OK, so, this was actually posted yesterday, which means most of you 5D mark II shooters probably already have it, but, if you haven’t heard yet there’s a new firmware in town. This one is for the video shooters, adding new frame rates (including real NTSC instead of the machine-perfect 30fps), new audio sampling quality, and an on-screen levels mixer for the audio.
Anyway, the firmware is up on Canon’s site. So, hit the external link below if you want to grab that.
Panasonic DMC-G2
So, not having any apparent consideration for us 9-5 types, Panasonic announced its new products this past Sunday. Now, don’t get me wrong, I’m something of a tech junkie, so while I was still clearing the sleep from my eyes I read about them in my feed reader. But, then, see, I slept again after that. So, I just remembered them again this morning, just in time for them to be old news, but better late than never, I suppose.
So, first up let’s tackle the G2. The G2 is clearly positioned as the replacement to Panasonic’s first m4/3 shooter, the G1. The nitty-gritty? Well, it’s mostly the same, same form factor (mini-DSLR-style with an electronic viewfinder of some repute), 12 megapixels, 3″ swivel LCD. New? Well, that swiveling LCD screen is now a 3″ swiveling LCD touchscreen. So, that pushes this to the first interchangeable lens device I’ve ever heard of with a touch interface (and for all you nay-sayers, there’re still buttons too), so it’ll be interesting to see what that adds to the experience.
Oh, and they added video, in the form of 720p MPEG. Not their fanciest showing for HD recording, but I reckon they don’t want to step on their GH1’s toes, especially since it’s so well-designed for video anyway.
Panasonic DMC-G10
Up second is the G10, which maybe we should call by it’s full name of DMC-G10 to help decrease confusion between it and Canon’s infamous PowerShot G10. The DMC-G10 is kinda like the G2, but without the swively touchy screen. It instead opts for the more pedestrian fixed LCD. It will also be available in red, black, and blue, making it the new go-to kid at the bottom of Panasonic’s m4/3 line-up.
Panasonic 14 - 42 mm f3.5-5.6 Lumix G Vario
What? Not enough news you say? OK, fine. How about an update to the standard kit lens? Will that do? Good, ’cause Panasonic also announced a new 14-42mm f3.5-5.6 lens with Mega OIS, which is pictured on both of the new bodies. Previously Panasonic had debuted a 14-45mm, and 14-42mm is a classic focal length for Olympus, who’s offering shares the same mount, so I will admit to a little confusion as to this lens ‘existence, but, when it comes to lens line-ups the more the merrier, I say.
Olympus has issued a firmware update for it’s E-P1 M43 shooter. According to their site:
[Modification]
If you’ve never updated an Olympus before, you’ll need to dig up the USB cable that shipped with your camera, plug it into your computer, then fire up either Olympus Studio or Master. The firmware updates will be in the menus of either of those programs, be sure to follow all the on-screen instructions and leave your camera turned on and plugged in until clearly told it’s OK to do otherwise.
Olympus, maker of tough, waterproof point-and-shoots and DSLR’s that I’ve been famously known to run under a sink and stand-on at parties, only to then photograph the onlookers, and co-pioneers of the mirror-less compact interchangeable lens camera frontier, sent us an email today telling us about their new YouTube video spots about their E-PL1.
These 11 short videos are aimed to help you all through the various highlights of the E-PL1, and to help explain what it offers over regular compacts (‘point and shoots”), or the full-blown DSLR boat anchors like I carry. So, if you’ve got a few minutes and an interest in one of the hottest new camera types in decades, why not hop over and watch a few?
So, before we get into the news that everyone else is going on about from Sony, let’s start off with this mock-up pictured to the left here. I want to start with this because I think it’s getting a bit buried under that other stuff, but it’s an announcement I’ve been waiting to hear from Sony for a couple years: that’s the mock-up for their next intermediate DSLR, presumably to replace the now-defunct A700. And, you can see on the LCD shoulder there that it purports to do HD video, so, what’s not to love there?
OK, now we’ll talk about their interchangeable lens compact/EVIL concepts. Or, we would, except that’s really all there is to say. Sony joins the Panasonic-Olympus tag-team and Samsung in the fray for compact digital rangefinders. And, Sony’s mouthpiece at PMA mentioned an Exmor-R sensor being the highlight here. So, there you go, in case you missed it everywhere else, you now know to expect more and more competition in the so-called “Micro Four Thirds” arena.
So, just in time for me to be done with a bunch of new revisions to the site, Sony announces two more models to it’s line-up this season. And, I gotta admit, they’re attractive additions. Maybe not as attractive as everyone’s favorite Roberts webmaster, of course, but what can you do?
Up to bat first we’ll tackle the DSC-H55, seen in both available colors above. This particular model sports a 14 megapixel sensor, though it’s just of the typical CCD and not the new backlit CMOS variety. It apologizes for that by bolting in a 10x G-series lens covering an effective focal range of 25mm – 250mm, which ain’t anything to scoff at. It shoots 720p video at 30 frames per second, and otherwise deviates little from Sony’s stock features, which, again, is nothing to scoff at.
Outstaging the H55 is it’s new stablemate, the DSC-TX5. Another entry into the now burgeoning “tough” market (anyone remember when Olympus was the only game in town for that?), the TX5 maintains its “TX” series lineage by being all slim with a slide down power button/lens cover and a backside containing nothing more than a touchscreen LCD. Then it slams back a few protein shakes, does a few extra reps, and shows up to the party being waterproof to 10 feet, shockproof to 5 feet, freezepreoof to 14 degrees Fahrenheit, and it’s dust resistant to boot. Also in keeping with Sony’s “if it can come in a color it can come in many colors” philosophy, the TX5 will be available in silver, black, pink, green, and red.
Word is the H55 will be 250ish, and the TX5 around 350ish when they hit, which will be… sometime.
Nikon has today announced two new lenses, the AF-S NIKKOR 24mm f/1.4G ED and the AF-S NIKKOR 16-35mm f/4G ED VR. Now, those of you used to Nikon’s nomenclature will already know all this, but for those unsure, the AF-S designation in both of those means they’ll auto-focus on any body, and the lack of “DX” anywhere means these are designed for use on FX (and will still work, albeit with crop factor, on DX). They’re both G series lenses and both use ED and aspherical elements and Nikon’s new nano crystal coating to handle optical phenomenons like diffraction, ghosting, etc…
As those of you with a grasp of modern optics and physics might expect, the 24mm f1.4 is rather chunky, basically a 3.5″ cube and weighing in closer to 1.5 lbs. It’s also not a budget prime, and it’ll enter the market at just under $2,200. The 16-35mm f/4, being a slower aperture zoom, slots in as Nikon’s affordable alternative to the 14-24mm f/2.8 (well, sorta, it’s obviously not apples-to-apples), weighing in at $1,260, or approaching 600 bucks cheaper than it’s bigger bro.
They’re both up on our preorder waitlists, so you should go here and add your name: https://www.robertsimaging.com/preorder.jsp
Canon has announced it’s newest Rebel, the reasonably (for once) named Rebel T2i. Updates? Well, it’s up to an 18.0 megapixel sensor, new wide-aspect LCD, 3.7 frames-per-second shooting, the 1080p shooting gets 30/25/24 fps selectable, there’s a stereo mic jack, ISO goes from 100 – 6400, and something about some hand-me-down techs from the 7D. So, evolutionary? Yeah, of course, but that’s still a pretty solid set of features for this newest Rebel.
It’s set to be released as a kit with the usual 18-55mm IS currently, and we’re of course taking preorder allocations over at our site. So, if you want your name on the list, best to shuffle over to http://www.robertsimaging.com/preorder.jsp and get that going.
Today Nikon announced their refresh for the Coolpix line by adding the P100, L110, L22, and S3000, S4000, S6000, S8000 compacts. The P90 is to cede to the P100, and it looks like it’ll be a doozie of an upgrade. The Nikon Coolpix P100 will have a 10.3 megapixel back-lit CMOS sensor and a 26x optical zoom (26mm-678mm equivalent) Nikkor ED lens. It’ll also be able to churn out 10fps at 10MP, and near 120fps at 1.1MP. No idea how the 3200 ISO setting will perform yet, but maybe you won’t need to use it given the sensor-shift VR system. There’s a host of other software functions to make “minimal user intervention shooting” produce good looking pics. It’s also got a macro focusing distance of .4″, though no word on what the maximum reproduction ratio. Oh right, 1080p HD video is also on the menu.
If you’ve got to use AA batteries and don’t trust this new-fangled back-lit CMOS business, then step down to the L110 and take your pick between black and red. Your glass is 15x optical from 28-420mm (equivalent), supported by sensor-shift VR image stabilization and a max ISO of 6400. It also has the first ‘cyanotype’ color setting I’ve seen a manufacturer brag over. Ta da. It takes 12.1MP stills and 720p HD video (at 30fps).
The other AA offering is the L22, weighing in at 12MP with a modest 37-134mm equivalent focal range. The L22 has a ‘Big, Bright 3.0-inch LCD’ with an anti-glare coating and a maximum ISO of 1600.
The 000 (Tri-aught?) range of Coolpix this time around are the S3000, S4000, S6000, and S8000. The S3000 (for Style yeah) wields 12.0MP, a 27-108 equivalent focal range, a 2.7″ LCD, some firmware functions to correct for red-eye, florid, staggering friends who neither smile nor cease blinking, and a maximum ISO of 3200.
Next up is the S4000, which looks to succeed the S230 and put a 3.0″ touch screen in your hot, little hands for things like touch-shutter (which sounds like an alt-rock band who should be opening for Toad the Wet Sprocket) and touch-AF. Beyond that it records 720pHD movies, and sidles on up to 3200 ISO. It also has a cyanotype color mode.
The S6000 appears with 14.2MP, a 28-196 equivalent Nikkor ED glass lens, and spits 4fps for up to 45 frames in Sports Continuous mode. It also features the “make your friends look good without trying” firmware functions.
The S8000 crowns the Tri-Aught sorority with a 14.2MP sensor, 10x optical zoom with Nikkor ED glass (starts at 30mm equivalent), a 3.0″ VGA display at 921,000 dots, and Optical VR Image Stabilization and a close focus distance of .4″ in Macro mode.
So, sorry, pictures of these are a little less forthcoming, but apparently Oly also formalized the release of it’s very popular 9-18mm f4-5.6 and the very long-lived (for a system as young as 4/3, anyway) 14-150mm f4-5.6 super-zoom for the m4/3 mount. The 9-18 has been a very popular super-wide angle lens for the price point, and the 14-150mm was always the affordable super-zoom, and I don’t imagine those will change with the change in mounts.
Again, more to come.
