Canon PowerShot G9 X Mark III might be announced soon. According to the source, the PowerShot G9 X Mark III might have the following specifications:

• 20.1mp
• DIGIC 8
• 4x zoom
• 4K@30p
• FHD @ 120p

The official X-T4 countdown page

We got two upcoming announcements:

1. Today Sony will announce the 20mm f/1.8 at 15:00 London time
2. Tomorrow Fuji will announce the Fuji-XT4 at 5:00 London time

The Sony announcement is definitely the most exciting event :)

We got a double leak:

1) The Fujifilm EF-W1 wireless commander has been registered at the Indonesian radio agency here and here – via nokishita

2) The full English X-T4 press text go leaked:

The X-T4 uses the back-illuminated 26.1MP X-Trans CMOS 4 sensor and a high-speed image processing engine, the X-Processor 4. Combined with FUJIFILM’s colour reproduction technology, the X-T4 delivers a wide variety of options so you can recreate a scene exactly as you remember it.

IBIS provides 5-axis 6.5 stop image stabilisation when used with 18 out of 29 XF / XC lenses. It offers many new components, including new materials to the base part, a refined layout of the shutter’s shock-absorbing structure and newly developed gyro sensors that boast approx. 8 times the detection accuracy of the IBIS unit in the X-H1. This particular mechanism assists night photography and sports photography, and also helps video recording in situations prone to camera shake. The new IBIS unit uses magnetic force rather than springs, which boosts functionality while making it approx. 30% smaller and 20% lighter than X-H1’s image stabilisation mechanism.

Thanks to newly developed high-torque coreless DC motor, the ultra-fast focal plane shutter has the capability to shoot up to world’s fastest 15fps in burst mode, and has advanced response performance with a shutter release lag of just 0.035 seconds. The shutter unit also boasts double the durability with 300,000 actuations and offers shutter noise approx. 30% quieter compared to the X-T3.

The 1.62 mil dots vari-angle monitor allows for more creative and versatile shooting styles.
The LCD/EVF can be boosted in three different ways, Low Light Priority – allowing users to see the subject clearly in low light, Resolution Priority – displaying even the fine details of your subject and Frame Rate Priority which minimises blur in the viewfinder when shooting a moving subject. The eyecup now has a locking mechanism to prevent tearing or dislodgement.
The Boost / Normal modes are now joined by the Economy mode, which saves the power to increase the battery life.

The X-T4 features “ETERNA Bleach Bypass” a new Film Simulation mode, that uses FUJIFILM’s unique technology to provide versatile colour tones. The new mode simulates “bleach bypass,” which is a traditional processing technique for silver halide films; creating images with low saturation and high contrast for a special atmosphere.
Highlight and shadow tones from -2 to +4 can now be adjusted by 1/2 stops, instead of 1 stop, allowing for finer tonality, and White Balance now has “White Priority” and “Ambience Priority” options in addition to “AUTO.” The “White Priority” mode reproduces a stronger white, while the “Ambience Priority” produces a warmer tone.
When “RAW” is selected, users now choose the non-reversible “Compressed” option in addition to the reversible “Lossless Compressed.”

A new algorithm and phase detection AF’s processing capability has led to autofocus performance as fast as 0.02 seconds. This ensures that users can capture and track a subject moving at high speed, especially when combined with the continuous shooting performance of 15fps in post view and 8fps in live view.
Tracking AF performance has also undergone serious enhancement. The tracking success rate has been doubled compared to the X-T3. The Face / Eye AF performance has also been dramatically improved. This enhanced tracking ability has made focusing and taking portraits even easier than ever before.

The X-T4 is capable of recording Full HD high-speed video at 240P, producing up to 10x slow-motion effect. IBIS is effective when combined with the electronic image stabilization function (DIS) for use in the video mode, and brings even more image stabilisation, which is essential for users shooting video whilst walking.
The “IS (Image Stabilisation) Boost” mode mitigates gentle camera shakes, enabling stabilised fixed-point video recording without a tripod.
The stills and video modes now have separate menus and the video-only Quick Menu (Q Menu) button has enhanced the camera’s simplicity while recording video. A ”Movie optimised control” function has been introduced; users can adjust exposure with the command dial as well as the touchscreen panel. With this function, user can switch the STILL / MOVIE mode dial on the top panel to swiftly shift into video recording with stored video settings.
Video in the same format can be recorded on to two SD cards at the same time as backup. And the F-Log View Assist function has been added to correct low-saturation / low-contrast video while recording F-Log. Video is converted equivalent to BT.709 for display to make it easier to attain correct exposure in video recording.
The “Fix movie crop magnification” function fixes the video crop rate to prevent changes in the angle of view when switching to a different video mode. An “MIC jack setting” on the camera can be switched input level between MIC level and LINE level. The camera supports external microphones as well as LINE level input from external audio equipment.

via Fujirumors