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Fujifilm has now officially announced pricing for its X-Pro1 compact system camera in the US market, and there's good news for those planning to buy a kit with several of the available lenses. Final list pricing for two of the three lenses that have been announced for the system's debut has come in below the initial estimate. The Fuji X-Pro1 is the company's first compact system camera, and when launched last month, the company predicted pricing of approximately US$1,700 body-only, plus US$650 per lens. The body price has turned out to be spot-on, as has pricing for the XF 60mm F2.4...
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Are High Dynamic Range photos appropriate for illustrating news? That's the debate that's been started by the Washington Post's use of an HDR image on its front page in January. Sean Elliot, president of the National Press Photographers Association came down firmly against it, saying, 'HDR is not appropriate for documentary photojournalism.' John Omvik, Marketing VP with HDR software maker Unified Color understandably disagrees. He's written us a response arguing that what we see is closer to HDR than, say, a mono photo shot with Tri-X film.

We've taken a little time with the Canon G1 X's Still Life images, making crops and doing our usual Print Quality analysis. Overall, we're pretty impressed with the Canon G1 X's test shots. Check out the updated Canon G1 X Preview page to see how the G1 X fares against the Canon G12, Canon T3i, Olympus E-P3, Nikon J1, and Sony NEX-5N! You'll also find that we've uploaded quite a few more laboratory shots, and there will be even more later today!
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Kenko-Tokina has added the mirrors back into mirrorless with the launch of an ultra-compact Reflex 300mm F6.3 for Micro Four Thirds. This fixed-aperture, manual focus lens revives the catadioptric lens design that was especially popular in the 1970s and '80s for producing small high-magnification telephoto lenses. With a 55mm filter diameter and weight less than 300g, this is possibly the smallest lens of this type that's ever been made for stills cameras. The spec is rounded-off with a minimum focus of 0.8m and 0.5x maximum magnification, making the lens potentially interesting for chasing insects and the like, just as long as you can hold it steadily enough.

Kenko-Tokina will exhibit a mockup of a 70-200mm F4 telephoto zoom that features both a ring-type ultrasonic autofocus motor and optical image stabilization at the CP+ trade show in Japan. The AT-X Pro SD 70-200 F4 (IF) FX will be the company's first stabilized lens, and will likely be especially interesting to Nikon SLR users who currently have no option that's directly comparable to Canon's popular and highly-regarded 70-200mm F4 designs. Further details are limited, but the lens appears to feature both internal zoom and focus mechanisms, and has a usefully-close minimum focus distance of 1m. (via Megapixel.il)

Der internationale Produktdesign-Preis „James Dyson Award 2012“ ist ab heute offen für Einreichungen. Gesucht sind junge Designer, die etwas erfinden, das ein Problem löst. Der Gewinner und seine Universität erhalten jeweils 12.000 Euro für die…

Vom 2. Februar bis zum 2. August 2012 können Studenten und Berufseinsteiger aus den Disziplinen Produktdesign, Industriedesign und Ingenieurwissenschaften ihre wegweisenden Ideen zum „James Dyson Award 2012“ einreichen. Der Gewinner erhält 10.000 britische Pfund (ca. 12.000 Euro) für die Weiterentwicklung seiner Erfindung, weitere 10.000 Pfund gehen an den zuständigen Fachbereich der Universität.

„Junge Menschen haben eine unvoreingenommene Sicht der Dinge“, so James Dyson über den Preis. „Angehende…

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Fujifilm USA has announced its recommended pricing for the X-Pro1 high-end mirrorless camera. The MSRP will be $1699 for the body and $599-$649 for the lenses, meaning you can expect it to create around a $2300 dent in your pocket if you want to be able to take pictures with it. Canadian prices will be dollar-for-dollar equivalents. Fujifilm UK meanwhile hasn't yet announced pricing, but one of the country's retailers is taking orders at £1429 for the body and £549-599 for the lenses, which gives a good idea of how much you'll need to scrape together.

Word association: Quick, what do you think of when you hear the word "change?" How many ways could you capture it in a photo? That's this month's challenge in the VII Gallery, sponsored by Canon: Take a picture expressing the concept "change," submit it in the Join the Project page, and you may see your image alongside ones from the pros at the VII Photo Agency! So what does "Change" mean to you? Birth? Death? Graduation? A change of clothes? A change of weather? Building or demolition? - The possibilities are literally endless. Visit the VII Gallery site to see what the pros did,...
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Alongside the announcement of the K-01 mirrorless camera, Pentax has updated its K-mount lens roadmap to include planned releases for 2012 and 2013. In a PDF document published on the company's website, it indicates that three lenses will be introduced during the course of this year - a 50mm 'standard' lens, a superzoom in the 18-200mm class, and a super telephoto in the 500-600mm range. Four zooms covering the full wideangle to telephoto range are projected to follow later, alongside a 1.4x teleconverter.  

Adobe gibt eine erste Vorschau auf das kommende Photoshop CS6. Die neue Version kommt mit dunklen Paletten à la Lightroom; weitere gezeigte Neuerungen betreffen den Kamera-Import und den „Verflüssigen“-Filter.

Adobe hat auf Youtube zwei Videos veröffentlicht, die eine erste Vorschau auf das Aussehen der kommenden CS6-Fassung der Bildbearbeitung Photoshop gewähren. Zu erkennen ist insbesondere eine dunklere Anmutung, wie sie Nutzern von Lightroom bereits vertraut sein dürfte. Hellere und auch dunklere Grau-Schattierungen für Paletten und Fensterhintergrund lassen sich in den Grundeinstellungen bzw. über ein Kontextmenü wählen. „Sneak Peek #1“ Das erste Video beginnt mit Neuerungen des Kamerarohdaten-Importmoduls…

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For more than a year now, rumors have swirled, suggesting that Pentax was planning to launch not one, but two mirrorless camera products with differing lens mounts. Some pooh-poohed the idea, perhaps understandably, but today the believers are vindicated, with the launch of the Pentax K-01. It's a bold move from Pentax, to be sure. Last summer, they showed a willingness to go it their own way, with the launch of the Pentax Q--a camera whose ethos is clear: make a real interchangeable-lens camera, really small. The Pentax K-01 takes a completely different tack, combining a mirrorless...
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Pentax has formally announced the K-01 K-mount mirrorless interchangable lens camera and a revised 40mm F2.8 pancake lens to match. Built around a 16MP APS-C sensor, the camera can mount most of the lenses the company has ever made. It features sensor-shift image stabilization, a 920k dot rear LCD and can shoot at up to 6 frames per second. The rather interesting design is the work of respected product designer Marc Newson and features a logo of his signature on the base of the camera. The K-01 (which the company says should be pronounced 'kay-zero-one'), will cost around $749 body-only and $899 with the 'XS' version of the 40mm lens.

Das Agentur-Kompendium „Selection – Germany’s Finest Agencies“ ist in seiner sechsten Ausgabe erschienen und zeigt auch 2012 wieder zahlreiche Agenturporträts aus Werbung, Design und Internet. Diesmal auf 368 Seiten im orangenen Leineneinband mit…

Das Jahrbuch aus dem Norman-Beckmann-Verlag präsentiert in Band 6 genau 150 Kreativschmieden. Vorgestellt werden neben bekannten und großen Namen der Branche, auch kleinere Hot-Spots und vielversprechende Neulinge und Studios. Agenturporträts und Interviews Vertreten sind z. B. + Ruddigkeit, 3st, 804©, Aimaq von Lobenstein, Blumberry, brandix, Bureau Bleen, cantaloop, Damm & Bierbaum, DauthKaun, demodern, denkwerk, DialogFeld, Etwas Neues entsteht, Flaechenbrand, Flok, Fuenfwerken Design, Gingco.Net…

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Ricoh has released a 24-85mm equivalent F3.5-5.5 zoom module with a 16MP APS-C sensor for its GXR system. The latest camera unit offers a flexible focal length range that starts slightly wider than the average kit zoom, without making the camera excessively large. It's the first GXR module to be built around a 16MP sensor. Announced back in November, it is the first zoom module for the system to offer APS-C image quality. If our suspicions are correct and it uses the excellent Sony 16MP sensor, this promises a lot both in terms of image quality and focus speed (the faster readout of the sensor helps contrast-detection systems to more quickly ascertain correct focus).

Hipstamatic, an iOS app which mimics the look of classic 'toy' cameras is one of the most sucessful photography apps on the market. The latest variant, Disposable Hipstamatic, also builds on the appeal of the unpredictability of 'toy' cameras but includes built-in Facebook integration with a unique twist. Joanne Carter of theappwhisperer.com takes a closer look.

We've just posted our "Still Life" ISO/NR series test shots from a production-level Canon G1 X, straight from the lab! The Canon PowerShot G1 X is the company's first large-sensor PowerShot model, and looks to be Canon's rebuttal to the burgeoning compact system camera market. It's based around a brand-new, Canon-developed 14.3-megapixel CMOS sensor that's almost as tall as those in Canon's APS-C based SLR cameras, but with a 4:3 aspect ratio instead of the more typical 3:2 aspect. The PowerShot G1 X looks to offer a clear advantage over most existing system cameras in terms of overall...
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Sony Corp. has today announced several management changes at its highest levels, as it braces itself for a fourth straight year of losses. The  company last turned a net profit in 2008, and has been struggling with several of its core businesses in recent years, as detailed by C|Net News. Sony's once-dominant Playstation games console brand has had a difficult few years of very public security breaches, coupled with stiff competion from Nintendo and Microsoft. In the mobile business, the company's partnership with Ericsson has been challenged by strong offerings from smartphone rivals...
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We've just posted test shots from a Leica M9 (an M9-P, actually), taken with a Summilux-M 50mm f/1.4 lens! The Leica M9 is based around a Kodak 18-megapixel CCD image sensor with approximately the same dimensions as a frame of 35mm film, making it the smallest full-frame digital camera. The M9 accepts most Leica M lenses built to date, and thanks to the full-frame sensor, all of these lenses offer the same field of view as they would with a 35mm film camera body. The Leica M9 uses a metal blade shutter design capable of offering shutter speeds ranging from 1/4000 to 32 seconds, plus a...
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Der Braun-Preis 2012 sucht nach Produktdesign-Lösungen, die den Alltag sinnvoller und besser gestalten. Zum ersten Mal dürfen neben Studenten auch professionelle Designer und designinteressierte Enthusiasten teilnehmen.

Erwartet werden Produktkonzepte, die als Innovation in Technik und Design eine bewusste Auseinandersetzung mit aktuellen Themen unserer Zeit – wie z.B. Nachhaltigkeit, Gesundheit und Lebensfreude, die alternde Gesellschaft, Mobilität und Individualität – erkennen lassen. Die gezeigten Ideen sollen den Menschen in den Mittelpunkt stellen und ihm in seinem persönlichen Umfeld dienen – im Haushalt, in Beruf und Ausbildung, in Sport und Freizeit sowie im Bereich Gesundheit und Körperpflege. Es können Konzepte…

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Photographers considering purchasing one of Nikon's Coolpix P-series cameras have two new models to pique their interests today, as the company has launched updates to a pair of models that were nearing their first birthday. The Nikon Coolpix P300 and P500 are succeeded by the P310 and P510, both of which have important upgrades. For the Nikon P310, key among these is the switch to a new BSI CMOS image sensor, with a resolution of sixteen megapixels. Despite the increase in resolution, this allows a wider sensitivity range of 100 to 6,400 equivalents in color, and tops out at ISO 12,800...
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