New Zeiss Batis and New A7rII shipment in mid August.

The big new Full Frame stuff from Zeiss and Sony are highly requested. The new Batis lenses and the new A7rII will ship in mid August-late August and not in late July as epxected in some countries. So here are the preorder links with the new shipping date info:

Batis store links:
Batis 85mm f/1.8 lens in US at Adorama, Bhphoto. In Eu at Amazon DE, WexUK. In Asia at Digitalrev.
Batis 25mm f/2.0 lens at Adorama, Bhphoto. In EU at Amazon DE, WexUK. In Asia at Digitalrev.

A7rII preorder list:
In USA: at Amazon, BHphoto, Adorama, SonyStore US, FocusCamera, Uniquephoto. In Europe at Sony DE, UK, FR, IT, ES, NL, BE, CH, AT, SE, FI, NO, PT. Wex UK. In Asia at Digitalrev, CameraPro.

CEA Introduces New Terminology for Digital Imaging Sector

Its nos super official that “mirrorless” is the official term for mirrorless system cameras. Here is the detailed press text:

Arlington, VA, July 23, 2015 – The Consumer Electronics Association (CEA)® announced today a new set of camera terminology for digital imaging-related communications and promotion to help provide consistency and clarity for retailers and consumers. The new terms and definitions are as follows:

DSLR (short for Digital Single-Lens Reflex cameras): a subset of ILC cameras that includes a mirror mechanism;

Mirrorless (short for Mirrorless Interchangeable Lens cameras): a subset of ILC cameras that does not include a mirror mechanism;

ILC (short for Interchangeable Lens Cameras): includes both DSLR and Mirrorless cameras which, by definition, have Interchangeable Lenses.

Last year, CEA’s Digital Imaging Board identified the need for a new set of terminology that better represents the industry innovations of today, and immediately launched a working group to explore various imaging terms and recommend updated terminology. The Digital Imaging Board approved the updated terms and definitions, and implementation is now underway.

“The digital imaging sector is constantly innovating and evolving and we need to keep consumer messaging at the forefront for our market,” said Neal Manowitz, Deputy Vice President of Digital Imaging for Sony North America; and chairman of the ILC Working Group. “This was certainly a team effort, and I especially want to thank my working group colleagues from B&H Photo, Fujifilm, Panasonic, Ricoh, Samsung, Tiffen and Walmart. This new terminology represents our industry in its current state today, but also assures consumers of where products and categories will be in the coming years.”

CEA’s 17th Annual CE Ownership and Market Potential study finds two-thirds (64 percent) of U.S. households currently own a digital camera. Also, according to the recently released U.S. Consumer Electronics Sales and Forecasts report (July 2015), the total digital imaging sector will earn $3.2 billion in revenue, selling almost 14 million units.

About CEA:

The Consumer Electronics Association (CEA) is the technology trade association representing the $286 billion U.S. consumer electronics industry. More than 2,000 companies enjoy the benefits of CEA membership, including legislative and regulatory advocacy, market research, technical training and education, industry promotion, standards development and the fostering of business and strategic relationships. CEA also owns and produces CES – The Global Stage for Innovation. All profits from CES are reinvested into CEA’s industry services.

New rumors roundup: E-M5II and GH4 firmware and new Sony FE 85mm f/1.4 G lens.

Here are a couple of new rumors coming from the mirrorless world:

1) Panasonic will add V-LOG on the GH4 via a new firmware update coming in October

2) Olympus will improve the High Resolution mode viw firmware upgrade (coming within days?)

3) Sony will launch a new FE 85mm f/1.4 G lens with “creamy” f/1.4 look.

No new rumor yet from Fuji-Samsung-Nikon…

Sony rumored to launch both, a new A6100 and A7000 this year.

Latest rumor we got suggest that Sony is actually planing to release two new APS-C E-mount cameras this year. One is the A6100 and one is the high end A7000.

SonyAlphaRumors got some specs about the A7000 but I don’t know if these are really the final correct features:

Still ironing out the last kinks is needed, but it is likely to be announced soon. A possible date would be aug/sep.
•    The specifications showcase
•    Upgrade of the widely famed APS-C alpha6000
•    Newly developed 24MP sensor featuring backside illumination for increased sensitivity.  
•    In sensor HDR function including video for dynamic range up to 15.5EVs
•    196 phase detect auto focus points
•    Blazing 16fps continuous autofocus burst rate
•    Unlimited 4k video recording
•    Refined pop out  XGA OLED Tru-Finder
•    180 degree tilting 2.36M Dot  LCD monitor
•    Weather-Resistant Magnesium Alloy Body

By default the Camera will come with a new and improved Kit lens featuring 16-50mm F2.4-3.6
The camera set will be targeted to the professional consumer demanding uncompromised image quality in a small body. The target retail price will be set at1499$

Olympus (and Sony?) announcements likely to come in late August.

Panasonic announced their new GX8 and as a rumor site we cannot rest and we have to talk about what’s next :)

So far we heard rumors about a late August (or early September) announcement from Olympus and very likely also from Sony.

While Olympus is almost certainly going to introduce the E-M10II it’s still unclear if Sony will at last announce the A7000 or announce something else (RX or so).

Let me know if you got some info about those announcements :)

Panasonic announces the GX8, FZ300 and two new MFT lenses!

Panasonic announced their big MFT stuff and a new FZ300 superzoom camera today! An extensive coverage with reviews, image samples and more can be seen as usual on 43rumors.com (Click here). It would be interesting to know if the GX8 is the first MFT camera using a Sony FT sensor but Panasonic doens’t spill out any info on that :)

Preorders:
Black GX8 at Amazon, Adorama, BHphoto and Panasonic.
Silver GX8 at Amazon, Adorama, BHphoto and Panasonic.
FZ300 at Amazon, Adorama, BHphoto and Panasonic.