So far the Sony A7rII sensor had the best score at DxOmark. But the newly tested Red Helium and Red Epic (read test here) are now the king of the DxO ranking. DxO writes:

The RED Helium 8K is the most impressive sensor we’ve ever tested. Rating 10 points above the best of the full-frame DSLRs, it stands alone as our top scorer. Its image quality is even more impressive given its very high maximum frame rates. Our only caveat is that the Helium 8K sensor appears to benefit from some noise reduction to enhance its RAW image quality.

We can likely explain the Helium 8K’s improvement over our previous top scorer, RED’s own Dragon, by a combination of both better sensor technology and temporal noise reduction. The upgrade to 8K video and improved image quality across the board make it a clear upgrade from the RED Dragon – and a clear winner. The Helium 8K is an impressive achievement by RED. For those with the budget, its top-of-the-line image quality, high frame rate, and 16-bit RAW capture capability absolutely make it worth considering as a competitor to high-end DSLRs and medium-format cameras for still image capture.

It’s been a while since Canon announced they were developing a 250MP sensor, but they had a sample on show at CES this year and Photogearnews.com’s David Newton took a closer look.

Image source: chaoticmind75 by Alexey Kljatov

Most of us will get depressed when they will learn what gear Alexey Kljatov used to get that incredible snowflake shot. An old [shoplink 303431 ebay]Canon A650[/shoplink] with a cheaply attached [shoplink 303430 ebay]Helios 44M-5 lens[/shoplink]:

Image source: chaoticmind75 by Alexey Kljatov

And please jump over to Alexeys site chaoticmind75 to see the amazing set of pictures he took! Yes folks, Photography Talent beats gear acquisition syndrome a Zillion to Zero!

X-Photographer Piet Van den Eynde from Belgium tests the prototype of FUJIFILM GFX 50S and GF Lenses in India, his favorite place to shoot photography. Watch the photographer in action and see what he thinks about GFX, the new medium format mirrorless camera system by Fujifilm.

Wedding Photographer Natan Sans from Spain tests the prototype of FUJIFILM GFX 50S and GF Lenses for wedding photography. Watch the photographer in action and see what he thinks about GFX, the new medium format mirrorless camera system by Fujifilm.

Landscape Photographer Yinghui Wu from China tests the prototype of FUJIFILM GFX 50S and GF Lenses for landscape photography. Watch the photographer in action taking photos with the new medium format mirrorless camera system by Fujifilm.

Professional photographer Itaru Hirama (?? ?) from Japan tests the prototype of FUJIFILM GFX 50S and GF Lenses for a studio shooting session with a dancer. Watch the photographer in action and hear what he thinks about the new medium format mirrorless camera system by Fujifilm.

X-Photographer Serkan Günes from Sweden tests the prototype of FUJIFILM GFX 50S and GF Lenses; visiting Swedish Lapland shooting landscape photography. Watch the photographer in action and see what he thinks about GFX, the new medium format mirrorless camera system by Fujifilm.

Dpreview posted the EOS-M5 review and concludes:

The M5 represents Canon’s continued commitment to the EOS M system, which we’re happy to see, and we should reinforce that for folks who think they may want to get into shooting video as well as stills, the EOS M5 will make that far easier than most of the competition. The M5 is, on the whole, a solid and capable camera for a wide variety of photography. Unfortunately, in the broader context of the mirrorless camera market, we can’t help but feel a bit let down by the M5 on the whole, and are already looking forward to seeing what the next EOS M will bring.

A good step forward but still not good enough to match the very best mirrorless on the market. That said what’s also missing are many EOS-M lenses. Canon really needs to get serious here too!

EOS-M5 in Stock at Adorama, Amazon and BHphoto.

Interview: Hasselblad Asia featuring the X1D

The early Hasselblad X1D preorders are now shipping out (slowly) at BHphoto. In Europe they will ship out in 10 days at Calumet.de and at WexUK. I still haven’t found any official full review to share. I would love to see an image quality comparison between the best FF cameras and the X1D to see if there is really a major difference.

In the meantime the X1D got presented on various events in Spain and Asia. Here are a few videos:
Toma De Contacto by Photolari.
First Look by Keydrin Franklin
Tom Potisit had travelled the the North Of Thailand with the Hasselblad X1D
An Open Boxing video in italian.
Presentacion cámara X1D de Hasselblad en Provideo Sevilla