Panasonic GX2

Rumors circulated in the web that Panasonic GX2 may be announced this August with 18 mega pixel sensor, highest shutter speed of 1/8000 second and built in image stabilization.

High end Panasonic LF1 large aperture (F2.0) compact camera

Panasonic high end compact camera DMC-LF1 has large aperture of F2.0. The DMC-LF1 is a sleek, stylish digital compact camera which comes with 0.2-inch EVF (Electronic Viewfinder) with 200K-dot resolution, 100% field of view. The DMC-LF1 is equipped with newly developed 28mm wide angle LEICA DC VARIO-SUMMICRON lens with 7.1x optical zoom (35mm camera equivalent: 28-200mm). The DMC-LF1 integrates 1/1.7-inch, 12.1-megapixel High Sensitivity MOS Sensor which is larger in size than standard digital compact cameras. Manual control is done using a Control Ring, which enables direct, intuitive control over frequently-used settings – zooming, aperture, shutter speed, ISO sensitivity and filter of Creative Control / Creative Panorama. To assist learning photography, Composition Guide is available in DMC-LF1. It is easy to shoot a photo in good composition by just choosing most suitable pattern of composition from- Rule of Thirds Offset, Diagonal Lines, Tunnel, Radiation1, Radiation2 and S-shape. The POWER O.I.S. (Optical Image Stabilizer) suppresses the low-frequency vibration hand-shake component, which is physically generated when pressing the shutter button or when shooting at night with a slow shutter speed. With the Creative Panorama function, it is possible to apply 13 filter effects to the horizontal / vertical panoramic image, which can be shot by sweeping the camera in any four　directions – to right, left, top or bottom.

The high speed digital signal output technology is integrated to realize high speed consecutive shooting at 10 fps in full resolution with mechanical shutter and to record full-HD 60i (NTSC area) / 50i (PAL area) smooth video in AVCHD/MP4. It also contributes to the high speed Sonic Speed AF to catch the most fleeting shooting opportunities. In addition, the high speed burst shooting at 60 fps is available to capture subject with fast motion. The DMC-LF1 is equipped with popular Creative Control and Creative Retouch featuring a total of 15 filter effects.

Panasonic LF1 High End Digital Camera

Preview

 

Sony A mount mirrorless interchangeable lens camera

Information circulated in the web that Sony is develop an a mount mirrorless interchangeable lens camera: A bayonet APS-C models will no mirror design, but full frame will not be a mirrorless designis not clear; A bayonet APS-C and full frame models will be released in early 2014.
 
Sony A-mount mirrorless patent number is 20130113982.
 

Source: sonyalpharumors.com

Some people is curious that Sony NEX mirrorless cameras are quite receptive, why A-mount design. Here are three reasons:
1. Sony a series of camera and lens system has been well-established with a large number of users. E-mount lens in the the Sony lens group is still very limited.
2. The E-mount camera will continue to focus on the design of compact portable body.
3. The electronic viewfinder is technically superior to the optical viewfinder. Sony A-mount body will have the electronic viewfinder, which will replace the DSLR.

Canon S200 F2.0 Points and Shot Camera

Rumors circulated, Canon will announce the S200 to replace the S110 between May and June. In the high-end camera in Canon's PowerShot S series has always been very good point and shot high end camera with large aperture. Last year Canon launched a new Wi-Fi and Touch Screen PowerShot S110, and Canon seems to be ready to launch the S200 to replace it. The  suspected PowerShot S200 has more rounded appearance than the S110.  News at this stage did not disclose the specifications of the S200, but from the photos, the camera will follow with a 5 times zoom lens, 24-120mm equivalent, and will provide a large aperture of f/2.0. 

Canon S200 Digital Camera Front

Canon S200 Digital Camera Back

Olympus E-P5 is the new Mirrorless Interchangeable Lens Camera

Olympus announces the new mirrorless interchangeable lens camera finally. The E-P5 packs innovations like 1/8000s Shutter Speed,built-in Wi-Fi and 5-Axis Image Stabilization,into a micro 4/3 body with exacting attention to materials, form, texture and color.

Olympus E-P5

The E-P5 is the fastest mirrorless camera  with a 1/8000 sec. high-speed mechanical shutter to freeze action without blur. The E-P5's shutter can sync with the built-in flash at shutter speeds up to 1/320s. 9 fps high-speed sequential shooting can be achieved with the Tracking AF (C-AF+Tr), which works in tandem with the Autofocus to follow your subject. The F.A.S.T (Frequency Acceleration Sensor Technology) AF System is able to focus at an fast speed with 35 separate focus areas. The PEN E-P5 is equipped with 5-Axis image stabilization system with IS-Auto which compensates for vertical, horizontal, and rotational camera shake. E-P5 features the 16 megapixel Live MOS sensor of the OM-D E-M5. The built in WiFi can connect to smartphone using the Olympus I.O Share SmartPhone app to share photo. Geotags can be easily added to your photos by simply sending the high-precision GPS log data recorded by OI.Share to your camera. You can create a combination of photos by selecting one of four themes and each theme create photo story with just a single touch. Interval shooting allows 1-99 shots, from 1 second to 24 hour time interval to easily shoot a series of pictures. The E-P5 also has a valuable feature that easily converts a series of pictures taken using interval shooting into a time-lapse movie (Max 10 seconds movie at 99 shots). Twelve in-camera Art Filters are enhanced by new filter variations, art effects and bracketing. Photographers can use Art Filters in all shooting modes as well as when shooting HD movies. The Twelve in-camera Art Filters (Pop Art, Soft Focus, Pale and Light Color, Light Tone, Grainy Film, Pin Hole, Diorama, Gentle Sepia, Cross Process, Key Line, Dramatic Tone and NEW Watercolor) are enhanced by new filter variations, art effects and bracketing. Also, the E-P5 now features the Monochrome Art Filter Effect, where the Picture Tone effect can change the color from normal monotone to sepia, blue, purple, and green.Super Spot AF helps you to accurately bring even extremely small subjects into focus, allowing you to select an area even smaller than the AF point. With Small AF Target, you can set your focus even more precisely by reducing the size of the Spot AF target. The E-P5 also features Focus Peaking, which brings shots into focus manually such as when taking photos using OM or Four Thirds glass.

 

Hands on

 

Sigma 35mm f1.4 review HSM Lens

Sigma announced the 35mm F1.4 DG HSM lens in Photokina 2012. This lens has 35mm focal length with maximum aperture F1.4, minimum F16. Hypersonic Motor (HSM) drive the focusing with full-time manual override. The closest focus is 0.3m. It is available for Canon, Nikon, Pentax, Sigma and Sony mounts.

 

Sigma 35mm F1.4 HSM Lens

Preview/Hands On

 

 

The features of the lens are summarized as follows:

• Aperture Range: f/1.4-16
• Hyper Sonic Motor (HSM)
• Floating Internal Focus System
• Minimum Focusing Distance: 11.8"
• Anti-Flare Super Multi-Layer Coating
• Special & "F" Low Dispersion Elements
• Front Filter Thread Diameter: 67mm
• 9x Circular Aperture Blades
• Compatible with Sigma USB Dock

Rating

DxOmark rates this lens mount on a Canon 5D Mark III as "Excellent" with the following conclusion extracted from DxOmark website:
" It is clear that Sigma has done something very special with the 35mm f1.4 DG HSM A, they have produced a lens that performs better than Canon’s own 35mm lenses and better than a Carl Zeiss 35mm f1.4. When an independent manufacturer’s lenses can do this, it must make the customers think carefully about their buying decisions. It is also good to see a manufacturer recognise the demand for optics that provide pleasing bokeh and to address this specifically.
There are really only two contenders where 35mm lenses for Canon are concerned. If you want the best then Sigma is the choice for you and if you want a bargain, then Canon’s EF 35mm f2, launched in 1990 could be a good alternative."

Luxirious Leica M 240 full frame mirrorless interchangeable lens digital camera

Leica M was announced in Photokina 2012 and features a full frame sensor. Leica have changed the previously used 18Mp CCD to a CMOSIS 24Mp CMOS.  This camera retires the Leica M9 and M9 P. The list price of the body is US$6950. Leica M 240 rundown features are:

• 24MP Full Frame Leica Max CMOS Sensor
• Leica Maestro Image Processor
• 3.0" LCD with 920,000 pixels
• Full HD 1080p Video
• Live View and Rangefinder Focusing
• ISO Sensitivity to 6400
• Fits Leica M-series Lenses
• R-series Lenses Fit M Body via R-adapter
• Splash Protected Body

The Leica M offers both rangefinder focusing through the optical viewfinder and Live View focusing and preview on the 3.0" LCD or an optional electronic viewfinder

Leica M 240

 

Preview/Hands On

Samsung NX2000 Mirrorless Interchangeable Lens Camera Announced

The NX2000, adds Wi-Fi and NFC to ensure it is compatible with the smartphone world. The integrated Near Field Communication (NFC) technology seamlessly links the NX2000 to many NFC-enabled Android smartphones and tablets. NX2000 features are summarized as follows:

•  ISO range (100 to 25600)
•  1/4000th second top shutter speed
•  3.7-inch WVGA Full Touch Screen
•  Choice of 12 interchangeable lenses
•  20.3MP APS-C CMOS Sensor
•  DRIMe IV Image Processor
•  3D Still and Video Capture Capability
•  3.7" 1,152k-Dot Touchscreen LCD Monitor
•  Full HD 1080p Video Recording at 30 fps
•  Built-In Wireless and NFC Connectivity
•  8 fps Continuous Shooting Rate
•  SMART Shooting Modes

Samsung NX2000

 Preview

Commercial