Photokina 2014 Preview — What to Expect?

Photokina 2014 Preview — What to Expect?

Photokina 2014, world’s biggest photography show, is around the corner. Taking place mid-September in Cologne, Germany, all major players use the stage to show off their latest and greatest gear. What’s in store for this year’s biennial Photokina? More DSLRs by Canon and Nikon? New curved and organic sensors? Compelling reasons to upgrade? Let’s have […]

Pentax 645Z — DSLR-Like Medium Format for a Quarter of the Price

Pentax 645Z — DSLR-Like Medium Format for a Quarter of the Price

You’ve read all the rumors, now camera and specs are confirmed. The Pentax 645Z medium format camera is officially announced, and boy does Ricoh, the new owner of Pentax, know what it’s doing. At its heart the 645Z has the same 50MP Sony sensor (another growing Sony dominance) as the digital backs of the Hasselblad […]

Sony Overtakes Canon (in Korea for Now…)

Sony Overtakes Canon (in Korea for Now…)

No. 1: Sony. No. 2: Canon. The difference is not even a percentage point, but for a relative newcomer such as Sony this is quite an achievement. For the first time Sony beats market leader Canon in sales of system cameras. And not anyplace, but in South Korea, an important consumer market with an highly […]

Why Leica Decided to Leave Its Beloved R Series Behind

Why Leica Decided to Leave Its Beloved R Series Behind

Interesting insights from the Washington Post: why Leica decided to leave its popular R series behind. R lenses could be used on almost any SLR camera. In the end, we learn, it was a strategic decision about capabilities, about a method of winning, about a system in markets… BTW, one of the best all-rounder lenses […]

Stop Buying Crop Format Lenses

Stop Buying Crop Format Lenses

You can turn and twist it as much as you want. In the end physics can’t be cheated and size still matters. The smaller a sensor = the more compromises you burden yourself with (except if you’re a diehard macro photographer because you’ll love the smaller sensors’ greater depth of field). These past years I’ve […]

More Details on the Compact System Camera Leica T (Codenamed “Taifun”)

More Details on the Compact System Camera Leica T (Codenamed “Taifun”)

The Leica X Vario doesn’t sell very well, so Leica puts its hopes into the “Leica T” (codenamed “Taifun”) with interchangeable lenses, to be announced on April 24. Will the T be a serious challenger to mirrorless system cameras? Here is what sources confirm, ahead of the April 24 announcement: APS-C sensor size (1.5x crop […]

When Reuters Fires Its Best… Photojournalism Isn’t Dead. It’s Just Changing.

When Reuters Fires Its Best… Photojournalism Isn’t Dead. It’s Just Changing.

In the world of news everything gets cheaper. The price of information hits new bottom after bottom. Hey everything’s available on the Net, why pay professionals. Same goes for photography. In the latest irrational, self-inflicted wound that has led to the slow demise of the news business, Reuters fires Gary Hershorn, the global sports pictures […]

At last, a “Mini M”? Leica’s New Mirrorless System Camera, the Leica T, to Be Unveiled on April 24

At last, a “Mini M”? Leica’s New Mirrorless System Camera, the Leica T, to Be Unveiled on April 24

Our regular readers know that we have a pretty good track record as to future Leica products. Now Leica Forum posted Leica’s official invitation for the unveiling of the German boutique camera maker’s latest addition: the long expected mirrorless system camera with interchangeable lenses. This wouldn’t be THEME without giving you a bit more meat […]

Best Selfie Ever

Best Selfie Ever

Who says selfies are selfish and dead. If only Bradley Cooper’s arm were longer. Still, it’s the one spontaneous capture with the probably most ever celebs in one frame. Well Ellen DeGeneres handed her phone to Cooper to do the honors. The selfie got Jennifer Lawrence, Jared Leto, Meryl Streep, Julia Roberts, Kevin Spacey, Brad […]

Hasselblad Sees the Light

Hasselblad Sees the Light

By BENGT NYMAN The long disputed direction of Hasselblad into laughable rebranding exercises of marginally successful Sony camera products may finally be coming to an end. Mr. Ian Rawcliffe replaces Dr. Larry Hansen as CEO and chairman of the board of Hasselblad. Rawcliffe who? Businessweek, February 24, 2014: Mr. Ian Rawcliffe has been the Chief […]

Apologetic Canon Confesses: Don’t Expect Any Retro Cameras From Us

Apologetic Canon Confesses: Don’t Expect Any Retro Cameras From Us

In case you’ve been waiting for a Canon incarnation of the Nikon Df or something along the lines of Fujifilm’s X series, don’t hold your breath. World’s market leader in cameras has no intention whatsoever of jumping on the bandwagon of the retro hype. While other camera makers such as aforementioned Nikon and Fujifilm as […]

Hasselblad HV — Finally a DSLR With Style, Spirit and Soul?

Hasselblad HV — Finally a DSLR With Style, Spirit and Soul?

Must confess I like the look of the new Hasselblad HV, a full-frame Sony A99 converted by the Swedes into a stylish, grayish and blackish “DSLR with style, spirit and soul,” as Hasselblad praises its pepped up A99 on luxurious steroids. The camera will be available in an ultra robust, special TTX01 (?!) resin case […]

James Nachtwey Shot in Bangkok

James Nachtwey Shot in Bangkok

Others bring colorful orchids and fruits back from Thailand. For the American photojournalist James Nachtwey it will be a gunshot wound. Covering the political crisis in Thailand, he got in the heat of a gunfight in Laksi, north of Bangkok. Nachtwey was hit in the leg and the bullet passed right through. This being James […]

Hasselblad to Launch World’s First Medium Format CMOS Camera

Hasselblad to Launch World’s First Medium Format CMOS Camera

This kind of confirms our earlier report that Leica this year will shift the medium format S from CCD to CMOS sensor technology, as introduced with the Leica M Typ 240 earlier on. Now Hasselblad confirms they’re about to launch world’s first medium format CMOS sensor camera, meaning medium format will offer — in the […]

Fujifilm X-T1, the More Compact Nikon Df?

Fujifilm X-T1, the More Compact Nikon Df?

Within not even two years, Fujifilm’s X series of retro-styled cameras with a film feel and manual controls was able to build up a loyal following among photographers. Quite a few Leica users left the German’s boutique camera maker camp while newbies and established photographers looking for a compact system camera with state-of-the-art imaging technology […]

Fujifilm Ups the Ante With Upcoming All-Weather Retro X-T1 and, Well, X-Robot

Fujifilm Ups the Ante With Upcoming All-Weather Retro X-T1 and, Well, X-Robot

After Phil Schiller, Apple’s vice president of marketing, famously told photographers to stop learning, Apple and the iPhone will do the work for you, is Fujifilm seriously trying to follow suit?! Schiller back in September 2013 said, “It used to be the way you take better pictures is you learn to be a better photographer.” […]

Is Photojournalism Really Dying?

Is Photojournalism Really Dying?

Al Jazeera explores the question whether photojournalism is dying. How real is the digitally-driven crisis in photojournalism? Newsrooms across the globe are shrinking and budgets slashed. Hardest hit are photojournalists. But… imagine stories without images. One would think that good news photography serves as an entry point to a story by providing a visual reference […]

Fujifilm Updates 2014/2015 XF Lens Roadmap

Fujifilm Updates 2014/2015 XF Lens Roadmap

With the unveiling of the fast lovely looking XF 56mm F1.2 R portrait lens for X mount Fujifilm introduced its updated XF lens roadmap for 2014 and 2015. Altogether this brings the number of lenses for the X series to 17. Oh, and Fujifilm announced a black X100S ($1,299) and the up to 100x superzoom […]

Survival of the Fittest — Smartphones Shatter Camera Makers’ Mirrorless Hopes

Survival of the Fittest — Smartphones Shatter Camera Makers’ Mirrorless Hopes

Reuters — Panasonic and Japan’s other mid-tier camera makers have a battle on their hands to win over a smartphone “selfie” generation to mirrorless cameras that held such promise when they were launched around five years ago. Panasonic, like peers Fujifilm and Olympus, has been losing money on its cameras since mobile phones that take […]

The Leica Predicament — 2014 Outlook and Beyond

The Leica Predicament — 2014 Outlook and Beyond

Gathered own sources, industry chatter and added common sense. Leica isn’t in an enviable position. The competition gathers pace. Leica’s grand strength continues to be its brand recognition and, above all, the optics. The famed Leica advantage however diminishes as the quality of cameras becomes more similar. For instance, I know from personal talks with […]

New Camera News — The Lighter Side of Capturing Light

New Camera News — The Lighter Side of Capturing Light

This is one of the lucky finds that happen about once every lifetime. You may argue that photography and humor don’t mix, not to mention satire! Right, photography’s a serious business. But only if we take ourselves way too seriously. That’s where New Camera News comes in, an ingenious photography site dedicated to “the lighter […]

“Photo-Taking-Impairment Effect” — Photography Might Weaken Your Memory

“Photo-Taking-Impairment Effect” — Photography Might Weaken Your Memory

So you thought taking lots of photos will prevent you from forgetting anything? Psychologists believe the opposite is the case. People who constantly takes pictures remember significantly less than those who observe. Now here’s a scientific study: those who had taken photos of the artifacts struggled to describe the objects, while those who hadn’t, remembered […]

War Photography Pulls Between Aesthetics and Horror of Conflict

War Photography Pulls Between Aesthetics and Horror of Conflict

Nearly 166 years of war and broadly capturing what happens before, during and after battle — that’s what a Houston exhibit called War Photography, Images of Armed Conflict and Its Aftermath is about. This exhibit is possible because photographers have recorded their experiences in and around armed conflicts since the 19th century. The atrocities, the […]

When and How Will Canon and Nikon Get Into Full-Frame Mirrorless?

When and How Will Canon and Nikon Get Into Full-Frame Mirrorless?

This is of course all speculation. The Sony A7s do take off and at one point Canon and Nikon will have to throw their hats in the game. Newcomers, gear nerds, enthusiasts and professional photographers, they’re all showing genuine interest for full-frame mirrorless. But neither Canon nor Nikon Rumors has said anything so far about […]

The Leica Mini M Won’t Be Full-Frame, It’ll Be an X Vario System Camera

The Leica Mini M Won’t Be Full-Frame, It’ll Be an X Vario System Camera

This is from trustworthy new sources with access — you can check our track record and we’ve consistently been right. We were the first to know the name of the X Vario, and THEME’s the first site again to learn more details about Leica’s long rumored, new, more compact system camera. There have been consistent […]

Fujifilm Finds Its X Niche and Meet the 360° Bublcam

Fujifilm Finds Its X Niche and Meet the 360° Bublcam

Interesting article by the New York Times on Fujifilm finding its niche as digital camera sales sputter: old-style cameras that mask a high-tech core. For certain work you can’t replace a D800 or 5D Mark III. But it’s just not that much fun. Et voilà the state-of-the-art and retro-looking Fujifilm X series, designed by Masazumi […]

What Canon Is This?

What Canon Is This?

Surprise surprise. Weren’t we expecting an EOS M update? This looks like the silhouette of a DSLR, to be introduced sometime this month. It’s from a Canon Korea teaser. Translation: “November 2013, Canon will start from the white world. Coming Soon.” White world. White Canon? Seems to be the new game in town to tease […]