Photography Soup (7/31/07) - Leica M8 review is out!

The big news of the day is the publication of the highly anticipated Leica M8 review by dpreview. If you are not familiar with rangefinder cameras, fear not, page one of the review gives us a history and introduction to rangerfinder cameras, including a concise pros/cons. This 21 page review was written by Phil Askey. As always I won't reveal the findings, you have to read it yourselves :) And I promise I won't say "this Leica is your mate (m8)". Ooops, I guess I just did :) And for those not familiar, this is not a cheap camera. You can buy a decent used Honda Civic for the same price! Forum discussion on the camera dnd the review here. here, and here


Financial Results from Japan

Dollars and sense at digitalcamera.jp (computer-translated) as they report the financial results reported by Nikon, Olympus and Pentax. Here is what I can make out from the computer-translated text:

Very good financial numbers for Nikon... Favorable mention of the Coolpix P5000... 211% increase in DSLR sales, total of 760,000 units (which could mean their #1 spot in Japan may not be the only one)... Lens sales are up 292%, and compact digital cameras are up 122%, to 2.03 million units. All these are compared to the same time period of last year.

Pretty financial numbers from Olympus as well. Favorable mention of the Stylus and FE-series presumably in the domestic (Japanese) market.

Good financial numbers from Pentax as well, as they may exceed previous expectations.

It's always a good thing when camera companies are doing well :-)


Overheard in the dpreview forums

JPEG, JPEG XR and Microsoft HD Photo. A new standard?

Sony vs Nikon & Canon?.

And a discussion on usability and user interfaces

An alternative to B&H Photo?. A number of reputable dealers are listed in this thread, so if you are looking for retailers near or nearer you, check it out.

Top 3 lens threads are the new fad it seems. Canon, Minolta-Sony,

Photo permits required in New York City?

On RAW, TIFF and Olympus

As reported a few days earlier by DigitalCamera.jp, demand far exceeds supply for the new Pentax DA * SDM lenses. Also discussed here

Good Ole Boys Club?

And some old fashioned DSLR vs P&S debate with landscapes being the starting point.

You bet the new new Canon firmware update 1.1.0 for the Canon 1D Mark III would spark a spirited discussion

Discussion on the 7th generation Fuji SuperCCD based on information from Fuji Japan.

Opinions on best digicams ever made