Do you love Pentax very much? If you don’t fall into either of the Nikon and Canon camp, and love the Pentax so much, then you’ll probably like what you see above. It’s not a normal DSLR mind you. Also, it could be yours… if you’re willing to wait four months. Pentax is giving a very limited edition high-five to its medium-format 645D DSLR. The 40 megapixel stunner, recently crowned 2011 “Camera of the Year” at the Camera Grand Prix Japan, is getting a luxe lacquered makeover in this made-to-order kit. If you’re the type to collect overpriced (we assume) pieces of photographic paraphernalia, then this custom paulownia-wood box and its contents are probably up your alley. What do you get for all this premium exclusiveness? Well, there’s the aforementioned specially-designed body, a leather strap, body mount cap and center-spot-matte focusing screen. Not included is an actual photographer to take the pictures for you (or keep your swag clean) — now that would be high-end. There’s no word yet as to what this stately beauty’s gonna cost, but that shouldn’t stop you from pre-ordering it on the company’s site right now. Money may not buy you happiness, but it can get you a rare toy.

Change may be afoot over at Hasselblad, now that the high-end camera maker has been acquired by Ventizz Capital Fund IV — a private equity firm based in Switzerland and Germany. Neither party disclosed any financial details, but Ventizz said it will implement “no major structural or key management changes” at its newly acquired company. It remains to be seen whether or not this acquisition brings about any changes at the strategic level, though Hasselblad CEO Larry Hansen said his company is looking forward to exploring “brand new markets”. Hopefully that includes the “sub-$10,000″ category.

Want some micro-four third but don’t want the awesomely new Lumix GF3? Well Olympus just went live with the PEN E-P3, PEN E-PL3, and PEN E-PM1, three 12.3 megapixel interchangeable lens cameras with Live MOS sensors, TruePic VI image processors and an ISO ceiling of 12,800. Yes, all the awesome bells and whistles.

You’ll also get a reengineered autofocus system, a 1080i HD video mode, newly designed user interfaces and a variety of Art Filters. The E-P3 is outfitted with an all-metal body and “the world’s fastest autofocus” (really?), while the rear is dotted with a 614,000 pixel OLED touchscreen. The E-PL3 steps it up with a 3-inch tilting LCD, while the smallest and lightest of the PEN line (yeah, the E-PM1) will be shipping in a half-dozen hues.

The outfit also revealed a new pair of prime lenses, a camera grip and a FL-300R flash, all of which are detailed in the source links below. But what about the damage? Only the P3 is being priced at the moment thought, with $900 landing you a new kit this August.

Read more…

Nikon engaged in a bit of conceptual product show-and-not-as-much-tell at the French Cité des sciences et de l’industrie exhibit, Hello Demain (Hello Tomorrow). The four prototype cameras on display ranged from the clearly defined — a fully customizable SLR that swaps the lens, grip and LCD screen at your whimsy — to the mysterious webcam dongle-ish i-Ball of unknown purpose, to a mundane six-inch screener. But the real étoile of this forward-facing soirée is that Multi-Ball cam — guaranteed to be a panoramic morning-after hit (or cause for much hungover consternation). While these concepts reside proudly in the province of tomorrowland, it’s only a matter of time before they digitally immortalize your precious visage.

SOURCE via Slashgear

Leica’s new M9-P digital rangefinder taps the till at $7,995 — the same price the original M9 commanded when it was released in 2009 — but you don’t stay in the business of making pricey cameras for nearly a century without doing something right. The new version adds a virtually unbreakable sapphire crystal covering on the LCD, produced using diamond cutting tools, and an anti-reflective coating. The body includes a vulcanite leatherette body finish, for a more secure grip, but curiously lacks the familiar red Leica logo and M9 lettering on the front, in line with the camera’s elegant “minimalist styling.” Beyond that, the P includes the same full-frame 18 megapixel sensor featured on the M9, an “almost silent” shutter, and is compatible with Leica’s full range of astronomically expensive M lenses. The M9-P will be available in black or chrome for $7,995 beginning next month or $15,990 for two — since we know you’re planning to buy both, so it’s still pretty much the same anyway.

SOURCE via Leica

It started with the traditional “professionally” black and the “striking” red, and now 2 more new colors are joining the happy-go-lucky bandwagon of the 1100D newbie DSLR. The company was clearly in an experimental mood, and got the harebrained idea that consumers just might snap up red and brown DSLRs the way they do its candy-colored point-and-shoots. The outfit is now selling its beginner-friendly EOS Rebel T3 in red, brown, and metallic gray — all in addition to your garden-variety black, of course.

Sure, that’s tame by Pentax’s wacky standards, but for Canon it’s pretty… outlandish. Since the camera went on sale this spring, its price has dropped from $599 to a promotional $549 for the kit, which includes an EF-S 18-55mm f/3.5-5.6 zoom II lens. As for the body, if you’ll recall, it has a 12.2 megapixel sensor that records 720p video (a rarity for an entry-level model), a nine-point autofocus system, ISO 100 to 6,400, and a 63-zone dual-metering system.

Novices who just want to be different can, as always, hit up the source link for more info.

SOURCE via Canon

First shown nearly a year ago, what appears to be a leaked official photo might finally mean the forever teased A77 is on the horizon. If you’ll recall, the high-end Alpha was sporting a svelte see-through body, and the only tidbits the Japanese firm would confirm were the 2011 ship date and that all forthcoming Alpha’s would have translucent mirrors — you know, the spiffy kind that enables DSLRs to focus while shooting video. Opportunely, the above pictured image also came with a bevy of specs, which we’ll have to assume apply to the pricier A77: a 24 megapixel sensor, 11 point AF, 10 frame per second burst and an ISO of 102,400. Also on the docket is USB 3.0, and a ship date of October. Whether or not the August announcement pans out remains to be seen, but you’ll certainly know when we do.

SOURCE via Sony Alpha Rumor

Ever since Sony discontinued their NEX-3, we heard lots of rumours regarding the successor, the NEX-C3, and now it’s officially official. Announced today, the NEX-C3 appears identical to the model leaked in April, and uses the same format APS-C image sensor as its predecessor, bumping resolution to 16.2 megapixels in a camera body smaller than the NEX-5.

Sony says the new entry-level cam is designed to fill the gap between point-and-shoot and DSLR cameras, and is the smallest body to pack an APS-C sensor, offering DSLR-level image quality — the same 16.2 MP chip is also included in its new full-size Alpha A35, which replaces the A33. Both cameras can shoot at up to 5.5 fps (the A35 adds a 7 fps mode at 8.4 megapixels), and include 3-inch LCDs, with the NEX keeping its hallmark tilt display, and the A35 adding Sony’s Translucent Mirror live-view mode, and an electronic viewfinder. Read more…

Cameras are like cars, we pursue far more advance technologies day and night and yet still sought after classical cameras and cars for the vintage feeling. Here’s a good example, and a bloody expensive one too.

A 1923 Leica 0-series just got sold at an auction for €1,320,000. Funnily, the exact same auction house reportedly sold the exact same camera four years ago: No. 107, the first Leica to be exported, allegedly for a patent application inspection in New York.

In 2007, it fetched a relatively paltry €336,000, which was apparently still a world record for Leica cameras at the time. That particular dude sure earned a lot at there, and there’s no sign that this thing still works.

SOURCE via Herald

It has always been Leica’s tradition to ‘rebadge’ Panasonic’s Lumix cameras with some Leica paints, and this time it’s the same repetitive process again. Panasonic launched the ZS10 few months ago, and now that same camera has an evil twin called the Leica V-LUX 30. Yes, they intend to let this camera be the successor of the V-LUX 20.

At $749, this is actually one of Leica’s more affordable offerings, but that will still only buy you the exact same guts as its $400 (or less) Panasonic counterpart: a 15.1 megapixel sensor (14.1 effective), 16x optical zoom, 1080i video recording, a 3-inch LCD ’round back, and built-in GPS for geotagging.

If you’re interested in forking extra $400 to buy the Leica brand, then you may need to wait till June. Worth it? I’m not sure…