Mirrorless Camera News

After unveiling its controversial M Edition 60 digital rangefinder with no LCD screen on back, Leica went further back in time this morning while debuting the M-A, a new, mechanical rangefinder that uses film.

Samsung debuted a brand new flagship mirrorless, compact system camera at photokina this morning, the NX1 Smart Camera. The NX1 uses a Samsung-developed 28-megapixel BSI (Backside Illuminated), APS-C-sized, CMOS sensor, which the company says is the biggest BSI chip to date. (BSI chips are designed to produce cleaner images in low light.)

Fujifilm unveiled a new version of its X-T1 mirrorless, compact system camera this morning with a snazzy exterior finish the company is calling “Graphite Silver.” Otherwise, this weather-resistant interchangeable lens camera is similar to the original version, and features a 16.3-megapixel, APS-C X-Trans CMOS II sensor and reported, class-leading autofocus speed of 0.08 seconds.

The new Olympus PEN E-PL7 is a stylish, lightweight and compact interchangeable-lens camera that features much of the same technology as the award-winning OM-D models. Featuring the new 180˚ downward flip touch LCD screen, a Selfie-dedicated mode and built-in WiFi. The TruePic VII image processor works with a 16.05 megapixel Live MOS sensor and M.ZUIKO lenses to provide high resolution, superior color reproduction and high sensitivity. 

Photographers who like shooting in black-and-white have a newly styled option to choose from. A silver chrome version of the black-and-white-only Leica M Monochrom rangefinder camera has finally gone on sale.

Pentax's parent company Ricoh Imaging just announced some product news big and small: a whopping 28-45mm F/4.5 lens for its 645Z medium format camera system; and a tiny, retro-style Q-S1 mirrorless compact system camera.

Starting with the 2014 CES trade show, held at the turn of the year, and continuing through press time for this issue, we’ve seen a goodly number of new products come to the fore. All this is only the start—this being a photokina year we’ll see a whole new round of products, including CMOS-sensor medium formats, with prices to match, coming our way. I trust that this report will give you a good sense of what’s here and what’s coming down the pike. So, here are my quick picks of those products that caught my eye, plus a snapshot of some of the trends.