[Gear] New Favorites: Zeiss, Leica, Hasselblad, and More!

Between great announcements, imagined concepts, and juicy rumors, there’s never a dull time for gearheads. These last few weeks are no exception. In the full post, read of Zeiss’ new 15mm lens, the only Leica you can bring to a white party, some w i d e Hasselblad rumors, and then some.

New gadgets:

After the rumors, we now have Zeiss’ new super-wide-angle 15mm f2.8 T* Distagon lens. Zeiss’ optics, for those who are unaware, are superb. But the quality doesn’t just stop there. Yes, this lens is almost $3000, but for some, nothing beats the all-metal construction of a Zeiss lens. That T* means it has Zeiss’ famous coating, too, virtually eliminating flare and improving contrast and color reproduction much like Nikon’s ‘nano coating.’ I got a chance to shoot with three different Zeiss lenses on a 5D Mk II this weekend; and I now know if I’d have to use manual focus for stills, I’d want a Zeiss to do it. It just feels rock solid. Pre-order the Canon version of the Nikon version at Adorama. Below is a great introduction by Zeiss.

Most of us know Leica. And if we don’t know, we somehow at least know to ‘Oo’ and ‘Ah’ when we see one. But I don’t know what sounds we’re supposed to make when we see this one: Leica has now announced a limited edition white M9-P. How limited? There will be a run of only 50 of these cameras. But that doesn’t compare to the extraordinary amount they want for it: just over $30,000. At $8,000, the ‘normal’ version already seems pricey. Granted, it does come with an $11,000 lens, the famous Noctilux 50mm f/0.95. If you do get one, be sure to let us know if it tastes like white chocolate…

We’ve covered this, but let’s just say it again: CS6 is here! — sort of. CS6 Beta is out as a free public beta, meaning anyone can download it, but it’ll eventually expire. Our own Patrick Hall laid out some excellent new features, but there’s nothing like seeing it for yourself! Try it out — it’s awesome.

Sigma’s new 50-150mm f/2.8 OS APO lens can now be pre-ordered on BHPhotoVideo for a cool $1099. It’s not a bad choice for a lens that’ll be great for video with its image stabilization.

Rumors:

Hasselblad discontinued the XPAN series back in 2006. And that’s sad because I really love the panoramic format: it’s how we really see. Just think about the progression of television from just about square to crazy 16:9! Anyway, I’m now thrilled with the news that Hasselblad might be getting ready to introduce a digital XPAN toward the end of the year. Yes, it seems a little farfetched. But I’m so excited I don’t even want to think about that. It might have a cropped sensor that’ll be a bit smaller than its film counterpart, but I’m still already saving for it in case it really happens. If it doesn’t, I might at least have saved enough for a peek at that white Leica M9-P.

Remember that Canon 200-400mm f2.8f4 with the built-in teleconverter — you know, that dream lens? Well, Canonrumors.com thinks it’s around the corner from being released. At an estimated $11,000, it may not matter. But then again, can you put a price on heaven?

The Nikon D3200 may be coming sooner rather than later with a 24MP sensor, 11 AF points, 100-6400 ISO with a 12,800 Hi mode, and some sort of mysterious WiFi connection. This is Nikon’s budget DSLR and is perfect for anyone starting out in DSLR photography. So you may want to wait a bit. At the very least, you’ll get a deal on a D3100 if it’s worth saving the money for you.

News:

According to CanonRumors.com, it seems as though the 1D X could be delayed yet again. Nikon had its share of delays with the introduction of the D4 and D800, but to its credit, everything came out within a decent timeframe of original estimates. On the other hand, it’s now been over five months since the announcement…

It looks like there will be a new RH-1 anamorphic lens for Canon DSLRs coming out at NAB in about two weeks. We’ll keep you posted, but this is some pretty big news for Canon’s video offerings.

Trigger Happy is a new camera remote that works with the iPhone. It’s not exactly out yet, but you can snag a spot for one of the first ones over on Kickstarter. It’s quite reasonably priced and full-featured, so be sure to check it out.

Sony has a project going that will allow it to go head to head with the RED Scarlet. This is the NEX-FS700E. Expected to be announced at NAB, it’ll feature 4K video with a roughly $9,000 price tag. Other features may include built-in ND filters, but we’ll have to wait and see what Sony comes up with before speculating anymore. This’ll be interesting, too, given Canon’s upcoming expected introduction of their 4K DSLR.