Editor: It’s not really a review, not even a preview, but fun to read anyway on a slow news day.

Leica M9

“The [Leica] M9 gets the essentials absolutely right.”

Wired has published their hands-on preview (not sure what else to call these “opinions”) of the Leica M9 [Specs], a full-frame (36 x 24mm) digital rangefinder camera with 18MP resolution, no anti-alias filter, a new thicker UV/IR filter in front of the sensor, ISO 160-2500, continuous shooting 2fps, 2.5-in. (230K dots) LCD, RAW.

[ Read the Leica M9 Preview at: Wired ]

Pentax K-x

“The Pentax K-x is our new favourite “affordable” DSLR.”

PhotographyBLOG has just published their review of the Pentax K-x DSLR [Specs], with 12.4MP resolution (on a 23.6 x 15.8 mm CMOS image sensor), Shake Reduction sensor-shift Image Stabilization, 2.7-in. LCD (230K dots), 11 Point Wide Angle Focus, PASM, Auto Picture mode, Scene modes, Creative Processing and Filter Modes, 30-1/6000 sec. plus Bulb, Dust Removal, HDR Image Capture (captures 3 bracketed images and blends them in-camera), RAW, optical viewfinder with 96% frame coverage, Live View with Contrast Detect, Phase difference and Face Detection AF, Continuous Shooting 4.7fps, built-in flash, and HD Movie (1280 x 720 @ 24fps). The Pentax K-x uses the SD/SDHC memory card and is powered by 4 AA batteries.

[ Read the Pentax K-x Review at: PhotographyBLOG ]

[ Pentax K-x QuickPrice Check ]

Related Links:
- Pentax K-x Technical Specifications
- Pentax K-x Press Release

Samsung CL65 / ST1000

“The advanced technology stuffed into this camera actually works.”

TechRadar has published their quick review of the Samsung CL65 / ST1000 [Specs], an ultra compact with 12.2MP resolution (on a 1/2.33-in. CCD image sensor), 5x wide-angle optical zoom (35-175mm equiv.), Optical Image Stabilization, 3.5-in. Touch Screen LCD (1,152K dots) with Full Touch Screen Panel, built-in GPS and Geo-Tagging, Bluetooth, Wi-Fi (e-mail your photos directly from your camera, and upload your pictures wirelessly to your online photo album on Facebook™, YouTube™, and Picasa™), Smart Gesture User Interface, Smart Auto, Smart Face Recognition, One Touch Shooting Auto Focus, Frame Guide, 720p HD video at 30fps in H.264 format and mini-HDMI connector (adaptor not included).

[ Read the Samsung CL65 / ST1000 Review at: TechRadar ]

Related Link:

• Samsung CL65 / ST1000 Best Prices
• Samsung CL65 / ST1000 Press Release

Canon EOS 1D Mark IV

In Chinese, the number 4 rhymes with “death” and therefore considered unlucky and generally avoided. That is why you might have a hard time selling your house with one or more “4″s in the street number to a traditional Chinese family. But this superstition has, as far as I am aware of, not extended to electronic products. Canon has no problem with naming its product with the digit “4″ in it, as in “Digic 4″ and now the “EOS 1D Mark IV [Specs].” In fact, Tsunemasa Ohara, senior general manager, Photo Products Group at Canon Inc. states categorically in a BJP interview, “We don’t think 4 is unlucky.”

No, but perhaps “7″ (considered a “good” number by some cultures) is, as in the “Ghosting phenomenon” in the EOS 7D [Specs]?

[ Read the article at: BJP ]