Samsung's press event kicked things off here in Cologne, and Photokina 2010 just wouldn't be Photokina 2010 without oodles of talk about mirrorless cameras. After talking up its NX100 for the better part of an hour, the company took a moment to answer a few questions from the crowd. The biggest news, however, was the unveiling of the price point. Up until now, Sammy has remained mum on how much its latest and greatest compact would run, but we were told the 20-50mm bundle would ship at some point in the near future for $599 (we've confirmed that it'll ship in October), while the 20mm pancake lens bundle would go for $649.

In related news, last year's NX10 will be gaining a huge level of functionality thanks to an October-bound firmware update, which will add full support for the company's range of i-Function lenses. You heard right -- the NX10 you splurged on last year will soon be able to play the same tap-and-scroll settings game as the NX100. Speaking of lenses, Samsung also confirmed that it would be willing to "provide technical information" to other companies in order for third-party i-Function lenses to be created. We didn't get the impression that any other outfit had come forward with interest, but we couldn't be happier to hear that there's no walled garden surrounding the technology -- particularly with how impressive it was during our initial NX100 hands-on.

Lastly, the company admitted that it's hoping to have a 1080p model ready at some point in 2011, and it's also hard at work on an APS-C sensor that's better geared for low-light situations. Music to our ears, to say the least.