Below you can find the rumored specifications of the new Leica M9 and X1. According to the rumors, Leica M9 will be available for sale next week and the Leica X1 in few months.

Leica M9 specs:

■ Full frame CCD 24×36mm 18.2 mp sensor
■ Improved image noise performance at high ISO settings
■ Improved operation reactivity
■ SD card slot
■ Bundled with Adobe Lightroom

Leica X1 specs:

• 18 megapixels
• Dual DiG!C 4 imaging processors, 14-bit A/D signal conversion
• 8 FPS (94 Large/Fine JPEGS or 15 RAW)
• 19 points cross type AF sensors. Eight-directional double cross central AF point
• ISO 100-6400, extends to 12800
• 100% coverage, 1.0x optical viewfinder with intelligent display, with electronic horizon line.
• 3.0″ LCD, 920,000 dot resolution, 160 degree viewing angle
• New iFCL meter system using high contrast and color detection (63-zone)
• Newly-designed streamlined body, metallic shutter sound, shutter lifespan approx. 150,000 times
• HD movie, HDMI out, external mic input
• EOS Integrated Dust Removal system
• Live view with Face-priority AF
• Auto Lighting Optimizer
• Auto correction of lens peripheral illumination (vignetting)
• New switch for Live View/Video mode
• New 24mm wide-angle built-in flash supporting EOS E-TTL II

Availability: End of September 2009

Price: 1.700$

For those of you who wonder how the new Nikon compares to entry level D60 and mid-level D90, I have prepared a quick spec comparison table below:

I have made a list of the very first hands-on previews of the new Olympus E-620 published on the web:

Dpreview reviews Olympus E-620

DC Resource reviews Olympus E-620

Imaging Resource reviews Olympus E-620

Digital Camera Review reviews Olympus E-620

4/3rds User Preview reviews Olympus E-620

Photography Review reviews Olympus E-620

43photo.com reviews Olympus E-620

Olympus UK Safari Group reviews Olympus E-620

As the Full Frame DSLRs get more and more affordable (excluding NikonD3x!), we started to see more detailed and comprehensive comparisons of these models on the web:

Fotografie.fr compared Nikon D3 with D3x for resolution, detail rendering and noise at different iso settings. The results are quite interesting as the high ISO noise levels of the 24 MP D3x is very close to 12 MP D3 which is known as the high ISO king! Moreover, D3x manages to provide more detail compared to D3, no matter how high ISO it is at. This is an incredible achievement by the Nikon engineering team without a doubt.

But don't get too excited, Canon 5D Mark II offers similar resolution at 21 MP and comparable High ISO performance to D3x, and costs $2.700 body only: $5.300 less than the D3x! Not to mention the Sony A900 at $3.000, with the same level of details (although can't keep up with the other two over ISO 1600), class-leading dynamic range, in-body image stabilization and an almost perfect viewfinder. See this "Pixel Peeping Extravaganza" for yourself on Luminous Landscapes.

Photography Bay published an in-depth ISO comparison of Canon 5D Mark II vs. Nikon D700. Original Full-resolution files are also available to download, good news for the pixel-peepers! I wish they had chosen a better sample photo (doesn't give much idea about the effects of high ISO on colors).

The Japanese BCN Ranking website has published the list of 20 bestselling DSLRs in Japan for the Year 2008. Japanese market has always been a reliable indicator of the DSLR manufacturers worldwide overall performance. There isn't a big surprise on the top of the list, Nikon and Canon going neck and neck for the top spot. Thanks to Digital Rebel Xsi/450D with its %19.1 market share, Canon still manages to cope with Nikon top trio: D60, D80 and D40. Sony secures a strong 3rd place with the popular A350, A300 and A200. The absence of the A700 in the Top 20 list is sad though, this camera deserves better then this I believe. I am expecting an upgrade very soon, hope this time Sony makes things right and install the replacement an optimised firmware from the very beginning!

The only Full Frame camera on the top 20 List is the Nikon D700. No surprise here, what actually surprises me is how and why Nikon sells such a great camera for as low as $2.300! Panasonic G1 also manages a significant market share, which sold more than any Olympus camera on the market. Micro Four-Thirds in definitely promising, even I am considering a G1 for myself!

Anyway, here is the full list:

1- Canon EOS XSi 19.1%
2- Nikon D60 10.9%
3- Nikon D80 10.6%
4- Nikon D40 9.1%
5- Canon EOS XS 8.4%

Olympus has announced SP-565UZ, a 10 megapixel digital camera featuring a 20x zoom lens (26-520mm equivalent). Olympus defines SP-565UZ an extreme makeover version of the already popular SP-570UZ (the first digital camera to sport a 20x optical zoom). SP-565UZ is a smaller and lighter version of SP-570UZ , with easier-to-use controls offering the ease, being more portable at the same time.

The 565UZ will be available in October with an estimated price of $399.99 (U.S.). You can pre-order the SP-565UZ from Amazon.com.

Olympus SP-565UZ Specifications and Press Release:

Nikon has posted sample photos, sample video shot and a 16-page brochure of the new D90. Follow the links below to access to the official Nikon D90 samples:

• Sample video 1 (Nikon USA)
• Sample video 2 (Nikon Imaging)
• Sample images 1 and Sample Images 2
• 16-page brochure(Nikon Imaging)

• Chase Jarvis Detailed D90 Review

D90 offers a movie function, allowing you to shoot movies in three different motion JPEG formats: 320 x 216 pixels, 640 x 424 pixels and 1,280 x 720 pixels. But one big downside of the video recording function is that Autofocusing is not available when recording movies, so you have to use manual focusing during recording which I think will be big challange especially on scenes with fast moving objects. Hope Nikon can find a solution for this in their next generation video recording DSLR.

Nikon finally announced the new D90, replacement for the almost 2 years-old popular D80. And yes, it's true: D90 is the first and only DSLR with a video recording feature. The announcement day of the D90 is also interesting, just one day after the announcement of Canon 50D.

We have been posting about the rumors of D90 for a long time, which were apparently were very precise so there is no shocking info about the new camera, just the details are left. We have already knew about the new 3.0" 922K LCD, 12 MP CMOS sensor, Live View, HDMI, GPS and etc. which totally I think makes the D90 quite a deal. Below is the press release of the Nikon, keep watching us for the spec wise comparison of D90 - D80 - D300 which will be coming up next at Photolectic.

Nikon D90 Price and Availability:

Nikon D90 will be available in September for $1.000 body only (U.S. Price) and $1.300 when bundled with the new Nikon 18-105 f3.5-5.6 ED VR lens.

You can even pre-order Nikon D90 from Amazon.com for $999.95 here or pre-order Nikon D90 with 18-105 f3.5-5.6 ED VR lens from Amazon.com for $1.299,95 become one of the first to experience this exciting DSLR with a video-recording ability!

D90 Specifications and Press Release:

Canon’s China website has published specifications for the 50D and it is accessible to anyone on Canon China Website.

The new specs confirm the previous rumors the new 15.1 CMOS sensor which is a quiet a big leap from the 10.1MP CMOS of 40D. Other main improvements according to the specs are the new 3" VGA - 920K LCD, Dıgic 4 Image Processor and the expanded ISO range of ISO 100 -12800.

CANON 50D SPECIFICATIONS: