The Fuji XQ1 will be the next camera to get the firmware update. From Fuji’s global site:

Added “Suppressed Flash” option when selecting flash mode. Once the firmware is updated, a “Suppressed Flash mode (where the flash does not fire even when the subject is poorly lit)” can be selected from the flash menu. In particular this is useful if you use the XQ1 with the waterproof housing WP-XQ1 when diving as it makes it possible to select “Auto” or “Suppressed Flash” mode freely.

Launched at a price tag of $499, it’s currently available for just $369 at at AmazonUS, BHphoto and Adorama ($130 rebate). Seems that warehouses are pretty full of unsold XQ1’s.

Dealsrunner just found the Ibelux 40mm f/0.85 available for pre-order at AmazonDE here (via DR).

This is the fastest lens you can get for your X-mount camera and costs €1799.

X-T1 in stock check: [shopcountry 21553]

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FR-reader vortsg sent me the following article of Michael Reichmann over at luminous landscape here. Since I like unpopular statements, I’ll start by quoting the following one:

“It’s clear to everyone in the industry that the future lies in mirrorless technology.”

And here is what Michael Reichmann from luminous landscape says, among the others, about Fujifilm:

“Fuji seems to have been “thinking-out-loud” for the past few years, experimenting with novel designs and trying new technologies. Some are misses, and some are hits, but they certainly appear to have the cojones to try something new.

[…] Fuji, always a great lens maker, are also bringing out new X mount lenses at a fairly rapid clip, and offering the high-end market some interesting primes as well as bread-and-butter zooms. When combined with their innovative cameras this makes for a compelling sell, at least compared with some others.

One area where Fuji shows that they “get it” better than possibly any other camera maker in Asia, is with regard to firmware updates. Not only do they release regular updates for current models, to fix bugs and add features, but they even do it for older discontinued models. Some camera makers don’t even bother with bug fixes, and if they do, it is often months after these are well known before they become available. Nicely done Fujifilm!”

But Michael has comments to make on many other brands out there. The [shoplink 21555]Nikon DF[/shoplink] is called “Frankenstein“, the Hasselblad “a joke“, he talks about Sony’s “lens mount fiasco“… and what about Olympus, Panasonic, Sigma, Canon, Pentax and more? Read it here at luminous landscape.

And as always, feel free to make your own considerations in the comments. Is mirrorless really the future?

I don’t know what the future is, but the present isn’t looking good at all. Here are the figures of the CIPA (the Camera & Imaging Products Association) summarized in a nice infographic by lensvid here. Smartphones, the global crisis and the fact that Americans and Europeans still don’t like mirrorless cameras make of 2013 “the worst year for the photography industry in a long long time (maybe even decades).” (via Canonwatch)

image courtey: lensvid