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I just got word that Olympus has updated the firmware in the E-M1 Mk II and this sees it now getting a lot more of the features that the E-M1X has, including improved AF, expanded ISO range (down to ISO 64) as well as some other stuff that I didn't even know these cameras could do. Here's Robin Wong to run through some of the details.

Today is the first time since it was announced that I have been able to look into the new Canon EOS R mirrorless camera. I gotta say that at first glance I much prefer the look of it compared to Nikon's Z7. It seems to look more like an SLR and less like something Sony designers hobbled together with a Mechano set. In this thread I will post some videos and impressions of the camera. Would love to hear other reader's thoughts on it too. Here's the first video from an actual photographer who takes actual photos and not a "vlogger". I really like the idea of the control ring on the lens being programmable to shift a camera setting, such as aperture, although I wonder how practical it is in real life if you accidentally change a setting while handling the camera. I manage to do this regularly on my Olympus E-M1 and I have turned off most of the programmable buttons. It does look like a very large camera compared to the Z7 and that lens is a real monster!

Dallas inspired me to show some of what can be done with a mirrorless camera and aviation photography. I have been taking aviation photos for years with my Micro 4/3 cameras, but getting the fast-moving jets and sufficient prop-blur on the propeller-driven aircraft has been a real challenge. With the recent advances and firmware updates on the Olympus E-M1, I was finally able to capture what I think are worthwhile photos, at least for me. All of these shots were taken with the E-M1 "classic" in 2015 and 2016. Airshow season for 2017 is just starting, and I am anxious to see what I can do with my E-M1 mkII. This is an F-16 "Viper" making a hard break immediately after take off, E-M1 with Olympus 300mm f4.0

So Nikon has announced they will bring in the new professional mirrorless camera with a new mount and adaptability to F mount lenses. I don't think they had any choice in the matter, to be honest. I think we will see a couple of new mirrorless bodies. There will probably be a flagship and a prosumer grade body. I reckon the flagship will most likely have the designation of DM-1 and the prosumer most likely a DM-300 or something along those lines. Hopefully they will have designed something that inspires the competition to up their game too, but based on recent pricing of models such as the D5, I reckon we can expect a wince when the prices are announced, which will leave ample room for the competitors like MFT, Sony and Fuji to compete well.

Condor Airlines Boeing 767-300ER departs from Minneapolis-St. Paul airport at 915pm local time to head back to Frankfurt, Germany. I took this shot last Saturday on one of the longest days of the year. On the composition side, I always struggle how to place the aircraft in the frame when I have an open sky. Comments and constructive ideas always welcome.

So it's a reality, even if the official announcement is only tomorrow. Hasselblad are releasing the world's first medium format mirrorless camera, the 50MP X1D. Petapixel spoiled the party with this article earlier today. At $9k for a camera body it will certainly only be on the radar of the world's elite, but what it does signify (to me at least) is that the DSLR's days are numbered and if the giants Canon and Nikon don't introduce a serious mirrorless camera soon they may lose even more market share to the fringe companies who are making serious mirrorless cameras. 0.02c

Some folks have suggested this is just Sony playing catch-up, when you read the details it's actually more than that, the beauty is in the detail as always! These are external links, hope this is ok, I know there is a lot of interest in mirrorless cameras here, I'm currently considering one to compliment my other gear so reading about the latest advances helps me decide, or does it (scratches head) http://www.dpreview.com/news/3240829197/sony-announces-24mp-a6300-mirrorless-camera http://www.dpreview.com/articles/9382826533/sony-releases-a6300-video-showing-af-tracking-and-8-fps-live-view-burst-performance http://www.dpreview.com/news/0359260536/sony-releases-three-premium-g-master-lenses-for-fe-mount cheers all tony

Nikonrumors reports about a patent for a Nikon full frame mirrorless les. The lens seems to be what we would think of as a "kit lens", a standard zoom. The lens drawings seem to indicate three possible suggestions for a lens design. http://nikonrumors.com/2014/12/16/interesting-nikon-filed-a-patent-for-a-full-frame-mirrorless-lens.aspx/ Maybe Nikon will start moving in 2015/16?

A number of DSLR and mirror less camera bodies have no protective covers like older DSLRs such as Nikon's D70, D200, D300*, D700 and so on. These cameras all have detachable plastic protective covers that are easy to remove for cleaning and do a good job of protecting the easily scratched LCD screen underneath. Moreover Ebay sellers can provide inexpensive replacement protective covers. None of my Nikon Df, Olympus E-M1, or my Panasonic LUMIX G3 have such protective covers. The latter two are touch sensitive as well, which can further add to the dirt and grime that accumulates on the screen. All three of these screens are at least covered with hard plastic. I have considered the use of the mylar and toughened glass covers available for protecting mobile cellular telephone screens. Whilst such covers are affordable, I am worried about how easy they would be to remove and replace if the need arose. Scratches are inevitable with unprotected screens, so what do other Fotozones members with similarly unprotected screens to mine do to handle this issue? Any advice would be appreciated; thanks in advance.

There’s something about Leica. Yes, they’re expensive and quite often they’re underwhelming in the technical specs department, but that’s not the thing about them. Until you’ve actually owned and shot with one you can’t quite understand the hold they acquire over you. They’re like the ethereal fairy dust that keeps you interested in all things aesthetic. My first Leica was a 1963 Leica M3 that I got somewhere around 2005 if memory serves. I got it for cheap change off an heir who was desperate for some cash at the time. It was one of the more desirable M bodies and the deal came with three lenses, a 90mm, 50mm and 35mm. What more could you ask for? My M3 was the single stroke version with a high serial number. I cherished it and I loved shooting it. Later I acquired a black M6 from a friend. That one was also a seductress, but it wasn’t quite as nice as the silver M3. A while later I also acquired a beautiful R4 and a couple of stunning R lenses, including the 180mm APO-telyt-R (in mint condition), also off a seller who had inherited them and didn’t check their value before settling for my offer of $200. Karma eventually found its way back to me when I hit really hard times in about 2008 and I had to sell all my Leicas, amongst other items. I didn’t let them go quite as cheaply as I had acquired them for though, which is a reminder that there is always a market for desirable brands. Since then I’ve lusted after getting more Leica’s, but in the digital age the Leica M system is a great big block of unobtainium for me. Maybe things have changed since yesterday’s announcement of the great big block of aluminium in the form of the all new Leica T mirrorless system? My first impression of the Leica T is that it’s not designed to the same aesthetic that got me excited about owning Leica M’s. I really don’t like that it looks a lot like the Sony NEX range with a big grip on the side and what appears to be a thinnish body. The literature suggests that the design comes from Leica’s design partner, Audi Design. It’s a personal taste thing, I guess, but there will never be any Audis for me. I find them quite unattractive. Notwithstanding my personal aversion to Audi design, there are some aspects of the Leica T that I do find interesting enough to write an article about. These are the things that have my attention: The Touch Screen Back This is a bold move by Leica. It tosses the contents of the entire spaghetti colander at the ceiling to test whether they’ll stick or not. It’s the only control you have on the camera and it reinforces my recently stated view that cellphones and advanced cameras need to merge for the latter to remain relevant as a consumer product. This may be the beginning of such a convergence in practical design. Could a camera like the Leica T also become your cellphone? Why the hell not? Replace the lens with a body cap lens like the ones Olympus makes and it would certainly become pocketable. Carry your T lenses in a separate bag and you’ve got the makings of über convenient photography and communication. I love touch screens because they let you control things in a way that engages your instinct. You hardly need to be taught how to use a touch screen. I can see a high degree of customisation being possible with something like this. Instead of having buttons that you can’t move, in the future it might be possible to design your own skin for your camera’s interface. Wouldn’t that be cool? The Accessories Range Leica are well known for their accessories. Much like Apple Computer can somehow justify the price of their accessories by slapping their logo on them, I’m sure that if Leica sell this camera into the collective psyche of the brand obsessed consumer, they too might find themselves doing more turnover in high priced accessories than actual camera bodies. Straps, covers, bags, hard shells, soft shells… you name it. People buy into premium brands because they perceive them to be associated with a certain level of class. I haven’t seen anybody putting a Samsung sticker on their car window, but I have seen plenty of Apple stickers on cars. Leica could become a similarly prevalent aspirational brand and break out of the elitist mould that their previous pricing strategies have fostered. The Price The price of the Leica T body is reported to be around $1850, which while relatively high compared to similar mirrorless camera products, does provide an attainable stepping stone into the Leica system for many (like me who’s previous forays into the brand were entirely dependent on finding unloved film bodies being sold for a song by ignorant heirs). The problem for me personally should I adopt a Leica T as a personal camera would be finding another $2k to spend on an entry level zoom lens. Leica has released this camera together with 2 lenses. The basic 18-56mm f/3.5-5.6 “kit” zoom (they call it the Vario-Elmar-T) will cost $1700 and the 23mm f/2.0 Summicron-T will cost $1950. Ouch. Then there is the optional EVF that costs $600. Ouch with exclamation! So to get yourself set up with the T, zoom lens and an EVF you’re looking at $4150 and you haven’t added a strap or case yet. It’s certainly not a system for the feint of wallet, but then it wouldn’t be Leica if it was, would it? The Mount This is the thing that has most of my attention. Leica have taken the step of being the first legacy system manufacturer since Olympus and Panasonic to introduce an entirely new mount for an entirely serious mirrorless camera system. They're starting something new but also offering something old to prop it up along the way. This is not an insignificant point to note. Here on Fotozones I’ve been saying for a long time that if the likes of Nikon and Canon want to enter the mirrorless market seriously, they will have to make a decision on whether they want to engineer around their legacy mounts (F and EF) or develop an entirely new mount and range of lenses. The Nikon 1 and EOS M are not serious mirrorless cameras in my opinion. What we’re seeing here from Leica is that they’ve decided to follow the path of new development rather than abandon their existing M mount. BUT they’ve done it in a way that allows full use of their legacy M system via adapter, which is crucial to retaining legacy customer participation in the brand. This is a leaf right out of the four thirds and micro four thirds story book. Nobody gets left behind. I’m confident that Nikon and Canon may both be watching how this move is received by existing Leica customers with interest, because it’s their own customers who are calling out for modernisation of their products too. Conclusion? Do I want a Leica T? Well, I’m always game to try new things, so yes, I do. Some of the sample images I have seen from reviewers show me that it definitely offers that unique Leica “look”, but in spite of this and the things I have mentioned in this article, it doesn’t quite have the same hold on my emotions that a Leica M does. There are things about the T that I find good, like the touch screen and the ability to use M glass, but there are other essential things from a photographer’s perspective that are missing, such as image stabilisation and a built-in EVF. On the whole I might be less than blown away, but I do think that Leica is on the right path with this product line. Perhaps a future iteration of a T body will blow its magic dust towards my heart. For now though I guess I’m going to have to wait for somebody with an M9 and an ignorant heir to die before I find myself back in the Leica brandishing business. View full article

Last year when Sony announced their “full frame” 135 mirrorless camera duo of the A7 and A7r they got the attention of quite a few photographers who wanted the large sensor capability of a 35mm frame in a smaller, lighter mirrorless body. The advantages of the mirrorless cameras I have written about at length, so I won’t go into them again for this article, but one of those advantages was that you could use an adapter to mount just about any lens from any manufacturer on the A7’s and enjoy the short depth of field you get from a large sensor on either a 24 or a huge 36 megapixel sensor. Lots of shooters jumped onboard this train. Now Sony have announced a third body in the A7 series, namely the A7s, which is the same body, but with a lower resolution of only 12 megapixels and according to the press release the ability to shoot a 135 body at ridiculously high ISO values (somewhere over 400,000 ISO). What’s interesting to me about these cameras is not so much that they’ve made the first mirrorless 135 system (not counting the Leica M’s because they are not autofocus), but that they’ve done it in three distinctly different flavours, giving the photographer some system options that they don’t get from any other manufacturer at present. If you want to shoot extreme high resolution images you opt for the A7r with its 36mp sensor. You get amazing resolution and the ability to produce massive prints with the best possible dynamic range. For general purpose photography you opt for the A7 with its 24mp sensor and you have not only great image quality, but you don’t have to be as careful as you would need to be when shooting the high res A7r. If you want to go nuts and shoot in total darkness with scant regard for camera shake you get the A7s and pump up the ISO until you exceed the max shutter speed in near darkness and you get great image quality. On the top and the back they all look like this: What I like about this approach is that it’s the same body used in all three variations, so the buttons and dials are exactly the same. The only thing different is what's inside the box. If you’re shooting with something like Nikon or Canon and you wanted the same sensor flexibility you would have to buy three completely different bodies, each with it’s own interface and layout. For example, to get the same kind of sensor variability with Nikon you would have to buy a D800, D610 and D4S. You would have to know each body quite well to be able to swap between them easily. Right now pros shooting the top end of the DSLR market don't have a body like the Nikon D4S or Canon 1DX packing a 36mp sensor, or even a 24mp one. You've only got the one sensor to choose from. If you want more pixels you have to look at a different body and one that doesn't share the same feature set as your pro body. By offering different sensors in three identical bodies Sony have given their brand adopters a very handy system perch that will allow them to accomplish all manner of things photographically without having the inconvenience of needing to learn a new button layout or menu system for each iteration. I think that’s a brilliant strategy. Can Nikon and Canon compete with that? Well, given the price of the D4S I don't see too many professional photographers being in a position to be able to afford three of the same types of bodies. However, it does beg the question of a future pro DSLR having the ability of being able to swap out the sensor as part of the system. Whether that's something they can do feasibly remains to be seen. Personally I think it would probably take them too long on the R&D front, so realistically speaking following Sony's approach of offering a cheaper mirrorless body might be the way forward. For Canon this would probably be a lot simpler than it would be for Nikon, who bring with them over half a century of legacy engineering to be worked around. What Sony needs to do now to build on this sisterhood of bodies is to further develop their lens line-up as well as the range of other accessories that photographers seek out (flashes, remotes, etc). If they can begin to offer the same kind of lens choice depth as the major players like Canon, Nikon and Micro Four Thirds, they will be a very strong market player going forward. View full article

Yesterday Nikon Corporation announced the third iteration of their Nikon 1 Mirrorless interchangeable lens cameras, unsurprisingly titled the Nikon 1 V3. It’s got a lot of people talking, but not all about the right things in my opinion. There is a lot of negative comment about certain aspects of the camera, which I do see as justifiably stupid moves by Nikon, but then again on the positive side, if the specs and claims that Nikon make are to be believed, then they are going to be able to make one helluva serious mirrorless camera when they finally decide to take the segment seriously. OK, so the first thing that’s got everybody shaking their heads in disbelief (that we can file under “the Bad”) is the use of micro SD cards as the media choice. This is definitely not a smart move for a couple of reasons. Micro SD cards are tiny. Really tiny. Losing them in the field is a very real possibility if you have to change them often and considering that the most common sizes found in the market are 8GB, you may need to carry a few of them, especially if you’re going to be using the claimed 20 or 60 frames per second shooting rate that the camera boasts. At that rate a 5 second burst is going to provide you with 100 or 300 images at 18MP each. Lots of storage will be needed. The other problem with micro SD cards is that while they are cheap, they don’t offer very fast write speeds, so the chances of actually getting through a 5 second or longer burst seems a little unlikely with your standard cellphone issue micro SD card. I can’t find any information on the Nikon site relating to buffer size for the V3, so I do hope for the sake of Nikon that they have included a really big one in the camera, otherwise the high frame rate is going to be totally useless. More fodder for “the Bad” folder is that the V3 doesn’t support Nikon’s excellent Creative Lighting System (CLS), which means that it can’t control remotely positioned speedlights. I can understand this because I believe CLS depends on a whole lot of information that is usually read off sensors found in the DSLR mirrorbox, so with a mirrorless design the engineers at Nikon would probably have to incorporate it onto the sensor, which already has a whole bunch of things going on, considering the number of AF points, both CDAF and PDAF. Then again the person buying a V3 isn’t likely to begin using CLS seriously, are they? Might as well get a DSLR if you’re getting that creative with lighting. In “the Good” folder we have some staggering numbers claims from Nikon. Up to 60 frames per second when using fixed focus and 20 when using auto focus tracking? That is very fast. Another claim, which if true, is that it can track moving subjects faster than any DSLR can, using 105 phase detect points on the sensor. So if you put the FT-1 adapter on the V3 you can use any of Nikon’s lenses with crop factors of 2.7x. This is very good news for those who shoot birds (especially those in flight), because with this small camera and (say) a 70-300mm VR lens you will get a field of view range equivalent to 810mm. Twitchers will love it. Also in the Good folder (for me) is the modular design that allows you to add a grip and EVF, as well as the fact that Nikon are using a touch screen, tilting rear LCD. This design allows the camera to be used in a variety of situations, as those of us already using the technology in other cameras can attest to. It has wifi too, which is good. It may not be the best implementation of wifi, but it's there and it's good to see that Nikon are offering the technology instead of ignoring it completely. However, in the Ugly folder we have the price consideration. The basic kit Nikon are punting includes the 10-30mm kit lens, the grip and the EVF for $1200. That’s the US street price, so given Nikon’s global pricing trends those of us in far flung corners of the world, we are going to probably be paying in the region of $1500 to $2000 for the basic kit. That… with a dramatic Horatio Cain / Jeremy Clarkson pause for effect… is complete madness. It puts the camera into the price turf of the likes of the Olympus E-M10, the many various Fujifilm products and other far more desirable mirrorless offerings. I can’t see photography enthusiasts or the soccer Mom buying into the system at that price. Not with the poor native lens options available. Nobody involved in photography is going to recommend getting one when there are so many other, better options available. The FT-1 adapter will add $271 to the price if you’re wanting to use your other Nikkor lenses on this camera. But all of this is conjecture based on my not having ever seen or used the camera. Yet. I do think that this particular release is a step in the right direction for Nikon though because it shows the industry that they do have the chops to put some serious technology into a mirrorless camera. If they ever start re-thinking the kind of sensor and mount that they could marry this advanced technology to then they will definitely begin making a march into the fast growing mirrorless realm. Right now though the V3 seems to me to be more like a little dog with a big bark. Does it bite? We’ll have to wait and see. View full article

In a discussion over here regarding which mirrorless system members FZ chose to go with, things have turned to the possibility of a Nikon F mount mirrorless camera at some point in the future. Yes, you can put an adapter on any mirrorless camera for F mount lenses now, but obviously you will lose things like autofocus and various other electronic linkages (think iTTL, etc). So what if Nikon were to make a proper, full frame mirrorless camera in a similar body shape to the venerable FM series? Would you buy into that? Consider the 45mmP on such a body. Pocketable, albeit a little heavy. Nikon's entry into the mirrorless realm left many people scratching their heads, but I think that if they were to scrap the 1 system and focus on an FX mirrorless, things would get very interesting indeed.

Very solid review By Ming Thein of the new Leica M Note that it was a pre production camera and firmware Performance is close to D600 D800E sounds more and more promising. I'm on the list to get one when they hit Copenhagen.

If you have used the Samsung NX11 camera, let us know what you thought of it in this thread. We'd like to keep this thread as relevant as possible, so off-topic posts may be split off to other parts of fotozones.com.

If you have used the Samsung NX10 camera, let us know what you thought of it in this thread. We'd like to keep this thread as relevant as possible, so off-topic posts may be split off to other parts of fotozones.com.

If you have used the Samsung NX5 camera, let us know what you thought of it in this thread. We'd like to keep this thread as relevant as possible, so off-topic posts may be split off to other parts of fotozones.com.

If you have used the Pentax K-01 camera, let us know what you thought of it in this thread. We'd like to keep this thread as relevant as possible, so off-topic posts may be split off to other parts of fotozones.com.

This one looks like an interesting lens. Might be something I look at getting for the future. http://olympusomd.com/global/omd/e-m5/lens/lenses.html#&panel1-12

The purpose of this topic is to allow members who have tried the Sony NEX 7 to post their opinions and photos taken with the camera. If you need a place to host your images and then link to them in here please feel free to use our dedicated Mirrorless Gallery. Unlike our lens review threads members are free to ask questions and discuss the camera in this thread. Please try and keep it on-topic. If splinter discussions occur within the thread they will be moved to a thread of their own. Purchase from Amazon.com