Sony manager MR. Kimio is creating a lot of expectations! In an interview with the Japanese site Dc.watch (google translation here) he promised many “surprises” for the year to come. He could not say what exactly will surprises us but he stressed to say that it’s Sony goal to make thing really new. They will also focus on the High End of the Photographic Market and the A7-A7r are just the start of that.

All I can add as a “rumor guy” is that there will be plenty of new Sony E-mount cameras. And some of them are Full Frame and quite different from the current A7-A7r. Zeiss will support this system with the launch of five manual focusing and fully Zeiss branded and designed lenses. And it is also expected to see some nice Olympus tech coming in these cameras too.

But what could be possibly a surprise for you? Foveon sensor? A Full Frame camera for $1,000? What else?

Fuji manager Mr.Kawahara has been interviewed the website 2how. Here are the key info:

1) He is reluctant to create full frame X series because XF lens would NOT be compatible with full frame camera. “If we launch the full frame body we have to launch the full frame lens too. So it is not good for X-series user.” So there are no plans just now to provide a full frame body.

2) Because of the high customers demand, Fujifilm considers to use sensors with more than 16MP in future.

3) Keep the size of XC lens with larger aperture value is almost impossible, because the optic technology is limited and cannot be solved easily, unlike technological limit.

4) Fujfilm will continue to support and improve its cameras via firmware update: “We want you to use our camera longer and longer in your life.”

via Fujirumors.

Image on top shows the current 55mm Otus.

The best lens of th world you can use on any mirrorless camera with an adapter is the Zeiss Otus 55mm f/1.4. Well, if you have the money and want the best than you will be also happy to learn that Zeiss will launch a new Otus 85mm f/1.4 lens in 2014!

Price should be again around $4000. Start saving the money!

Here is the official message from Zeiss:

Note: The Otus 55mm is the best lens ever made according to DxO testings (Click here).

A big rumor time is ahead of us. And from what I got from my sources manufacturers are defintiely NOT going to wait til the Photokina in September to announce new great cameras. From begin January til mid February we can expect the following announcements:

Sony: New Sony NEX-7 successor is coming. It will likely use an updated new 24MP sensor and a more high-resolution EVF. It will also have on sensor PDAF. What we don’t know yet is if Sony will also announce a new entry level NEX…pardon Alpha E-mount camera :)

Olympus: There will be certainly a new entry-level OMD camera. Not the E-M5 successor! It will be cheaper than the E-M5.

Panasonic: Panasonic is heavily working to launch the new GH 4K camera. I am not sure yet they will announce it in February or April. But it’s coming!

Leica: Leica will launch a new mirrorless system with EVF and AF lenses. Primes will be designed and fabricated in Germany. The zooms are made by Panasonic in Japan. The camera should cost close to $2000 and have a bigger than ASP-C sensor (FF or less big).

Samsung: Samsung will launch a new NXF1. No specs are given yet but the “F” suggests that this could be the first FF camera?

Fuji: Fuji is going to make a digital version fo the glorious Fujica ST. While the X-PRO1s will come too.

Sigma: They are working on a interchangeable DP camera version. The chances stay good this will have an MFT mount.

Canon/Nikon/Ricoh/Pentax: It’s very quiet on that front. There were some rumors about a Pentax LX FF camera but you know…these Pentax FF rumors are floating around the web since the web has been invented :)

So here we are, ready to start a new rumor time with new energy and with the new MirrorlessRumors theme! I kindly invite you to read the presentation of the new site here: https://www.mirrorlessrumors.com/welcome-to-the-new-mirrorlessrumors-theme.

Join in masses! :)

Ale

There is a double interview at DC.watch, first with Olympus and the second with Panasonic managers.
 What we learn from those are:

– Olympus says they will focus on high end products like the OMD because these are selling better than PEN cameras

– Panasonic confessed that a GH 4K camera is likely to happen next year!

All the rest of the interview is more or less about the past and future strategy and a deep marketing analysis. While the worldwide interchangeable lens camera market is nor more growing the mirrorless cameras are still selling very well and growing in Asian countries and slowly also in Europe too. US market is still the hardest to conquer!

Image on top: Canon Director Mr. Makoto.

Dcwatch (google translation here) posted the content of an interview with Canon director MR. Makoto. Based on what the google translation tool provides us we have the following information:

– New EOS-M with built-in EVF could arrive the second half of 2014 .

– EOS-M focus is on keeping size down

– One key aspect on future mirrorless cameras is the hybrid still+video performance

– There will be new lenses for the EOS-M system

– Canon is also “studying” the possibility to make more semi pro or pro mirrorless cameras (Whatever that means…LOL).

For now Canon didn’t take the mirrorless camera world very seriously. But I am pretty sure this is going to change in 2014. The problems for them is. Will they be able to catch up with the best cameras like the Fuji X-E2, Sony A7r and Olympus E-M1?

Fujirumors reports that Fuji will launch an All Black Fuji X100s in January. But more important the new X-PRO1 firmware release has been postponed til Dec. 19. Not a big deal, we can wait a couple of days more. Wich other companies would work as good as Fuji does when releasing fw updates!