Olympus 12mm lens coming in US on July 21. E-P3 already shipping in Asia! Flash in Stock!


Jurek Ugarow tested the new [shoplink 23576]Olympus 12mm f/2.0[/shoplink] lens with the GH2 (some parts of the video on top are taken with that lens).

As you know I am on vacation but you people keep sending me tons of links to news and reviews ;)
Mad a roundup of the latest interesting news!

I have been told that the Olympus 12mm f/2.0 should be in Stock in US and European stores by July 21st. Quantities should be very limited. Preorders available here at [shopcountry 23576].
The Olympus E-P3 is already shipping in Asia! You can see the first unboxing pictures at mobile01 (Click here). The japanese E-P3 manual is available at Olympus Japan (Thanks Ogawa). A bit of E-P3 cameraporn is available at DC.watch :)
Robin Wong posted a new review article of the E-P3.
ThePhoBlographer tested the Olympus EP3 with Panasonic Lenses.

The new Olympus FL-300R Compact Flash is in Stock at Amazon (Click here).

 

Preorder links:
Olympus E-P3 preorders at Amazon US, Adorama, BHphoto, Amazon UK and Amazon DE.
Olympus 12mm f/2.0 preorders at Amazon US, Adorama, B&H, Amazon DE and [shoplink 23576 ebay]eBay[/shoplink].
Olympus 45mm f/1.8 preorders at Amazon US, Adorama, B&H and Amazon DE.

DxOmark tested the E-P3 sensor: Pretty much the same old sensor.


Image courtesy: Clubsnap.

Is DxOmark destroying the “legend” that Olympus used a new 12 Megapixel sensor? DxOmark (Click here) published their Olympus E-P3 sensor review: “We have tested the PEN EP3, the latest 4/3 camera by Olympus and the first results are now available. The Olympus PEN EP3 apart from changes on the exterior, it is pretty much the same sensor as the Olympus PEN EPL2 and Olympus E5.”

I would love to meet an Olympis enegeneer to ask him once and for all what they did and what they did NOT on the “new” sensor.

—

Preorder links:
Olympus E-P3 preorders at Amazon US, Adorama, BHphoto, Amazon UK and Amazon DE.
Olympus 12mm f/2.0 preorders at Amazon US, Adorama, B&H, Amazon DE and [shoplink 23576 ebay]eBay[/shoplink].
Olympus 45mm f/1.8 preorders at Amazon US, Adorama, B&H and Amazon DE.

New wave of Micro Four Thirds lens tests!

[shoplink 14800][/shoplink] Image courtesy: Photozone

Photozone (Click here) posted a full review of the Olympus 14-150mm lens: “The Olympus M.Zuiko Digital ED 14-150mm f/4-5.6 is an acceptable “high-power 10.7x zoom” but don’t expect magic from it. The delivered center resolution is actually pretty decent across the range whereas the border and corner performance is not that impressive“. Get the lens here at [shopcountry 14800]

SLRgear tested the Panasonic 14-42mm kit lens: “good sharpness wide open, and excellent stopped down a little. Given that it’s the kit lens to a G3 package, you’ll probably find yourself with one of these lenses just by buying into the system, and then it’ll become a question of whether to stay with the kit lens, or buy something else. While you’re deciding, you should be able to make excellent photographs.” Get the lens here at [shopcountry 23962] (Those are all direct search links)

ePhotozine tested the Olympus 40-150mm f/4.0-5.6 Lens:”The levels of sharpness it can deliver throughout the zoom range are excellent, especially in the centre of the image area. This coupled with the low levels of CA and distortion make it an excellent choice for anyone looking to expand the zoom range of their Micro Four Thirds camera into telephoto.” Direct search links at [shopcountry 15864].

ePhotozine also tested the new Olympus PEN Converter Lenses: “All three converters offer a cheaper way of extending the usability of your kit lenses, without adding much bulk to your existing Micro Four Thirds camera kit and they are quite reasonably priced too.”
Olympus Macro Converter links at [shopcountry 21293].
Olympus Fisheye Converter links at [shopcountry 21289].
Olympus Wide Angle Converter links at [shopcountry 21292].

FourThirdsUser posted someShooting wide with the m.Zuiko 12mm f/2.0. Preorder at [shopcountry 23576].

There is a new set of 45mm f/1.8 image samples at Callotype.com. Preorder at [shopcountry 23577].

Next E-P3 and 45mm f/1.8 tests roundup (E-P3 almost on par with the Canon 7D)

The PhoBlographer (Click here) compared the high ISO results of the new [shoplink 23568]Olympus E-P3[/shoplink] with the [shoplink 23176]Canon 7D[/shoplink] and [shoplink 23568]Canon 5D markII[/shoplink]: “Based on the image samples, the Canon 5D Mk II is still way ahead of the other two cameras. However, the EP3 is almost on par with the Canon 7D’s high ISO output results. Overall, the new Olympus EP3 has been able to vastly improve the high ISO output and may finally creep up within the next iteration of the camera (or maybe even in RAW).”

Focus Numerique (Click here) made an LCD spectrophotometer and continous autofocus test. The LCD contrast is excellent and makes it comfortable viewing in bright sunlight. The autofocus speed is extremly fast in bright light but has a poor performance in low light conditions.

Pekkapotka (Click here) posted a new continous autofocus test: “While E-P3´s single AF might be at same level as D3x´s single AF, continuous AF is not.”

Simon from Clubsnap had the chance to test the new Olympus 45mm f/1.8 portrait lens. He posted a set of images including 100% crops.

Preorder links (Amazon DE is now accepting preorders on lenses too!):
Olympus E-P3 preorders at Amazon US, Adorama, BHphoto, Amazon UK and Amazon DE.
Olympus 12mm f/2.0 preorders at Amazon US, Adorama, B&H, Amazon DE and [shoplink 23576 ebay]eBay[/shoplink].
Olympus 45mm f/1.8 preorders at Amazon US, Adorama, B&H and Amazon DE.

Full Panasonic G3 review at DPreview!!!

[shoplink 22077][/shoplink] Click here to read it: http://www.dpreview.com/reviews/panasonicdmcg3/. The camera earns a rating of 75% and gets the SIlver Award: “The G3 is a camera that is easy to use and produces excellent image quality – a step up from previous G-series models. Its overall handling and touchscreen interface have distinct appeal for users moving up from a point-and-shoot. Yet it offers the manual controls and custom parameters that enthusiasts in the market for a smaller, lighter body would expect.”

The camera is now avaialable in Europe (and slowly in US too). Click on the shop names to see if it is in Stock: [shopcountry 22077].

One more private thing: Sorry If I posted that news 10 hours to late but I am on vacation on an isolated place. And yesterday the whole phone network didn’t work in that place. So connection is coming and going and it will be like that until July 26th. Hope you can have a bit of patience If I am not so fast in answering your mails or posting news.

First Full Olympus 12mm f/2.0 lens review!

[shoplink 23576][/shoplink]Our Spanish long time friend Valentin Sama has been the first to post a full [shoplink 23576]Olympus 12mm f/2.0[/shoplink] review! You can read it at DSLRmagazine (Click here). In short we can say the lens has an awesome mechanical and optical build quality! And we all really appreciate that we can have some nice pro lens in our m43 lens system! The distortion is low and very harmonic (will make it very easy to correct). The diffraction is very high at f/22 making that aperture pretty unusable. There is a bit of astigmatism on the corners but nothing to be worry about. Color aberrations and Vignetting are almost non existent. The autofocusing with the lens is incredibly fast and manual focusing very precise. According to Valentin this is the best lens tested to date!

Thanks Valentin for being the first to test the lens and thanks Olympus for finding the way back to your strenghts (at least with the lenses!).

UPDATE: “Uwe” sent me this: Diffraction has nothing to do with the lens itself. It is only defined by f-stop and pixel size. Making a not about f/22 for a m43 lens does not relly make sense. I think m43 with 16MP sensor is easily diffraction limited at f/8.

Clcik those links to preorder the Olympus 12mm f/2.0 lens at Amazon US, Adorama, B&H and [shoplink 23576 ebay]eBay[/shoplink]

ePhotozine says: Why buy a DSLR when you can have the G3? :)

[shoplink 22077][/shoplink] ePhotozine (Click here) posted a new [shoplink 22077]Panasonic G3[/shoplink] review. And I love that part of their conclusion text: “With such impressive image quality and high speed focusing, the reasons for buying a true Digital SLR seem to be becoming less and less important, and the added bonus of a much more compact system is making the Micro Four Thirds systems much more appealing, especially with the number of high quality lenses available increasing.” And of course the camera gets “Highly Recommended” by the reviewer team.

If you want that camera click those direct search links to find the G3: [shopcountry 22077].

**This post contains affiliate links and I will be compensated if you make a purchase after clicking through my links.

As an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases