Leica Monochrome shipping and cool video by CamerastoreTV :)

The nice team from CamerastorTV made that new Leica Monochrome video review I embedded here on top. These guys are so nice I am going to link to their store a couple of times: www.thecamerastore.com, www.thecamerastore.com, www.thecamerastore.com, www.thecamerastore.com, www.thecamerastore.com,  …and I am not going paid for this joke :)

That said I heard first preorders have now been shipped by BHphoto (Click here). But I really don’t know how few of my readers had the money to preorder this jewel. We may better wait for Sony to launch their NEX-FF hybrid system. On SonyAlphaRumors we just learned that this system works in a different way then we thought (Click here ot read the newest rumor on SAR).

Impossible made Possible? Sony NEX goes Full Frame!

According to latest rumors posted by Andrea on SonyAlphaRumors Sony is about to launch a new NEX Full Frame system. I am trying to figure out if it means that it will use the same E-mount or some kind of other mysterious trick to make it work on an E-mount. No idea yet, but I think Sony is going to surprise quite many of us at Photokina if they bring it for real! It would probably the first cheap “Leica” alternative of the history :)

More info at SonyAlphaRumors.

Leica M10 to be unveiled on September 17th.


Usually companies try to hide their announcement day but Leica is not. Leicarumors got the hands on this invitation for a September 17th event: “The expectations are for a new Leica M10, S3, D-Lux 6, V-Lux 4 and maybe even a redesigned Summicron-M 28mm f/2 ASPH and a new 28mm Summilux-M f/1.4.“

The M10 is “rumored” to be the first Leica M camera with Cmos sensor and live view. About time I would say! Question is again…who will make that sensor?

Another Canon Patent For Improved Phase-Detection Autofocus (next mirrorless sensor?)

Conventional approach (left) and patented approach (right)

Egami (machine translated) spotted another patent filed by Canon and related to methods that aim to improve the performance and accuracy of the phase-detection AF. This is the second patent in a few days – the first one can be seen here. Such an AF method is featured on the Rebel T4i/650D and on Canon’s recently announced mirrorless camera, the EOS M. Note that such an AF method is particularly useful on a mirrorless camera, given that such cameras, since they are missing the mirror, can not focus in the “traditional way”.

As far as I can tell, the patent details methods to increase AF performance by eliminating problems caused by the angle of incidence of the light: “[…] reduce the diffraction limit by a high refractive index layer“. Another discussed issue is the reduction of the pixel size (higher resolution??). I am more and more confident that both patents are related to an upcoming sensor which, I guess, will be at the heart of the more pro-oriented mirrorless camera most of us are expecting to be announced in September at Photokina.

  • Patent Publication No. 2012-151367

    • 2012.8.9 Release Date

    • 2011.1.20 filing date

  • The diameter of the spot light focusing of the micro lens

    • Determined by the numerical aperture and ? the wavelength of the incident light

    • By the wave nature of light, not smaller than the diffraction limit

    • When the pixel size below the diffraction limit, pupil division is impossible

    • ? = 1.22 * (? / n * sin?) diffraction limit

    • ? This angle ? is half the chance of lens optical system was synthesized in the micro-lenses and layers

  • Related art

    • There is a light flux can not reach into the openings of the light-shielding layer of the phase difference AF pixel for the image plane, the light-receiving efficiency is reduced

    • Although the distance can be shortened and the photoelectric conversion unit if microlens back-illuminated (BSI), if the pixel consists of a low refractive index layer in the layer lens +, for total internal reflection occurs, can not be expected to increase the angle

  • Canon’s patented

    • To reduce the diffraction limit by a high refractive index layer

    • Structure of the pixel

      • Within a layer lens, and light shielding layer formed between the microlens

      • The high refractive index layer, filled between the lens and the light-shielding layer in the layer

      • The low refractive index layer, a light shielding layer filled between the microlens and

      • Optical system consisting of micro-lens and lens in the layer, connecting the focal point in the PD

      • A case

        • ? = 540nm wavelength of the incident light

        • 1.6 refractive index of the microlens

        • 1.45 refractive index of the low refractive index layer

        • Layer of high refractive index lens and in the layer refractive index n = 2.3 (silica Sio 2 of the prior art is n = 1.46)

[egami, via canonwatch]

EISA award winner prize for E-M5, X PRO 1 and NX20.

The European EISA agency released the name of the winners of the 2012 awards. There are thee categories of mirrorless cameras and those are the winners:
European Compact System Camera (Winner: Olympus OM-D E-M5)
European Advanced Compact System Camera (Winner: Samsung NX20)
European Professional Compact System Camera (Winner: Fujifilm X-Pro1)

For the record, EISA uses the deifnition “Compact System Camera” instead of our more popular definition “Mirrorless”. And as it happens every year…everybody wins a price…Nikon, Canon, olympus, Panasonic, Samsung and so on :)

By the way, the best mirrorless lens is the Panasonic 12-35mm X zoom.

Plenty of new Samsung reviews (dpreview, sansmirror and more!)

Some big websites finally gave some attention to Smasung NX cameras! Here are the links to the very latest reviews:

Dpreview tested the NX210: “The NX210 is slightly let down by long buffering times in raw mode and the JPEG engine’s noise treatment at high sensitivities but overall it is a powerful photographic tool with a good feature set for its class and enjoyable to use.“

Also Cnet USA tested the NX210: “I like the NX210; I enjoy shooting with it. But I think there are too many confusing choices for automatic operation, and the JPEG quality needs to be better.“

Sansmirror tested the NX1000: “A very competent camera that keeps (most) things simple and straightforward. There’s little to fault and much to praise here. Other than the clunkiness of the WiFi add-on and the fact that the iFn button seems more gimmicky than useful, this is a very strong contender for a basic mirrorless camera. “

German Samsung NX20 review at Cnet.de. NX100 test at ePhotozine.

Now let’s see if Samsung will finally release some explosive new NX stuff at Photokina…. I am talking about the nice protype images they showed us once!