Photojojo just added the “Mini Model Camera” to their store. This is a 1/6 scale miniature model DSLR system that actually allows you to swap the tiny lenses around. It’s definitely a cute and unique gift, but it comes at a no-so-miniature price — the 1.5 inch camera and three lenses are priced at $28.

There’s a price to pay for being able to brag about having the “compactest” camera among your friends.

Check out this Nikon D200 birthday cake that Josh Weisberg (the guy who sparked the Canon lens mug craze) received from his friend Mia. Apparently everything you see on the cake is edible, including the printed labels, which are made of edible ink. Everything else solid-looking is made of sugar.
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The above is supposedly a leaked photo of the not-yet-announced Sony A33 and its pellicle mirror, the first of its kind on a DSLR. Rumor has it that the camera will officially be announced early tomorrow morning.

SonyAlphaRumors received a tip that Sony will be using the following arguments promoting the new pellicle system:

• Minimal shutter lag: Mirror does not move, and therefore results in shutter lag of less than 0.1 seconds
• Auto focus: First DSLR to offer phase detection autofocus during HD video recording
• Frames per second: No moving mirror allows camera to reach 10 FPS
• No mirror blackouts: Optical view and Live view will remain uninterrupted during shooting
• Compact design: Eliminating the moving mirror system reduces weight by 25% and size by 20%

Stay tuned. Official news about the A33 and A55 should arrive shortly.

Update: Amateur Photographer just published a post titled, “New Sony Alpha 55 and Alpha 33 EVF DSLRs to feature fixed Translucent Mirror“. Almost as soon as it was published it was taken down (darn those easy-to-click “Publish” buttons!). Here’s a quote from the now-removed article:

Sony is set to introduce shooting speeds of up to 10fps, as well as video, in its latest Alpha DSLR cameras, the Alpha 55 and Alpha 33, by using a new non-moving ‘translucent’ mirror. Echoing the technology of the pellicle mirror in Canon’s EOS RT of 1989, Sony’s new semi-transparent mirror allows light to be fed simultaneously to a camera’s imaging sensor and AF system, removing the need for a moving mirror and providing the potential for much improved focus tracking as well as active AF in Live View and video modes.

Looks like this is no longer a “rumor”.

(via SonyAlphaRumors)

After an eternity of rumors and leaks, Nikon has just officially announced the D3100, an entry-level DX format DSLR replacement to the D3000. The main selling point is 1080p video recording at 24fps in h.264 with continuous autofocus, a new feature for DSLR cameras. The 14.2 megapixel camera has 11 autofocus points, a 3-inch LCD screen, an ISO range of 100 to 3200 (can be expanded to 12,800), and 3 FPS shooting. The camera will be out in September at the price of $699, bundled with a 18-55mm VR kit lens.
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Alleged photographs of the upcoming Sony Alpha A33 and A55 DSLR cameras have popped up in an overseas forum. The images look legitimate, though the A55 and A33 front views are identical images that had the model number Photoshopped. Not sure why that is.

These two cameras are rumored to be pellicle mirror cameras. Read this post that we wrote last week to learn more about what pellicle mirrors are.
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Here’s what the next couple weeks are going to look like in terms of press events possibly related to DSLR announcements: Nikon goes first on August 19th, Sony does theirs on August 24th, and Canon has one scheduled August 26th. Nikon will likely be announcing the D3100, while Canon drops the 60D during theirs.

A big rumor regarding Sony’s upcoming unveiling is that they’re going to be showing us the world’s first pellicle mirror system on a DSLR camera. This means instead of a traditional bulky mirror that swings out of the way — as found in current DSLRs — the Sony DSLR will have an ultra-thin and ultra-lightweight semitransparent mirror that allows photos to be shot without the mirror swinging out the way.
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We all know pointing your DSLR directly at the sun for extended periods of time isn’t too healthy for your sensor, but what about laser lights like the ones used at concerts? Turns out those can be even more lethal for your camera, even with very brief exposures.

Here are two videos shot with DSLR cameras that show a laser briefly passing over the camera and damaging the sensor permanently. Both were shot with Canon 5D Mark II cameras:

See the white line that appears immediately after the laser sweeps across?
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