2015年7月3日

Current price of RX100 series…

Hi, this is Mori.

The official announcement of SONY A7RⅡfor Japanese market was relatively quick after it was introduced in the USA. A7RII and RX10Ⅱ will be available on the 7th of August. RX100Ⅳ will be on the 31st of July.

α7R II

RX100 IV

RX10 II

I wonder how far the price of old models goes down by this announcement. Yes, I’m a representative of the common people.

I lost no time of checking the prices. At the present moment (18:20, 2015.6.29 Japan time), RX100M3 is 69,897JPY. Ummm…it is still not a friendly price on my wallet. OK, how about RX100M2. It’s 56,995JPY. More than 10,000JPY cheaper! Pretty close! Give me the final price! Then RX100 is… 34,344JPY!

Like !

I kept hitting my personal “Like” button at heart.

I noticed that the 1st RX100 marked a little more than 60,000JPY in the beginning. The latest model is likely to be about 120,000JPY, so double the price. Now I can see why RX100 stays in 1st place on a comparison shopping site. The runner-up was RX100M3 then.

I also checked the price trends of RX100. What happened on 5th of June???

The person who bought it on that day must be a shopping genius.

2015年6月26日

“Puffy and rapid” camera case : 2

ULYSSES our products 0 Comments

Hi it’s Sato.

I’ve been working on a soft camera case. We already have【Cuscino】leather camera case on sale, but this new project is to make a soft case in a bigger size. So to speak a brother of 【Cuscino】.

Of course, we are ULYSSES, it’s not a simple size up. Square box shaped case doesn’t fit our design taste even if it is a sort of standard for the bigger camera cases. Not too loose, not too tight, I’m making samples to find what sizes work the best for the soft case. The current sample can hold Panasonic LX100.

The face of the case is pretty much changed.

It looked like a chow chow dog 1st…

I added some tricks to sharpen its cheeks,

then more refined now!

The design part is nearly done, but I still need to work on in and out. I gonna make more samples to reach “ the best” !!

2015年6月25日

Body Suit for GRⅡ…?

ULYSSES cameras and sorts 0 Comments

Hi, this is Mori.

I was about to miss the announcement of new GR since my attention was caught by Sony’s new camera releases. Basically the new one still retains its GR look, so seems to be a renewal with minor improvements.

This time the camera is equipped with NFC and wi-fi functions, which it makes easier to upload photos to SNS site. We prone to judge the value of the latest cameras by how easy to post photos from them to SNS. I reckon the influence on sales by that function cannot be ignored any more as camera manufacturer.

On that point, since the RX100 III featured a 180 degrees slefie-friendly tilting LCD display, every camera leading brands put it on as well. It would be no wonder if Ricoh also adds this sort of stuff to keep up with the current trends but probably their intention to retain “GR” models makes them drew a line. Or just a problem of cost (^_^;)

Well, this GR Ⅱhas a flat bump on the upper part of the body for wi-fi. It makes unable to put our【Body Suit for GR】on…

Ok, we will make a new body suit from scratch! Oh, I am not given the authority to do that, but I’m sure that our boss will make a move soon. It’s a hunch I have.

My hunch isn’t 100% correct though ／(^o^)＼

2015年6月21日

Happy to announce the release of the SONYα7ⅡBody Suit!!!

ULYSSES our products 0 Comments

Hello, this is ENZZO.

Sorry for keeping you waiting for so long!!! But finally we have rolled out the Open Typeα7Ⅱ Body Suit!!!

It’s been a while since we have started to develop the body suit and it has been a hard time giving birth to this one, too, as always.

201506211

There are two types for theα7ⅡBody Suit; the “full covered” type and the “open type”. The appearance from the front is exactly the same.

However, the back of the open type body suit is widely open; almost nothing, which does not intrude in any way on the tilting LCD screen as well as other function buttons. You can also change batteries and SD card with the suit on.

Since the USB port, on the left side from the back, is not covered by the suit, micro USB power supply and transferring data is also possible. (I’m just wondering from when we cannot get the battery charger when we purchase camera. I personally find it inconvenient and reluctantly buy the optional charger. )

On the other hand, the “full covered type” α7II body suit fully covers the back of the camera to its maximum. The camera’s protection is paramount; therefore tilting LCD screen is not option. Its priority is to protect the camera from damage from all dimensions.

Now we have presented the two types of the suit; full covered type; protecting the camera is its up most priority and the open type; camera’s function is the best. Either suit has its advantage. So please visit our shopping site and decide after examining what you look for.

Shopping site for overseas customer will be ready in a few days. So please wait a little bit.

http://www.ulysses-photo.com/phone/

2015年6月16日

Knowing about release of A7R Ⅱ

ULYSSES a7II/a7RII/a7SII, uncategorized 0 Comments

Sony has announced the release date of A7RⅡ.

Although I thought it would be simply with no low-pass filter since the camera has “R” in its name, it has;

* The world’s first back-illuminated full-frame Exmor R CMOS sensor
* High resolution, 42.4 MP approx. effective megapixels
* ISO range of 100 to 25600 that is expandable to ISO 50 to 102400
* 399 focal plane phase-detection AF points, high speed AF response up to 40% faster than the original a7R
* Shooting and recording 4K video in multiple formats
* New highly durable reduced-vibration shutter, 50% less vibration from shutter movements compared to its predecessor
* Innovative 5-axis image stabilization system equivalent to shooting at a shutter speed approximately 4.5 steps faster

What’s this specification??
Has it been possible to use back-illuminated sensor in full-frame size already?
The resolution isn’t too high?

I don’t have much technical knowledge, but anyway I wanna touch A7RⅡsoon! Lately the number of digits for ISO is getting too long for me to count. I will be happier if there is a comma for separating thousand;)　In any case, I can feel Sony is focusing all their efforts on this camera. I reckon they put all they have to aim at increasing their share in Mirrorless market. How wonderful is that!
We need make a body suit for A7RⅡ!! But no, we already have one for A7Ⅱ. These 2 cameras should be the same in sizes, if so the new camera can wear the same body suit almost certainly!

The open type body suit for A7Ⅱ（and A7R Ⅱ）is currently in production. We are planning to sell them next month, so wait a bit please!!

2015年6月11日

A brand-new item is almost ready for release!

ULYSSES our products 0 Comments

It’s a wrist strap.

We haven’t given it a name yet, but well fitted to wrist and size adjustable, very handy strap for sure! If I compare to the other ULYSSES products, SPUTNIK should be the closest friend.

It’s before our quality test, but we have high hope that it will do well in the position between ARCIERE and SPUTNIK and match the camera sizes in the gap.

In fact, we gave a glimpse of the new strap in the past blog posts.

Once as Hattifatteners…

and again as a mushrooms…

Our craftsmen are currently in the process of production and the final sample is at their hand. I show some exclusive images of the new strap samples and write a bit of behind- the scenes information on making process before we can reveal product photo officially.

Some for starts. They are the samples before we fixed the basic shape of the strap.

Further samples with the leathers we chose for the final piece.

Looking them now again, I can see how we changed the details. From hand stitch to metal fitting, assembly changes and arrangement of stitch design… It was a process of trial and error. At the very end, we had to make a new leather cutter which was for a tiny amendment, probably not noticeable from a distance.

About leather of this strap, we decided to use a new leather instead of PUEBRO leather which we use often for our products. This new leather is very unique with irregularly dyed pattern. It helps to give a rich expression to the strap.

The strap is due to be released next month,　so please wait till then:)

(by Sato)

2015年6月11日

The X-T10 and a Mysterious Lens!!!

ULYSSES cameras and sorts 0 Comments

Hello. This is ENZZO.

Fujifilm has announced that the company will roll out X-T10 which is the compact version of the X-T1, and it’s coming really soon.

The announcement has stirred up a controversy in the internet.

“Small is good.”

“I’m happy with a lighter camera.”

“It looks like an older camera than X-T1.”

“It looks cheap a little.”

There are pros and cons. The truth is?

201506102

The form surely reminds me of an old masterpiece like “FUJICA ST810”. Fortunately, there is one Fuji film photo salon near Ulysses’s office, so I decided to take a look at it firsthand.

To come right to the point, it’s a lot better than I thought!

The impression, I had and worried, that it looks like a toy from the picture on the net, was actually wrong. (So sorry!) When I hold the camera, the body rigidity is high, and I could feel through my fingers that it contains a lot in the body.

Attaching the same lens, I compared the X-T1 to the X-T10, which was also displayed there: I felt there was a bigger difference in size and lightness than it looks. X-T10 is a good match with pancake lens like 18mmF2 or 28mmF2.8. I believe it is quite good as a mirrorless APS-C camera to carry around with and take a high quality snapshot casually.

201506104

As I wanted to know a little more about its specification, I got a brochure and where I found one lens that I’m not familiar with in the line-up of the lens at the end of the brochure after flicking through the pages.

I took a close look and knew its specification seems to be 35mmF2. The tapered lens clearly stands out in the line-up but it says the lens is not currently on sale.

What’s going on?

Later, I made an inquiry at Fujifilm and found out that it is the new style lens “XF35mm F2 R” which the company has also announced its development. The launching date hasn’t been decided but it will be released during this year. With a functional specification, I expect the lens will be useful in combination with 18mmF2.

I’m looking forward to its release as well as X-T1.

2015年6月5日

Body suit for SONY a7Ⅱ (Open Type) will be ready soon!

ULYSSES our products 0 Comments

Hi, I’m Sato, designing member.

Some might have worried that ULYSSES gave up making a open type body suit for SONY a7Ⅱ, but finally we are starting to sell it this month! Sorry we kept you waiting so long.

As we planned at the beginning, the body suit fulfills all the ambitious conditions.

While 【Body suit for SONY a7Ⅱ Open Type】 is put on your a7Ⅱ, you can:

charge the camera ✔

move the LCD monitor ✔

use NFC picture transfer ✔

change SD cards ✔

change batteries ✔

We hope you like it:)

We’ve just finished pre-production review, so wait a bit please!

2015年6月4日

Simple rain cover

ULYSSES misc 0 Comments

Hi, this is Mori.

The rainy season started here in Fukuoka, or maybe not yet? I guess the start of the rainy season will be announced for the Kanto region in this week.

When I recall my elementary school days, I enjoyed splash along in the water with rain boots which had a lot of water inside and didn’t care to get soaking wet. Now we get a sharp look from others even by a brief contact of wet umbrella on a train.
Cheers for modern world…

This is perfect for such a rainy day.

Oh, I must begin, this is not a ULYSSES product ＼(^o^)／

ETSUMI rain cover S

At first glance, “OK, it’s just a plastic bag”… I personally think it is enough for purpose, rather good because of it. It keeps shower away from camera and can be handy at festival where your camera might be exposed to water. You will never know when you need that item, then you would regret if you don’t have it in the time of need. It is not a bad price, 1,000yen for 2, to put in your bag to reduce potential for future damage.

There are other rain covers for professional use which costs more than 10,000yen. I think they are great but I haven’t got a top end camera and no need of protection against heavy wind and rain.

I can’t spend much money only for insurance, yet don’t know when the time in need would come. From my personal point of view, this rain cover stands in the right position of category, so it’s lovely.

I introduced this product without permission from my boss. Well, it’s already done. I gonna go home earlier today. ε=ε=ヽ( ﾟДﾟ)ﾉ

2015年5月27日

Looking back ULYSSES products…

ULYSSES our products 2 Comments

minimo1

Our ring strap 【minimo】 has 3 different wooden types: rosewood, sawo, hard maple with a various colour of strings: dark brown, moss green, red, wild berry for standard colours, valencia etc. for special colours. To recall the past, minimo was even more colourful before.

http://www.ulysses-photo.com/phone/product/20

minimo2

About 2 years ago, we tried some limited colours. Wild berry, cherry pink, baby pink, valencia, sky blue… Wild berry and valencia currently still exist as special colours, but the other colours are also appeared fresh since I look them after an interval.
We try to choose well matched colours from many choices for the strings of minimo, but usually they are less than we expect. Often it is rather struggling, like “a bit calmer tone would be better though…” We want you to use minimo for long time with your favorite cameras, so the string has to be durable. If we consider that condition, the choices of colours are more limited.

We also had minimo made of oak wood. I personally quite liked it but this item is now discontinued.

Other example, Sputnik used to have more variation in colours too. Although the stitch colours match with the body colours basically in the current design, I liked the accent of white stitches a lot.
The colour combination called “half black” also had a quite a bit of popularity and I was asked about it even after we discontinued. It came in a combination of black body and red loop. We sell “cool black” at the moment which has black body with red thread.

http://www.ulysses-photo.com/phone/product/13

A little before that, it was about the time I became a member of ULYSSES team, I wanted a small camera case, 【Lino】. The texture of linen and leather fitted my taste and I still feel the same when I look back.

We will produce various items with new colours and more attractive materials!

What kind of things do you like?

(by Mori)