This year has not been a kind one for Kodak. Last month, the photography pioneer announced that it was filing for bankruptcy (and suing Samsung, incidentally), and now the company has let it be known that it will be dropping out of the digital camera business — and then some — marking an end to its line of digital point-and-shoots, pocket camcorders and digital photo frames. Production will end the first half of this year. The future for the company will hold printers, brand licensing, enterprise services and photo labs. Kodak will, however, continue to honor warranties on existing products.

SOURCE via Reuters

If Nikon thought its 36-megapixel D800 would be the king of the resolutions this week, they were wrong. Sigma, it seems, didn’t get the memo and has crashed the party, updating its DP1 and DP2 compacts with whopping 46-megapixel sensors. Okay, so technically it’s three 15.3 megapixel layers (that also being the effective resolution), but we’ll play along with the marketing spin. Rebranded as the DP1- and DP2-Merrill in honor of the sensor’s co-creator, the refresh sees the compacts sporting the same imaging innards as the firm’s flagship SD1 Merrill SLR. The LCD screen also gets a bump from 2.5 to three inches, which, we suppose, is to do better justice to those massive pictures you’ll be taking. Sigma’s keeping price and availability under wraps for now, but we’ll keep snooping around for more info.

Ahead of its “official launch”, the Nikon D800 and D800E have made their worldwide debut to a very happy horde of Nikonians. Looking at the pictures, the leaks that we’ve been seeing over the past few weeks were spot on. Externally it looks like it has retained much of the D700′s aesthetic style with the addition of a D7000-esque shooting rate selector and of course a toggle for the new video function that the D700 lacked.

Under the hood is where the D800 gets interesting, sporting a 36.3MP Full Frame sensor (a staggering 12.1MP at DX), which brings a medium format megapixel count to a digital SLR for the first time as far as I know. While it’s not always about the megapixels, the D800, or rather the D800E has a little trick up its sleeve. In the slightly tweaked E version, Nikon have omitted the Anti-Aliasing filter on camera, sharpening up your image with the downside of more moiré in your photos.

Other features include an ISO range of 100-6400 (expandable to 25,000) as well as the ability to record 1080p video at 30/25/24fps and just like the D4, output uncompressed HDMI signals. The D800 will support not only a CF card, but an SD card as well with the option to split video/stills onto either. One of the cool things about the D800 is that according to the specs, is that it has shaved off some weight compared to the D700, believe me, any weight off that beast is a welcome one.

The D800 will be retailing for US$3,000 and the D800E will be going for US$3,300. For those of you who can’t wait, hop on over to our source links for a closer look! Meanwhile hit the jump for some videos

A certain purported Olympus Micro Four Thirds shooter has been anything but shy prior to its official unveiling (whenever that happens). Now, 43 Rumors is keeping the intel flowing with tidbits it received from a “super European source.” The fresh bits suggest the E-M5 could sport a “super-fast” autofocus and 3D tracking system, an external “weather-sealed” GN10 flash and additional filter. And, if rumors are to be believed, you’ll be able to see the effects of the image stabilization through the electronic viewfinder. Though your skep-alarm should be on high alert, we can’t keep you from believing, so hit up that source link to find the rest of the alleged details.

SOURCE via 43rumors

Exactly twelve months after the unveiling of the Optio WG-1 family, Pentax is now introducing the successors to its colorful and ruggedized shooters. And while its macho design hasn’t changed much, the newcomers usher in a host of predictable spec bumps. The new all-terrain shooters are sporting a 16-megapixel, back-illuminated CMOS sensor, 1080p (30fps) movie mode, micro-HDMI for when you feel like sharing your adventures and a 3-inch, 460,000 -dot LCD to help you frame your shots. Of course, this wouldn’t fall under the rugged category if it couldn’t handle anything you threw at it, which is why any WG-2 is waterproof up to 40 feet, shock-resistant and dustproof. If you’re thinking about taking one of these on the trails with you, be ready to unleash around $350 for the unguided model or about $50 more for a GPS-enabled number. Neither will be available until March, so you’ll have to wait a while.

Panasonic, the Japanese-based manufacturer is unleashing a pair of compact “Traveler Zoom” cams to the 2012 mix of camera line-ups that they have. The Lumix DMC-ZS20 and ZS15 include 20x (24-480mm) and 16x (24-384mm) optically stabilized zoom lenses, respectively, 3-inch 460k-pixel LCDs, 1/2.3-inch High Sensitivity MOS sensors and a 10 fps burst shooting mode (5 fps with continuous AF). The higher-end ZS20 features a 14.1 megapixel sensor and 1080/60p video shooting while the ZS15 captures 12.1 megapixel stills and 1080/60i HD clips. Both cameras include 0.1-second “Light Speed Autofocus” and top sensitivity levels of ISO 3200, though you’ll need to opt for the ZS20 to take advantage of GPS with map logging and a noise-canceling stereo mic. The pair will ship in March, with a black, red, white or silver ZS20 running you $350, compared with a $280 price tag on the black or silver ZS15.

We heard it was coming, and confirmation arrives today of Pentax’s latest model, the K-01. The manufacturer is cheer-leading the fact that it uses the world’s thinnest interchangeable lens for lens-interchangeable cameras, which really rolls off the tongue.

The body is compatible with the rest of your K-series lens, although they’re presumably going to look awkwardly thick in comparison. The 40mm lens can cope with aperture settings down to f/1.8, while the camera packs a new 16.28 megapixel CMOS sensor, with an ISO range of 100 to 25,600. Video chops have also been improved; a new recording button for instant start and a stereo mic differentiate it from the K-5.

Video capture can be done at 1080p with 30, 25 or 24fps settings available. The aluminum-bodied camera will arrive in yellow, black and white next month, priced at $750 for the high-design body or $900 with the DA 40mm lens included. The lens will also be available, priced at $250. You can see designer Marc Newson emote about his latest creation in the video right after the break.

Not content on leaking the Fujifilm X-Pro1′s lenses before the mirrorless ILC was even announced at CES, Amazon has just confirmed the camera’s price. It appears you’ll have to plunk down a hefty $1700 to get your dirty little mitts on this high-end rangefinder-ish 16 megapixel APS-C shooter — and that’s just for the body. Following this leak, Fujifilm has officially released the proper MSRP for the X-Pro1.

As a reminder, you’ll also be able to purchase the 18mm (27mm equivalent) f/2.0 and 35mm (53mm equivalent) f/1.4 lenses, and the larger 60mm (91mm equivalent) f/2.4 macro lens. This camera may not be quite a sexy looking as its fixed-lens cousin the X100, but it sure looks more than up to the task of taking beautiful pictures. Guess we’ll have to wait until late February to find out for sure.

Official price from Fujifilm can be found below:

• FUJIFILM X-Pro1 (body only) $1,699.95
• FUJIFILM XF 18mm (27mm equivalent) F2.0 lens $599.95
• FUJIFILM XF 35mm (53mm equivalent) F1.4 lens $599.95
• FUJIFILM XF 60mm (90mm equivalent) F2.4 lens $649.95

SOURCE via Amazon

Looking for a zoom booster to flesh out your NEX or MFT kit? Then take a highly magnified gander at Kenko Tokina’s 400mm f/8 mirror lens, which now comes with both E- and T-mounts to complement the manufacturer’s existing SLR-compatible range. So long as you don’t mind the light-sapping aperture and manual focus, you’ll be able pick one up in Japan tomorrow for a price that should soon become apparent. Just bear in mind that other new MFT options from Tamron and Astrodesign are likely on their way too.

SOURCE via Photography Blog

Back in November we joined Martin Scorsese and other Hollywood luminaries at Paramount Studios for the unveiling of Canon’s latest cinema video camera, which is now available for pre-order. The EOS C300, that aims to compete directly against the Reds of the world, carries a Super 35mm CMOS sensor capable of up to 1080p capture, and should be helped in large part by the company’s top-shelf lenses; like the 14.5 – 60mm and 30 – 300mm. When we first met the C300 we told you it’d be priced at a hefty $20,000, but that’s no longer the case, instead it’ll cost a less painful $16,000 for the body only. The camera will begin shipping “after January 30th,” and if it seems like a little too much for you, at least you can still watch our precious hands-on time with it.

SOURCE via Electronista