World’s fastest lens for mirrorless gets an “upgrade”

Back in 2014 the German company Ibelux launched the 85mm f/0.85 lens. it was designed for all different mirrorless system and it’s actually the world’s fastest lens available for those system. The price ($2,000) was heavy and the sales were not as good as expected. Fujirumors reports that the company will launch a new upgraded version:

Now the Ibelux 40mm f/0.85 MarkII is coming. The red version you can see here is not for sale, but the black one will ship in October. There will be improvements in the mechanical design, a better smoother bokeh, and let’s see what else. Photographers from all over the world are testing the new version right now, and I will feature their reviews here on Fujirumors as soon as they are out. So stay tuned. :)

I hope they will slash the price too!

First images of the new Fuji X-E3

Fujirumors leaked the first full size images of the new X-E3 that will be announced on September 6. The Fujifilm X-E3 has a 24MP sensor and records 4K. Itwill have the following dimensions (compared to X-E2)

Fujifilm X-E3: 121.3mm x 73.9mm x 42.7mm
Fujifilm X-E2: 129mm x 74.9mm x 37.2mm
Fujifilm X-T20: 118.4mm x 82.8mm x 41.4mm

Opteka 12mm f/2.8 for for Fuji, Sony, Canon, MFT

Opteka will launch five new manual focusing lenses designed for mirrorless systems. The first lens will be a 6.5mm f/2.0 Fisheye lens. Today we got the specs and an image of the second lens:

Opteka 12mm f/2.8 HD Multi-Coated Lens
12 elements in 10 groups
9 aperture blades
3.9” (0.1m) minimum focus distance

Reminder: These are the specs of the 6.5mm f/2.0 Fisheye

6 elements in 5 groups
9 aperture blades
1.9” (0.05m) minimum focus distance

Unlike current Opteka lenses (here on Amazon) these lenses are designed for mirrorless cameras only.

Olympus announces the new E-M10III

Thanks to the multiple leaks we already knew everything about this new camera. And now it’s officially available for preorder:
Silver or Black E-M10III at GetOlympus, BHphoto, Adorama and Amazon. In Eu at WexUK and ParkUK.
E-M10III with kit lens at GetOlympus, BHphoto, Adorama and Amazon.
Special E-M10III superkit at Amazon and Adorama.
CS-51B Body Jacket for the E-M10III at BHphoto.

If you wonder were the hell the new rumored f/1.2 PRO lenses are don’t worry. They will be announced in October.

Previews and hands-on:
Field Test by Allan Weitz. Field test at Imaging Resource. Shooting experience at Dpreview. Review by Ming Thein. Hands-on by WexUK. Hands-on review at Photographyblog. First impressions at ThePhoBlographer. E-M10II vs E-M10III at ParkCameras. First impressions at Cinema5D. Review by CameraJabber.

 

Fuji announces that it wants to become No.1 in the premium mirrorless camera market

We were used to get bold statements from Samsung and Sony. But now this one sounds more…”serious”. Fuji officially released their Medium-Term Management Plan called “VISION2019“. And those are their goals for 2019:

  • In digital cameras, work toward capturing No.1 market share in the premium mirrorless camera market, promoting the X Series that continues to evolve with outstanding image quality, fast speed and mobility, alongside the medium-format GFX Series that uses a large sensor, 1.7 times bigger than that of full-frame cameras, to pursue the pinnacle of image quality.
  • Reinforce the lineup of its highly reputable interchangeable lenses to continue to achieve increased revenues and profits in the mirrorless system business as a whole.
  • Broaden the lens business by expanding the lineup of 4K broadcast lenses, launched ahead of the rest of the world, as well as the lineup of lenses for the fast-growing new video production market, including online video.

Of course we don’t know how Fuji defines “premium” camera market. If they mean Medium Format it’s easy to guess that this is a goal they can easily achieve. But if the “premium” market includes FF cameras too it will be much harder to beat Sony and the upcoming Nikon FF.