Fujifilm FinePix X100 In-Depth Review

Review based on a production X100 with Firmware 1.10

In amongst all the cameras announced at Photokina 2010 - including enthusiast SLRs such as the Nikon D7000, Canon EOS 60D, Pentax K-5 and Sigma SD1 - one utterly unexpected model stole the show. Fujifilm unveiled the FinePix X100, a compact camera with an SLR-size APS-C sensor and traditional analogue control dials, that hides ground-breaking technology inside a retro-styled body with looks to die for. It's the company's first camera with a large, APS-C sensor aimed at professionals and advanced amateurs since the S5 Pro DSLR of 2006.

Sigma SD1 Hands-on Preview

Preview based on a pre-production SD1 with firmware 0.94

The SD1 created a great deal of interest at Photokina 2010. Having used Foveon's original 4.7x3MP sensor in its SD and DP series of cameras, Sigma bought the sensor company in 2008 and instructed it to focus its efforts on high quality stills photography - specifically the 15x3MP sensor that the SD1 is built around. Now, not long after the originally-proposed launch date, the SD1 is here.

The first thing to be addressed has to be the price, and let's not dance around this: the SD1 is eye-wateringly expensive. Even with Sigma listing lens kits for pre-order at significantly below its own suggested price for the body alone, it's still a hugely expensive piece of kit. The company is talking in terms of the SD1 being a portable alternative to medium format cameras (which may not be entirely unfair, as the sensor has the potential to produce resolution similar to a 30MP Bayer-type sensor).

Sony Alpha DSLR-A580 Review

Review based on a production Sony DSLR-A580 with firmware version 1.11

The Sony DSLR-A580 is near-identical in terms of design and operation to its predecessor the DSLR-A550, and in terms of image quality very similar to its sister-model the SLT-A55. For this review we have therefore slightly shortened our usual review format, concentrating on the differences to the A550 and A55 respectively. To learn everything about the camera you are interested in, we recommend reading not only this review but also the full reviews of the DSLR-A550 and SLT-A55.

The Sony DSLR-A580 was announced, together with the SLT-A55, in August 2010. In Sony's slightly convoluted DSLR line-up it is firmly located in the mid-level bracket, competing with cameras such as the Canon EOS 600D/Rebel T3i and Nikon D5100.

Nikon Coolpix P300

Review based on a production Nikon P300, firmware v1.0

After years of relative stagnation, Nikon's P-series is back. The Coolpix P7000, released late last year, now has a little brother - the P300. Both in terms of specification and styling, the P7000 was designed to rival Canon's Powershot G-series, but the P300 is pitched a little lower.

Pentax Q

Preview based on a pre-production Pentax Q running firmware 1.0

The Pentax Q is the smallest interchangeable lens camera on the market. And, just like the company's famously diminutive Auto 110 SLR from the late 70's, it achieves this by embracing a smaller format than its peers. Being built around a 1/2.3" sensor, the Q is a fraction of the size of even the smallest existing mirrorless cameras and is the first really pocketable model (though the protruding lens still means that'll have to be the pocket of your jacket, rather than your shirt or trousers).

Ricoh GXR Mount A12 Hands-on Preview

Preview based on a pre-production GXR Mount A12 with firmware 01

The ability to resuscitate classic manual focus lenses has been one of the unexpected side-effects of the development of mirrorless camera systems. Ricoh has responded to this trend by introducing the Mount A12 module for its GXR system. This module, featuring a Leica-style M mount, allows the fitting of a wide range of lenses onto a GXR body for the first time.

The GXR system may originally have aimed to offer optimized combinations of lens, sensor and processor, but the customer demand for the ability to mount other lenses was too much for Ricoh to ignore. There is, after all, a certain appeal to shooting a well-built metal lens on a small camera, but very few of us are willing to move back to film in order to experience it, or to spend considerable sums on a digital Leica. Ricoh clearly isn't content to sit on the sidelines as the mirrorless systems begin to respond to this pent-up demand.

Panasonic DMC-GF3 Review

Review based on a production DMC-GF3, Firmware version 1.0

With the arrival of the GF3, Panasonic further solidifies the distinctions between its existing G-series lineup. The enthusiast-targeted rangefinder aesthetic heralded by the introduction of the Panasonic Lumix DMC-GF1 appears for the moment to have given way to a new directive; producing the smallest, lightest G-series camera possible. The move towards smaller, lighter large-sensor cameras with fewer external controls is not limited to Panasonic of course, as both Olympus and Sony are also courting the mass market aggressively.