The rumblings in the rumor mill are getting stronger, and it seems like there’s a good chance that we’ll be seeing new DSLRs announced by both Canon and Nikon by the end of the month. Craig Blair over at Canon Rumors says that he knows with near certainty that Canon will be announcing a new full frame DSLR on October 18th. The camera is rumored to pack between 16-18 megapixels, have ISO that goes up to 51,200, shoot at high speeds (possibly between 12-14fps), and have 61 AF points.
We may soon live in a world where the photographs in newspapers and magazines move like they do in Harry Potter — that is, if newspapers and magazines are still around in a few years.
As technology improves, features that were once limited to expensive professional models often become available to the masses, but will this ever be true for full-frame sensors? Nikon’s Senior VP David Lee was recently asked this question in an interview with TWICE, and here’s what he said:
I think that there are definitely two different approaches here. What we’re seeing is that sensor performance continues to improve, but obviously there’s really a need for bulk because with a full-size sensor there’s a real low-light performance benefit, high speed performance, framing rates, and so on and so forth. So, I think you’ll definitely continue to see the higher-end pro consumer continue to have that large format. It’s definitely needed in the D3 and D700. You’ll see that technology continue to improve and grow, but the DX sensor form factor is also important. The compactness of the D3100 and D5100 is very popular. I don’t think one approach will ever overtake the other because of the overall image capabilities and the light performance capabilities.
Seems like he either misunderstood the question, or decided to beat around the bush. It’s an interesting question though — will any of the big manufacturers shake up the industry by being the first to put a full-frame sensor in a consumer-level camera? The sensors have already jumped from pro-level cameras to prosumer-level ones starting in 2005 with the Canon 5D, so it seems like the next logical step will be the consumer level. A sub-$1000 full-frame camera. Now that’s a thought.
Thom Hogan has some news from reliable sources regarding Nikon’s upcoming mirrorless announcement:
I’m pretty certain of the 1″ (~2.7x) sensor at this point, and since I can’t find anyone else making one that makes sense for the camera, I continue to wonder if this will be another Nikon designed sensor. That certainly would be an interesting development. As I noted last week, you don’t have to get very far forward from the D3100 sensor to get something that could be 10-12mp and highly credible at 2.7x.
I’ve now been told by three different sources it will launch before CES, probably in late September, and it’ll launch with three lenses (wide angle prime, kit zoom, telephoto zoom). The lenses are reportedly “quite small” in nature, along the lines of fat C-mount lenses.
I wonder if the camera would fit nicely in a pocket with a lens attached.
People seem to be having a hard time swallowing the idea that Nikon could do well if their upcoming mirrorless camera only packs a 2.7x crop sensor, but Thom Hogan argues that there’s a logical “hole” in the market that Nikon could be the first to fill:
So how much change does it take to make a real difference that gets noticed? The number 1.4 is meaningful in photography in so many ways. Turns out, that something around that number makes a lot of sense for capture size change, too. Each 1.4x change doubles the area of light captured. Hmm, that sounds an awful like a “stop.” [...] So if we were to make cameras about a stop apart, what would we get: a progression close to MF, FX, DX, m4/3, and whatever Nikon calls their 2.7x product.
[...] all this discussion that a 2.7x size choice is irrational is incorrect, IMHO. Having three very different choices with clearly different and increasing performance at each size is on its face a rational decision. If Nikon can deliver a stop+ better performance than the best compact camera but keep the overall size close, that represents a gain to photographers.
Though there does appear to be a “hole” in the sensor size progression of existing cameras in the market, whether anyone actually wants a 2.7x sensor remains to be seen — especially as MFT cameras get smaller and smaller.
CNBC ran this short segment a couple days ago in which they invited CNET’s Dan Ackerman to explain the changing landscape in the digital camera industry. He thinks point-and-shoot cameras may soon become extinct due to the rise of camera-equipped phones, but also that DSLRs are the cameras here to stay. A recent study found that phones have replaced digital cameras completely for 44% of consumers, and that number seems bound to rise as the cameras on phones continue to improve.
My guess is that in five years, we’ll see digital camera users divided into three camps: mobile phone, interchangeable lens compact, and DSLR. What’s your prediction?
In the future, focusing on the wrong subject when taking a picture might be a thing of the past. At Nvidia’s GPU Technology Conference this year Adobe gave a demonstration of how plenoptic lenses can be used to allow focus to be arbitrarily chosen after the image is captured during post-processing. These are microlens arrays containing hundreds, thousands, or even tens of thousands (Stanford researchers used a camera with 90,000 lenses) of tiny lenses that record much more information about a scene than traditional single lenses. Read the rest of this entry »
Japanese website sankeibiz.jp is listing September 9th as the date Hoya will be announcing new DSLRs, presumably under its Pentax brand name. Here’s what the line looks like when translated by Google:
Word is that the DSLRs will be the Pentax K-r and Pentax K5. We’re also expecting Pentax to announce a new EVIL camera that is unlike anything currently on the market. If they don’t announce this camera on September 9th, it seems likely that it’ll come shortly before or during Photokina at the end of this month.
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. Read the rest of this entry »
With Photokina 2010 just around the corner, rumors regarding soon-to-be-announced DSLR cameras from Canon and Nikon are swirling around the blogosphere, and certain facts about the cameras seem to be getting clearer.
Canon 60D
A source tells me that Canon will be showing off a few new cameras at private events on August 30th and 31st. This fits nicely with the rumor that Canon will be unveiling the 60D at a press event on August 26th. My guess is that the 60D will be announced at a press event by the end of this month, and that the Canon 1Ds Mark IV will be unveiled late September.
The 60D is rumored to be a 18 megapixel camera with a tilt-screen and heavy emphasis on video recording.
The source also stated that we will be seeing a S90 replacement and possibly a G11 replacement as well.
Nikon D3100
According to Nikon Rumors, this camera is already listed in the Best Buy inventory system, with the SKU 1222817 and the title “Nikon D3100 DSLR w/ 18-55mm v”. They also report that the camera will be announced August 19th, exactly one week before Canon’s event.
The D3100 is rumored to be a 14 megapixel camera with continuous autofocus during video recording and 3fps for still frames.
Other Gear
Aside from the tilt-screen rumor, there doesn’t seem to be too much that’s groundbreaking about these upcoming announcements. However, Canon Rumors received a tip saying that the upcoming PowerShot will be “revolutionary”.
That seems a lot more interesting to us. We’ll update you if we hear more about this, but we’ll probably know everything within the next few weeks.
