Photokina 2010: The Unofficial First Day

Officially, Photokina begins on Tuesday. That doesn't stop manufacturers from banging out announcements and press conferences a day early. Read on for Fuji's surprising X100 announcement, a brief hands-on with the Canon G12, and images from Samsung's NX100 launch.

Samsung NX100
Samsung made the previously announced NX100 even more official with a press conference today, offering attendees a chance to gaze upon the compact interchangeable lens camera and ask questions of CEO Mr. Sangjin Park. He underscored what he believes are the strengths of Samsung's second NX series camera, citing improvements to "essential functions and usability." He also predicted that the mirrorless interchangeable lens market would overtake DSLRs in sales by 2013. With all of its eggs in the proverbial compact interchangeable lens basket, it seems that's a position one would expect Samsung to take.

Mr. Park also confirmed that Samsung is working on a new APS-C sensor for 2011 to reduce noise at high ISO and introduce 1080p video to the currently 720p NX cameras. On the subject of the NX100's unusual new "i-Function" lenses, he said that all new lenses developed for the NX cameras going forward will carry this feature. An NX10 firmware upgrade will be available in October to make them compatible with the new lenses.

Hands-on with the Canon PowerShot G12
Of all the advanced compact camera launches this season, the G12 seems to have been the least innovative. Not that the DCR Editors' Choice PowerShot G11 gave us much to complain about. Canon has made some expected upgrades to the G12, and it was on display at a press event off-site this afternoon while the Canon booth was still being made ready for showtime tomorrow.

The PowerShot G12 was displayed today with a filter adapter. Removing the ring around the lens and attaching the adapter makes the camera usable with similarly sized filters.

The G12 features the same flip-out LCD G11 users enjoyed. Without looking at the branding on the front of the camera, the new front dial is just about the only way to tell the two cameras apart.

Updates that were due, like the addition of HD video, aren't evident from the outside. Hang tight, though, we'll have a review fiinished before you can say "Auf wiedersehen."

Fujifilm FinePix X100: An advanced compact looking backward
Fujifilm announced today the development of the FinePix X100, an advanced compat point-and-shoot featuring an APS-C sensor. The 12.3 megapixel CMOS imager is paired with a fixed 23mm f/2 prime lens and is equipped with an unusual "hybrid" viewfinder for image composition. It can be used in electronic mode for a live exposure preview, or as an optical viewfinder with shooting data displayed.

It will strike a distincly retro profile with magnesium-alloy surfaces with leather accents. The X100 will focus as close as 10 cm for macro use and will feature a built-in neutral density filter. DCR will be in attendance at Fuji's press conference tomorrow morning, so expect some updates on this announcement from the show.

Ready for the show
With unofficial day one out of the way, stay tuned for more announcements and updates once Photokina 2010 finally kicks off. We'll be covering press conferences from Fujifilm, Panasonic and Sony with lots of show floor action in between. And don't forget to follow DCR on twitter for your travel-size Photokina updates.