/1001/noisy/cameras/

Fuji X100S gets a May 15 in-stock estimate

We have just updated the Fuji X100S stock status page and we have some semi-good news for Fuji X100S hunters. The listing at B&H Photo now has a fixed date as a release estimate, May 15! Previously it was a floating 2-4 weeks. At Amazon, it remains at the very nebulous "1-3 months" estimate... As usual, please keep in mind, estimates are only estimates and they do change over time... For a refresher on the camera, check the list of completed Fuji X100S reviews.

Leakage: Sony Uber Cybershot Phone with 1/1.6" Exmor stacked sensor and G lens

Sony is trying to make progress in the world of uber-phones and a new leakage at VR-Zone.com reveals a new "Sony Honami" uber-phone with a 1/1.6" Exmor RS stacked sensor and a Sony G Lens. This uber-phone is so camera-ish, it will have Cybershot in its name. This sensor size is about that of the likes of the Panasonic LX7, Canon S110, Olympus XZ-2, etc.

New Cameras of 2013 Reference page updated (Surprise: Fuji has half of the compacts with RAW!)

The New Cameras of 2013 Reference page is now updated with the new cameras announced during the last 60 days or so. This reference page too fell behind during the falling-behind-a-thon of early 2013. Once again, all apologies for falling behind (this sentence seems to appear in every other post these days!). Lesson learned from this: the best way not to fall behind is ... not to fall behind :)

A total of 118 new digital cameras were announced in 2013 so far. Give or take because it's getting harder to track some of the regional and entry-level models. The chart below breaks it down by category. For this counting exercise, superzooms are defined as fixed lens digital cameras with an optical zoom ratio of 10x or more. As you can see, the superzooms maintain a very fragile majority among fixed lens digital cameras (53 out of 104)

New Samsung NX2000 mirrorless camera bundled with 20-50, Flash and Lightroom

A new Mirrorless Princess was born today! The new Samsung NX2000, which, judging by the model number, is a step above the entry-level which is occupied by the NX1000.

It has a 20mp APS-C CMOS Sensor with the DRIMe IV Image Processor, 3D Still and Video Capture Capability, a 3.7" 1,152 kilodot Touchscreen display, 1080p video, Wifi and NFC, 8fps burst mode, etc.

One thing that Samsung is turning into a regular feature with their latest NX cameras is that they are including not only a zoom lens, but also an external flash (SEF8A Flash) and Adobe's Lightroom software.

Press release parade at dpreview and Imaging Resource and Photography Blog and Engadget et al.

Opinion on this new announcement by Sans Mirror. Spoiler alert: the blog-post title is: "Samsung Still Low On Self-Esteem".

The NX2000 with the 20-50mm zoom lens and external flash and Lightroom software bundled together will be available in black or white with a starting price of $650. Pre-orders available at B&H Photo.

(ENDED) Scott Kelby's Live Adobe Interview and Sneak Peek starts at 4pm NYC time

Between 4pm and 5pm New York City time today, Scott Kelby had a live interview and sneak peek with Adobe's Tom Hogarty today May-1-2013. It was a live broadcast at Kelby's The Grid website or directly on UStream.

If you missed it, it should become available for everyone else to view within 24 hours at the The Grid website and the Kelby's Grid iTunes page.

New Wacom Cintiq 22HD graphics/drawing tablet with multi-touch announced

Touch screens are making their way into more things, including graphics aka drawing tablets for digital artists and retouchers. Wacom announces the new Cintiq 22HD, model DTH2200, with a multi touch display. As the model name suggests, this is a "22-inch class" display. "Class" typically means rounded up when measuring screen size :) Please note this is wired (USB) device, it is not a tablet like an iPad, so you can't be running out and about with it!

Press release parade at Engadget and Photography Blog and Imaging Resource and /Gear and Fotointern.ch et al.

The press release price is $2,500. This price is premium of $500 over the non-touch model already in existence. Amazon has a price of $2,800 for the touch model with a 2-4 weeks release estimate, but it is not unusual for initial listing prices to be off until they get corrected.

Speaking of graphics tablets, the previous non-Touch model was briefly compared to the Modbook Pro (speed-readers, Modbook, not Macbook!) at Tech Crunch Gear.

Also speaking of graphics tablet, at the other end of the Wacom spectrum, the Wacom Bamboo Capture Pen and Touch Tablet (CTH470) is currently on sale for $73 with free shipping.

Legal News: Second Circuit sides with remixer of a photograph

The Second Circuit Court of Appeals, surprisingly perhaps, handed the remixer of a photograph in the on-going Patrick Cariou vs Richard Price case a victory. Richard Prince re-mixed from Cariou's photography book "Yes Rasta". The latest updates in the story are featured at Paid Content and Art In American and/via The Verge.

Zeiss Naming Disaster: they call their Mirrorless Lenses "Touits"

This is not a late April Fools Day joke! Zeiss has officially given a name to their mirrorless APS-C prime lens line for the Sony NEX e-mount and the Fuji X System. They call them "Touit". The Zeiss blog goes on in detail to explain how they selected this name.

Apparently none of the people at Zeiss realized the most obvious thing about this name, it's a "tweet". And now the harsh reality is hitting them in the face. You don't want your prestigious lenses to be associated with ephemeral 140-character "touits" ;-) Out of touch with the modern world!

This of course means absolutely nothing as far as the image quality of these upcoming lenses is concerned.

Via dpreview et al.

Catching up with Dxomark Lab Tests: Sony A58, NEX-3N, Nikon A, Samsung EX2f, etc

Dxomark is publishing more camera and lens lab evaluations these days and we finally caught up with their camera reviews of the last two months that were not previously mentioned in the Camera Reviews Stream under the Dxomark category.

Guest Blogging Possibilities: Unconventional or Unusual or Counter or Minority or Under-Represented Opinions

We all at times jump on bandwagons or go with the flow, and before you know it, some things become status quo or are accepted as conventional wisdom without getting thoroughly thought through. So with this new experiment, we are opening the floor for guest-blogging possibilities for people who want to express unconventional or unusual or counter or minority or under-represented opinions. On topics related to camera gear and photography.

Please feel free to use the online contact form if interested.

This is not a general-purpose guest-blogging request, so please don't send emails about posts like "ten tips for great portraits in spring" or "how to become a professional in seven simple steps". There are thousands of posts on these already! This particular call for guest-blogging posts is for topics and opinions that are not getting enough attention.

Impact review: Fuji X20 at dpreview

Dpreview is getting review-busy these days with a new completed review! It is a 16-pager on the Fuji X20. As usual, we won't spill the beans here, but if you are in a hurry or running out of battery, you can jump to the conclusions before jumping to conclusions. Did it get an Olympic medal or was it referred to the alchemists?

The review is discussed in the dpreview comments and dpreview Fuji forum.

For more opinions on the camera, check the list of completed Fuji X20 reviews (12 as of the time of writing).

The Fuji X20 is steadily in-stock in silver or black for $600 at Amazon et al [see stock status page for more].

Speaking of Fuji X-Primes, the X100S remains in pre-order state but there is one small change, the estimate at B&H Photo is "usually ships in 2-4 weeks". As of the time of writing, there are 15 completed Fuji X100S reviews.

New UK Law is a potential disaster for photographers of all levels (orphan works right grabs)

A new law by the UK government is a potential disaster for photographers as it gives a generous "orphan works" permission for exploitation of photography for commercial work assuming one performs a "diligent search" and cannot find the owner of the pictures. With so many online services stripping away metadata from pictures, people can use the "diligent search" excuse as a mass rights grab.

The story is covered at The Register. Well-known British photographer David Bailey has written letters to Members of Parliament. Via Techmeme and Mediaglazer.

Over 52,000 pictures in the Readers Flickr Pool

We have a new milestone in the Readers's Flickr Pool, over 52,000 pictures submitted. Thanks to everyone for participating and sharing your pictures! The Readers Flickr Pool is a place where photographers of all experience levels and all camera types can share their pictures. Everyone is welcome to join and submit up to five pictures per day. This is not an 18+ group, so please do not submit adult-themed pictures.

As usual, we feature the milestone picture, picture #52,000, a black and white Untitled by Roni G. taken with the Ricoh GXR and the GR A12 50mm f2.5 sensor+lens block.

Hasselblad Officially Ends The V System

A sad-news press-release from Hasselblad revealed that the company is ending the V system by ending production of the last remaining camera in the system.

Press release parade at Amateur Photographer UK and British Journal of Photography and ePhotozine and Fotointern.ch...

A discussion of the news has just began at the GetDPI Medium format forums and the Fred Miranda Alternative forums.

News of this type will undoubtedly be greatly disappointing to fans of this system. Some may even wonder if Hasselblad could have saved or at least prolonged its life had it not wasted time and resources on foolish things like the NEX "Lunar", a name so close to Lunacy, it is probably not a coincidence :)

New Dxomark Lab in Seattle allows for the Reviewing of Giant Lenses

The new Dxomark-dpreview lens test lab in Seattle has an additional benefit according to Dxomark, it allows for the reviewing of those giant bazooka giant big lenses! You can see a picture of the new lab test set-up using the Sony 500mm f4 SLR lens at its Dxomark review page. A pixel-peeping fantasy room! Shortly after that review, Dxomark also published their review of the Canon 400mm f2.8L IS II.

Speaking of lens reviews, we had a mini-catch-up-a-thon on Dxomark lens reviews at the Lens Reviews stream. A total of nine eight lens reviews were added. The Lens Reviews stream does not have a By-Reviewer category like the Camera Reviews stream, so we put them on the front page since that's the only way for people to find them. As new reviews come out, they will drift off the front page, so if you want to see them all at the same page, the time to check them out is now!