RAU-TU

Cosina has announced it is joining the Micro Four Thirds system standard with Olympus and Panasonic. Users will now be able to use an extended choice of Cosina and Voigtländer-branded lenses with their Micro Four Thirds cameras without the need for adapters. To coincide with this announcement, Cosina has announced the availability of its Nokton 25mm F0.95 lens compliant with the standard. Priced at ¥95,000 (~ US $1125) it will be available from October 2010.

Canon has announced the EF 8-15mm f/4 L USM, the world’s first fisheye zoom lens to offer both circular and full frame images. This replacement for the EF 15mm F2.8 fisheye will produce circular images with a 180 degree angle of view when used at its widest setting on 35mm-format cameras such as the EOS 5D Mark II, and images which cover the full sensor area at 15mm. It also incorporates marks at intermediate zoom positions denoting the widest settings which can be used on APS-C and APS-H format cameras to give full frame images without vignetting. The lens features [...]

Canon has unveiled the EOS 60D mid-level DSLR, replacing the EOS 50D. However, following the launch of the EOS 7D, the 60D has been repositioned in the market, so isn’t a simple upgrade to its predecessor. Instead the 60D is a smaller camera featuring an articulated screen and plastic body shell and utilizing SD memory cards. It combines the 18MP CMOS sensor and 1040k dot 3.0" LCD from the EOS 550D (Rebel T2i) with the AF system from the 50D. Meanwhile it gains the 7D’s HD movie capability. We’ve had a chance to use a pre-production 60D so have prepared [...]

Canon has announced an updated version of its EOS E1 plug-in for Apple’s Final Cut Pro video-editing software extending support to the EOS 60D DSLR. Already compatible with the company’s EOS-1D Mark IV, 7D and 5D Mark II, the plug-in converts recorded footage into Apple’s ProRes 422 compression format at approximately twice the speed of Apple’s standard conversion and allows users to log and mark videos with timecode, reel names and metadata.

Nik Software has announced HDR Efex Pro, an HDR processing plug-in for Adobe Photoshop, Lightroom and Apple Aperture compatible with both Windows and Mac. Based around its proprietary tone mapping technology, it offers number of presets and tools for selective fine-tuning, ghost removal and shadow/highlight recovery for both multiple and single images. The software installs as a 32-bit or 64-bit plug-in compatible with the applications as far back as Photoshop CS3, Lightroom 2.3 and Apple Aperture 2.1. HDR Efex Pro will be available from Autumn 2010 at a suggested retail price of $159.95.

Adobe has developed a set of three online tools as the primary way of interacting with its Photoshop.com online storage and editing site. The Photoshop Express Editor, Organizer and Uploader have been optimized to integrate with the company’s recently released Photoshop Express apps for iPad, iPhone, and Android devices and promise faster and ‘more intuitive’ uploading, editing, and organizing abilities.

In a press release announcing its attendance in Photokina 2010, Carl Zeiss has announced it will be launching accessories for the first time along with new lenses.

Canon has announced it has developed a 120 megapixel 29.2 x 20.2mm APS-H CMOS sensor – the same size used in its EOS-1D series of professional DSLRs. The sensor, for which Canon has announced no production plans, has a pixel count nearly 7.5 times larger than the company’s highest pixel count commercially available sensor. It offers full HD recording (using 1/60th of its surface area) and can deliver 9.5fps continuous shooting. This follows a 50 million pixel sensor of similar format the company developed in 2007.

Sony has announced the addition of the A580 and A560 to its consumer-level DSLR range. Both the 16.2MP A580 and 14.2MP A560 are based around the company’s Exmor APS HD CMOS sensors and enhanced Bionz processors. Both cameras can record 1080p full HD movies and deliver 7 fps in continuous shooting mode. They also include Sony’s two-mode live view system with a 15-point phase-detection AF or a Manual Focus Check mode. Other features shared by both cameras include 3.0" fold-out LCDs, an enhanced Auto HDR mode, sensitivity of up to ISO 25,600 and 3D Sweep Panorama mode. Priced at €900 [...]

Sony has unveiled the SLT A55 and SLT A33, the first pair of cameras to incorporate the company’s translucent mirror design. The Single Lens Translucent (SLT) cameras offer live view with full-time fast phase-detection AF whether in stills or movie shooting. This is achieved by having a fixed, semi-transparent mirror that redirects a small amount of light onto the AF sensor while allowing the rest through onto the main imaging sensor. The A55 is built around a 16.2MP sensor while the A33 features a 14.2MP unit. Both feature 3.0" articulated LCDs, full HD video recording and ISO sensitivity up to [...]

Just Posted: Our review of the Sony SLT A55 interchangeable lens camera. Sony’s latest camera uses a fixed translucent mirror to redirect some of the captured light to the autofocus sensor, ensuring it can use fast, phase-detection AF at all times. The result is a full-time live view camera that can shoot at 10 frames per second and autofocus during video shooting. Its radical design blurs the already hazy line between DSLRs and mirrorless interchangeable lens cameras but has the potential to completely re-shape the market. We’ve had a production-standard SLT A55 for a little while now. So does it [...]

Along with the latest SLTs and DSLRs, Sony has also announced the
24mm F2, 35mm F1.8 and 85mm F2.8 Alpha lenses
in the US. Announced a month ago in the European market, the 24mm and 85mm lenses will start shipping from late September at retail prices of $1,250 and $250 respectively, followed by the 35mm which will be available from mid-October at a retail price of $200.

Phase One, Mamiya and lighting manufacturer Profoto have jointly announced the V-Grip Air, a vertical grip with built-in wireless flash trigger. The V-Grip Air, designed for the Phase One and Mamiya 645DF cameras allows wireless flash control at sync speeds up to 1/1600s. The wireless system works with all current and most modern Profoto flash systems and can be used with other makers’ flashes using an optional Profoto transceiver unit. The grip will be priced at $1290/€990 while the transceiver unit for third-party flashes costs $199/€149.

Metz has introduced the Mecablitz 58 AF-2 and 50 AF-1 flashguns for Canon, Nikon, Sony, Pentax and Four Thirds cameras. Successors to the 58 AF-1 and 48 AF-1, the latest models feature metal mounts with enhanced locking systems for faster mounting and wider angle diffusers for focal lengths from 12 mm equivalent. In the 58 AF-2, its slave/servo sensor has been integrated to the front of the unit to increase transmission of wireless flashes, meanwhile the 50 AF-1 sees a power increase to guide number to 50.

Kodak has released what it calls the world’s thinnest 5x optical zoom compact. Measuring 15mm on its thinnest side, the EasyShare M950 digital compact offers 14Mp sensor, 35-175mm equiv. lens and 2.7" LCD. It includes features such as 720p HD recording, direct online sharing options and takes Micro SD/SDHC memory cards. The company has also announced the Pulse 10-inch touchscreen digital frame with internet access. Both the camera and digital frame are priced at $199.95 each and will be available from the end of this month.

Ricoh has released the CX4 compact superzoom with a 10 megapixel back-illuminated CMOS sensor. It offers the same 10.7x (28-300mm equiv.) zoom lens, 920k dot 3 inch LCD and 720p HD video recording as the company’s CX3, but with enhanced image stabilization. The company says its latest version reduces blur to a degree equivalent to using a shutter speed 3.7 EV faster than actually being used. Other features include subject-tracking AF and additional shooting modes.

Ricoh has released the CX4 compact superzoom with a 10 megapixel back-illuminated CMOS sensor. It offers the same 10x (28-300mm equiv.) optical zoom lens, 920k dot 3 inch LCD and 720p HD video recording as the CX3 compact, but features enhanced image stabilization that claims to reduce blur on average by the equivalent of about -/+3.7 EV usable shutter-speed stops. Other features include subject-tracking AF and additional shooting modes.

Ricoh has released the CX4 compact superzoom with a 10 megapixel back-illuminated CMOS sensor. It offers the same 10x (28-300mm equiv.) optical zoom lens, 920k dot 3 inch LCD and 720p HD video recording as the CX3 compact, but offers enhanced image stabilization that claims to reduce blur on average by the equivalent of about -/+3.7 EV usable shutter-speed stops. Other features include subject-tracking AF and additional shooting modes.

Canon has released what it calls the world’s slimmest super zoom camera – the PowerShot SD4500 IS (IXUS 1000 HS in Europe). Measuring 22mm at the thinnest side, it features the company’s ‘HS’ system first featured in the SD4000 IS, promising better low-light performance and high-speed photography. It shares the same 10MP back-illuminated CMOS sensor and 2.7 inch LCD as the SD4000 IS, but offers a longer 10x zoom range starting at a rather over-long 36mm equivalent. The image-stabilized camera can record full HD movies as well as Super Slow Motion movies at 240fps, and (in Europe, at least) represents [...]

Nikon’s salvo of lens releases is rounded off by the AF-S Nikkor 28-300mm f/3.5-5.6G ED VR. Designed to provide FX format users with an equivalent of the company’s popular 18-200mm for DX, this superzoom includes two-mode image stabilisation to the latest VR II specification, a close focus distance of 50cm and a zoom lock switch. It will be available from 2nd September for £869.99 / €899.