Industry News: Fujifilm GXF 100 Announced, A Game-Changing Medium Format MILC With 102MP

Fujifilm GXF 100

Fujifilm GFX 100 at a glance:

  • 102MP 43.8 x 32.9mm BSI CMOS Sensor
  • X Processor 4 Image Processor
  • Removable 5.76m-Dot OLED EVF
  • 3.2″ 2.36m-Dot Tilting Touchscreen LCD
  • DCI 4K30 Video; F-Log Gamma & 10-Bit Out
  • 5-Axis Sensor-Shift Image Stabilization
  • 2.16m-Point Phase-Detection Autofocus
  • ISO 100-12800, Up to 5 fps Shooting
  • 16-Bit Raw Output, Multi Aspect Ratios
  • Built-In Battery Grip, 2 x SD Card Slots

Fuji film announced the Fujifilm GFX 100, a medium format mirrorless camera sporting a 102MP backside-illuminated CMOS sensor.

You can pre-order the Fujifilm GFX 100 for $9,999 at B&H Photo | Adorama | Amazon | Park Cameras UK

Press release:

Fujifilm launches innovative mirrorless digital camera FUJIFILM GFX 100

  • Equipped with the large format sensor with the world’s highest 102 million pixels resolution
  • Offering fast / accurate autofocus, in-body image stabilization and 4K video capability
  • Capturing and recording precious moments at world-leading image quality

Tokyo, May 23, 2019 — FUJIFILM Corporation (President: Kenji Sukeno) is pleased to announce the release of the FUJIFILM GFX 100 mirrorless digital camera (“GFX100”) in late June 2019, incorporating an image sensor with the world’s highest* 102 million pixels resolution and unique color reproduction technology to achieve the world-leading image quality.

The Fujifilm GFX 100 is a flagship model of the GFX Series of mirrorless digital cameras, which have won strong praise from professional photographers and photo enthusiasts alike for the use of a large image sensor, boasting approximately 1.7 times the size of the 35mm full-frame sensor. Among digital cameras equipped with a sensor larger than the 35mm full-frame format, this is the world’s first** model that offers (1) a back-illuminated sensor with phase detection pixels, (2) in-body image stabilization (IBIS) mechanism and (3) 4K/30P video recording capability. The innovative mirrorless digital camera fulfills photography’s intrinsic mission of “capturing and recording precious moments that are never to be repeated again.”

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BCN Trends Show Sony Losing Market in Japan, Canon Steady, Nikon Gaining

Sony

BCN data for the full frame mirrorless market in Japan (April 2019) shows how Sony is slowly losing market shares in favour Nikon while Canon remains steady.

The five top ranking cameras are:

  1. Sony a7III
  2. Canon EOS RP
  3. Canon EOS R
  4. Nikon Z 6
  5. Sony a7II

Guess Sony will lose even more market shares in the next months. Besides Canon and Nikon’s offerings there is also stiff competition coming from the L-Mount front.

sony

Three New Canon RF Lenses Coming Early 2020 (24mm/1.4, 135mm/1.8, macro)

Canon RF 85mm

While we are still waiting for Canon to release five Canon RF lenses they already announced, the rumor mill already has new RF lenses suggestions in the pipeline.

It’s suggested Canon might announced three new lenses for the Canon EOS R system in early 2020. Among them there might be an RF 24mm f/1.4L and an RF 135 f/1.8L (the latter was just revealed through a patent a few days ago). The third one is said to be an undisclosed macro lens that will be the “first of its kind macro lenses”. Aren’t all unreleased lenses undisclosed?

All three RF lenses might be announced before CP+ 2020, which happens at the end of February.

We are a bit puzzled because of the many rumors about RF mount lenses we get in our inbox and others are reporting. Some of these rumors are contradicting, others just nonsense. There is another rumor suggesting there are eight new RF lenses on Canon’s agenda.

It can be taken for granted that Canon is building a solid lens ecosystem for the Canon EOS R. All these RF lens rumors are just suggesting RF mount versions of the most popular (and used) lenses in the full frame DSLR world. Without any crystal ball or magic intuitive skills, it’s to expect that Canon will sooner or later release all those lenses murmured on rumor outlets. No real surprises here to expect.

Stay tuned.

Source: Canon Rumors

Peak Design Announced a Travel Tripod That’s Incredibly Compact

Peak Design Travel Tripod

Peak Design release a new, travel oriented tripod which is surprisingly compact.

You can pre-order the Peak Design Travel Tripod at Kickstarter.

Key Design Features

  1. Spatial efficiency: Peak Design engineers reworked Travel Tripod’s legs and center column to nest perfectly together in order to achieve a total packed diameter of just 3.25 inches—roughly the diameter of a water bottle. The result is a tripod that deploys to 58.5 inches tall while taking up less than half the volume of its competitors.
  2. Redesigned ball head: Travel Tripod ball head operates more fluidly than traditional tripod heads while still prioritizing spatial efficiency. By utilizing a single adjustment ring Peak Design was able to eliminates bulky and confusing knobs. This not only improves user experience but helps the Travel Tripod maintain its compact diameter from tip to toe. 
  3. Rapid deployment: Peak Design developed a system of non-inverted legs that rapidly deploy along an aligned system of locking cam levers. With three swift hand movements, the legs can be fully extended and ready for action.
  4. Available in carbon fiber + aluminum alloy legs: carbon (2.81lbs – msrp: $599) aluminum alloy (3.44lbs – msrp $349)
peak design

Press release:

Peak Design Unveils The Next Generation of Camera TripodsNew Travel Tripod Promises to Redefine Product Category for Years to Come

San Francisco, CA (May, 2019) – After multiple award-winning bag releases, Peak Design, the worldwide leader in crowdfunding and everyday carry solutions, is proud to disrupt yet another product category—the camera tripod.More than four years in the making, Peak Design’s newest release, Travel Tripod, is a ground-up reexamination ofcamera tripod design to produce the world’s most portable, packable, and easy-to-setup tripod for professionals and first-time tripod owners alike.

Peak Design directly addressed their biggest rub about traditional tripods: spatial inefficiency and unnecessary bulk.Peak Design’s goal was to eliminate the dead space within a tripod, an ever-present inefficiency that often doubles ortriples the effective diameter of a packed tripod. Peak Design engineers reworked Travel Tripod’s legs and centercolumn to nest perfectly together in order to achieve a total packed diameter of just 3.25 inches—roughly the diameter of a water bottle. The result is a tripod that deploys to 58.5 inches tall while taking up less than half the volume of its competitors.

“During my travels in 2008 I began wondering why on Earth my tripod was so big. The thing was full of negativespace and knobs, and I felt like something designed for portability could do much better,” commented Peak Design CEO, Peter Dering. “I quickly realized that anything short of a complete design overhaul would fail to meet my criteriaof the perfect travel tripod. It took years of development but the outcome is a camera tripod that seamlessly integratesinto all aspects of travel and adventure.”

Travel Tripod is among the quickest-to-deploy and most intuitive to use tripods on the market. Peak Design developed a system of non-inverted legs that rapidly deploy along an aligned system of locking cam levers. With three swift hand movements, the legs can be fully extended and ready for action.

Peak Design also optimized the Travel Tripod ball head to operate more fluidly than traditional tripod heads while still prioritizing spatial efficiency. Travel Tripod eliminates bulky and confusing knobs with a single adjustment ring for simple and smooth 360-degree adjustment. Peak Design’s proprietary quick-release plate technology facilitates lightning-fast camera attachment—easily accommodating a full frame DSLR with telephoto lens—and is compatible with Peak Design carrying equipment and with Arca Swiss tripod dimensions. Furthermore, Travel Tripod’s ball head measures just 3.25 inches in diameter, keeping it aligned with the packed profile of the tripod’s legs for exceptionallycompact carry.

In addition to a thorough rethinking of a tripod’s architecture and user interface, carefully considered material choices and construction techniques provide the stability and vibration dampening demanded by avid photographers. A built- in universal phone mount, bubble-level, hook for counterweights, and included soft case round out a packed feature list that fans of Peak Design have come to expect.

Available both in carbon fiber and aluminum legs (MSRP: $599.95 // $349.95) the Travel Tripod will launch on Kickstarter (peakdesign.com/ks) for a pre-sale discount beginning May 21, 2019. The tripod will then be available for purchase online at peakdesign.com and through major retailers in time for the 2019 holiday season.

Industry News: Fujifilm GFX 100 Specs Leaked, It’s a 102MP, Medium Format Mirrorless Camera

Fujifilm Gfx 100

Specifications of the upcoming Fujifilm GFX 100 leaked at Nokishita. The Fujifilm GFX 100 is expected to be announced on May 23, 2019. You can follow the Fujifilm GFX 100 live blogging at Fuji Rumors.

Fujifilm GFX 100 specifications

  • Equipped with a backside illuminated CMOS sensor with 102 million pixels
  • High-speed image processing engine “X-Processor 4”
  • Achieves high-speed AF with up to twice the speed of the current model and excellent in moving object tracking
  • 3.78 million image plane phase difference pixels are placed on the entire surface of the image sensor (coverage ratio about 100%)
  • The accuracy of “face and pupil detection AF” has dramatically improved
  • In addition to face detection of objects farther away, it is also possible to achieve high followability even when the face turns sideways or is blocked by an obstacle.
  • Equipped with a 5-axis camera shake correction mechanism in the body that has an effect of up to 5.5 steps
  • Equipped with 4K / 30P video shooting function
  • Recording to an SD card 4K 30p 10bit 4: 2: 0, recording to an external media via HDMI 4K 30p 10bit 4: 2: 2
  • The first “GFX Series” to be equipped with “ETERNA” mode
  • In addition to rear liquid crystal monitor corresponding to 3.2 type 3 direction tilt, we adopt 2.05 type rear sub monitor newly
  • The newly installed 1.80 top screen sub LCD monitor can use “Virtual dial mode” to display dial design
  • Newly developed 5.76 million dots organic EL electronic view finder
  • View finder magnification 0.86 times, optional EVF tilt adapter “EVF-TL1” can be attached
  • It supports “16bit RAW” “16bit TIFF” recording
  • Newly developed Smooth Skin Effect, a new function that automatically performs skin retouching
  • We realize small size, light weight of thinnest part 48.9mm, approximately 1400 g (including two batteries, memory card, electronic view finder)
  • High dust and water proof performance and low temperature resistant structure with 95 places sealing
  • First to support “IEEE 802.11ac” as “GFX series”
  • Since two “NP-T125” can be mounted, approximately 800 images can be taken when using the rear LCD monitor
  • Power supply and charge from USB terminal is possible

Canon Patent for 100mm f/1.4 and 135mm f/1.8 Lenses for EOS R System

Canon Patent

US patent application US20190146195 describes the optical formulas for 100mm f/1.4 and 135mm f/1.8 lenses for the Canon EOS R system.

More Canon patent applications are listed here. Some particularly interesting patent applications we think might get into production are these: