Also Ricoh will join the large sensor compact camera market!

Image credit: Ricoh GR Digital IV by matsuyuki

 

PetaPixel just published an info we also got from our sources last week. Ricoh will launch a new GR Digital V camera with large APS-C sensor and fixed lens. The camera is rumored to arrive the second half of this year. I am still not sure about the lens but a source told me it’s definitely one of the two patented 23mm f/2.5 and 27mm f/1.9 designs (Source: RiceHigh).

The high end compact camera marked is the last profitable business on fixed lens cameras. All the low end stuff is being eaten up by smartphones.

MFT family grows (5 new companies join). And new Olympus camera in Spring.

Micro Four Thirds is dead…long live Micro Four Thirds!

The MFT system is now five years old and despite all the strong competition from Sony, Nikon, Canon, Samsung and others it is still the most popular and complete mirrorless system. And the group of companies supporting it just became bigger with the entries of Blackmagic Design Ltd, JK Imaging Ltd, Photron Ltd, SVS-VISTEK GmbH, View Plus Inc. (Source: Olympus Japan). The one you know best is certainly Blackmagic while JK Imaging shake the last week with their announcement of a Kodak branded MFT camera.

Enough talking…what about real new products? Olympus is rumored to release a new semi professional MFT camera and a new fast zoom for Spring. And the upcoming CP+ show is not the place Olympus has choose to announce it. So sleep well these days, there will be no amazing announcement yet as Panasonic, Samsung, Canon and maybe Sony too will announce new stuff in March-April only.

 

Fuji postpones fw updates for the X cameras to fix an error…

Let’s catch up with some important Fuji news. First, it sounds almost unbelievable but Fuji claims that the new X20 compact camera with tiny 2/3 inch sensor outperforms the much larger Sony RX100 sensor quality and even the 12 Megapixel MFT sensor! And the graph on top is here to “prove” it. It has been shown at a presentation in Barcelona and our friends fromQuesabesde (translation here) picked it up.

For a short time Fuji UK (Click here to see the cached site) showed the info about new X cameras and lens firmware updates. The page has than been removed and release postponed because of an error that should be fixed soon. While you have to wait for the official release you may check out the latest two articles from Fuji “Guru” Rico Pfirstinger :)
Decoding XF18-55mmF2.8-4 R LM OIS (on Fujirumors)
Using the XF14mmF2.8 R (on Fujirumors)

And here as a reminder the nfw update info:
Fujifilm X-Pro1 – firmware version: 2.03 Changes:
* Allows compatibility with the new “XF14mmF2.8R” lens.
* Improved performance of Auto Focus under various shooting conditions.
Fujifilm X-E1 – firmware version: 1.04 Changes:
* Allows compatibility with the new “XF14mmF2.8R” lens.
* Shutter release button now works when an external remote release is connected.
* Improved performance of Auto Focus under various shooting conditions.
* Audio performance has been optimised for the new Stereo Microphone MIC-ST1 (sold separately).
FUJINON XF35mm – firmware version: 2.02 Change:
* Improved accuracy of Auto Focus performance.

Metamaterial camera needs no lens…you can’t go more mirrorless than that :)

We all like mirrorless cameras but I never thought we could go so far to also get rid of the glass of the lens to take images. Engineers at Duke University now created a metamaterial imaging sensor that doesn’t require a lens to generate a picture. Engadget reports: “The sensor is a flexible copper-plated sheet patterned with small squares that capture various light frequencies all at once, functioning like one big aperture. Add a few circuits with a pinch of software and the sensor-only camera can produce up to ten images per second, but the catch is Duke’s only works at microwave frequencies. Microwave imaging is used plenty, however, and due to its flexibility and lack of moving parts, the sensor could be used to build better integrated, cheaper airport scanners and vehicle collision avoidance technology — making you safer however you choose to travel. Unless you take the train. Then you’re on your own.“

This may be the future of digital Imaging…sometimes between 2170 and 2300. So keep your (real) mirrorless camera for now!

Kodak S1 is the first Kodak Micro Four Thirds camera!

Surprise! Kodak finally displayed their first mirrorless system camera and they decided to join the popular Micro Four Thirds system! In an official press conference in Peking they announced the “Kodak S1” which will be released in Q3 of this year. There is no info about the exact specs but it should use a Sony CMOS sensor and built-in WiFi.
Source: PConline

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Finally some Canon EOS-M rumors…

CR finally got some bits about possible new Canon mirrorless stuff: There may be three new EOS-M lenses coming within the next few months. A 55-300mm, a fast prime and a super zoom. There will be also a new EOS-M body which we on MirrorlessRumors already said would have an integrated viewfinder and improved AF performance ….which currently on the EOS-M literally…sucks :)

 

 

New Olympus PEN, Panasonic GF, Samsung NX-30 and Sony NEX-3N on market in Spring.

According to anonymous sources a new Olympus PEN and a new Panasonic GF and a new Sony NEX-3N camera will be for sale in Spring. Exact announcement date and specs are yet unknown. While the Panasonic and Sony will be the new entry level mirrorless camera for their system the Olympus will be a semi pro (or advanced) mirrorless camera. And there will be a new NX30 from Samsung too!

This is more or less what we can expect to see within the next 1-2 months. Still no news form the Canon and Nikon front…