It’s been almost two weeks since I last posted a news and article roundup (– the reason being that I was first sick and the busy –), but here I am again, with some fresh stuff from around the interwebs. Enjoy!
Review: Voigtländer Color Heliar 75mm f/2.5
The Voigtländer Color Heliar 75mm f/2.5 is a very reputable short tele / portrait lens in Leica screw mount (“M39”). It has been out of production for quite some time, and has been replaced recently by the newer 75mm f/1.8 Heliar. It’s still a great little (literally) lens, and Tony from Ancient City Photography seems to like it a lot, not only for studio work.
“How Much Longer Can Photographic Film Hold On?”
… npr ask, once again. I admit, this topic has been — and is still being — discussed ad nauseum anywhere and everywhere, and we all know (or seem to know) that film is dying. This article though provides some interesting figures on current and past sales of film in the US, and gives some interesting insights.
PrintDreams PrintBrush 4×6
Did you ever dream of being able to print your pictures right away after taking them? Well, here’s the solution! The PrintBrush is a digital still camera that has a built-in ink-jet printer that allows you to print your pictures by just sliding the camera over a sheet of paper. Don’t believe it? Watch the video! The PrintBrush will hit stores soon!
I don’t know if this is real or not — but if it is, it’s most certainly one of the geekiest things in a long time!
SLR Magic x Noktor: upcoming lens details
43rumors proves to be a reliable source of information once again. After recently reporting on Noktor‘s comback as part of SLR Magic, they now provide us with the latest details on SLR Magic’s upcoming Noktor-branded lenses. So now it’s not only official that a new version of the Noktor Hyper Prime 50mm f/0.95 lens will come (same optics, slightly different housing, M4/3 and E-mount), but also will they soon release a fast 12mm f/1.6 wide angle lens for Micro Four Thirds. Go, SLR Magic!
Leica: M9 Hammertone, fiscal year 2010/11 report
Last but not least, two snippets of Leica news. Well, three actually. First, rumor has it that in a couple of days Leica may announce several new products. The coming of an M9-P style à la Leica MP is pretty certain (see also M9 Hammertone below), also that of a new 21mm f/3.8 lens. What we will also probably see are the latest firmwares for the M8 and M9.
Just announced for the Japanese market was an M9 Hammertone special edition that already features the M9-P top plate with classic engraving and without Leica logo on the front. The Hammertone edition is limited to 100 pieces for the Japanese market.
In other news, Leica have just published their report on the fiscal year 2010/11. The figures speak for themselves — sales increase to almost 250 million €. Consequently, for the first time since 1997, Leica Camera AG is going to pay dividends to shareholders. If that ain’t good news! 
Another round of news and articles, this time a little late as I was pretty knocked out for more than a week sind last week, and have only just really recovered.
Noktor is dead! Long live Noktor!
Remember Noktor, a couple of chaps, operating from a shed somewhere in the U.S., retrofitting and rebranding Japanese CCTV lenses for Micro Four Thirds? They made quite a stir last year when they announced a 50mm f/0.95 high-speed lens with native m4/3 mount, but it turned out to be low quality and overpriced. Just recently, Noktor announced their death, just to announce their rebirth a couple of days later. As it seems, they have merged with SLR magic. We’ll see what that is going to bring to the Micro Four Thirds world!
How diffraction limits resolution …
… and what this means for technical implementation as well as actual photography. If you’re fluent in German, here’s an interesting article on the topic by photoscala.
How do instant cameras work?
Ever wondered about the magic behind your dad’s old Polaroid? Well, here’s a simple, easy to grasp explanation of how the Polaroid instant pictures work. Simple and effective, yet fascinating nonetheless!
The Sigma SD1’s Foven sensor analyzed
Here’s another interesting technical article, this time about the new 15 megapixel Foveon X3 sensor of Sigma’s latest DSLR flagship, the SD1. (Which, by the way, will shortly be available!)
Fujifilm X100 giveaway by PhotoRumors and Adorama
Do you want a Fujifilm X100, but don’t have the money to buy one? Well, here’s your chance to get one FOR FREE! Fantastic, isn’t it?
Fujifilm X100 vs. Leica X1
Steve Huff has put both the Leica X1 as well as the Fujifilm X100 through their respective paces, and has now taken the additional effort to compare the two in terms of looks, build quality, usability, fun-factor and — chief of all — image quality.
The challenge of the 24mms
And another one for those fluent in German Photoscala has put together (or is putting together) a big challenge of high-speed 24mm lenses for various systems. The series has only just begun, but in the coming weeks the following lenses will undergo meticulous tests and will be compared to each other:
AF-S Nikkor 24mm f/1.4 G ED (for Nikon)
Sigma 24mm f/1.8 EX DG Macro (for Nikon)
Canon EF 24mm f/1.4 L (for Canon)
Zeiss Distagon T* 24mm f/2 SSM (for Sony)
Leica Summilux-M 24mm f/1.4 ASPH. (for Leica)
That’s it for today!
Another beautiful sunday morning, and another roundup of the latest news and articles, gathered from aroung the interwebs four your enjoyment!
Panasonic DMC-G3
In case you missed it (you probably haven’t — it’s been all around the web), Panasonic have just announced their latest Micro Four Thirds model, the G3, featuring a slightly smaller body, new 16 megapixel sensor, and less buttons and more touch operation (a bit like the GF2 in fact). 43rumors, as always, have a complete list of announcements, previews, reviews and opinions on the new G3.
Particulary interesting, though, is this article at PhotographyBLOG, in which the website interviews to Panasonic officials about the new G3 and other (upcoming) Panasonic products. During the interview, it is noted that the new 25mm f/1.4 Micro Four Thirds lens that was announced earlier, will indeed — just like its Four Thirds predecessor — be Leica branded.
Fujifilm X100 vs. Leica X1
This was just clear, wasn’t it? All around the web, people are discussing which is the better camera, the old X1, or the new X100? To stir up the heat a bit, Leica Rumors have posted their one (quite elaborate) comparison of the two, both in technical as well as user-based terms.
Win a(nother) Leica M9!
You may remember that a couple months ago, Seal gave away his M9 in a contest on Steve Huff’s website. For those who didn’t make it then, here’s another chance at getting a free M9! This time, it even is a special edition with a chrome Summicron-M 35mm f/2 ASPH. lens. All you have to do is buy the next couple issues of the Amateur Photographer, collect six tokens printed in the magazine, send them in and … with a bit of luck, you’re the soon-to-be owner of a new M9!
Is there an upgraded M9-P coming in June?
As we’re at the topic of a new M9 — it may well be possible that Leica will present us an upgraded M9-P in June. This has been rumored in several internet forums, and now aforementioned Seal has been spotted with a camera that looks like a hybrid of an M9 and an MP: no decorations on the top plate, but missing battery compartment and film rewind lever. If we are to believe in the rumors, the M9-P will also featured a new LCD cover. Will it be sapphire glass? We’ll know soon enough!
That’s it for today — have a nice remaining weekend!
It’s a warm and sunny sunday here in central Germany, and after spending the first half of the day in our beautiful garden I decided the sun’s become too hot and went inside to share with you some more interesting news and articles I found this week.
Leica Freedom Train
Ernst Leitz II, son of Leica-founder Ernst Leitz, helped many people — Leitz employees as well as fellow citizens — to flee the Nazi regime before and during World War II. The Amateur Photographer recollects the story and reports on the ongoing efforts of a british Rabbi to find the last living survivors.
Sigma SD1
According to this post in an Australian Sigma user forum, the release of the new Sigma’s new flagship DSLR SD1 is postponed to June 2011, to coincide with the company’s 50th anniversary.
The first digital camera
The blog “ISO50” reports on the first digital camera, built by Kodak in 1975. The “camera” that looks more like a projector fitted to an early PC, took 23 seconds to save a single image onto a datassette. The whole story’s available at Kodak.com.
Leica Summarit-M 90/2.5 review
Olivier Giroux reviews Leica’s affordable tele lens, the 90mm f/2.5 Summarit-M, and finds that it suffers from severe focus shift — a side effect of the lens’ simple, spherical design. In another article, he explains why fast M-mount lenses longer than 50mm need floating elements.
Leica Summarit-M 35/2.5 on the Sony NEX-3
Wolfgang Spekner, photographer and photo-blogger from Austria, tried the “cheap” 35 on his Sony NEX-3, comparing it to the more affordable but faster Zeiss Biogon 2/35 ZM. The little Summarit really shines on the NEX! Now is that a praise for the lens or for the camera? Or maybe for both?
(The 35 Summarit is in stock at B&H photo as I’m writing these lines — hurry if you want one!)
Thanks for stopping by, and have fun reading!
It’s Easter Monday and there’s not much going on — the kid is playing in the garden, the wife is enjoying the sun, and the in-laws are preparing lunch. So I thought I’d take the opportunity and give you a short update on some interesting articles I found around the interwebs recently.
The New Yorker — “Candid Camera” — by Anthony Lane
An older, seven-page article from 2007, focusing on the history and mystery of the Leica brand and their famous cameras. Very interesting, and a must-read for any Leiac fan.
DC Watch — Fixed-lens compact camera comparison
The guys from DC Watch took the effort to make an in-depth comparison between four current fixed-lens large-sensor compact camera models: The modular Ricoh GXR, the Foveon-equipped Sigma DP1x, the Leica X1 and the just-released Fuji X100. In addition to comparing design, build and specs, there’s also a huge number of identical sample pictures to compare.
ePHOTOzine — How to use a toy camera
The title says it — this article focus on so-called “toy cameras”, explains what defines them, how they work and what you can do with them.
Have fun reading!
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June 12th, 2011, 1:20 pm | 
