Leica is more affordable now! Valid in the US and Canada until January 1st 2009, Leica are offering a $1500 rebate on its M8 digital camera. The rebates will be processed 6 to 8 weeks after the product has been registered. Leica are also offering $300 off a new M-Lens (50mm/f0.95, 21mm/f1.4, 24mm/f1.4 and 24mm/f3.8 lenses are excluded).

Leica Press Release

The Nikon D3x was shown in the Nikon Pro magazine,and scans of the magazine can be found here and here. As you can see below, it shares many features with D3 but the main difference is in resolution as expected.

Nikon D3x Main Features:

• 24.5-Megapixel 35.9x24mm Full Frame sensor
• 16-bit EXPEED engine
• 5fps at full-resolution
• 7fps at DX crop mode (10-Megapixe
• DX mode captures 10-megapixels
• Dual Compact Flash slots (at 35MB/s)
• MultiCAM 3500FX autofocus w/51 points
• ISO 100-1600 (expandable to ISO 50-6400)
• 3" LCD (922000 dots, 170 degrees)
• Live View
• Battery EN-EL4a (like D3)
• Weather-Resistant Magnesium Body
• 12ms startup
• 41ms shutter release lag

Nikon D3x images have been live on the official Nikon website for a very short period and then removed. What an accident! Seems like 1st of December will be the day of announcement...

“The first thing I did with my very first camera was climb Mt. Fuji. Climbing Mt. Fuji is a lesson in determination and moderation. It would be fair to ask if I took the moderation part to heart. But it certainly was a lesson in respecting your camera. If I was going to live with this thing, I was going to have to think about what that meant. There were not going to be any pictures without it."
—Annie Leibovitz

Being one of the most celebrated and admired photographers of our time, Annie Leibovitz in her new book called "Annie Leibovitz at Work" describes how her pictures were made, starting with Richard Nixon's resignation, a story she covered with Hunter S. Thompson, and ending with Barack Obama's campaign. In between are a Rolling Stones Tour, John Lennon and Yoko Ono, Demi Moore, Whoopi Goldberg, The Blues Brothers, Arnold Schwarzenegger, Keith Haring, Mikhail Baryshnikov, Patti Smith, George W. Bush, William S. Burroughs, Kate Moss and Queen Elizabeth.

For each image on the book, there's at least a full page of editorial, as the author describing how each shot came about and her experience. Leibovitz also includes an insightful essay about the equipment she has used over the years, as well as an FAQ list.

Get Annie Leibovitz at Work at Amazon for $24 (%40 discounted price)

Fujifilm has announced the availability of its Instax 200 Instant Film Camera and Instant Color Film in USA. Instax 200 Instant Film Camera captures and delivers vivid, high-quality prints in an instant, featuring an automatically-adjusting flash, high-resolution retracting lens and a big, clear viewfinder. Polaroid fans will surely like this combination.

The Instax 200 will begin shipping in December for $69.99 and 20-pack of Instax Instant Color Film will begin shipping at the same time for $28.99.

The Instax 200 Camera main features:

The winners of the 2008 Olympus BioScapes competition have been announced and M. I. “Spike” Walker of Staffordshire, England, took the first place with his image of a fairy fly, and earned $5000 worth of Olympus equipment. This year, twenty of the 2008 winning and Honorable Mention images will be displayed in San Francisco at an event on December 14, and then will begin a national tour.

You can find the 2008 BioScapes Digital Imaging Competition winners gallery here.

"Americana - Photographs That Define American Culture" is the theme of the 2009 Tamron User Photo Contest. The Grand Prize Winner will receive a Tamron AF18-270mm zoom lens worth $599 (which I think is the dream walk-around lens for Canon and Nikon, thanks to its Vibration Compensation System (VC) and 15X zoom range). Photos submitted must be photographed using a Tamron lens and must be original. Contest is open to Tamron users residing in the United States and all entries must be received no later than October 31, 2009.

Tamron USA Press Release:

Olympus has announced the E-30, a new 12.3 megapixel Four Thirds Standard DSLR camera that is positioned between the pro E-3 and consumer E-520 models. The Olympus E-30 will be available from mid-January 2009 and retail for $1300 body only.

I know it is too early to make a judgement, but i believe the price is a little too high compared to the competition like Nikon D90, Canon 50D (which has already came down to $1.200 level), Sony A700 etc. considering the feature set it offers. Even Olympus E-3 has a street price of $1.400 and offers a weather sealed body and a much better viewfinder. E-30 has a 2 MP advantage over E-3 but I really wonder if this will make significant amount of improvement in the IQ department. High ISO noise levels is the weakest link of the Olympus system and dealing with the extra 2 MP is surely a big challenge for Olympus engineers. Lets wait and see. Anyway, a price range of $900-$1.000 for E-30 would be more reasonable in my opinion.

Other Features of E-30:

The Olympus E30 offers Live View with free-angle 2.7” LCD screen (E-3 has 2.5" LCD), 11-point autofocus, 5fps sequential shooting, max. shutter speeds of up to 1/8000th sec, Supersonic Wave Filter dust reduction system and built-in image stabilisation. In addition, the E30 offers six Art Filters (Pop Art, Soft Focus, Pale & Light Colour, Light Tone, Grainy Film and Pin Hole), and there’s also a Multiple Exposure mode and nine separate aspect ratios. An integrated Level Gauge appears on the LCD, in the viewfinder, and on the Control Panel on the back of the camera, so your horizons should always be straight.

Press Release:

Mastering the Nikon D300 is a new book by Darrell Young, providing step-by-step menu setting adjustments coupled with illustrations and logical explanations for each option. Darrell shares his experience and knowledge while explaining the hows and whys in simple terminology with his friendly and informative manner.

Topics include:
* Metering systems
* Auto and manual modes
* Custom setting banks
* Histograms and white balance settings
* Shooting menu banks
* Auto and custom settings
* Picture controls and playback menus
* Set up, retouch, and My menus
* Nikon Creative Lighting System
* Tips and tricks and much more

Purchase Mastering the Nikon D300 with a special price!

Publisher: Rocky Nook
Darrell Young
ISBN: 9781933952345, 256 pages

Adorama has launched new weekly promotions an a wide range of products, especially the instant rebates on Nikon D300 and D700 are worth considering. Free shipping is also included for all the items listed:

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