Til August 12 you save 125 Dollar/Euro on the entire Topaz image collection (Click here and use code “RUMOR”). And this is a new surprising addition: If you get the software you will also be able to download the BETA version of the upcoming new app named “Photo AI”.

Photo AI will be officially released on September 22. Thanks Anthony Morganti for the tip:

About those rumors: I have no idea who sent them and 90% of the times they turn out to be wrong. But, it happened in the past that a couple of those were right. So I will post them today, and we all together can eventually keep track of this. If one of the sources turns out to be right than we will know we can trust it a bit more!

Source 1:

I have it on good authority that Sony is planning for an RX10 V to be released in August, and the camera to be available by October/November. This increased confidence is due to eased supply chain issues

The major differentiator will be the first time AI / computational technology will make it into a Sony camera. There are also design and ergonomic improvements, removal of the flash, and the incorporation of the a6600 battery. The lens will be the same as it’s predecessor. This camera will feature blackout free EVF bursts up to 24FPS.

Source 2:

Sony to announce new cinema camera by August for production in December. Camera based off FX6 but with APC sensor.
Possible FS5 MIII.

Source 3:

A7r v is a stills camera too munch video specs out there 9.6k oversampled 8k and 4k!!  you must be out of your mind to believe that.
A7r v to be anounced late october early november, with all new sensor around 90 mpx (85.95)

Less than 3 days left to get the world’s first adhesive camera gear wrap on Kickstarter (Click here). it’s made by the well known German company Spinn:

In orthopedics, similar materials have been around for a long time. Spinn has translated this principle together with a well-reputed manufacturer into a soft, firm and protective material. If you like it preorder it now on Kickstarter (Click here).

Nikkei has talked to most camera manufacturers to see if the compact camera and entry level camera market still has a future. That’s what they write about Sony:

Sony Group has not offered any new compact models under its Cyber-shot brand since 2019, although a spokesperson said that “it’s not that we’ll stop developing new products.” Casio Computer halted production of Exilim cameras in 2018.

And this is what Nikkei reports about the other companies:

• Japanese camera manufacturers are bidding farewell to a once-major component of their operations, with Panasonic Holdings and Nikon suspending development of entry-level point-and-shoot cameras under their flagship brands.
  The companies will instead focus resources on pricier mirrorless models going forward, aiming to navigate a market upended by smartphones.
• Fujifilm has discontinued production of its FinePix compact cameras and will develop only the X100V series and other pricier models.
• Canon has not released any new Ixy cameras since 2017. But the company acknowledges that “entry-level models continue to enjoy persistent support, so we’ll continue development and production as long as there is demand.”

Nikkei explained why the fixed lens camera market is disappearing:

Camera makers had long competed with one another by increasing the number of pixels and by shrinking the size of their devices. But then smartphones came along, offering apps for editing pictures and allowing photos to be easily shared with family and friends. This changed the way people took photos.

Smartphone makers are racing to offer advanced photography features in their devices. “It’d be a challenge for camera makers to be successful with keeping their compact digital camera businesses,” said analyst Ichiro Michikoshi of research firm BCN.

Compact digital models accounted for 36% of global digital camera shipments in 2021, according to CIPA. The broader camera market will likely shrink even faster with Japanese companies, many of them big players, scaling back operations in compact digital models.

The bright spot is the mirrorless segment, with global shipments jumping 31% on the year to 324.5 billion yen in 2021. Mirrorless single-lens models offer fat margins, and users replacing lenses and other parts will keep contributing to the manufacturers’ bottom lines.

Retailers are focusing on this segment as well. “These days we recommend mirrorless cameras even to novice photographers,” said a salesperson at electronics and appliance retailer Joshin Denki.

The Lexar 160GB card at Amazon, BHphoto and Adorama. In EU at Amazon DE, Amazon UK.
The Lexar Professional Dual-Slot USB 3.2 Gen 2 Type-C Card Reader at Amazon, BHphoto and Adorama. In EU at Amazon DE, Amazon UK.

PetaPixel tested those cards and wrote:

To get a sense of how fast read and write speeds performed at peak individually, the Lexar CFexpress Type A card was run through Blackmagic Disk Speed test, which returned 719 MB/s write speed average and 729.7 MB/s read speed average.
For comparison, in previous tests the Sony TOUGH CFexpress Type A memory card averaged about 651 MB/s write speeds and 731 MB/s read speeds while the ProGrade Digital CFexpress Type A card averaged 679 MB/s write speeds and 784 MB/s read speeds. The new Lexar shows faster write speeds but slower read speeds.
In HD Tune, the Sony TOUGH card scored a minimum transfer speed of 431.9 MB/s and a maximum of 559.4 MB/s, for an average of 532.4 MB/s. ProGrade Digital’s card scored a minimum transfer speed of 416 MB/s and a maximum of 548.8 MB/s, for an average of 516 MB/s. Both were tested using their own company’s memory card readers and both are behind Lexar’s sustained read and write performance by a significant margin.