latest

We normally don't publish news reports, leaving that to those sites who feed us all a daily stream of new product announcements. But, there were so many interesting developments in the past few days that we thought it worth bringing them to your attention.

– Adobe has released updates to both Lightroom and Camera Raw. These include bug fixes and support for several new cameras.

– Sigma has announced a new service that will allow owners of their latest series of lenses to change the lens' camera mount when one changes systems. A cool and innovative service.

– The Swiss company Ilford Imaging has stated to it has been unsuccessful in finding new owners or investors, and has laid off 220 employees in prepartion for bankrupcy filing.

– Panasonic has announced the anticipated (leaked) GX7, which looks like their most innovative and competitive camera yet. I had an opportunity to try out the camera at a recent Panasonic press event and was quite impressed. I expect to have a review in the weeks ahead. In the meantime DPReview has aFirst Impressions report.

– Camera sales suck. The Japanese camera makers association reports that for the first half of 2013 sales are down a stunning 43%. All the usual suspects could be named, including the growing use of smartphone cameras. But, I would suggest that the old paradigm of doling out modest annual feature improvements has had its day. Camera makers need to start thinking outside the box and get some cojones when it comes to creating new market opportunities. I'll have more to say on this in some upcoming articles.

– There are reports that the highly anticipated Blackmagic Pocket Cinema Camera has started shipping, and could be in user's hands within the week. We have two units on order for use in our productions, and Chris and I will have a rolling-review here as soon as we start working with them.