Leica MP monochrome and X2 are coming on Thursday!

The new B&W MP camera will costs $1,000 more than the new MP-9 you see here on top ($7999 at BHphoto).

This will be a very important week for all Leica fans. Finally Leica is going to announce a digital camera with “pure” Black and White sensor. And you have to pay quite a lot for that unique feature! According to Leicarumors the Leica MP Black and White camera will cost close to $9,000!!!

One the mirrorless front it is also to report that there will be a new X2 camera with fixed 35mm f/1.4 Summilux lens for….$3,000! That’s $1,000 more than you pat for the current Leica X1 (here at Amazon). It has a 16 or 18 MPX sensor (according to Leicarumors) and an optional EVF: LCD and AF are also improved. Too bad this camera doesn’t come with an interchangeable mount!

New Canon mirrorless rumors…

Canonrumors just posted a bunch of Canon mirrorless specs. He rated the rumor with a very low value so don’t take it too seriousely! According to him this is what we will see within 2012:

  • Two Cameras

  • G1 X Sensor Size

  • APS-C a possibility in one camera

  • 14 & 24 megapixels

  • EF compatibility, but not EF mount.

  • EVF on one camera

  • 3-5 Lenses announced at launch.

Sounds good!

New Fuji X PRO 1 review (versus Sony and Olympus) and a Super Canon G1X deal on eBay

The G1X superdeal on

If you still need to read more reviews about the X PRO 1 go at Photographyblog (Click here). The camera gets Highly Recommended: “Thankfully the X-Pro1’s innovative image sensor and lack of low-pass filter lives up to all the hype and more, delivering truly excellent image quality. Noise is noticeable only by its almost complete absence throughout the ISO range of 100-25,600, while the Dynamic Range function helps to boost contrast and detail.“

Soundimagesplus (Click here) compared the X PRO 1 image quality with that of the Olympus E-M5 and Sony NEX-5n: “Firstly, using the same Nikon lens on the Fuji and Sony the Sony has purple fringing and the Fuji doesn’t. Secondly, while the Fuji is clearly the best at ISO 3200, just look at how close the Olympus OM-D gets to this much praised Sony sensor at that setting.“

And lets end that post with a super deal for our USA readers. The Canon G1X with three extra accessories is for sale for $729 (that’s a $70 discount) on (found via CanonWatch).

Is that the new Samsung NX roadmap? Top line NX camera coming?

Yesterday we praised the superb 85mm NX lens but epxressed our doubts about Samsung NX system future. Maybe as reaction on that post one of our sources sent us some bits about the possible future Samsung roadmap. He writes:

1) Samsung plans to announce the EX1 successor, two new NX lenses and accessories at Photokina 2012
2) They are working on a new APS-C sensor with improved rolling shutter performance (too early to say “electronic shutter”), but with “normal” megpaixel number (bye be Megapxiel race)
3) There also is a new NX model coming before end of the year, a top line NX.

Sounds good or not?

Smart Fuji patent for thirds party lens support (Adobe is working on X PRO 1 RAW support).

I was really wondering how that nice hybrid viewfinder from the X PRO 1 could work best with third party lenses. Now Egami (Click here) found a brand new Fuji patent describing how the electronic viewfinder can analyze the focal length of the third party lens to adjust the optical viewfinder. The patent is written in Japanese so I hope the google translation tool didn’t fool me :)

One more news: Adobe just launched the Lightroom 4.1 Release Candidate which supports many new cameras like the Olympus E-M5.  But there is no Fuji X PRO 1 support. Adobe added a note:
“The Lightroom and Camera Raw team is well aware of the new X-Pro1 camera from FUJIFILM.  We are currently developing raw support for the X-Pro1 and look forward to providing it as soon as support is complete.  Thanks for your patience on this topic.“

via FujiRumors.

In stock status check:
Fuji X PRO 1 body is in Stock at Amazon (Click here), Adorama (Click here), BHphoto (Click here), Jessops UK (Click here) and Digitalrev (Click here).
Fuji X 18mm f/2.0 in Stock at Amazon (Click here) and Digitalrev (Click here).
Fuji X 35mm f/1.4 in Stock at Amazon (Click here), Adorama (Click here), BHphoto (Click here) and Digitalrev (Click here).
Fuji X 60mm macro f/2.0 in not Stock at Amazon (3-4weeks) but is in Stock at Digitalrev (Click here). Mike Kobal made a short NEX-7 versus Fuji X PRO 1 comparison.

The Samsung 85mm for NX is superb (tested at Photozone).

I guess Samsung managers are hitting their heads against the wall trying to figure out why their NX system isn’t becoming popular as it should. There could be many reason why their strategy isn’t working but it certainly doesn’t depend form their lens offering (and future roadmap). Photozone (Click here) just tested the Samsung 85mm f/1.4 lens and got a huge appraisal by the reviewer Klaus. If you know Klaus you will also know that he is very sever in his judgment. But he writes about that lens: “The Samsung NX 85mm f/1.4 ED SSA is a lighthouse product – it’s a truly professional grade lens and the best news is that it’s even a comparatively affordable one (in Europe at least). It stands out from the crowd – also quality-wise – which is why we recommend it highly to all Samsung NX users.“

Overall I think Samsung needs a breakthrough camera like Fuji did with the , Sony with the or Olympus with the [shoplink 100170]E-M5[/shoplink]. Maybe that would help them to get a momentum?

Menatime here are the search links to the superb Samsung lens: .

Leica Monochrome sensor made by Platinum Equity (Kodak sensor).

Our super good sources informed us that the new Leica M camera coming on May the 10th will feature a Black and White Full Frame sold by Platinum Equity. As you know Platinum acquired the Kodak business and they are going to sell the Kodak developed Black and White sensor to Leica.

The list of available Black and White CCD sensors is still available on Kodaks website (Click here). The sources didn’t tell me which one it is but they said the camera pixel per pixel sharpness is unmatched by any of the current Full Frame cameras. Not even the super new Nikon D800 (36Megapixels) can match it!