Image source: Engadget

In my opinion Panasonic marketing made a huge mistake by announcing the new 42.5mm f/1.2 and 150mm f/2.8 MFT lenses. Don’t get me wrong…the lenses are great! 42.5mm f/1.2 sounds pretty amazing. And both lenses should have in lens stabilization. The “mistake” was to announce that they are very likely going to be shipped in early 2014 only…..yes in one and a half year! The hidden negative message Panasonic gave to the m43 community is: “we don’t have any new lenses for you next year“. I hope I misunderstood this and Panasonic may announce them earlier.
One more thing: With all that buzz you may have missed my post about the three new Schneider lenses (Click here).

Preorders:
Now let’s go back to the new stuff. There is a special GH3 page at Amazon (Click here) and a full Olympus presentation page at Amazon (Click here). And here the detailed links:
GH3 at Amazon (Click here), Adorama (Click here), Bhphoto (Click here).
35-100mm X lens at Amazon (Click here), Bhphoto (Click here).
E-PL5 at Amazon (Click here), Adorama (Click here), Bhphoto (Click here).
E-PM2 at Amazon (Click here), Adorama (Click here), Bhphoto (Click here).
XZ-2 at Amazon (Click here), Adorama (Click here), Bhphoto (Click here).
60mm macro at Amazon (Click here), Adorama (Click here), Bhphoto (Click here).
12mm Black prime lens at Amazon (Click here), Adorama (Click here), Bhphoto (Click here).
15mm cap-lens at Adorama (Click here).

Now even Dpreview is joining the leak party! They just published the full GH3 specs: Dpreview GH3 (cached!). We are living in a complete anarchy :)

Olympus announcement starts at 11:00 and Panasonic at 13:00. As usual stay tuned on 43rumors to get a continually updated list to reviews, preorders and more! And join the 43rumors FB group ;)

UPDATE: Cool countdown at Personal View.

Cnet Asia posted the XZ-2 (Click here) and the E-PL5 presentation (Click here). For the first time we also see the picture of the new 17mmf /1.8 lens!

UPDATE: Also Clubsnap posted the full E-PL5 press release! The XZ-2 Clubsnap press text is also available.

UPDATE_2: 60mm macro presentation at Clubsnap.

.

Here we are. At 11:00 Cologne time the big announcement party will start with Olympus. You know everything about the new PEN cameras and lenses although there is still a surprise left because Olympus will very likely show a new lens roadmap or lens prototypes including the 17mm f/1.8 lens. And after that the Panasonic live event will start at 13:00 Cologne time. The Gh3 and 35-100mm X lenses are coming and also in that case I expect Panasonic to give us a glimpse about the future lens roadmap. And I do’t think that’s all. Zeiss, Schneider, Sigma and other manufactures may show some new m43 lens (real or prototype) soon. As usual by following 43rumors you will get updated life about all news and reviews. Feelf ree to send me everything you find about the new stuff at 43rumors@gmail.com. And join the FB fanpage if you still didn’t do it :)

Sadly I am not going to Photokina this year because I have a lot of work to do in my real working life. But if you are in Cologne feel free to send me your best pictures and findings and I will post them! Thanks!

So….ready for the party?

—

By the way, SLRmagic announced the new 23mm f/1.7 and 35mm f/1.4 lenses. Click to read the full press release:

Olympus and Panasonic announcements:
The Olympus PEN announcement is scheduled for 11:00 Cologne time (10:00 London, 5am NYC). The Panasonic GH3 announcement is scheduled for 13:00 (12:00 London, 7am NYC). As usual I will follow the event live and give you all possible events. So stay tuned on 43rumors!

—

IMPORTANT service note: Not only is the rumor time taking all my time but we also had a wordpress issues as some of you may have noticed (and automatic redirection to a terrible payloan UK website). We removed the issue and please invite your friends on forums to clear the browser cache.

The back from the new Panasonic GH3.

Panasonic announcement:
Personal View (Click here) unveiled that Panasonic will have a press conference at 1pm (13:00)
Cologne time. There will be a online live translation from press conference with photos, video will be uploaded later. On Tuesday Will Crockett and friends (Click here) will host a live conference about the Panasonic conference.

Olympus announcement:
On the Olympus front Pekka Potka (Click here) will meet Terada-san from Olympus tomorrow in Cologne at Photokina and shares his thoughts about current trends in consumer photography. PP is aksing you to send him some questions for Mr Terada.

PEN screen rumor:
And I got another small rumors about the new PEN LCD screen: While at first glance readers may be disappointed with the new 460k resolution they have to know that these are using a new technology that makes them appear very clear and on par or even better than the 640k OLED screen of the E-P3 “The new 460k screens on the new pens have been redesigned so that while the resolutions are lower, they appear to be very clear and they’re on par or even a bit more effective in bright sunlight than the OLED found in the E-P3. In short…wait and see!

And here are more Samy links:
Silver E-PL5 (Click here)
White E-PL5 (Click here)
Black E-PL5 (Click here)
FL-LM1 Flash Replacement for E-PM2 Digital Cameras (Click here)
Silver E-PM2 (Click here)
Red E-PM2 (Click here)
Black E-PM2 (Click here)
White E-PM2 (Click here)

Full specs, price images can be see now at Samsy (Click here). You can already preorder the camera! And here are the specs:

The Panasonic DMC-GH3 Lumix Body (Black), is a new and highly evolved model from LUMIX, creator of the world’s first digital single lens mirrorless (DSLM) camera.

The body has been engineered to incorporate a 16.05-megapixel Digital Live MOS Sensor, a 4-CPU Venus Engine, and a newly designed low-pass filter. The creative expression made possible by these innovations, render even the finest textures in intricate detail, breaking new ground in photographic realism. The new model also features Contrast AF with a high level of response. And its magnesium alloy frame is tightly sealed to resist splashes and dust, making the DMC-GH3 rugged enough to withstand the rigors of professional use.

Features:

• 16.05-megapixel Digital Live MOS Sensor
• HDR (High Dynamic Range)
• Double OLED Display
• Splash/Dustproof Design
• Full-HD Progressive
• Smartphone or Tablet Linking

In addition to supporting a wide range of recording formats, the DMC-GH3 features a special heat-dispersing design for extended high-quality recording. Its specifications match those of many professional cameras, ensuring that it meets the demands of video field work. The LUMIX GH3 was designed from the ground up to provide seamless multi-media performance for both stills and videos. It may well be the world’s first camera to please professional photographers by offering them the best of both.

The DMC-GH3 features a 16.05-megapixel Digital Live MOS Sensor with a level of sensitivity that produces flowing gradation from shadows to highlights. High resolution and a wide dynamic range create truly stunning images that look like you could reach out and touch them. High-sensitivity ISO 12800 (extended: ISO 25600) and extensive noise reduction give you remarkable images even in dim lighting.

In the DMC-GH3’s Contrast AF system, the image sensor doubles as the AF sensor to resist any mechanical margin of error. Compared with Phase Difference AF, the focusing is precise even at small F-numbers. A faster sensor and engine also achieve a higher focus detection speed than most traditional DSLR models.

The DMC-GH3 gives you 1920 x 1080 60p [NTSC] / 50p [PAL] Full-HD recording. Progressive scanning records every frame, so the amount of data contained is twice that of interlace scanning, and the images have extremely high definition.

The Wi-Fi(R) function lets you use a smartphone* to make settings and press the shutter button remotely, a short distance from the camera. The auto transfer function is handy for automatically backing up photos onto a tablet. This lets you monitor them on the tablet without having to upload them to a PC. You can also start timer interval video recordings from a smartphone. And you can use GPS data to simultaneously record the shooting location onto your images.