Canon has been busy this year, what with the launch of the EOS 90D and EOS M6 Mark II. And going by the latest rumors, 2020 will be even busier for the Japanese camera maker.
We already know that the pro-sports EOS 1D X Mark III DSLR will be announced early next year, but Canon Rumors is reporting that two more crop sensor mirrorless cameras will be added to the company’s growing line-up in 2020.
One of them is rumored to be a 24MP APS-C snapper that will come with eye-detect autofocus and Canon’s tried-and-tested superb Dual Pixel CMOS autofocus technology (which increases AF speed and accuracy in live view mode) available on a 3-inch vari-angle rear touchscreen.
Canon Rumors goes even further to put a price tag of $849 for a kit with a lens for this rumored EOS M camera, which will reportedly be announced in “before July 2020”.
A new mirrorless marvel?
The EOS M50 was the first Canon camera to debut the Digic 8 processor, giving this entry-level mirrorless snapper plenty of power. No wonder it soon became one of our favorite affordable mirrorless cameras.
Although it was launched only in 2018, Canon Rumors reports that the second EOS M camera to launch in 2020 will likely be a refresh of the M50. With the EOS M6 Mark II already boasting a 32.5MP APS-C CMOS sensor, we wouldn’t be surprised to see the same make its way into the EOS M50 Mark II.
While Canon Rumors lists the Digic 8 imaging engine as accompanying the higher resolution sensor, we’d love to see the Digic 9 (which could be debuted in the EOS 1D X Mark III) make its way to the newer version of the M50, giving the rumored CSC (compact system camera) a massive boost in performance.
If the other rumored specs of the M50 Mark II have any element of truth to them, then we’re likely going to see the upcoming camera capable of 4K video recording at both 24fps and 30fps, with Full HD (1080p) capture at up to 120fps. The rear touchscreen will reportedly be a 3-inch vari-angle panel with 1,040K-dot resolution.
If a refresh of the EOS M50 is truly in the cards, Canon Rumors says it will be announced some time in September 2020. So don’t get too excited just yet, as these are still rumors and things can change between now and then.
Nikon is today introducing an entry-level, crop-sensor camera that uses the same Z-mount system as the company’s Z6 and Z7 full-frame mirrorless cameras. The new Z50 costs $859 body only, and Nikon is also introducing two new DX-format lenses alongside it. You can bundle the camera with a 16-50mm f/3.5-6.3 VR lens for $999.95, and there’s also a two-lens kit that adds a 50-250mm f/4.5-6.3 VR lens for a total of $1349.95. Even then, you’re still coming in below the $1,800 Z6, but obviously these cameras are targeted at very different audiences. This one is made for the Instagram generation and for people who want a “real” camera for video. Nikon says the Z50 will ship in November.
The Z50 has a 20.9-megapixel CMOS sensor, weighs under a pound, and has a flip-down rear display for selfie photos and vlogging. (There’s even a Selfie Mode that disables most controls when the screen is down so you don’t accidentally mess up the camera’s settings.) But if you put the Z50 onto a gimbal, the screen will be blocked if it’s flipped. That’s not great for vlogging, so Nikon is developing its own handle for the Z50. The Z50 has a mic input, but no headphone jack among its ports.
You can immediately feel and appreciate the Z50’s smaller size and weight when compared to Nikon’s pro-level mirrorless cameras. Thankfully it retains an electronic viewfinder (2.36-million dots) and 3.2-inch rear LCD, and the grip was comfortable for my large hands. Nikon says the benefits of the Z mount (such as the shorter flange distance) carry over to a crop sensor for an upgrade in image quality.
The camera is capable of 11fps continuous shooting (with auto focus/exposure) and has a 209-point phase detect autofocus system, which covers 87 percent of the frame horizontally and 85 percent vertically, according to Nikon. When in low-light mode, the Z50 can focus at -4 EV, which is better than some of the company’s DSLRs like the D7500. The standard ISO range is 100 up to 51,200. There’s a pop-up flash built into the camera, as well. Nikon’s eye-detection autofocus is included, and you can toggle between different eyes if there are multiple people in frame.
You get 4K video recording at up to 30fps (with full sensor readout), and there’s also a 120fps slow-mo mode in 1080p. Videos can be shared wirelessly from the camera to your phone, which is a first for Nikon cameras. A time-lapse mode is also available in-camera, and Nikon includes multiple picture control modes that you can customize to your liking to reduce the need for post-processing before uploading your shots to Instagram.
Aside from a smaller sensor, the other thing the Z50 loses out on compared to the Z6 and Z7 is Nikon’s excellent in-body image stabilization. The new lenses offer vibration reduction (image stabilization), but the IBIS in Nikon’s pricier mirrorless cams allowed for some brilliant, tack-sharp shots when I was reviewing them. Aside from the engineering challenge of squeezing that stabilization into the Z50’s smaller body, it also would’ve raised the camera’s price.
The Z50 has a magnesium alloy construction and some level of weather resistance — but Nikon says it’s not quite up to the same level as the Z6 and Z7. There’s a single UHS-I SD card slot, and the camera uses a Micro-B connector rather than USB-C. It also has an all-new battery, the EN-EL25.
Though it shares many of the design traits of the Z6 and Z7, Nikon is very much positioning the Z50 as an answer to the latest crop-sensor mirrorless cameras from Sony and Fujifilm. The 16-50mm kit lens looks terrifically compact and lightweight, and I imagine that’ll be the take-everywhere pick between the two Z-mount DX lenses that Nikon has ready for this camera. Unfortunately, early buyers will be left without any inexpensive primes. (Yes, the FTZ mount adapter can also be used if you want to attach FX lenses to the Z50, but Nikon isn’t bundling it with a discount this time around.)
It’s easy to nitpick the Z50 for what it might lack — and it would’ve been nice if Nikon had shipped a camera like this much sooner. But I’m still looking forward to seeing what difference the Z mount makes here.
On the complete opposite end of the spectrum, Nikon also announced that it will soon release its 58mm f/0.95 S Noct lens for the Z mount. The company talks up this manual-focus glass as being among the greatest lenses it has ever manufactured — and certainly the fastest. As you might guess, the price tag reflects as much. The Nikkor Z 58mm f/0.95 S Noct lens will be available from select retailers beginning October 31st for $7,999.95.
After opening up IGTV to landscape video back in May, Instagram is rolling out a handful of updates to IGTV today in response to feedback from creators producing longer-form content on the platform. Changes include new minimum and maximum video length requirements, autofill suggestions for tagging, and new cropping options.
IGTV is starting to roll out improvements to the uploading process today and they come after listening to feedback from the platform’s creators.
First up, the minimum video length requirement has been changed to one minute and the maximum length has been moved to 15 minutes for mobile uploads.
IGTV will now offer autofill suggestions when tagging handles and hashtags for descriptions and titles. Another change will bring new options for cropping on iOS and Android. Creators will now be able to choose a 1:1 crop of thumbnails or a 4:5 crop for vertical video previews.IGTV creators can look out for the new cropping options after selecting to post a preview. However, there won’t be an edit preview crop option for landscape video as it automatically appears as a full video.
Sony has announced two new APS-C mirrorless cameras: the flagship A6600 and the lower-tier A6100. The A6600 has several high-end features that position it as the successor to the A6500, which was introduced in October 2016.
Like the A6500, the new A6600 features 5-axis in-body image stabilization, a 24.2-megapixel APS-C Exmor CMOS image sensor, and super fast autofocus (AF), which can find the subject in 0.02 seconds. It also has Real-Time AF tracking and the new Real-Time Eye AF tracking that originally debuted in the A6400, which we reviewed earlier this year. Sony has added a 3.5mm headphone jack, which is a first for the company’s alpha series of cameras.
The A6600 claims to have the longest battery life of any APS-C mirrorless camera, which Sony says is thanks to its Z battery pack, and it should last twice as long as the A6500. All in all, that should amount to about 720 shots before needing to be swapped out.
Sony also says that its new BIONZ X image processing system, borrowed from its A9 and A7-series cameras, gives a 1.8x gain in data processing speeds over the A6500.
Sony’s other new model, the A6100 — like most of its other APS-C cameras — relies on in-lens stabilization and doesn’t offer the BIONZ X image processing, but it does offer the same fast AF and Real-Time Eye AF tracking tech with still shots that the A6600 offers (although not for movie recording) along with the 24.2MP sensor.
Both of these cameras will be released later this year. The A6100 will release in October, and it will cost $750 for the body in the US. Sony is releasing a bundle that includes its 16-50mm E-mount lens for $1,100.
The A6600 will release in November, and the body will cost $1,400 in the US. Sony is releasing a bundle that includes an 18-135mm E-mount lens for $1,800.
Sony is also releasing two lightweight E-mount lenses later this year that are compatible with these cameras and its other APS-C cameras: the E 16-55mm (F.28) will cost $1,400 when it launches in October. The E 70-355mm with a variable f/4.5-6.3 will follow in November for $1,000.
Whether it was down to a simple slip of the finger or tactical leaking, Canon Australia was kind enough to furnish the internet with details of its upcoming Canon EOS 90D ahead of the official announcement.
The leak put an end to the idea that Canon would abandon its established EOS DSLR line and switch its focus entirely to its mirrorless EOS M and EOS R ranges, and from what we can see the 90D is quite the upgrade over the existing EOS 80D, with a fresh 32.5MP sensor, new DIGIC 8 processing engine, faster burst shooting, revamped metering and autofocus tracking courtesy of a new metering sensor, and 4K video on top of all that.
For the enthusiast, it certainly seems well specified, but with the mirrorless market continuing to broaden its offerings, and far less activity on the DSLR front than there used to be, does such a model still make sense?
Two of GoPro’s upcoming cameras, the Hero 8 action cam and the Max 360 camera, have allegedly been pictured in a series of leaks from Photo Rumors. Alongside the images, the leaks claim that the Hero 8 will double the maximum frame rate of its predecessor, with the ability to shoot in 4K at up to 60 fps or at up to 480 fps when filming in HD. It could also support a range of new accessories, and it will allegedly be announced as early as next month.
The Hero 8 leak has emerged just after rival manufacturer DJI released a direct competitor in the form of the DJI Osmo Action, the company’s first action cam. When we tried it out for ourselves, we thought GoPro’s existing Hero 7 had a slight edge in terms of image quality and overall stabilization. But considering how many things DJI got right on its initial attempt, GoPro appears to be stepping up to its first serious competition in years.
The Hero 8 could support a variety of mounted accessories, including a screen and LED flashlight, according to the leak.
GoPro’s flagship camera will reportedly support a range of accessories this time around, including a new mountable screen and an external LED flashlight. There could be an external microphone accessory as well. The rugged design of GoPro’s cameras usually means they make compromises when it comes to features like audio quality. These accessories could help the cameras be more useful in other filming scenarios where it’s not important for them to be quite so hard-wearing.
Internally, the leak suggests the Hero 8 will use a new version of GoPro’s in-house SoC called GP2. The company debuted its GP1 chipset with the GoPro Hero 6 back in 2017 (a camera that was also leaked ahead of its release by Photo Rumors), and it’s this chip that’s responsible for the camera’s image processing. Based on the capabilities of the original chip, a new SoC could mean improvements in color accuracy, video stabilization, and the quality of digital zoom.
On the front of the GoPro Max is its first camera.On the back, there appears to be a screen as well as a second camera.
The leaks give less of an idea of what we should expect from the GoPro Max, the first 360 camera from GoPro since it released its GoPro Fusion 360 camera in 2017. In our recent experience with the Insta360 One X, however, we found that the biggest issue with 360 cameras isn’t specs; it’s finding a use for one in the first place. Hopefully, GoPro’s upcoming attempt makes it easy to find a use for its footage outside of the small amount of services that support 360 videos natively.
As with all leaks like these, it’s sensible to take any details with a grain of salt. However, given the track record of Photo Rumors and GoPro’s recent tendency to release a new Hero camera every September, we think there’s a good chance that these details are accurate.
Chinese tech conglomerate DJI is continuing a torrid summer for new product releases with another announcement: the DJI Osmo Mobile 3. The third-gen handheld smartphone stabilizer has several new features, but the biggest is that the Osmo Mobile 3 folds up for easier packing.
The Osmo Mobile 3 costs $119 and is on sale starting today. DJI is also selling a combo pack that includes a tripod and carrying case for $139.SOME OF THE BIGGEST TWEAKS CAME FROM USER FEEDBACK, DJI SAYS
Overall, the Osmo Mobile 3 is shorter and smaller than its predecessors, meaning it should be easier to hold for longer periods of time. But DJI didn’t cut corners or skimp on features to make this happen. In fact, it even brought back the trigger button from the first-generation Osmo Mobile.
The company says the controls have been streamlined so the new Osmo Mobile is easier to use one-handed, and the folding design has also opened up access to ports that can charge the user’s phone or allow them to hook up an external microphone. The Osmo Mobile 3 has roughly the same 15-hour battery life as its predecessor, though it now charges via USB-C. GRID VIEW
Not being able to easily pack away the Osmo Mobile was a common complaint with the first two generations of the product. DJI also says users complained that it wasn’t easy enough to quickly switch the smartphone’s orientation from portrait to landscape (or vice versa). That has been fixed with the Osmo Mobile 3. Users can now just tap the “mode” button three times, and the gimbal will rotate the smartphone automatically.
Just like it did with the Ronin SC gimbal and the RoboMaster S1 toy tank earlier this year, DJI is taking some of the smart features it developed for its drones and bringing them to the Osmo Mobile 3 via the Mimo app. The headliner is Active Track, DJI’s computer vision tracking system. There are also options like time-lapse, hyperlapse, panorama, gesture control, and a “story mode” that automatically edits footage together for beginners.
DJI is best known for its flying drones, but it’s been a while since the company released a new product in that category. Instead, DJI has spent most of 2019 broadening its portfolio and iterating on other popular products. The Ronin SC is a more refined, portable, and affordable gimbal for mirrorless cameras. The Osmo Action is a legitimate GoPro competitor, despite being DJI’s first entry into the category. The company released a new set of FPV goggles and a tiny camera tailored for drone racers and filmers, as well as the more educational-focused RoboMaster S1. The Osmo Mobile 3 is just the latest example of the Chinese company’s growing consumer product prowess.
Last week Xiaomi said it will be the first smartphone company to bring a phone with a 108MP camera and today Samsung detailed the actual sensor. The Korean manufacturer announced the ISOCELL Bright HMX sensor for smartphones with 108 Megapixels. Its size is 1/1.33”, which is 125% bigger than the 48MP ISOCELL Bright GM1, which lets it retain the same 0.8μm pixel pitch.
Samsung said in a press release that with over 100 million effective pixels, the sensor will produce “exceptional photos even in extreme lighting conditions”. It employs the Tetracell technology, meaning it’s effectively a 27MP sensor with 1.6μm pixel pitch.
It comes with the Smart-ISO – a mechanism that selects the level of amplifier gains according to the illumination and switched to a low ISO to “improve the pixel saturation and produce vivid photographs”. We are not sure how that differs froum current sensor technologies, but we guess we’ll find out when the mammoth unit makes it to an actual phone.
The HMX also supports video recording with full field of view at 6K (6016 x 3384 pixels per frame) at 30 fps, so it’s good news to videographers too.
Mass production of the sensor is expected to begin by the end of August, so we can expect the new Xiaomi Mi Mix 4 to sport the HMX at its launch, likely taking place in October.
Details of a patent that shows something that looks very much like an entry-level Z-series camera emerged a few days ago, sending the internet into a frenzy of speculation that an entry-level mirrorless Nikon model would be shortly with us.
Yet, with no official launch, no teaser campaign, no model spotted in the wild and no word from Nikon about what it’s up to, we don’t know much for certain right now. But we won’t be surprised if such a body materializes before long – it just makes sense.
What’s in a name?
The fact that Nikon launched its Z series with the Z6 and Z7 makes introducing models on either side of these easy to fit within a single-digit naming convention.
That’s not to say the company will only ever limit itself to five more junior models than the two we currently have, of course, but a Nikon Z1, Nikon Z3 or Nikon Z5 – all of which have been rumored at some point – would make the hierarchy easy to understand.
Nikon did previously make it clear was that it would be concentrating on high-end mirrorless and DSLR cameras, rather than the more affordable end of the market.
The fact that many others have also moved away from the affordable end shows how little interest there is in developing too broad a range of products for such a sector. But Nikon’s words don’t quite rule out a more affordable option to ease entry into the system – and right now, unlike Canon, Sony, Panasonic and others, Nikon doesn’t have any junior-level mirrorless offerings below its newer full-frame cameras.
This is, however, more to do with timing than strategy, with Nikon having ditched its 1-series line, whose models were all priced well below the Z6 and Z7, last year.
The 1 AW1 was one of Nikon’s final 1-series cameras
Sony has the upper hand here, not so much because of its breadth of offerings, but because they’re all part of the same system, making upgrading far easier for users.
If you’re on a budget, the A5100, A6000 and A6300 are all vying for your attention. And if you feel the need to move to a full-frame body in the line, you can still use your lenses, albeit with a crop factor and a lower-resolution output.
The cheapest entry point into Nikon’s mirrorless line, however, remains the Z6(pictured top), which may be at the more affordable end of the full-frame scale, but is still priced well into four-figure territory.
So, the idea of a cheaper alternative to the Z6 would interest many, be they existing Nikon DSLR users looking to make the switch, or those new to Nikon who haven’t been swayed by one of its competitors – and there’s plenty that could be culled from the Z6 to craft a more affordable proposition.
The patent’s images already suggest that the viewfinder will be dropped, which is the most obvious bit of hardware to omit from a more junior model, as rivals have shown.
An image from the patent application showing a potential future Nikon Z-series model
Dropping 4K video recording, and using an APS-C sensor instead of a full-frame one, would be the other most likely changes between a new model and the two that exist, although the images within this patent appear to suggest that such a model would retain a tilting LCD screen – not having one would certainly be an odd omission on all but the very cheapest mirrorless camera.
Such a model would be less likely to use XQD memory cards too, as its feature set and target audience would place lesser demands on the memory card used. These cards are still expensive next to SD-type media, and many affordable SDHC and SDXC memory cards are fast and capacious enough to handle the demands of the average mirrorless model.
Patent ≠ release
It’s worth bearing in mind that patents are filed all the time by manufacturers for products that never end up materializing, which could be for various reasons.
An idea may seem workable at first, but may not quite work out in practice when a prototype is designed, for example, or perhaps it ends up being too costly to manufacture.
It’s worth remembering the purpose of a patent – to protect some kind of new technology or innovation from competitors – rather than seeing it as a sure-fire sign of what’s coming.
But with DSLR sales containing to fall, and mirrorless models gaining even more ground, it seems to make no sense that Nikon – or Canon, for that matter – will maintain both systems in the long term, despite any pledges to do so for the time being.
In short, whether of not these images show a future Nikon mirrorless camera, the chances of the company having the Z6 as the line’s most junior member for much longer are slim.
Not only will the Huawei Mate 30 Pro have two 40MP sensors, they will be massive too. The main camera sensor will have 40MP resolution (and a quad RYYB filter) like the P30 Pro but it’s a bigger 1/1.55” type sensor. The second 40MP sensor goes behind the ultra wide-angle lens.
It will be a 1/1.7” sensor – that’s the same size as the P30 Pro main sensor! And as you can see in the image shared by @IceUniverse, both sensors are quite a bit larger than the main sensor that Samsung uses in the Galaxy S10 and Note10.
In fact, Huawei has had the upper hand in terms of sensor size since early 2018 with the Huawei P20 Pro vs. Samsung Galaxy S9+. Here’s a comparison between the main sensors of Huawei and Samsung flagships:
Sensor size comparison: Huawei vs. Samsung flagships
Anyway, the telephoto camera on the Mate 30 Pro is expected to stay at 8MP, basically using the same module as the P30 Pro.
Huawei has trademarked the names ‘Cine Lens’ and ‘Matrix Camera’, which suggests that the cameras on the Mate 30 family will feature additional upgrades over the P30 phones.
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