The Calm Before The StormSept. 5: The first week in September was a remarkably unremarkable one as we count down to Photokina. It’s a good thing: we needed to catch our breath. Last week saw Canon and Nikon announce their flagship prosumer cameras, the EOS 50D and D90, respectively. Each is a sophisticated, exciting camera that we’ll be learning about and writing about (and hopefully, getting our hands on) in the future.Much of this week was taken up with rumors and not actual news…Those camera companies are such teasesWe hate to report rumors, but what if those rumors are coming in the form of teaser ads provided by the camera manufacturers themselves? Looks like their marketing departments, aware of Internet rumors, are trying more sophisticated ways of controlling the message. We have three teasers so far…
There are still persistent rumors about a full-frame rangefinder from Leica, although earlier this year they made it clear that woudn’t happen, and speculation about Zeiss lenses for Canon and a medium-format rangefinder from Nikon. Samsung is said (by the Wall Street journal) to be considering buying Sandisk, and Panasonic may announce something SLR-ish in the coming days. Again, these are just rumors to entertain us while we await real news.We’re also expecting news in the coming weeks from Adobe…something with a “CS4” in its name. This is actually more than a rumor, since attendees this week at Photoshop World were reportedly given a sneak peak at Photoshop CS4 by Adobe reps.But this week? Relatively minor news. The most excitement came from Tamron, which announced a trio of lenses: a 10-24mm lens for small sensor DSLRs , a 70-200mm lens for Pentax, Sony DSLRs (it’s already available for Nikon and Canon), and a new 90mm Macro for full-frame Nikons. A handful of photo frames were also announced. No big whoop.So, until next week, relax and enjoy your weekend. Have a brewskie. Go outside and take some great pictures with your favorite current camera. There will be plenty of time next week for news that will probably knock your socks off.–Mason ResnickBACK TO THE PHOTOKINA FLASH HOMEPAGE© 2008 Adorama |
