Fuji not only makes the best APS-C mirrorless cameras but also the Avigan anti-flu drug that helps coronavirus patients recover

Reuters reports:

Shares in Japan’s Fujifilm Holdings Corp (4901.T) surged 15% on Wednesday morning after a Chinese official said the company’s Avigan anti-flu drug appeared to help coronavirus patients recover.

Avigan, also known as Favipiravir, is manufactured by a subsidiary of Fujifilm, which has a healthcare arm although it is better known for its cameras. The drug was approved for use in Japan in 2014.

Favipiravir has been effective, with no obvious side-effects, in helping coronavirus patients recover, Zhang Xinmin, an official at China’s Science and Technology Ministry, told reporters at a news conference on Tuesday.

A Fujifilm spokeswoman said the company had no comment on the Chinese government’s announcement. Fujifilm manufactures Avigan only on receiving orders from the Japanese government and has no sales target for the drug, she said.

Fujifilm shares closed the morning up 14.7% at 5,207 yen, having briefly hit their daily limit high of 5,238 yen.

In a clinical trial in Shenzhen involving 80 participants, patients who took Favipiravir showed greater chest improvement and took less time to test negative for the genomic trace of the virus, compared with patients not given the drug, Zhang said.

Samsung madness: New flagship smartphone rumored to feature a anew 150MP sensor!

In Korea there is a new rumor about the next Samsung flasgship smartphone camera featuring a new 150MP sensor. Sammobile.com translated the rumor:

Samsung may be developing a new 150-megapixel sensor for flagship phones, according to a fresh rumor passed along via Twitter. It claims that the sensor has a footprint of around 1 inch and that it uses the same Nonacell technology that was employed by the Galaxy S20 Ultra’s ISOCELL Bright HM1 sensor.

The rumor further suggests that Xiaomi will be the first third-party company to utilize the 150MP shooter in one of its flagship phones scheduled to be unveiled in Q4 2020. Other companies including Oppo and Vivo will supposedly employ the module in the first quarter of 2021. They’ll pair the sensor with the unannounced Qualcomm Snapdragon 875 chipset which will presumably beat at the heart of their premium models.

Nonacell is seemingly reviving the race for more pixels

Now, since the sensor is said to rely on Nonacell technology, it should combine nine pixels into one to achieve higher light absorption. And because the sensor is said to have a resolution of 150-megapixels, the final shots should technically have a pixel count of around 16MP, as opposed to the ISOCELL Bright HM1 sensor which delivers 12MP shots.

It’s interesting to see how this camera technology is giving Samsung a real incentive to aim for a higher pixel count for its sensors. For the most part, the race for more pixels had slowly died off in recent years, but the introduction of Nonacell is seemingly reviving that philosophy, even though it may be doing so for different technical reasons.

Samsung could be creating this sensor specifically for its clients in China; in other words, there’s no way to be certain that the Korean giant will use the same exact sensor in one of its future flagship phones such as the Galaxy Note 20 or Galaxy S21. But a variation of it, at least, is likely to be developed for Samsung’s own purposes.

This MP race will never end…

The ULTIMATE Canon lens? :: RF 50mm f/1.2 L

Ted Forbes writes:

Canon started big with their first round of RF mount lenses for their mirrorless system. The Canon RF 50mm f/1.2 L is a seriously good lens. Its versatile enough to be very sharp, but can also shoot wide open for some gorgeous and often abstract bokeh rendering. Building on the EF 50mm f/1.2, Canon corrected many of the aberrations and give us a sharper, high resolving lens. This does come with some tradeoffs – this lens is big. Its also very heavy and the price is not cheap. But if you’re willing to sacrifice some of the conveniences of portability for image quality – this lens is well worth the entry price.

Its also worth noting at the time I’m filming this – there is no equivalent to this lens in any mirrorless system. Nikon only have a 50mm f/1.8 and Sony have several options – but only at f/1.8 and f/1.4. This is a unique lens with a beautiful rendering and performance.

Sigma CEO Kazuto Yamaki says he is yet not satisfied with the market share conquered by the L-mount alliance

Sigma CEO Yamaki had a chat with the french magazine Phototrend. Some key takeaways:
* Sigma fp is the basis for the future of camera at Sigma
* Sigma doesn’t want to impose his view on how to use the Sigma fp
* In the future, Sigma thinks that all cameras will no longer use a mechanical shutter
* The most important characteristics of the Sigma fp is compactness and high quality images
* Sigma Foveon FF camera is late because of issues with the sensor design and manufacturing delay from vendors
* Sigma wants to differentiate itself from other competitors with Foveon sensor.
* They are building a new building at Aizu factory to improve the manufacturing process, not increasing the production capabilities
* Yamaki-san thinks there needs to be more lenses for the L-mount system
* In terms of market share, Sigma is not satisfied by the L-Mount Alliance. But according to Kazuto Yamaki it is still too early to draw conclusions. There needs to be 3 to 4 years after the launch to assess the results L-rumors
* Kazuto Yamaki is satisfied by the diversity of lenses and cameras offered by the members of the L-Mount Alliance.
I figured it would be very hard for the L-mount alliance to conquer significant shares in the FF world…