Here’s just a fun tidbit to chew on while we wait for the official Nikon D7000 announcement: Nikon Rumors discovered today that the Nikon sites of certain European countries (e.g. Germany, Poland, and Italy) have already put up placeholder pages for the upcoming camera. There are no links to these pages, but they can be accessed by using “d7000″ in the URL.
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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.

(via 1001 Noisy Cameras)

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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Here are a couple photographs that made their way onto the Internets today via a Japanese website. They seem to be actual “spy” photographs of the camera with an L lens attached, and it looks like a tilt-screen does in fact exist on the back.
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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.

The mysterious white camera — most likely the NX100 — that was seen in a leaked photograph from a commercial shoot recently has apparently been spotted again, this time in a National Geographic/Samsung advertisement posted to YouTube.
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Yesterday Citigroup released a research report on Hoya for investors. What was interesting about the report (from a photographer’s standpoint) was a section on page 2 regarding the company’s digital camera business.

From the screenshot above (with the important part highlighted), we find the quote:

Hoya plans to release a mirrorless camera under Pentax brand that is distinct from models already on the market.

Basically it sounds like the company is planning to create a Pentax EVIL camera, and somehow differentiate it from other EVIL offerings currently available.

(via Photo Rumors)