Digital Home Thoughts - News & Reviews for the Digital Home

Are you paying attention? Because I'm not. Today Fujifilm announced nineteen (19) cameras. (well, eighteen plus bringing an existing one to the USA). Count that. Nineteen. Is anyone hearing anything over the noise?

I'll start off with the highlight, and that is the X-S1, which is a high-end bridge camera. Fujifilm's really taken to the X moniker lately. The camera features an optically stabilised 26x 24-624mm equivalent f/2.8-5.6 lens (which is pretty fast), a 2/3" 12 megapixel EXR CMOS sensor (which I hope will not have the X10's issues), HVGA 3" LCD with a SVGA resolution EVF (1.44m dots), fast frame rate at 7 FPS at the full 12 megapixel resolution, and 1080p video at 30 FPS. Ships in late January for US$800(!).

Fuji X-S1 US Launch - Engadget

For the rest, I'm going to use a bullet-point list to quickly show the specs; else we'll all be here till the end of the day!

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The first camera announcement of 2012 comes from Samsung, which is an addition to their unique DualView line. I'm not sure how popular the dual LCDs are, but Samsung think its a recipe for consumer success. The DV300F comes with a 16 megapixel CCD (yay, "only" 16), with a 25-125mm equivalent f/2.5-6.3 lens, and a 3" HVGA LCD at the rear, and a 1.5" low-resolution LCD with 61k dots in the front. There is also 720p video taking capability. The big addition is that of WiFi; in addition to sharing photos on common social networks, with the right app the camera can be controlled by a smartphone. In fact, the camera pretty much reads like a DualView update of the SH100, which we reviewed several months back. Like the SH100, it'll cost US$200, and the camera will ship in March.

"The Nikon V1 is a compact interchangeable lens camera (ILC) with 10.1 Megapixels, Full HD video, a selection of innovative shooting modes, quick burst modes and what Nikon describes as the world's fastest AF system to date."

The review is fairly positive, which is a surprise to me. I personally cannot stand using the Nikon 1 system. The problem, as I have mentioned to anyone who is willing to listen, is that Nikon created a totally new UI that is shared between both the J1 (the casual shooter's camera) and the V1 (supposedly aimed at the enthusiasts). The end result is a camera interface that is neither here nor there; it is not as straightforward as it should be for casual snappers, and it simply is just too frustrating to use for seasoned photographers. Top it off, the price is high, and the lenses few (and not particularly fast). Has anyone actually bought one of these and are happy with the UI?

"Our penultimate award is for the DSLR Camera of the Year 2011. Somewhat overshadowed by the rise of compact system cameras, DSLRs are still the staple product for the big two of Canon and Nikon. But it’s the young upstart Sony that most caught our eye in 2011 with the launch of the A77..."

Personally, I was a little shocked to find out that the A77 was given the nod, till I realised that in the other SLRs released in 2011 were Sony's own A65 and A35, the Canon EOS 600D and 1100D, and the Nikon D5100. Not much of a competition there; had Nikon launched the D300 replacement or Canon the EOS 5D Mark III, it would have been quite a different story.

"As you can see, the PowerShot S100 got a bump in resolution, zoom power, and continuous shooting performance -- plus it now has a GPS receiver. The S100 retains the compact metal body and customizable lens ring of its predecessor, plus full manual controls (with RAW support), an HDR mode, and larger-than-average sensor. The PowerShot S95 was one of my favorite cameras from last year. Will the same be true for the S100? Find out now in our review!"

The S100 is a nice upgrade from the S95, unlike the S95 itself, which was a small bump in terms of specs from the original S90. The 24mm equivalent wide-angle is a highlight for me, and the images have a smoother look to them compared to its CCD predecessor. All-in-all, I think this is the small compact camera to beat.

"Olympus has announced a new 12 - 50 mm Micro Four Thirds lens with some interesting features."

Interesting barely describes it for me. Bizarre is more apt for me. A lens that has pro features like weathersealing (which something the PEN series lacks; perhaps Olympus will have a higher grade PEN camera in the near-future?), coupled with decidedly consumer features like a power zoom and a rather small aperture that becomes even smaller rather quickly at the longer end of the zoom. While the power zoom mechanism can be disabled, I am still wondering why it is even there in the first place. It makes sense on the compact lenses like the Panasonic 14-42 zoom which is aimed at the compact camera upgrader, but this, I am left a little befuddled. Ships in January for US$500. More details at the read link.

"Now, with the NEX-7, Sony is specifically targeting those advanced users with a camera whose key spec reads like it's come straight off an enthusiast's wishlist. First up is the 24MP APS-C CMOS sensor, shared with the SLT-A77, that enables true 1080p60 video recording."

The Sony NEX-7 has been one anticipated camera, and the delay caused by the floods in Thailand have probably made the anticipation even higher. Luckily it does not seem to disappoint, with DPReview giving it a pretty good review. I personally do like the design of the camera, but I still have some concerns with the sensor, and I also think the lenses are too big and too few - the NEX system currently is just too tiny to support enthusiasts. Now if Panasonic and Olympus do try something like this for their Micro Four Thirds, that would be something really worth getting.

"Today, you can't swing a 500mm lens without hitting a business that wants nothing more than to store your pics. The question is: Do you dare stray from the familiar entities? We can't give you that answer, but we can tell you that truly excellent sites, perhaps just right for you, do indeed exist in other corners of the Web. And it's our intention here to point you in some of those directions."

MaximumPC takes a look at some other online photo hosting services, and a few look quite interesting. That said, 500px (pictured above) reminds me why I don't like the popularity contests that follow such services. Luckily Smugmug is on the list, and if you can afford the fees, I think it is the best of the lot. As always, I am curious to know of new photo hosts. Does anyone have their own favourite photo hosting service that is not mentioned in the article?

"The AW100 is Nikon’s first foray into the weather-proof camera market and is is waterproof to 10 meters, shock-proof to 1.5 meters, and freezeproof to as low as -10°C (14°F). The Coolpix AW100 also has a 16-megapixel back illuminated CMOS sensor, a 5x, 28-140mm equivalent zoom lens with lens-shift vibration reduction, 3-inch 460K-dot LCD monitor, full 1080p HD video with stereo sound, 3fps burst shooting, built-in GPS, a world map display and an electronic compass."

Once again, does anyone really like Nikon compacts? Image quality on the Coolpixes in the last seven years have ranged from average to downright terrible, and the cameras themselves are rarely a joy to use. The AW100 does not do much to shake off this reputation, but at least it as less competition since it is one of the few waterproof and shockproof compact cameras in the market (it seems only Panasonic, Olympus and Pentax have updated theirs). Still, at least it will survive a drop where most cameras will not!

Panasonic today announced their latest camera, and for those of you who wanted a proper follow-up to the GF1, here it is! The main upgrades here are in the form of a 16 megapixel sensor with a top ISO rating of 12,800 borrowed from the G3, an enlarged and rubberised grip, improved AF that promises 0.09 seconds focusing time, an electronic level for those of us who cannot place horizons straight, 1080i videos at 60 FPS in MP4 or AVCHD compression, and a new accessory connector that allows a much higher resolution EVF to be attached, at 1.44 million subpixels (probably SVGA resolution). The 3" HVGA LCD is now a touchscreen as well, which in addition to allowing touch-to-focus, also sports two of the four custom function "buttons". For those that need handholding Panasonic promises the Intelligent Auto (iA) function will handle even more parameters automatically. One thing I noticed is the loss of the drive mode lever; its functionality is now replaced by a button on the rear of the camera. Shame.

Personally, the GX1 is an incremental upgrade from the GF1. I was sort of hoping for something more different from Panasonic. Maybe the GX2 next year? I would love to see something with the EVF built-in. After all, Sony has shown that it can be done, with the NEX-7.

The GX1 will cost US$700 for the camera alone, US$800 with the old 14-42/3.5-5.6 kit, or US$950 with the new pancake 14-42/3.5-5.6 lens. Expected availability will be in December. PR and an image of the camera's rear after the break.

DPReview.com Preview

DCResource.com Preview

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"Your eyes aren't playing tricks on you: the Pentax Q is actually smaller than this compact Canon ELPH! How did Pentax manage to make such a small interchangeable lens camera? The secret is in the sensor: the Q's sensor is exactly the same size as what you'll find on the ELPH in the above photo: just 1/2.3". That makes it significantly smaller than APS-C, Four Thirds, and even Nikon's new 1-System cameras."

The review begins with the above comparison which neatly shows how small the Pentax Q is. Of course, the sensor is just as tiny in comparison, with a 1/2.3" sensor, making it even smaller than those found in enthusiast compacts like the Panasonic LX5 or the Canon S100. I am not sure where Pentax is going with this. Even the lens lineup shows a pandering towards toy camera users, who can get their kicks from crappy image quality for a tenth of the cost of the Q. Overall image quality is nothing to shout about either, as you can see from the review. I still believe this is some April Fool's prank from Pentax!

DigitalRev takes a look at the Nikon V1; Kai's not so optimistic about it. Highlight of the video for me is when Kai fumbles on the proprietary shoe's cover. I did almost the same thing when I tried the V1 myself. That cover is too loose and slippery, and since it's proprietary, good luck if you lose the thing!

"The Ricoh GR Digital IV is a brand new compact camera with a fixed 28mm lens that’s aimed firmly at the serious photographer. Virtually identical in design to the two-year old GR Digital III model, this latest version has a brand new Hybrid auto-focus system, image processing engine, sensor-shift image stabilization, a refined optical filter and a higher-resolution LCD screen."

When I was still shooting film, the compact camera I wanted was the Ricoh GR1V. Small and with my preferred 28mm lens (instead a focal length of 35mm), I never got around to getting one. In the digital era, however, Ricoh's GR Digitals use tiny compact camera sensors, of which I have never been quite enamoured with Ricoh's execution. The GR Digital has many improvements, but despite the review, I can't quite imagine using a camera that starts smearing detail at ISO 400. Maybe next time Ricoh?

"After a four-year wait, Sony has returned to the enthusiast/semi-pro end of the DSLR market. Having made little impact in that market with the A700 that very closely resembled the conventional DSLRs made by Canon and Nikon, Sony has spent the intervening time developing something a bit different."

DPReview takes a look at the Sony SLT-A77, which features a 24 megapixel CMOS sensor in their special pellicle-like mirror DSLR. While the camera performs admirably in many ways, the high ISO performance is not very good, and the noise reduction efforts by Sony are rather ham-handed. I suspect that robbing some light away from the sensor might prove a bit too much for a sensor of this density. Have a look at the review and tell us what you think!

"Today in San Francisco, digital camera and imaging start-up Lytro is unveiling a consumer digital camera that it claims will be the biggest technological jump since we started talking megapixels over 20 years ago."

Well, this is turning out to be some week. First the Canon EOS-1D X, now Lytro is announcing a shipping product of their technology. It's developing right now, but it seems to be simply called "Lytro", and will come with an 8x zoom lens, starting at a bright f/2.0. The camera captures "11 megarays", whatever that means. In an odd way of segmenting product that is more akin to smartphones than cameras, there will be an 8GB model at US$400 and a 16GB model at US$500. Ships in early 2012.

Edit: The form factor is certainly different, and having only two buttons mean it is definitely consumer-friendly. This could well be a disruptive camera, though a 1.5" LCD screen may not be that well received by many. Not to mention no user-replaceable battery and memory. Still it is interesting, and might send a message about simplicity to the traditional camera companies. Plus using a square aspect ratio reminds me of using medium format 6x6 cameras. Lots more coverage at the links below, so check them out!

More coverage:

Engadget, Engadget Hands-on

DPReview

TheVerge

"The EOS-1D X is the new flagship camera in the Canon DSLR range, taking the best of the EOS-1D and EOS-1Ds cameras and melding them into a single unit that gives both high resolution and high speed shooting. No longer do you need to choose between the two when both are available in one body."

Here is some more information about the 1D X, straight from Canon Europe. Regardless if you have the money to buy one, it should be interesting for those of you who wonder at what a top-of-the-line camera is like.

"Canon has announced the launch of the EOS-1D X, its latest flagship professional DSLR. The 18MP camera is built around a full-frame sensor capable of shooting at up to 14 frames per second (12fps with AF), allowing it to replace both the 1D Mark IV and 1DS Mark III in Canon's lineup."

I am not sure if this will truly replace the EOS-1DS series, but after Nikon's success with the D3 and D3s, Canon probably felt the old 1D and its APS-H sized sensor needed a rework, and the EOS-1D X is the result. Canon certainly is seeking to upstage Nikon in all areas: The 1D X has an 18 megapixel sensor that allows ISO 512,000 natively, and ISO 2,048,00 when boosted. Despite the huge number, I would like to remind readers that it is just two stops above the native ISO limit. Ah, the wonders of multiplication. Other areas of improvement (and one-upmanship) include a new 61 point AF sensor with 21 cross sensors, improved AF tracking (after the 1DIV fiasco) with what Canon calls EOS iTR AF, a new 100,000 pixel RGB sensor (a Canon first), and up to 14 FPS continuous shooting (12 FPS with AF tracking). There is even a gigabit Ethernet port for transmitting photos, along with dual Compactflash card slots.

The improvements also extend to the video side of things, with 1080p video available in 24p, 25p or 30p, and 720p available in 50p or 60p. Manual audio level control is present, along with a stereo mic-in jack, and on the software side of things, Canon promises better codecs that offer intra-frame or inter-frame compression, along with timecode embedding (cue squealing from video editors).

Canon is even seeking to upstage Nikon in the UI department: Where Nikon offers two buttons between the camera grip and the lens mount for the photographer to use, Canon is offering four for the EOS 1D X user; two for each orientation. Talk about leaving no stone unturned. Incidentally this makes the Canon UI starting to look more like the Nikon.

The EOS 1D X will only be available in March 2012 for US$6,800. Canon is probably hoping to pre-empt Nikon's D4 announcement, whenever that is. More photos after the break. See the link to DPReview for an overview, as well as the very compact Wifi and GPS accessories for the EOS 1DX.

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"The Nikon 1 J1 (priced from $649) is the entry-level model in Nikon's brand new line of mirrorless interchangeable lens cameras. The 1-System cameras feature a new 10 Megapixel CX-format sensor, which is smaller than Micro Four Thirds and APS-C, but larger than what you'll find on compact cameras and the Pentax Q. It also uses new CX-mount lenses, which have a 2.7X crop factor. Image stabilization is built into select lenses, rather into the body itself."

DCResource.com has a review of the Nikon J1 up, and the samples here look much better. Image quality is quite close to a Micro Four Thirds camera, but dynamic range seems to suffer a bit. The "small" sensor does not look so bad now, does it? The camera really is quite small, as you can see. Nikon really needs to release a set of zoom lenses that can match the size of the camera, just like what Panasonic has done. Read the review for all the details, including the performance of the hybrid AF system built in to the imaging sensor!

"The Nikon 1 J1 (priced from $649) is the entry-level model in Nikon's brand new line of mirrorless interchangeable lens cameras. The 1-System cameras feature a new 10 Megapixel CX-format sensor, which is smaller than Micro Four Thirds and APS-C, but larger than what you'll find on compact cameras and the Pentax Q. It also uses new CX-mount lenses, which have a 2.7X crop factor. Image stabilization is built into select lenses, rather into the body itself."

DCResource.com has a review of the Nikon J1 up, and the samples here look much better. Image quality is quite close to a Micro Four Thirds camera, but dynamic range seems to suffer a bit. The "small" sensor does not look so bad now, does it? The camera really is quite small, as you can see. Nikon really needs to release a set of zoom lenses that can match the size of the camera, just like what Panasonic has done. Read the review for all the details, including the performance of the hybrid AF system built in to the imaging sensor!

"The Nikon 1 J1 (priced from $649) is the entry-level model in Nikon's brand new line of mirrorless interchangeable lens cameras. The 1-System cameras feature a new 10 Megapixel CX-format sensor, which is smaller than Micro Four Thirds and APS-C, but larger than what you'll find on compact cameras and the Pentax Q. It also uses new CX-mount lenses, which have a 2.7X crop factor. Image stabilization is built into select lenses, rather into the body itself."

DCResource.com has a review of the Nikon J1 up, and the samples here look much better. Image quality is quite close to a Micro Four Thirds camera, but dynamic range seems to suffer a bit. The "small" sensor does not look so bad now, does it? The camera really is quite small, as you can see. Nikon really needs to release a set of zoom lenses that can match the size of the camera, just like what Panasonic has done. Read the review for all the details, including the performance of the hybrid AF system built in to the imaging sensor!