Vitaly Kiselev announced the new NEX and Alpha hack project in collaboration with the hacker called “Someone1.00”. The official forum can be seen here: www.nex-hack.info. Great news for all NEX owners! And we are also curious to see how Sony will allow programmers to work on the new NEX-5R and NEX-6 cameras that are “rumored” to have Application support.

Meantime Olympus will have a new announcement next week. No big deal, we expect the 60mm macro to be released (this lens was already shown in May).

Egami (machine translated) found a Canon patent for an improved phase-detection AF. Higher accuracy is obtained by better propagation of light. The patent text also suggests, the method should improve accuracy when light is falling in with a low-angle incident. Another fact is very interesting: the patent refers to smaller pixel size, i.e. you can pack more pixel on the sensor. So, given that a phase-detection AF is particularly useful on a mirrorless camera, could that indicate that Canon is working on a higher resolutions sensor (with an improved AF) for its more pro-oriented mirrorless camera that we expect to be announced later this year? I think that’s plausible. If Canon is working on a mirrorless camera that is more pro-oriented than the EOS M, this cam will most probably have a higher resolution.

• Patent Publication No. 2012-151215

  • 2012.8.9 Release Date
  • 2011.1.18 filing date

• Existing techniques

  • JP 2002-314062
  • Conventional techniques beam separation is insufficient, Ranging Accuracy is poor

    • Scattering effects due to wiring
    • The smaller the angle of incidence, it is difficult to detect
    • Smaller pixel size, the value of F becomes larger microlenses (dark), they spread the light next to almost the same in the size of the image pixel size and pixel diffraction

• And waveguide

  • The waveguide, depending on the angle of incidence of the light flux, there is a characteristic (waveguide mode) is different states of light propagation in the waveguide

• Canon ‘s patented

  • Consisting of waveguide waveguide and vice

    • Guiding light of two different incident direction: waveguide
    • Vice waveguide: one for each waveguide comprises a waveguide two sub-

  • Can be detected by the photoelectric conversion unit specific, the incident light at a particular angle
  • Impact of wiring

    • The incident light to propagate the core portion of the waveguide, reducing the impact of wiring

  • Low-angle incident light, by using the corresponding waveguide mode depends on the incident direction
  • Small pixel size, support by limiting the distribution of the emitted light

    • Achieved by suppressing the spatial width confinement in the waveguide propagation of light sub-

Image courtesy: DC.watch.

DC.watch (Translation here) interviewed the Canon team that developed the EOS-M mirrorless camera. Here are some interesting bits from the interview:

1) From the beginning the goal was to make the EOS-M as good as other EOS DSLR cameras. And to make ir small and light.
2) First goal is to reach a 15% of the mirrorless market share in Japan (by October).
3) Shutter from the EOS DSLR series has been minaturzized to fit into the EOS-M
4) GX1 sales are still strong (production is 30.000 units per month).
5) A Four Thirds sensor would bring an even further advantage in miniaturization but Canon wanted to make it fully EOS compatible.
6) We chosed to have Phase detection pixel on sensor because that technology works better than COntrast AF on moving objects.
7) EOS-M mount can NOT accomodate a FULL FRAME sensor. And there is no plan for a FF mirrorless.
8) No plan for now to make an adpater for FD lenses.

Interesting. They also said the main target are women :)

Canon EOS-M preorder links:
Full presentation page on Amazon.
EOS-M Black at Amazon, Adorama, BHphoto. In Europe at Amazon DE, Amazon UK.
EOS-M White at BHphoto. In Europe at Amazon DE, Amazon UK.
EOS-M 22mm pancake at Amazon, Adorama and BHphoto.
EOS-M 15-55mm kit lens at Amazon, Adorama and BHphoto.
EOS-M adapter at Amazon and BHphoto.
EOS-M Flash at Amazon, Adorama and BHphoto.

It’s a bit strange to announce a new camera and lens in early August but this certainly means that Nikon has a lot of stuff to announce before Photokina :)
Here are the links to the new J2 and 11-27.5mm:

Preorders:
Nikon J2 at Amazon (Click here) and BHphoto (Click here).
Nikon 11-27.5mm at Amazon (Click here) and BHphoto (Click here)

Press release:
Nikon J2 at Dpreview, Petapixel, CSCmagazine (spanish),
Nikon 11-27.5mm lens at Dpreview, CSCmagazine (spanish),

If you like me are a daily eBayer you will know very well that it’s quite a challenge to find the right stuff you are looking for. Most of the results you get when searching for a camera or lens are complete non sense or unwanted. Now a programer named “Andreas” created a website called Mirrorless-deals.com (Click here) that does the magic to sort out the right results from the huge ebay database. Example:

Panasonic Lumix search, Olympus PEN camera search, Nikon 1 lenses, Sony NEX cameras and so on and so on…

There is a complex algorithm running behind it that is capable of sorting out the right results for every mirrorless camera and lens. It’s still in Beta Stage only but it really works! Impressive! I guess more features will be added in future so feel free to check out the website and send them your features suggestions.

Website: http://www.mirrorless-deals.com

LIke other manufactors also FUji will announce plenty of new cameras and lenses at Photokina in September. And you can bet on it that one of the new cameras will be the X200. The current X100 is getting massive discounts in many stores (Example -$200 at BHphoto) and it even got a “discontinued” mark in some of them. Meantime we had a new (samll) Fuji X PRO 1 announcement. Here it is:

Fujifilm has announced that it will introduce Diopter Correction Lenses as an accessory for the X-Pro1.
Fujifilm is developing its own brand of Diopter Correction Lenses to accommodate near and far sighted customers who use the X-Pro 1 camera.
The Fujifilm Diopter Correction Lenses will enable these customers to view and enjoy the X-Pro1 Hybrid Multi Viewfinder more effectively.
Manufactured in Japan, Fujifilm’s specially designed 19mm Diopter Correction Lenses are packaged individually in the following six strengths:  +3, +2, +1, -1, -2, -3.
Lens strength is expressed as diopters whereby the higher the diopter, the stronger the lens. The plus (+) or minus (-) sign before the diopter strength indicates the type of lens.
Fujifilm Senior Category Manager – Imaging, Daniel Paul, said the new Diopter Correction Lenses will be a handy and practical accessory for those X-Pro1 customers with prescription glasses.
“The Diopter Correction Lenses will help to improve focus when capturing photos using the Fujifilm X-Pro1,” Mr Paul said.
They are expected to be available in August 2012.

Kipon just announced a completely new kind of EOS adapter that allows full electronic control on m43 and NEX cameras! Listing specific dates and prices to be determined. But this is great news and right in time to send a message to Canon EF lens owners can use their lenses on those system cameras too!