Leica M9-P and new Elmarit 21mm lens announced (Ken Rockwell blames Leica)

Leica found a way to aks even more money for the fullframe Leica M9 ;) The new Leica M9-P comes wthout that red Leica logo, a new cover glass made of Sapphire, a new Vulcanite leatherette cover and old style Leica engraving on top of the camera. For that you wil have to spend $500 more than the current “normal” M9.

And than we have a new expensive Leica Super Elmar M 21mm f/3.4 ASPH lens you can already preorder on Adorama (Click here) for $2,995.00.

UPDATE: Ken Rockwell is pretty upset with that anouncement: “Same as the M9, with the sapphire screen Leica removed from the M8 when it introduced the M9 in order to give themselves this upgrade path as we predicted them to do back in 2009 when they cheated us out of the sapphire that the M8 had. Leica is getting like the Japanese: two steps forward (full-frame and no IR filters needed), and one step back for future upgrades (remove the sapphire cover in 2009 so they can add it in 2011 and claim something new).“

The improvements list of the new Fuji X100 firmware!


The Fuji guys are tweeting the info about the upcoming Fuji X100 firmware.

  • 1/3 stop adjustments now available in all modes on FinePix X100

  • Red Eye removal can be disabled when shooting RAW on FinePix X100

  • You can get into the “FN” assignment menu by holding down the “FN” button for 3 secs on FinePix X100

  • Exiting sleep mode now by pressing the shutter button on the X100. No longer required to hold halfway for a few sec.

  • Size of AF Area is maintained even after switching between OVF/EVF/LCD

    • The new firmware should be announced within the next days!

    Reminder: Check the Fuji X100 in Stock status by clicking those direct search links: [shopcountry 100018].

    Pentax NC-1 to be announced on June 23th?

    According to our friends from DigicamInfo Pentax will announce the new Pentax NC-1 mirrorless system on June 23 (Update: old date June 26 was wrong)! Pentax claims that this it the “world’s smallest interchangeable lens camera“. As you know the camera should cost around $600 with kit lens. It has a small 1/2,33? size sensor (that’s the size of the sensor in most compacts). It’s a 14 Megapixel 5.6x crop sensor. It can also record HD h.264 movies. Two lenses will be released along the NC-1. There will be a prime 8.5mm f/1.9 (almost 47mm equivalent) and a zoom 5-15mm f/2.8-4.5 (28-80mm equivalent).

    New Fuji X100 news and reviews

    Fuji Finepix X100 or vs Panasonic Lumix GH2: compared, which one is better? Video by MIke Kobal (Thanks!).

    Jonathanjk (Click here) posted a new X100 review: “If you’ve read this far, you might confuse my praise as fanboy love for Fujifilm and the X100, this isn’t entirely true. There’s certainly love written here for the X100 but I don’t share it with Fuji, this is where a fanboy and myself differ. Instead Fuji are in receivership of my admiration because of what they have brought to market. I’ve waited a long time for a camera like this, the strong demand will hopefully bring Fujifilm to release successors in the near future and convince other manufacturers to reconsider how they approach the market for small capable cameras.“

    I guess almost anyone already have seen this: Fujifilm FinePix X100 Birthday Cake (Petapixel).

    Photographing a wedding (Neilvn.com)

    Noisycamera reports: “The featured gear story of the July 2011 issue of the Popular Photography magazine is a three-part Fuji X100 vs Leica X1 series.”

    Panasonic GF3 and Leica 25mm announced (professional GF and 2 more lenses coming in autumn)


    Today Panasonic announced the new GF3 and Leica 25mm lens. Full news and reviews coverage is available here at 43rumors. And Panasonic gave already some hints about the future product. There will be a professional GF camera, a GH2 successor and two more lenses in autumn!

    Black GF3 with 14mm lens at Amazon (Click here).
    White GF3 with 14mm lens at Amazon (Click here).
    Red GF3 with 14mm lens at Amazon (Click here).
    Brown GF3 with 14mm lens at Amazon (Click here).

    New Fuji X100 reviews (and new firmware coming in two weeks?)

    Cool Fuji X100 commercial (via Steve Huff)

    There is a new Fuji X100 test at Digitalcamerareview (Click here): “Image quality and the ability to extensively customize image parameters make this an easy camera to like, but I found the experience tainted by the controls, and to a lesser extent some menu operations.” They higly recommend the cameras as it does Mr-Ken Rockwell! He just published a new artciel which claims that the Fuji X100 has “The World’s Most Accurate Color“. If you want to read a more “real” review read the field review at Seriouscompacts.

    P.S.: The new firmware coul be released in two weeks (X100rumors.com)!

    Check the Fuji X100 in Stock status at [shopcountry ”].