|
Imaging Resource News Page
|
| 02/03/2012 03:57 PM |
| Fuji X-Pro1 pricing announced, lenses more affordable than expected |
| Fujifilm has now officially announced pricing for its X-Pro1 compact system camera in the US market, and there's good news for those planning to buy a kit with several of the available lenses. Final list pricing for two of the three lenses that have been announced for the system's debut has come in below the initial estimate.
The Fuji X-Pro1 is the company's first compact system camera, and when launched last month, the company predicted pricing of approximately US$1,700 body-only, plus US$650 per lens.
The body price has turned out to be spot-on, as has pricing for the XF 60mm F2.4...
(read more) |
| 02/03/2012 01:55 PM |
| Canon G1 X Crop Analysis and Print Quality posted! |
|
We've taken a little time with the Canon G1 X's Still Life images, making crops and doing our usual Print Quality analysis. Overall, we're pretty impressed with the Canon G1 X's test shots.
Check out the updated Canon G1 X Preview page to see how the G1 X fares against the Canon G12, Canon T3i, Olympus E-P3, Nikon J1, and Sony NEX-5N!
You'll also find that we've uploaded quite a few more laboratory shots, and there will be even more later today!
(read more) |
| 02/02/2012 02:15 PM |
| Canon VII Gallery: ?Change? - Time for that New Year?s resolution? |
| Word association: Quick, what do you think of when you hear the word "change?" How many ways could you capture it in a photo?
That's this month's challenge in the VII Gallery, sponsored by Canon: Take a picture expressing the concept "change," submit it in the Join the Project page, and you may see your image alongside ones from the pros at the VII Photo Agency!
So what does "Change" mean to you? Birth? Death? Graduation? A change of clothes? A change of weather? Building or demolition? - The possibilities are literally endless.
Visit the VII Gallery site to see what the pros did,...
(read more) |
| 02/02/2012 07:02 AM |
| Score one for the rumor mill: Pentax launches K-mount mirrorless |
| For more than a year now, rumors have swirled, suggesting that Pentax was planning to launch not one, but two mirrorless camera products with differing lens mounts. Some pooh-poohed the idea, perhaps understandably, but today the believers are vindicated, with the launch of the Pentax K-01.
It's a bold move from Pentax, to be sure. Last summer, they showed a willingness to go it their own way, with the launch of the Pentax Q--a camera whose ethos is clear: make a real interchangeable-lens camera, really small. The Pentax K-01 takes a completely different tack, combining a mirrorless...
(read more) |
| 02/01/2012 05:06 PM |
| Canon G1 X Still Life lab shots posted! |
| We've just posted our "Still Life" ISO/NR series test shots from a production-level Canon G1 X, straight from the lab!
The Canon PowerShot G1 X is the company's first large-sensor PowerShot model, and looks to be Canon's rebuttal to the burgeoning compact system camera market. It's based around a brand-new, Canon-developed 14.3-megapixel CMOS sensor that's almost as tall as those in Canon's APS-C based SLR cameras, but with a 4:3 aspect ratio instead of the more typical 3:2 aspect. The PowerShot G1 X looks to offer a clear advantage over most existing system cameras in terms of overall...
(read more) |
| 02/01/2012 02:05 PM |
| We must grow digital imaging business, says Sony?s new president |
| Sony Corp. has today announced several management changes at its highest levels, as it braces itself for a fourth straight year of losses.
The company last turned a net profit in 2008, and has been struggling with several of its core businesses in recent years, as detailed by C|Net News. Sony's once-dominant Playstation games console brand has had a difficult few years of very public security breaches, coupled with stiff competion from Nintendo and Microsoft. In the mobile business, the company's partnership with Ericsson has been challenged by strong offerings from smartphone rivals...
(read more) |
| 02/01/2012 01:30 PM |
| Leica M9 test shots posted! |
| We've just posted test shots from a Leica M9 (an M9-P, actually), taken with a Summilux-M 50mm f/1.4 lens!
The Leica M9 is based around a Kodak 18-megapixel CCD image sensor with approximately the same dimensions as a frame of 35mm film, making it the smallest full-frame digital camera. The M9 accepts most Leica M lenses built to date, and thanks to the full-frame sensor, all of these lenses offer the same field of view as they would with a 35mm film camera body. The Leica M9 uses a metal blade shutter design capable of offering shutter speeds ranging from 1/4000 to 32 seconds, plus a...
(read more) |
| 02/01/2012 02:06 AM |
| Nikon updates P-series enthusiast compact, ultrazoom cameras |
| Photographers considering purchasing one of Nikon's Coolpix P-series cameras have two new models to pique their interests today, as the company has launched updates to a pair of models that were nearing their first birthday.
The Nikon Coolpix P300 and P500 are succeeded by the P310 and P510, both of which have important upgrades.
For the Nikon P310, key among these is the switch to a new BSI CMOS image sensor, with a resolution of sixteen megapixels. Despite the increase in resolution, this allows a wider sensitivity range of 100 to 6,400 equivalents in color, and tops out at ISO 12,800...
(read more) |
| 02/01/2012 02:01 AM |
| From entry-level to long-zoom: New S-series cameras touch all the bases |
| Continuing today's announcements, Nikon has revealed four new S-series compact cameras: the Coolpix S3300, S4300, S6300, and S9300.
All four cameras have clean, stylish lines that should catch the eye of the fashion conscious, but beyond that they differ widely in specification, with each clearly aimed at a different target market.
The Nikon S3300 courts the entry-level buyer, with affordable $140 pricing, while offering high 16 megapixel resolution from a CCD chip, and a useful 6x zoom range. To hit the required pricepoint and keep size to a minimum, the S3300 opts for a 2.7-inch LCD...
(read more) |
| 02/01/2012 01:56 AM |
| Three new AA-powered Nikon Coolpix cameras |
| Rounding out its announcements for the day, Nikon has three new cameras for its Coolpix L- and S-series lineups, all of which are aimed at photographers who shun proprietary battery packs in favor of standard AA cells.
The Nikon Coolpix S30 and L26 are both compacts that draw their lifeblood from a pair of AA batteries, while the Coolpix L810 has an SLR-like body that requires a full set of four AA cells.
Both the S30 and L26 are riced at around $120, placing them clearly in entry-level territory, but their feature sets differ significantly. The S30 opts for a lower-res ten megapixel...
(read more) |
| 01/31/2012 12:02 AM |
| Flagship rugged Lumix compact gets an update |
| Panasonic has apparently heard that old adage, "If it ain't broke, don't fix it", because last year's darned-near-bulletproof TS3 digital camera has today been refreshed with the Lumix TS4, and at first glance it's hard to spot the differences.
The Panasonic TS4 is near-identical to its predecessor externally, save for a small red detail in the handgrip, and a rearrangement of the screen-printed labels on the camera's body. Under the hood, things are also very similar, including the weather and shock-proofing, lens, sensor, GPS, barometer, compass, and altimeter of its predecessor.
The...
(read more) |
| 01/31/2012 12:01 AM |
| Splashdown for the waterproof Panasonic TS20 |
| Panasonic Corp. has today announced the Lumix TS20, a replacement for its 2010-model Lumix TS10 camera with a variety of changes including a new, more water-resistant body.
The Panasonic TS20 can be used at depths of up to 16 feet, a full six feet deeper than its predecessor. It also has a slightly higher-resolution 16 megapixel image sensor, and a wider 4x optical zoom lens that offers 25-100mm equivalent focal lengths, although the maximum aperture at wide angle isn't quite as bright. Other useful changes include 23-point autofocus, MPEG-4 video compression, an increase in internal...
(read more) |
| 01/31/2012 12:00 AM |
| Faraway, so close: Two new Panasonic ZS-series travel zooms |
| Panasonic Corp. has today revealed two new ZS-series digital cameras, including one that it says sets a world record.
According to the company, the Panasonic ZS20 is the world's slimmest digital camera with a 20x optical zoom lens. At 1.3 inches thick, you won't be slipping it in a shirt pocket, but it's plenty slim enough to make an attractive travel-zoom camera, offering all the reach you're likely to need, and then some. Its sibling, the Panasonic ZS15 has a 16x optical zoom--still pretty powerful, if not record-setting.
The duo differ in some other key areas, beyond the obvious...
(read more) |
| 01/30/2012 01:48 PM |
| Canon sales slip, president to step down |
| Canon Inc. today released its financial results for the 2011 financial year, which showed a slip in sales and before-tax profits over the prior year.
The company reported growing demand for single-lens reflex cameras globally in 2011, but demand for compact cameras was said to have been sluggish in all but emerging markets. Inkjet printer sales were flat, with growth in emerging markets offsetting reductions elsewhere. Production of both compact cameras and inkjet printers was also affected by the earthquake in Japan and flooding in Thailand.
According to the company's FY2011 report,...
(read more) |
| 01/29/2012 11:00 PM |
| Three new Sony digicams, including 18 megapixel waterproof |
| Just when you thought the megapixel war was over, Sony has kicked things up a notch. The company has today introduced its first eighteen megapixel compact camera, as well as a pair of sixteen megapixel ultracompacts.
The Sony Cyber-shot DSC-TX200V is the real attention-getter of the group, although the step forwards from sixteen to eighteen megapixels is actually fairly modest, equating to an increase in linear resolution of just 6.25%. The Sony TX200V has an ultracompact body with a clean, glass-surfaced design ethic that hides a 5x optical zoom lens. Other features include a 3.3-inch...
(read more) |
| 01/27/2012 07:44 PM |
| Printer Review: HP Envy 110 |
| There are quite a few things we liked about the $249.99 Envy 110. It's not just the most beautiful all-in-one device we've seen but it has brains, too. The menu system, accessed via a large touch screen, is well thought out and the Envy can communicate with some intelligence as well, accessing the Web for content, printing from an iPad and even printing documents emailed to it.
But there are enough misses that we'd hold out for the Envy 410. And while we used the Envy exclusively as our all-in-one device for a while, we discovered one fatal flaw. Read our review for the full...
(read more) |
| 01/27/2012 06:37 PM |
| Industry leader Michihiro Yamaki of Sigma Corporation dies |
| It's with great sadness that we observe the death of a true industry leader, Michihiro Yamaki, founder and CEO of Sigma Corporation. Mr. Yamaki almost single-handedly created the third-party lens business as we know it today. Starting from very modest beginnings, building and selling a rear-element teleconverter, he built what's today the leading manufacturer of third-party lenses in the world.
I met Mr. Yamaki personally on a number of occasions, but once had the opportunity to sit down for an extended conversation with him. At the time, I wasn't in "interview mode;" I'd actually arrived...
(read more) |
| 01/27/2012 02:29 PM |
| New EVF makes it clear: the optical viewfinder?s days are numbered |
| For years, pundits and industry leaders alike have predicted the end of the optical viewfinder, but enthusiast and pro photographers have stubbornly clung to them for their benefits over electronic viewfinders. Today, a new microdisplay from French company MicroOLED S.A.S. promises to take a big step towards erasing those advantages.
MicroOLED's latest microdisplay model has a resolution of over five million square dots, with a dot pitch of 4.7 microns, and is said to have no gaps between pixels. That's an astoundingly high resolution -- it's more than double that of Sony's XGA (1,024 x...
(read more) |
| 01/26/2012 09:17 PM |
| Fujifilm, Sony consider Olympus investment as lawsuits begin |
| Fujifilm Holdings Corp. and Sony Corp. are among the companies considering investing in cash-strapped Olympus Corp., according to reports from the Wall Street Journal and Nikkei (the latter being cited by press agency Reuters).
It's been a difficult few months for Olympus, which admitted to accounting irregularities last November. It's stock price fell more than 80% to as low as ¥424, before recovering somewhat. (For the last few days, it's hovered around the ¥1,200-1,300 mark, after the Tokyo Stock Exchange allowed the company to keep its listing, albeit with a US$130,000...
(read more) |
| 01/26/2012 12:03 PM |
| Tamron, Kenko Tokina sign up for Micro Four Thirds |
| A little over three years ago, Olympus and Panasonic announced their Micro Four Thirds standard, and in the process launched what's since become a compact system camera revolution. Today their standard received another shot in the arm, with the addition of three more companies to the Micro Four Thirds group.
The new arrivals include well-known third-party optics manufacturers Kenko Tokina and Tamron, as well as Astrodesign Inc., which offers a wide range of products including HDTV, 4K and 3D video gear. The Tokina and Tamron brands offer a wide variety of prime and zoom lenses, while...
(read more) |