Camera Rumors

Imaging-Resource has finished their full review on Canon EOS 60D , the latest semi-pro DSLR from Canon. The review has almost anything you want to know about Canon 60D : features , image quality , ISO quality , menu , controls .. anything . They also compare the image/ISO quality to other cameras : Nikon D7000, Canon 50D and Pentax K-7.

the Nikon D7000 comes out slightly ahead at higher ISOs, especially when dealing with low-contrast reds, but 60D competes surprisingly well, and is a noticeable improvement over the 50D despite having more and therefore smaller pxiels.

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Every year, Amateur Photographer will select several photography products (camera, software , etc) and photographer that has been exceptional through previous year. And AP award winner for 2011 goes to:

Power of Photography Award
Winner: Cathal McNaughton

Exceptional Achievement in Photography Award
Winner: Geoffrey Crawley

Accessory of the Year
Winner: Vanguard Up-rise Messenger 38 Photo Bag

Software of the Year
Winner: Adobe Photoshop Lightroom 3

Printer of the Year
Winner: Epson Stylus Pro 3880

Consumer Compact Camera of the Year
Winner: Panasonic Lumix DMC-TZ10

Enthusiast Compact Camera of the Year
Winner: Panasonic Lumix DMC-LX5

Entry-level Camera of the Year
Winner: Nikon D3100

Enthusiast Camera of the Year
Winner: Canon EOS 60D

High-end Camera of the Year
Winner: Nikon D3s

Entry Compact System Camera of the Year
Winner: Samsung NX100

Advanced Compact System Camera of the Year
Winner: Samsung NX10

Zoom Lens of the Year
Winner: Canon EF 70-200mm f/2.8L IS II USM

Fixed Focal Length Lens of the Year
Winner: Nikkor 85mm f/1.4D AF

Innovation of the Year
Winner: Sony Translucent Mirror Technology

AP Reader Product of the Year
Winner: Pentax 645D

Product of the Year
Winner: Canon EOS 60D

Congratulation to Canon EOS 60d as the Product of The Year !

via SonyAlphaRumor’s , Sony Nordic leaked a page about Sony DSC-HX100V. The page is unavailable  now but luckily Google manage to cache it before Sony decide to remove it.

Here’s some text from the page:

“The camera incorporates technology not only from “Cyber-shot” series development but also from “Handycam” and the “a (alpha)” series
- DSLR quality with Manual to Auto, Higher resolution 50p Full HD movie & 3D in one body
- 30x Ultra high zoom H with Hi-speed AF, GPS & compass
- Equipped for Full HD movie shooting in AVCHD format
- Intelligent Sweep Panorama
- 16.2-megapixel back-illuminated “Exmor R” CMOS sensor, 27mm-810mm^*1 f/2.8-5.6 Carl Zeiss “Vario Sonnar T*” lens, and “BIONZ” Imaging Processor for high-speed signal processing
- Movie mode supports 1920 x 1080 Full HD”

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DPReview just finished their full in-depth review on Olympus XZ-1 , the latest ‘serious’ compact from Olympus. The camera got a Gold Award with overal score 74%  , one point better than the Canon G12 ( 73% ). Currently, DPreview thinks the Olympus XZ-1 is the best enthusiast compact camera so far.

The XZ-1 combines simple direct controls with an excellent lens to create probably the best photographers’ compact currently available. The output JPEGs are great and the balance of lens range, brightness and compactness make it a really appealing package, whether as an only camera or as a more pocketable backup for DSLR owners

Read the full review at DPReview . Amazon already list the price ( $500 ) but currently it still in pre-order state.

Pentax finally admit that there is a problem with K-5 sensor. As previously written , many Pentax K-5 owners has reported that their camera has stains on its sensor. Today, Pentax announces that they will provide free repair service for K5 owner who wish to remove stains on their camera’s sensor. Unfortunately , this service only for customer who lives in Japan. International customer are encourage to contact nearest service center.

Stains on K5 sensor

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Ricoh just announces their latest compact superzoom with hybrid AF , the Ricoh CX5. Hybrid AF is combining a distance sensor and a conventional contrast detection for speedy autofocus. It can fast as 0.2 sec regardless of focal length we used. Other interesting specs are a backlit CMOS sensor with 10 megapixels, optical zoom 10.7x (28-300mm equiv.) , 3 inch LCD with 920K dots, and 720p HDvideo recording.

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Firmware update for Nikon D3100 DSLR is available for immediate download at Nikon USA . The update will fix several issues : magenta tint at high ISOs, autofocus issues at liveview mode, date recording problem and many others. Users are encourage to download and apply the update. Available in Windows and Mac format , download here

FYI, Nikon D3100 is #1 bestseller DSLR cameras at Amazon. Current price ( camera + lens kit ) is $600 !!

D3100 firmware: A/B:1.01:

• A magenta tint was present at the bottom of still images captured at high sensitivities after shooting in live view mode or recording movies for an extended length of time.  The occurrence of this magenta tint has been reduced.
• When images captured with continuous shooting in live view mode were played back, in some very rare cases, some of the images were not properly displayed.  This issue has been resolved.
• When shooting in live view mode with AF-area mode set to Subject-tracking AF, in some very rare cases, the focus point slipped off the subject with autofocusing after the intended tracking subject had been selected.  This issue has been resolved.
• When images edited using camera retouch functions were played back in calendar playback mode, they were assigned to dates based not on the date of capture, but rather the date on which they were edited.  This issue has been resolved.
• When white balance for RAW images created using the camera’s image overlay function was fine tuned with Capture NX 2 or ViewNX 2, the images acquired a magenta cast.  This issue has been resolved.
• A portion of the error message displayed when live view mode could not be initiated because the camera’s internal temperature was too high has been revised.
• When Noise reduction in the shooting menu is set to On, operation is as follows.
  Processing to reduce noise is performed at all ISO sensitivity settings.  Noise reduction is especially effective with shooting at high ISO sensitivities.
  Processing to reduce noise is performed immediately after shooting in any of the situations noted below.  While processing to reduce noise is performed, “Job nr” blinks in the viewfinder display.  Shooting is not possible until “Job nr” is no longer displayed.  The time required for noise reduction processing is roughly equal to the shutter speed used to capture the image.
  • Shooting at shutter speeds slower than approximately 8 seconds
  • Shooting at high ISO sensitivities when the internal temperature of the camera is high
• The Help information displayed for the Noise reduction item in the shooting menu has also been revised in accordance with these modifications.

Panasonic just launched four new compact cameras today. They are the Lumix DMC-FX78, DMC-TS3, DMC-ZS10 and DMC-ZS8. There is no info about its prices yet but Panasonic says in their press release that all cameras will be available on the market in March 2011.

Lumix DMC-FX78

• ultra-compact and stylish form
• 12 megapixels
• HD movie 1080/30p , AVCHD format
• create 3D image in MPO format
• 5x optical zoom , 24-120mm
• ISO 100 – 6400
• LCD 3.5″ with touchscreen

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Latest Olympus E-PL2 sample / test images available online from Imaging Resource. The images are in ORF (Olympus Raw Format ) and JPEG format , full resolution and available from ISO 200 to ISO 6400. You can then view , compare and judge the result yourself. I compared the  E-PL1 versus E-PL2 images at ISO 3200 and  i think  the E-PL2′s images is have more contrast and slightly sharper too. And dont forget , E-PL2 also 1 stop better because it is support up to ISO 6400.

Well don’t just believe my words. Download and compare the test images yourself ( link )

Olympus E-PL2 now available for pre-order at Amazon ! current price is set at $600