The rumor mill is in full swing with Fujifilm’s X-Pro1 being outed on several sites. The successor to the X100, the X-Pro1 has been said to have a 16 MP APS-CMOS censor, hybrid view-finder, magnesium and alloy body and a full suite of accessories. It’s seen being packaged with a 18mm (27mm equivalent) f/2.0 and 35mm (53mm equivalent) f/1.4 lens as well as a larger 60mm lens. No concrete word on pricing just yet but rest assured the details will be out soon enough.
Nikon has finally unveiled the D4, the long-awaited successor to the camera maker’s full-frame D3S DSLR. It features a 16.2 megapixel sensor and an extended ISO to 204,800 at Hi-4 as well as a brand new full-frame FX-format sensor to take things next level. The D4 can also capture 10 fps stills at full resolution with full auto focus and exposure. A new 51-point AF system offers full cross-type focusing that’s compatible with all Nikon lenses, even when paired with a teleconverter. Nikon’s latest beast also features two card slots with support for both UDMA-7 CF and the recently-announced XQD format, which brings write speeds of up to 125 MB/s — enough to capture 105 consecutive RAW images at 10 fps. A release is slated for late February.
Created by SHAKEDOWN host Leo Parente and good friend of PH – J.F. Musial, Drive celebrates the culture of cars. “On the road, to the races, to the factories, to the studios — to the places you can’t go.” A gifted group of individuals, the Drive team looks to shift the direction of auto journalism and show the industry in a totally different light. The first series, “The 24 Hours of Nürburgring Experience”, takes us to what Leo calls the “Coachella of racing, the Burning Man of motorsports”. It’s a celebration for the people and this video covers the annual gathering from an amazing vantage point. Look for even more impressive production from Drive in the months ahead.
Hodinkee gives us a look at A. Lange & Söhne’s Datograph UP/DOWN, ahead of its official 2012 SIHH release. With a completely in-house movement, the latest variation of this timeless beauty continues to amaze, this time featuring a power reserve indication at 6 o’clock. The new Datograph comes in a larger case size, 41mm compared to 39mm, and houses a longer power reserve — 60 hours instead of 38. Look for the A. Lange & Söhne Datograph UP/DOWN to make a big splash at SIHH next month. More details over at Hodinkee.
WIRED has a great read on how Aston Martin builds their One-77 Supercar. The British coachmaker cherns out exceptional vehicles in their Gadyon headquarters with the help of a small army of workers. The process was shifted drastically when they set out to make the One-77, ditching the assembly line approach and instead constructing a small structure and setting up seven workstations within where craftsmen and parts revolve around each vehicle. More on this over on Wired.
We’re still waiting on an official release but shots of the 2013 Mercedes-Benz SL have hit the internets. The German roadster has gotten a pretty heavy makeover as it now takes more inspiration from its smaller sibling, the SLK as well as the SLS AMG supercar. It’s a bit boxier and features a ton of changes on the front end in the form of a new upright grille and re-shaped light clusters. On the inside, we see a great blend of leahters and genuine wood and all the other finer details. We’re hearing the new SL has lost about 300 pounds over its predecessor which should benefit the car’s performance and handling. No word yet on pricing and availability but we’re certain some of this will released by the time it hits the showroom floor at the 2012 Detroit Motor Show.
The Bentley Continental GT and GTC V8 has been unveiled, both which dish out 500 horsepower and 481 lb-ft from a beefed up twin-turbo 4.0-liter engine. That creates a significant gap between this and the 631-hp Continental GT, essentially helping it get to its 40 percent improvement goal with respect to emissions and gas mileage. We’re not sure how much lower the pricetag will be as most of the details have been mute but we’re certain more info will drop when it hits the Detroit Motor Show floor.
BMW has unveiled the 6 Series Gran Coupe to compete with other four-door coupes on the market like the Mercedes-Benz CLS, Porsche Panamera and Audi A7. The Gran Coupe is powered by the German automaker’s N55 3.0-liter turbocharged inline six, which dishes out 315 horsepower and 330 lb-ft of torque. If that’s not enough, the 650i Gran Coupe should do the trick as it will come with rear-wheel drive or xDrive all-wheel drive and a twin-turbocharged 4.4-liter V8 that delivers 445 horsepower and 480 lb-ft. The design is 4.4 inches longer than its two-door counterpart and all the benefit goes to the folks in the back seats. No pricing has been unveiled yet but we’re sure to get additional details early next year when the beauty makes its public debut.
Jawbone has unveiled a special release of their ultra-portable speaker the JAMBOX to support Charity: Water. This limited edition release features a black and yellow colorway with $50 of each JAMBOX sold being donated to Charity: Water to help support their staff and operations — allowing them to continue the important work of bringing clean, safe drinking water to the billion people currently living without it. The Jawbone JAMBOX in Jerry can yellow can be had for $199 through Jawbone.
We’re a day away from the launch of this year’s Pop-Up Flea here in NYC and some pretty major news just came through the wire. Online watch publication Hodinkee is launching their first Pop-Up Store at the event. So what’s up for grabs, you ask? The type of stuff you expect to be reading about on Hodinkee. Ben Clymer & Co. have done an amazing job lining up the offerings. We’re talking vintage watches, old clocks, pocket watches, vintage watch advertisements and posters, and other old-timey watch miscellanea. They’ll even have a bunch of NATO straps in different colors, along with some Horween leather and suede NATOs and straps.
We have just a ton of great stuff, ranging from just $350 up to a few thousand. We will be accepting all major credit cards and we promise you, this will be the best vintage watch buying opportunity in New York city in all of 2011. We’ll have a good range of Rolex (more affordable than you think) Omega (including some seriously awesome Speedmasters), Heuer, Universal Geneve, LeCoultre, Longines, Hamilton, Breitling, etc.
The Pop-Up Flea kicks off tomorrow at 3PM and will run Saturday and Sunday as well. You’ve got three days to get your hands on some really exceptional product. For a more detailed look at some of the offerings, head on over to Hodinkee.
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