What the hell. Noktor is back! And allied with SLRmagic??? (+ Noktor on eBay)

Suprise! Last week Noktor announced that they went out of business. But today they sent a new twitter message. Also their website is back online. My speculation is that SLRmagic will take over the Noktor business. And one more news. You can now find one Noktor lens (Number 0026) on [shoplink 22105 ebay]eBay (Click here)[/shoplink].

Who is SLRmagic? A chinese company (Hong Kong) that currently offers manual, cheap and not high quality lenses. They have the (only) advantage that you can use them without the use of any adapter:
35mm f/1.7 [shoplink 20923 ebay](Click here to see that lens on eBay)[/shoplink].
26mm f/1.4 [shoplink 20919 ebay](Click here to see that lens on eBay)[/shoplink].

Panasonic Interview (Highlights)

[shoplink 16340 ebay]

[/shoplink]Image on top: The current [shoplink 16340 ebay]Four Thirds Panasonic Leica branded 25mm f/1.4[/shoplink]

We had so many news yesterday! Today we have more time to take a closer look to the Panasonic interview and the future new Leica 25mm lens. Photographyblog (Click here) had a long talk with UK Product Manager for Lumix G John Mitchell (JM), plus Steve Lucas (SL), Product Specialist. Those are the most interesting news:

– Panasonic believes that mirrorless will cross the 50% share barrier in Japan within 2012.
– In UK people who bought Panasonic m43 cameras RE 50% novice AND 50% enthusiast or pro.
– Panasonic believes the G3 sensor closes the gaps witht the Sony NEX sensor (Really?).
– Between the G2 and G3 sensor at ISO3200 and ISO6400 and we have a 6 decibel and 9 decibel improvement
– The G2 production will continue throughout the coming year and we’ll just drop it down as our entry-level product
– Panasonic says the G3 uses an aluminium body (Didn’t know that!)
– The GF1 and GF2 are still being produced in Fukushima. But in fact production has now ceased on the GF1.
– And now the very interesting part: “Yes, here’s the first working sample of the 25mm f/1.4; really eagerly anticipated and not planned for launch until the second half of this year. It will be Leica approved and branded. For those looking for more affordable alternatives of course Sigma has recently announced that it’s going to start making Micro Four Thirds lenses. We’ve got a large following of consumers who are going to be looking for that affordability, and also the enthusiasts who want everything to be the highest quality. The factory is committed to three to four lenses every year so this won’t be the only product we’ll be showing you this year”

As I already told you there will be one more Panasonic product announcement in June. I am not sure yet but I assume that we are going to see that lens very soon!

Links:
The current Panasonic 25mm f/1.4 Four Thirds lens on [shoplink 16340 ebay]eBay (Click here)[/shoplink] Panasonic G3 at preorders at Amazon US (Click here) and Amazon UK (Click here).

(FT5) Panasonic confirms the Leica branded 25mm f/1.4

Photographyblog posted a very long and very interesting Interview with Panasonic (Click here). And Panasonic confirmed the 25mm f/1.4 lens is coming, but there is a surprise. It will be Leica branded!!! So we will finally have an exact m43 version of the current [shoplink 16340 ebay]Panasonic 25mm f/1.4 Four Thirds lens (Click here to see that on eBay)[/shoplink]!

“Question: And there’s a new lens to go with the G3 isn’t there?

JM: “Yes, here’s the first working sample of the 25mm f/1.4; really eagerly anticipated and not planned for launch until the second half of this year. It will be Leica approved and branded. For those looking for more affordable alternatives of course Sigma has recently announced that it’s going to start making Micro Four Thirds lenses. We’ve got a large following of consumers who are going to be looking for that affordability, and also the enthusiasts who want everything to be the highest quality. The factory is committed to three to four lenses every year so this won’t be the only product we’ll be showing you this year.”

(FT5) Pictures of the G3 on Bhphoto!

Click here:
Panasonic Lumix DMC-G3 14-42mm Lens Kit at Bhphoto (Click here)
Panasonic Lumix DMC-G3 Camera Body at Bhphoto (Click here)

 

Product Highlights

  • 16.3Mp Compact System Camera
  • 3.0″ Free Angle Touch Enabled LCD
  • Micro Four Thirds 14-42mm Zoom Lens
  • Optical Image Stabilization
  • Electronic Eye-Level Viewfinder
  • Multiple Lens Options Including 3D Still
  • Intelligent Auto Plus
Dimensions 3.29 x 4.54 x 1.84″ / 8.3 x 11.5 x 4.6cm
Weight 11.84 oz / 335.6g

Surprise: Panasonic announces a 14 Megapixel sensor!!!

Right before the G3 announcement Panasonic announced a new 14 Megapixel sensor that will be sold in December 2011!!!

PRESS RELEASE:

“Current high-sensitivity MOS image sensors suppress unevenness in brightness. CCDs have low color-mixing characteristics that suppress color unevenness. The rapidly expanding market for digital cameras with higher image quality and a slimmer body has resulted in greater demand for a stable supply of image sensors that offer both high sensitivity and uniform picture quality.

Panasonic has achieved both MOS image sensor’s high sensitivity and uniform picture quality using the new MOS image sensor technologies, enabling digital cameras and camcorders as well as cameras incorporated in smartphones and other mobile terminals to be slimmer with higher sensitivity and improved picture quality.

The new MOS image sensor has the following features:

-The fine process technologies provide a sensitivity of 3050 el/lx/sec/μm2, the industry’s highest as a MOS image sensor.
-The new light-focusing structure significantly expands the incident light angle, ensuring uniform and high picture quality, as well as produces a slimmer camera.
-The simple manufacturing process is based on the current MOS image sensor structure, ensuring a stable supply.

The new MOS image sensor has been created using the following Panasonic technologies:
-The 32 and 45 nm (nanometers) leading-edge semiconductor process technologies lower the wiring layer profile, expand the opening area, and increase the photo diode volume.
-The low color-mixing characteristics are enhanced by light-focusing structure design technologies that use a three-dimensional wave optics design to minimize light leakage at the structural boundaries.
-Image sensor mass-production technologies allow stable production of MOS image sensors with high picture-quality.”

One hour and 20minutes to go!

Good morning dear readers (or Good Night in US and Good Afternoon in Asia). It’s  6:38 am (London time) and I am now here to follow the G3 announcement. I will take 10 minutes of to drink a capuccino and a to eat a cornetto.

The G3 looks like a GF2 with a viewfinder in the middle. It’s actually a pretty nice camera and the price is also very good…in dollars. I hope Panasonic will not cheat us europeans by keeping a 1:1 ratio between dollars and euros :(

The most interesting aspect of the camera is the new sensor. I am very curious to see the first image samples! So stay tuned, at 8:00 am (London time) we will finally see the camera!

 

See you :)

G3 will be in Stock in July (+US deals summary)

The Panasonic G3 should start thw worldwide shipment in July. Let’s see if Panasonic can keep the “promise”. In US the GH2 is still out of Stock. Amazon US (Click here) says that it “Usually ships in 1 to 2 months“!

I am now going to bed but I will check for news every couple of hours. Reminder, the G3 will be announced on 8 am London time. So be sure to be here on 43rumors! Good night!

Here is the summary of the current US deals:
The G2 gets a discount at Adorama (Click here) and so the Olympus E-PL1 at Amazon (Click here), Adorama (Click here), B&H (Click here) and the GH1 at Amazon (Click here) and Adorma (Click here).
The Olympus 14-150mm lens sells for $50o instead of $599 on Amazon (Click here), Adorama (Click here), B&H (Click here).
Olympus 9-18mm lens for $599 at Amazon (Click here), Adorama (Click here), B&H (Click here).

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