Sigma has renamed its flagship digital SLR camera to Sigma SD1 Merrill, in honour of Foveon’s founding father, Richard B. Merrill. The rebranding was initiated by Sigma’s new CEO, Kazuto Yamaki, who wrote “a personal letter to the company’s loyal customers” announcing the name change and a reduction of the camera’s MSRP to $3,300. Given the typically huge difference between Sigma’s suggested retail prices and the actual retail pricing of their products, this means you can realistically expect to be able to purchase the Sigma SD1 Merrill for about $2,300 - which is a massive price drop considering that the camera used to sell for about $6,900.

Pentax is displaying new interchangeable lenses and camera accessories that are currently under development at the Japanese camera show, CP+ 2012. On show will be the smc PENTAX-D FA645 90mm f/2.8 medium-format lens, smc PENTAX-DA 560mm f/5.6 and smc PENTAX-DA 50mm f/1.8 K-mount lenses, telephoto zoom lens and standard lens with “body cap” design for the Pentax Q system, super-thin interchangeable lens for the K-01 compact system camera, and a lens adapter for mounting a K-mount lens onto a Q-mount body. Names and prices of these products will be confirmed at a later date.

Nikon has posted a number of full-resolution sample photos taken with the brand new Nikon D800 and Nikon D800E digital single-lens-reflex cameras. All of the sample images were captured in raw format and converted using Capture NX 2. The downloadable JPEG files range from 17.01 to 33.06 megabytes in size, and are apparently meant to demonstrate the resolution capabilities of the 36-megapixel FX sensor, first and foremost (which also means that there are no real high-ISO samples on display, with ISO 640/29° being the highest sensitivity setting used). You can download the Nikon D800 and Nikon D800E sample images from the websites below.

Want to see exactly what the new Nikon D800 DSLR camera looks like in the flesh?

The D800 has a high-resolution 36.3 megapixel full-frame 35mm sensor that Nikon claim makes it a rival to medium-format cameras, especially the D800E version which removes the anti-aliasing filter to achieve even more detail. Nikon UK predict that 10% of Nikon D800’s sold will be the special E version, which will be available at more specialist retailers.

The D800 still offers similar noise levels to the D700 (which carries on alongside the D800) and outperforms the D7000. ISO 50 is claimed to be better than Kodachrome, said Nikon UK’s James Banfield at yesterday’s launch event, with ISO 100 delivering the best quality of any ISO speed.

With high-speed SD and Compact Flash dual slots, the D800 offers maximum flexibility for a wide user base, although the brand new XQD format has been reserved for the flagship D4 camera.

Check out our extensive hands-on gallery of 34 photos of the new Nikon D800 camera.

The Nikon D800 is a new 36.3 megapixel FX-format professional D-SLR. The D800 delivers unprecedented levels of detail and tonal range, with the sensor providing a 12-channel readout with 14-bit A/D conversion and high signal-to-noise ratio. The Nikon D800 offers an ISO range of 50-25600, EXPEED 3 image-processing engine, Full HD (1080p) movies, external stereo microphone input, 51-point auto-focusing, 4fps continuous shooting in FX-format (6fps in DX-format), 921k-dot LCD monitor, an optical viewfinder with approximately 100% frame coverage and 0.7x magnification, USB 3.0 data transfer and high-speed CF (UDMA 7) and SD (SDXC and UHS-1) dual card slots.

The new Nikon D800E DSLR incorporates an optical filter with the anti-aliasing properties removed in order to produce the sharpest images possible. Aside from the optical filter, all functions and features are the same as on the regular D800.

The Nikon D800 costs £2399.99 / €2829 / $2999.95 and will be available in late March. The D800E costs £2689.99 / €3171 / $3299.95 and will be available in mid-April. The MB-D12 battery grip provides 6 fps continuous shooting speed in DX-format and costs £379.99 / €448.

Nikon Japan has quietly added the Nikon D700 and Nikon D300s to the official list of discontinued cameras. This means that the Japanese manufacturer has ceased the production of these DSLRs, but they are still available from a number of on- and off-line vendors around the world. The cameras are being phased out without any successor in sight (although as you’d expect, rumours abound about a D800 being just around the corner).

Source: Nikon Japan

SF Photo School has announced an “informal and exciting” webinar on the new Nikon D4 digital SLR. Presented by Uzair Kharawala and Mark Higgins from Nikon UK, the webinar allows attendees to discover the cool features of the camera. “Mark will be showcasing the Nikon D4 in detail and would be happy to answer any questions you may have,” Uzair Kharawala says. The webinar will be taking place on 25 January 2012 at 2pm GMT. Interested readers can register at the website below.

Website: Introducing the Nikon D4

A virtual tour of Pentax Ricoh’s CES 2012 stand.

The recently formed Pentax Ricoh haven’t announced any new products at CES, but they are by far the largest company in the PMA@CES zone.

On display were two separate areas showcasing the Pentax and Ricoh product ranges, including the Pentax Q compact system camera and the Ricoh GXR A12 camera module with a Leica lens fitted.

Ricoh have a clever peaking-like system for the A12 which very clearly shows when the subject is in focus (check out the last photo in our gallery to see it in action).

Take a closer look at the Pentax Ricoh CES booth in our photo gallery.

Pentax has issued a firmware update for the Pentax K-5 digital SLR camera. Version 1.12 addresses the rare issue of a band of light green noise appearing in images of starry skies taken with the Astrotracer function enabled and the O-GPS1 accessory mounted. You can download the firmware upgrade from the website below.

Website: Pentax Japan

A virtual tour of Nikon’s CES 2012 stand.

We’ve already covered Nikon’s new camera products for CES - the D4 DSLR and the 85mm f/1.8 lens - so here’s a virtual tour of Nikon’s mid-sized stand to give you an idea of what else Nikon are showing.

Take a closer look at the Nikon CES booth in our photo gallery.

A quick tour of Canon’s CES 2012 stand.

We’ve already covered Canon’s new camera products for CES - the PowerShot G1 X and the IXUS 500 HS and IXUS 125 HS - so here’s a short but sweet tour of Canon’s mid-sized stand to give you an idea of what else Canon are showing.

Take a closer look at the Canon CES booth in our photo gallery.

At last week’s UK press launch of the Nikon D4, a stunning video by Corey Rich was shown as part of the marketing presentation, and it’s now available on Vimeo for everyone to enjoy.

Shot exclusively with the D4, incorporating both stills and video, and featuring a mountain biker, climber and kayaker, the Nikon D4 release video is a mouth-watering showcase of just some of the things that this flagship DSLR is capable of.

Definitely worth a look even if you can’t afford the D4’s eye-watering price-tag - so click through for the full 7min 28sec video.

Want to see exactly what the new Nikon D4 DSLR camera looks like in the flesh?

Then check out our extensive hands-on gallery of photos of Nikon’s new flagship DSLR camera.

Nikon gave a detailed presentation of the impressive new Nikon D4 DSLR camera at yesterday’s UK press event.

Click through for all the slides, which are also available in PDF format.

The Nikon D4 is a new flagship D-SLR for photographers who are looking for the ultimate digital SLR camera. This professional FX-format camera brings new levels of image quality, speed and precision to both still photography and video. The Nikon D4 has a 16.2-megapixel FX-format sensor, EXPEED3 image processing engine, 11 fps burst shooting, ISO 50-204,800 and Full HD (1080p) movies. The new WT-5 Wireless Transmitter (£649) features HTTP and FTP connection modes. The Nikon D4 will cost £4,799.99 / €5,658 and be available from 16th February.

Nikon has posted five full-resolution sample images taken with the new Nikon D4 digital SLR camera. Three of the sample photos were taken at a sensitivity setting of ISO 100, while the other two were captured at ISO 6400, using lenses of varying focal lengths. Do note that while the images are full resolution, they are quite strongly compressed..

Website: Nikon D4 Samples

Update: Nikon has apparently pulled the full-resolution versions of the photos from its website.

Filmed and edited by Hungarian videographer Péter Dancsó, Budapest Timelapse 2012 is one of the most spectacular time-lapse videos we have seen in a long while. The movie, which was shot over several months using a Canon EOS 550D digital SLR camera and an assortment of Samyang, Sigma and Tokina lenses, includes extensive tone-mapped sequences created through multiple exposure blending and other HDR imaging techniques. In his blog post, Péter remarks that he was very much aware of the somewhat un-film-like colour boost this would give to the footage, but says that the effect reminded him of the vivid, highly saturated look of MGM’s 1939 classic, The Wizard of Oz, most of which was filmed in three-strip Technicolor. Compiled from around 50,000 source images, Budapest Timelapse 2012 is 4 minutes and 22 seconds in length, and includes both day and night scenes, panning and zooming effects, and even a reversed sunset sequence. Post-processing was done using Photomatix, Adobe Lightroom, Premiere, After Effects, and Red Giant Looks, the videographer says.

Sigma has issued a firmware upgrade for the Sigma SD1 digital SLR camera. According to the company, version 1.04 incorporates the following functional enhancements, improvements and fixes:

Languages to be displayed in Setup menu are added.
Enables the use of “SIGMA Capture Pro” camera control software.
Playback Menu is improved.
Saturation limit of highlight areas on JPEG images is improved.
Accuracy of evaluative exposure metering is improved.
Accuracy of Auto Focus is improved.
Various bugs have been corrected to achieve more stable operation.

Website: Sigma Firmware Update

Our penultimate award is for the DSLR Camera of the Year 2011. Somewhat overshadowed by the rise of compact system cameras, DSLRs are still the staple product for the big two of Canon and Nikon. But it’s the young upstart Sony that most caught our eye in 2011 with the launch of the A77, the premium product in the company’s innovative range and the deserved winner of our 6th award for 2011.

“The Sony A77 is a big leap forward for Sony’s DSLR range, offering a feature-set, handling and performance that beats its main rivals. The new 24.3 megapixel sensor offers greatly increased resolution without impacting on low-light performance or operational speed, while the OLED viewfinder is simply the best EVF that we’ve ever had the pleasure of using. The inclusion of full 1080p movies, built-in GPS, 12fps burst shooting, dual control dials, top-panel LCD and an excellent 3-way rear screen make the A77 our new favourite prosumer DSLR.”

Read the Full Review

Congratulations to Sony and the A77!

Leica has posted a firmware update for the Leica S2 medium-format DSLR camera. Version 1.0.2 has been developed to ensure optimum functionality of the camera with the new Leica Elmarit-S 30mm f/2.8 ASPH lens. Registered users of the Leica S2 camera can download the firmware upgrade from the Leica Owners’ Area at the website below.

Website: Leica Owners’ Area