This is surely the most unexciting announcement of this year so far. Panasonic just released the new GF8 which will go on sale in a few Asian countries only. You can read more about the camera at Dpreview and Photoreview. But there is really nothing that will make you put a smile in your face. I would rather go for the cheaper GF7 instead.

ZhongYi announced a new more compact and optically improved Mitakon 35mm f/0.95 lens. You can preorder it now at Adorama (Click here).

Press release:

Shenyang China, Feb 14, 2016 – Zhongyi Optics (ZY Optics) has released an improved version of their first f/0.95 lens, Zhongyi Mitakon Speedmaster 35mm f/0.95 Mark II. The mark II verison features a drastic improvement of sharpness, better control of chromatic abberations and much compact size. The new version comes with a Fuji X / Sony E / EOS-M mount and is able to cover the image circle of APS-C sized sensors.

Zhongyi Mitakon Speedmaster 35mm f/0.95 Mark II is a ultra-fast prime lens which provides a 35mm-equivalent focal length of around 53mm in APS-C cameras. A maximum aperture of f/0.95 makes it extremely convenient to shoot at a low light conditions without flash. The new optical design incorporates a 11 elements in 8 groups structure, including 1pc of Extra- low disperson elements, 2 pcs of Extra-high Refractive Index elements and 3pcs of High Refractive Index elements. This structure effectively improved the image resolution by 30% compared to the previous version from corners to corners. This also controls the chromatic abberations very well and deliver excellent image sharpness even at f/0.95.

The new Speedmaster 35mm f/0.95 is light and compact. The total weight is reduced from 680g to 460g, making it an ideal companion for the compact mirrorless cameras. Manual focus design and a click-less, silent aperture ring promote smooth handling and are especially well-suited to video applications. The lens is built in metallic enclosure with additional protective process and finest finishing, which gives extra durability and aesthetic.

Pricing & Availability

Mitakon Speedmaster 35mm f/0.95 is now available to purchase at ZY Optics authorized resellers and at our official website (http://www.zyoptics.net/). The Recommended Retail price is USD 599.

Image samples can be download here: https://www.sendspace.com/file/f05v17

The Russian Magazine Rns.online reports that the Russian public company Rostec wants “to make it a luxury device, analogous to the Leica.”
I am yet not sure a “historical communist camera” can get suddenly become a “luxury product”. But I am curious how they will manage to achieve such a big change!

Maybe I should buy some [shoplink 301697 ebay]Zenit stuff on eBay[/shoplink] and wait until the price rises? :)

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via Petapixel via Photorumors

We got some additional technical details about that crazy Canon 250 Megapixel APS-H sensor presented by Canon on September 7. Harvest Imaging reports from the ISSCC meeting:

Hirofumi Totsuka of Canon presented a 250 Mpixel APS-H size imager : 1.5 um pixel pitch (4 sharing) made in 0.13 um technology node. The device is consuming 1.97 W at full resolution 5fps. An interesting build-in feature of this sensor is the following : ALL pixel signals are converted by column SS-ADCs with a single ramp, but in front of the ADC, each column has its own PGA that can be switched to 4x or 1x gain, depending on the signal level. So when the pixels are sampled, a first check is done to look whether the signal is above or below a particular reference level, and then the right gain of the PGA is set to 1x or 4x. Simple method, but I think that the issues pop up in the reconstruction of the signal at the cross-over point between the two settings of the PGA.

The camera prototype used to fit the new sensor was a mirrorless box. Wondering if Canon is going to use that sensor in a future “serious” mirrorless camera.

A group of friends launched a stratospheric balloon with five cameras from the Presidio in San Francisco, capturing sweeping views of the Bay Area. The balloon traveled south along the Pacific coast, bursts at an altitude of 91,470 ft, and lands near Salinas, over 100 miles away. The camera they used to shot these images were a Sony A7s.

And if something doesn’t work don’t get angry and make a viral video out of it: Dave Jones (EEVblog) “opened” his faulty 16-50mm OSS E-mount lens and shows us what’s inside:

Beware Fuji folks! You will have to suffer extra 30 days more before your new X-PRO2 will ship! According to BHphoto the first stock of cameras will ship out of their store on March 25. Fuji said the delay is caused by an unexpected high demand. But “sources” from Fujirumors said there is also firmware fix to be made that could be the real reason why Fuji delayed the shipment start.