Personal ramblings on photography
News (industry, events)
The now anticipated full frame mirrorless Panasonic S1 and S1R cameras, whose L-mount is shared with Leica, have been unveiled:
Also some new lenses with the label “S Pro”:
Panasonic says it’s planning to design and develop at least 10 S PRO lenses by 2020 to expand the S Series lens lineup.
Two more firmware updates are planned for the Fujifilm X-T3.
A minor update, 2.10, is already available that allow recording video files bigger than 4GB on XDHC cards.
And in April, Firmware 3.0 will improve Eye-AF, fast tracking and face detect.
This has been Fujifilm’s forte in the X-series: improvements with firmware updates.
CineStill has announced a powdered version of their film developers, one for Black & White and one for colour C-41.
Beyond saving on shipping, the price of the kits themselves are more affordable. The Df96 monochrome development kit costs $16.99, while the Cs41 colour development kit costs $24.99, $3 and $1 cheaper than the liquid versions, respectively.
The price difference is small, but Living in Canada I can’t easily order liquid film chemistry from US retailers. So should make it easier to ship.
Petapixel is reporting two Nikon Z related news.
Leica just announced the M10-D a M-mount rangefinder digital camera, that doesn’t have a screen or other controls at the back. Sounds familiar? It seems the timing is in sync with the Pixii I talked about yesterday. Similarly, to control anything but aperture, shutter speed and exposure compensation, you have to use the companion smartphone app.
The Leica M10-D is a stripped down version of the M10-P. Is it cheaper? No. Both have an advertised street price of US$8,000.
It is not everyday that there is a new rangefinder camera not made by Leica.
The French startup Pixii announced their camera.
The Pixii is a rangefinder digital camera (yes, an actual rangefinder) with an M mount for the lenses. Of course M39 screw mount lenses can be used with an adapter. There is not much known about the specs, neither the sensor size, nor the price. One of its key features is that it doesn’t have a screen, but rather just have connectivity to a smartphone.
From PetaPixel:
No word yet on pricing or availability. PIXII says those details will be announced in the coming weeks.
To be continued…
Also at Photokina, Fujifilm announced a new camera in their GFX series: the GFX 50R. The GFX 50R is to the GFX 50S what the X-E1 was to the X-Pro1: a more compact version of the 50 megapixel medium format mirrorless, in what they call a “rangefinder style” body (it is not a rangefinder camera). The GFX 50R also has a dual SD card slot. Available in November (2018) for US$4,500. DPReview has the details.
And to double it up, the announcement included news of the development of the GFX 100, a 100 Megapixel successor of the GFX 50S, to be released sometime in 2019, featuring phase detect auto-focus and in-body image stabilisation, as well as 4K video ! But will they solve the problems with such a large sensor? The price is speculated to be around US$10,000.
One more thing. According to The Verge, Fujifilm showed a XF 33mm f/1.0 R lens. F ONE POINT ZERO ! Coming in 2020.
(Updated 2018/09/26: added links to specifications)
Right now, Photokina is happening in Cologne.
Panasonic, as rumoured, announced the Lumix S, a full frame mirrorless camera using the “L-Mount”. L-mount is the mount from the Leica mirrorless Leica SL (not the M rangefinder) and is the result an alliance between Panasonic, Sigma and Leica.
Petapixel dubs it “the mirrorless wars”
This is not Panasonic abandoning the M4/3 format.
What DPReview knows so far which is not that much:
Panasonic has announced it is developing two full frame mirrorless cameras: the 47MP S1R and the 24MP S1. Both will be built around Leica’s L mount, allowing their use with existing Leica lenses as well as lenses promised by both Panasonic and Sigma.
For the lenses:
Alongside the two cameras, Panasonic has announced it will introduce three lenses: a 50mm F1.4, a 24-105mm zoom and a 70-200mm 2.8. It has also said it will introduce more than ten lenses before the end of 2020.
These, in addition to the existing (expensive) Leica lenses available for the Leica SL.
Unlike the GH5, the S1 and S1R cameras don’t have a flip out screen. It does video in 4K60P with no indication whether it is cropped or not, in body image stabilisation, two card slots (one XQD, one SD). Currently the performance and image quality is unknown.
The camera is definitely aimed at the professional market as Panasonic introduce “pro-level service” for the cameras.
Availability is scheduled to be early 2019, with no pricing disclosed yet.
Will Olympus be joining the game later?
In all the buzz around the Canon EOS R full frame mirrorless, almost unnoticed, Canon announced the EF-M 32mm f/1.4 STM lens for the EOS M:
Aimed at entry- and enthusiast-level photographers, the EF-M 32mm F/1.4 STM is a small (1.99in/50.5mm long) and light (8.29oz/235g) lens that’s the 35mm-equivalent of a 51mm lens, which provides an angle-of-view that’s similar to the human eye.
It is the fastest lens for the system, an almost equivalent to the 50mm f/1.4 found on the EOS line. If I had an EOS-M, I’d probably get it to supplement the 22mm f/2 (pancake).
But will that system live in parallel from the EOS-R? For how long?
And third time is a charm. Just yesterday Canon announced their fullframe mirrorless, Fujifilm just announced the third iteration of the Fujifilm X-T series, the X-T3. This is not a revolution in Fujifilm’s lineup: it is not a switch to fullframe as they do not have to do that, but an improvement.
I bought a Fujifilm X-Pro1 in 2012, pre-ordering it. This was the first generation camera of the series with all its quirks, and back then there was only 3 prime lenses. The X-series lineup is very compelling with many excellent quality and reasonably priced lenses, all in a relatively compact package, thanks to the APS-C sensor size.
I haven’t had the chance to see the X-T3 yet. This is based on spec and reviews.
What does the X-T3 brings to the table? It replaces the now 2 years old X-T2, with a wide range of improvements: a newer sensor up to 26Megapixels and a faster processing unit, with faster autofocus. An improved EVF with a faster refresh rate and higher resolution.
New video capabilities make this camera a good contender in the movie camera segment, with native 10bits 4:2:0 internal recording (sadly in HEVC H265), and 4:2:2 on an external recorder. The headphone jack no longer require the battery pack. 4K 30fps no longer crop, only the 60fps is cropped x1.18. The Eterna film simulation found in the X-H1 has been added as well. Sadly the flip out screen found on the X-T100 isn’t part of the upgrade. Fujfilm, pretty please!
Another interesting feature is the sports shooting mode where the captured image is cropped x1.25 allowing the viewfinder can show the outside of the frame, with a burst rate of 30fps.
Hit
Miss
A welcome update, I’m now holding off to get the X-T3, mainly motivated with my foray into moving pictures.