Welcome to our roundup series where we will hit on several gear news and rumor topics each day. This gives you a chance to get caught up on all of the day’s news and rumors in one place. Make sure to check back daily for the latest gear news, rumors, and announcements.
Three Upcoming Rangefinder-Style Cameras
In the smaller form factor market, there is a pretty clear bias towards rangefinder or similar style cameras, and if this rumor from Mirrorless rumors is correct, more are on the way.
According to the report, Sony, Fuji and Olympus all have rangefinder-style mirrorless cameras coming down the hatch within the next six months or so. The first camera to expect (though I am not so sure), is the Sony A6100. This camera is expected to be announced in the next 2-4 weeks, but given that this is the third time now that I have seen rumored release dates for this camera…I’ll believe it when I see it.
Next on the list, according to rumored release, is the Fuji X-Pro 2. Yes, the original mirrorless rangefinder knockoff (Leica aside, of course) is getting an upgrade. According to the latest reports, not only is the X-Pro 2 getting some nice design and spec upgrades, but this could also reveal Fuji’s next generation X-Trans sensor – something I have been waiting to see before jumping back into the Fuji system.
Third, according to the report, will be a newly designed Olympus PEN camera. This new take on the PEN line will feature a built-in EVF, rangefinder styling, and is expected to be announced in early Spring.
If you are a fan of the rangefinder style, it seems that you will soon have some pretty compelling options to add to your shopping list. Which model above are you most curious to see launched?
Best Sony A7 Series Mod Ever?
The above image cropped up this morning of a really awesome A7R modification coming out of Asia. As you can clearly see, the A7R above has been modified and had the Sony logo on the EVF replaced with a Contax logo.
I would be too paranoid of causing damage to do this to my A7R II, but wowzers! That is one sexy camera modification. Oh, and in case you were wondering, that Contax lens on the front of the camera is the Hexanon 50/1.2, a sweet lens that will set you back $2-3,000.
Personally, I love the mod above, but I am curious what a you all think? This modification aside, would you ever consider modding your camera and ‘making it your own’ so to speak? Leave a comment below and let us know!
Milky Way Exposure Stacking with Lonely Speck
Ian Norman, from the Lonely Speck, is back with another awesome astro-landscape tutorial. This time, Ian tackles the issue of exposure stacking when the Photoshop auto-align feature fails to accurately stack your images.
It is a bit of a longer video, running just over 24 minutes, but if you are looking for a way to improve your astro-landscapes, it is well worth the time. I also highly suggest checking out his other videos, which we have featured in the past, if you are serious about jumping into astrophotography.
Exposure stacking is a great way to improve the image quality of your Milky Way imagery without having to upgrade to an expensive full frame rig. I mean heck, the camera he used in this image was an RX100 Mark III, hardly an ideal astro camera – but it proves the point that this is a technique that can be employed by anyone to take some amazing astro imagery.
What are you doing tonight?…
What are your thoughts on today’s roundup? What news/rumors did we miss? What would you like to see covered in future roundups? Leave a comment below and let us know what you think!