Announced, previewed: Sony SLT-A37, the newest Translucent Mirror camera (with samples)

The unique lineup of Translucent Mirror cameras from Sony just got a little bigger, as the company unveiled a brand new model: the Sony Alpha SLT-A37 (and we've just posted our hands-on preview!)

Closely-related to the existing SLT-A35 model, the Sony A37 has a subtly restyled body that's exactly the same size, but just a little heavier. Behind the Translucent Mirror, which allows the unusual features of these models such as full-time phase detection autofocus, there's a new 16 megapixel Exmor APS HD CMOS image sensor. Although it's a different chip to the A35's, resolution is only…

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The Camera Bag: The Best and Coolest Camera Bags on the Planet

Camera bags are pretty much our stock and trade and it's nice to see we're not the only ones who obsess over these lovingly designed gear vessels.

Photographer Scott Bourne just posted an updated list of his favorite camera bags over at Photofocus and they include a number of bags that would probably make our own list. For instance, there's the stylish Tenba ProDigital 2.0 Messenger, which Bourne accurately notes is a photo bag “that doesn't scream 'CAMERA BAG.'” He also includes the Gura Gear Kiboko, which we've found to be one of the best designed professional photo backpacks out there…

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The Leica M Monochrom: Is Leica Pricing Out Its Loyal Customers with an $8,000 Black-and-White Camera?

Leica has gotten a lot of press in the last few days between the record-breaking auction of a 1923 Series-0 camera for nearly $3 million, to the announcement of a digital rangefinder that shoots only in black and white: the 18-megapixel Leica M Monochrom ($7,950).
 
Reading these reports including what we’ve written here on Imaging Resource, I must admit my initial reaction was bafflement, followed by sadness. I tried to understand these feelings, wondering why I felt anything at all about the sale of an old camera or a black-and-white-only digital camera?
 
However, in thinking about…

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New firmware ships for Leica S2 DSLR

Germany's Leica Camera AG has released updated firmware for its Leica S2 digital SLR, bringing improved flash performance and adding support for a recently-announced mount adapter.

Leica S2 firmware version 1.0.3.3 includes the following changes, according to the official release notes:

Support of the new Hasselblad lens adapter Leica S-Adapter H –full functionality (order no. 16030)

Improvement of flash synchronization with 1/125s focal plane shutter

Announced earlier this week, the Leica S-Adapter H allows use of Hasselblad H-system lenses on the Leica S2's…

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Photoshop Touch 1.2 relaxes image size limits, but with a catch

Adobe has recently issued updates for its Photoshop Touch app on both the Android and iOS platforms, bringing a number of updates and new features, and taking the version number up to v1.2.

Key among these is a change that answers criticisms that the app could previously handle images only at resolutions below 1,600 x 1,600 pixels (2.6 megapixels in a square aspect ratio; 1.9 megapixels in the more common 4:3 aspect), rather limiting its utility. Now, Photoshop Touch will allow a slightly more generous 2,048 x 2,048 pixels (4.2 megapixels max. in square aspect; 3.1 megapixels in 4:3…

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Fuji unveils wide conversion lens, new firmware for X100 (with samples!)

Fujifilm has today announced a new conversion lens specific to its FinePix X100 digital camera, offering X100 shooters an alternative to the 23mm fixed focal length of their camera. The company has also simultaneously announced updated firmware for the X100 body.

The Fuji WCL-X100 Wide Conversion Lens has 0.8x magnification, and mounts directly on the camera body, without the need for the AR-X100 adapter ring that must be used to attach other filters and accessories. When mounted, the combination of X100 body and WCL-X100 conversion lens provides a focal length of 19mm, equivalent to 28mm…

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Lens Review: Pentax 40mm f/2.8 XS SMC DA

Pentax released its new 40mm f/2.8 XS SMC DA “pancake” lens with the K-01 mirrorless camera, making for a very small and portable camera-lens combination. With its K-mount, the lens is compatible with other Pentax cameras, so we took the opportunity to put it through its paces in our test lab. Does smaller become better? Check out the results for yourself in our full review of the Pentax 40mm f/2.8 XS SMC DA “pancake” lens.

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The Camera Bag: A Tilt-Shift Lens You Can Print Out and Make Yourself

Tilt-shift lenses are great for giving your images that miniaturized or shallow depth-of-field look but they can be expensive, very expensive. If you're a photographer on a low budget — and who isn't short of cash these days? — you might be interested in this cool step-by-step tutorial from Instructables on how to make a printable tilt-shift lens adapter.

The materials you need to make this DIY tilt-shift lens can be found at any office supply or hardware store, and include paper, something to write with, and digital calipers to take measurements for your 3D object.

The adapter in…

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Sigma updates SD1 firmware

At the end of last week, Sigma Corp. of America announced firmware updates for both variants of its flagship digital SLR, the Sigma SD1.

Based around a Foveon X3 CMOS image sensor that outputs 15.4 megapixel images with full color information at every pixel location, the SD1 and SD1 Merrill are the company's first high-end, weather-sealed DSLR models. (They differ from each other in name only, with the updated name being an homage to the late co-founder of Foveon and the co-inventor of the Foveon sensor technology, Dick Merrill.)

The new firmware for both SD1 variants makes identical…

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Robot takeover imminent: Canon aims for human-free production by 2015

Imaging giant Canon is working to fully automate its camera production, according to an article from Associated Press journalist Yuri Kageyama, published today on Yahoo News. The move could see humans completely removed from Canon's assembly lines, perhaps as soon as the next three years or so.

Canon spokesman Jun Misumi, whose official title isn't stated, is quoted as stating that such a move wouldn't result in job losses. According to Misumi, staff whose jobs were taken over by machines would simply be transferred to other tasks. With that said, in a company that no longer needed a…

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