Shipping November 5: Sony RX1 R II FF BSP for $3300

Sony’s taking a page from the Apple book by separating (in time) the announcement from the ordering. Officially it is for Big Sensor Prime fans, the Sony RX1 R II with a starting price of $3300 and a 42mp full frame Exmor R sensor BSI CMOS (once upon a time Sony’s own people said BSI technology was best suited to make the most out of 1/2.x” sensors – ha!), and 35mm f2 Zeiss lens. Pre-orders are not accepted yet, but the camera has a page with specs and details at B&H Photo which says “Item will be available for purchase on Thu, Nov 5 8AM”.

This too has been added to the New Cameras of 2015 Tracking page.

Pre-order new Canon G5 X compact with RAW for $800

Canon has not one but two new G X-series 1-inch compact with RAW cameras today. On the higher end of the spec spectrum, the G5 X comes with a 1-inch 20mp sensor with a 4.2x optical zoom lens (24-100mm f1.8-2.8) with EVF and control ring and more. It is available for pre-order for $800 at Amazon by Amazon itself with an October 23 (2015) release estimate… This has been added to the New Cameras of 2015 Tracking page

Pre-order new Canon G9 X compact with RAW for $500

The compact with RAW action continues on Canon’s front with the brand new G9 X with a 1-inch 20mp sensor and a 3x optical zoom lens (28-84mm eq, f2-4.9). Said camera is now available for pre-order for $500 in either the silver-brown color-scheme or the black color-scheme. Shipping estimate is October 23 (2015)… This has been added to the New Cameras of 2015 Tracking page

Pre-order new Canon M10 mirrorless camera kits

Canon is back with yet another new mirrorless camera, it is the new EOS M10. It is available in either black or white color schemes. It is available in two kits, the M10 w/15-45mm STM for $600, and the M10 two lens kit (18-55, 55-200) for $850. Release estimate is October 23 (2015 that is)… This has been added to the New Cameras of 2015 tracking page

Pre-order Zeiss Loxia 21mm f2.8 (E-mount) for $1500

Prime time for E-mount photographers from Zeiss. Their brand new Loxia 21mm f2.8 is now available for pre-order for $1500 at B&H Photo. Release estimate is mid-December 2015… This has been added to the New Lenses of 2015 Tracking page

Pre-order the new DJI Osmo Handheld 4K Camera and 3-Axis Gimbal for $650

DJI is back with yet another new product, their DJI Osmo Handheld 4K Camera and 3-Axis Gimbal is now available for pre-order for $650 at B&H Photo. It has a late October 2015 release estimate.

Pre-order the new Roku 4 for $130

With a lot of video, audio and pictures apps, the Roku box is a digital media box convergence device. Or something like that. Anyway, the newly announced Roku 4 that supports 4K video is now available for pre-order for $130 at the Roku website with an October 21st release estimate. It has USB input (for your own media) and microSD (for extra box storage). It supports USB images (JPEG, PNG) up to 4K (UHD).

Photography-related apps available for the Roku box include Flickr, Shutterfly, Smugmug, Dropbox, KelbyOne (one year free with purchase of select Canon DSLRs), Plex, and Phanfare.

Pre-order new Surface Book laptop and Surface Pro 4

Two fast-talking presenters with “personalities” injected some excitement and coolness to the new Microsoft products announced at a live event (video replays avaiable) on 10/6/15, perhaps trying to take advantage of peak-iOS and peak-Android. Of interest to digital creatives, both the new Surface Pro 4 and the bigger Surface Book laptop (which is also a tablet) has a stylus with 1024 pressure points. Meanwhile the new Lumia smartphones come with 20mp PureView cameras with OIS and Zeiss lenses. There are plenty of previews of all these online by now.

Some of the new products are now available for pre-order as follows:

+ Surface Book laptop/tablet at The Microsoft Store and Amazon by Amazon itself
++ prices go $1500 (i5, 8GB RAM, 128GB) to $2700 (i7, 16GB RAM, 512GB, Nvidia GeForce) depending on specs

+ Surface Pro 4 at The Microsoft Store and Amazon by Amazon itself
++ prices go $900 (Core M, 4GB RAM, 128GB) to $2200 (i7e, 16GB RAM, 512GB) depending on specs

+ Lumia 950s not available for pre-order yet

Pre-order new Fujifilm Instax Mini 70 cameras for $140

Instant cameras continue to have a mini renaissance, Fuji is back with a new model, the brand new Fujifilm Instax Mini 70 is now available for pre-order for $140 at Amazon by Amazon itself, available in three fun colors. It is powered by two CR2 batteries, and jumps on the selfie bandwagon by including a “selfie mode” with a built-in selfie mirror. And a tripod socket because there are selfie sticks everywhere these days 🙂

Coming October 4: the new GoPro Hero+ for $200

GoPro is going in product announcement burst mode, here comes yet another new addition to its action-cam line-up, it is the GoPro Hero+ with a starting price of $200. This will be available for purchase on October 4. Pre-orders are not accepted yet. Details at Amazon et al.

Meanwhile, their Hero4 Session is bundled with a $30 Amazon Gift Card for $300 total.

Pre-order new Pentax HD FA 24-70mm f2.8ED SDM WR for $1300

Pentax fans, it is your turn to make your wallet cry constant-aperture tears. Pentax has now revealed the new Pentax-D HD FA 24-70mm f2.8ED SDM WR lens and it is available for pre-order for $1300 at B&H Photo where you can find detailed specs of said lens. Release estimate is late October 2015.

The lens has been added to the New Lenses of 2015 tracking page (if you page up on that page, you will also see the new cameras of 2015).

Pre-order new Rokinon 50/1.2 & 21/1.4 {m43, X, E, EF-M}

Rokinon has two new lenses for mirrorless camera systems available for pre-order with an early October 2015 release estimate. It is the 21mm f1.4 with a $500 starting price, and the 50mm f1.2 with a $550 starting price. They are available for the Fuji X, Micro Four Thirds, Sony E-mount and Canon EF-M mirrorless systems. Some mounts get two colors per lens. More details via B&H Photo where they are available for pre-ordering (12 options).

These two new lenses were added to the New Lenses of 2015 tracker.

Pre-orders accepted nao for Sony a7S II for $3000

It’s Thursday 9/17/15, and among many other things, this means authorized Sony dealers are now allowed to accept pre-orders for the all new Sony a7S II E-mount full framer for $3000. You can do so at B&H Photo and Adorama and Amazon by Amazon itself. The release estimate is October 16 (2015).

This expired: Speaking of B&H Photo, their current deal of the day (ends by Thur 11:59pm ET) are the old school AKG K240 Studio headphones for $50 with free shipping.

Pre-order new $50 7-inch Amazon tablet (buy 5, get 1 FREE with coupon), $100 4K Fire TV, and more [all come with microSD slots]

If you are part of the Amazon ecosystem, they just announced a bunch of new products which you can find nicely organized on their home page. Of bang for the buck interest, their new 7-inch 8GB Fire Tablet with Special Offers goes for $50. But you can get it for less. If you buy six of them, and enter coupon code FIRE6PACK in the shopping cart, you only pay for five of them ($250 instead of $300 – comes out to $42.67 per tablet). Beer is not the only thing sold in six packs 😉

UPDATE/NOTE: the $50 tablet only has a 90 day warranty. You can buy additional extended warranty for $10 (one year) or slightly $more$ for additional years.

Of photography interest, the new Fire TV with Alexa now supports 4K and has 2GB RAM, 8GB on-board and takes microSD cards (up to 128GB). [also available in a gamer’s bundle with controller for $140].

The other of photography potentially interesting item is their largest screen tablet yet, a 10-inch Fire HD (16GB on-board, microSD slot (up to 128GB), 1280 x 800, Special Offers) for $230.

Yes, a big victory for microSD fans today. All Amazon’s new tablets (7-inch, 8-inch, 10-inch, Kids Edition) and their new 4K Fire TV take microSD cards (up to 128GB). Now if they could only convince stubborn Google 🙂

(SOLD OUT) Pre-order Skylake Win10 ASUS Desktop for $430: i5-6400, 8GB, 1TB, DVD-RW, HD 530 Integrated, etc

UPDATE 9/18/15: the Skylake i5 ASUS M32CD Desktop is no longer orderable and the Amazon Product page has no estimate on if/when this will come back…

Meanwhile, the other one mentioned in this post, the i3-4170 model remains available for pre-order for $355.

[Read more…]

Pre-order Sony a7s II for $3000 starting Sept 17

I don’t know if they are trying to mirror Apple’s way of new product releases, but Sony continues with the two phase product announcement and pre-orders. Announced on Friday was the new Sony a7S II mirrorless full framer. Pre-orders for the camera will begin to be accepted on September 17 in 2015 at various authorized Sony dealers including Adorama and B&H Photo. At least Sony didn’t go the OnePlus route of waiting lists and such 🙂

This too has been added to the New Cameras of 2015 tracking page.

Of video interest, you can place pre-orders right now, with a mid-November 2015 release estimate, for the new Sony PXW-FS5 Super35 video camera which goes for $5600 as body only and $6100 bundled with the 28-135mm lens.

Pre-order SIX new Zeiss Milvus SLR Prime lenses ($1117 to $1843)

Zeiss time. Six new SLR Prime lenses under the Milvus line have been revealed today. They are available in the Canon and Nikon SLR mounts and they are wallet onions (proposed new term: purchases that make your wallet cry uncontrollably) ranging in price from $1117 to $1843, and they are available for pre-ordering as follows:

+ 21mm f2.8 Canon for $1843 at Adorama
+ 21mm f2.8 Nikon at Adorama

+ 35mm f2 Canon for $1117 at Adorama
+ 35mm f2 Nikon at Adorama

+ 50mm f1.4 Canon for $1200 at Adorama
+ 50mm f1.4 Nikon at Adorama

+ 50mm f2 Macro Canon for $1283 at Adorama
+ 50mm f2 Macro Nikon at Adorama

+ 85mm f1.4 Canon for $1800 at Adorama
+ 85mm f1.4 Nikon at Adorama

+ 100mm f2 Canon for $1843 at Adorama
+ 100mm f2 Nikon at Adorama

All these are also available for pre-order at B&H Photo which has created a very handy Specs Comparison Table of all six lenses at the bottom of their post over there. Specs include weight and dimensions, which show some differences between the Canon and Nikon versions of each lens.

These have been added to the growing list of New Lenses in 2015 tracking page.

Pre-order new Ricoh Theta S 360-degree camera for $350

The new Ricoh Theta S 360-degree digital camera is now available for pre-ordering for $350 at Amazon by Amazon itself (ships in 2-5 weeks (floating estimate)) and at B&H Photo (early November estimate) and Adorama.

Pre-order new Tamron 35mm and 45mm f1.8 Di USD VC primes for $600 each (C/N/A)

It’s IFA time in Berlin [see Trade Show Calendar] which means new hardware and such. Coincidence or not, Tamron has revealed two new Prime lenses for the Canon, Nikon and Sony-Alpha-Dyxum-Maxxum SLR mounts. The Canon and Nikon are stabilized (VC) but not the Sony. It is the 35mm f1.8 Di USD (VC) for $600, and the 45mm f1.8 Di USD (VC) for $600 as well. Pre-orders are accepted at B&H Photo and Adorama

You can find these added to the New Lenses of 2015 tracking page.

Pre-order DxO ONE, Get 1yr Unlimited Cloud after it ships

The DxO One camera is estimated to begin shipping on October 1st in 2015. Under the Special Offers section of its product page at Amazon it says that it is eligible for one year of free Unlimited Cloud storage. Per the terms of the offer, the one year cloud storage will become available to you 48 hours after the camera ships (not 48 hours after an order is placed).

Pre-order new Panasonic 25mm f1.7 and three others

It’s pre-order time on the Panasonic Micro Four Thirds front, with the following lenses available for pre-order:

+ 25mm f1.7 for $250 at Adorama and $300 at B&H Photo
+ 14-140mm f3.5-5.6 POWER OIS for $700 at B&H Photo
+ 45-150mm f4-5.6 MEGA OIS for $300 at B&H Photo
+ 14-42mm f3.5-5.6 II MEGA OIS for $250 B&H Photo
+ Panasonic V-Log L Function Activation Code for Lumix DMC-GH4 for $100 at B&H Photo

You can find this burst added to the New Lenses and Cameras of 2015 page

Pre-order new Canon Lenses: 35/1.4L II (SLR) and three EF-M mirrorless

In addition to the M3 mirrornyet camera, Canon has also revealed four new lenses, one serious SLR prime and three EF-M mirrorless as follows:

+ EF 35mm f1.4L II (SLR) with $1800 pre-orders at Adorama and B&H Photo
+ EF-M 22mm f2 STM with $250 pre-order at Adorama and B&H Photo
+ EF-M 11-22mm f4-5.6 IS STM with $400 pre-order at Adorama and B&H Photo
+ EF-M 55-200mm f4.5-6.3 IS STM Lens with $350 pre-order at Adorama
+ see them all along with various new accessories at Adorama

These have been added to the New Lenses of 2015 Tracker

Pre-order new Canon M3 mirrorless camera

Canon has not forgotten mirrorless. They have a new official camera, the new 24-megapixel M3 with an APS-C sensor, DiGiC 6, Wifi and things like that. Pre-orders are accepted as follows:

+ M3 body only for $680 at Adorama and B&H Photo
+ M3 with 18-55mm f3.5-5.6 IS STM for $800 at Adorama and B&H Photo
+ two lens kit (M3 with 18-55 and 55-200) for $1050 at Adorama

This has been added to the New Cameras of 2015 Tracker

Pre-order Polaroid Cube+ Mini Lifestyle Action Camera with Wi-Fi for $150

Scheduled to roll out on October 1st (or thereabouts), the new Polaroid Cube+ Mini Lifestyle Action Camera with Wi-Fi is now available for pre-order in three fashionable color schemes (with the Polaroid rainbow) for $150 at Amazon by Amazon itself.

Pre-order new Olympus E-M10 Mark II for $650 (body) or $800 (w/14-42)

New from Olympus, the E-M10 Mark II is now available for pre-order with a late August 2015 release estimate. The body only goes for $650, while the kit with the 14-42mm lens goes for $800, in black or silver. Pre-orders are accepted at Get Olympus (official Olympus USA store) and at Adorama… This has been added to the New Cameras Tracking Page

Pre-order Corel Paintshop Pro X8 for $80

If you are a software early adopter, the new Corel Paintshop Pro X8 is scheduled to be released on August 21 (2015) and it is available for pre-order for $80 at Amazon itself.

Pre-order new Canon Pixma MG-series printers

A new set of Canon Pixma MG-series printers have arrived and the 12 different options (some are different colors of the same model) are available for pre-order at Adorama with prices ranging from $100 to $200.

Pre-order new Rokinon Xeen T1.5 Primes (24, 50, 85mm) in C/N/E/m43/PL

Rokinon has revealed a trio of new T1.5 prime lenses under the Xeen name, the 24mm, 50mm and 85mm, available in five mounts: Canon and Nikon (SLR), PL-mount, Sony E-Mount, and Micro Four Thirds. All of the lenses go for $2500 each and are available for pre-order at B&H Photo as follows: 24mm T1.5 and 50mm T1.5 and 85mm T1.5.

UPDATE: they are also available for pre-order at Adorama in four of the five mounts (Nikon not listed at the moment).

PS: you can find these added to the New Cameras and Lenses of 2015 tracking page.

Pre-order new DJI Phantom 3 Standard with 2.7K Camera and 3-Axis Gimbal for $800

DJI is not resting on their laurels, they are …flying more models out there. The latest new model is the DJI Phantom 3 Standard with 2.7K Camera and 3-Axis Gimbal which is now available for pre-order for $800 with a mid-August 2015 release at B&H Photo.

Pre-order new Tamron 18-200mm f3.5-6.3 Di VC II for $250 (C/N/A)

Zoom-zoom APS-C DSLR-style now as Tamron has a new 18-200mm f3.5-6.3 Di VC II lens available for pre-order for $250 in the Canon, Nikon and Alpha (the C/N/A in the blog-post title) mounts. You can pre-order them at B&H Photo and Adorama.

You can find this lens added to the tracking page of New Cameras and Lenses of 2015.