(FT5) New Panasonic Micro Four Thirds camera(s) to be announced in late March-early April.

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This news comes via very reliable sources. Panasonic will release new Micro Four Thirds cameras (or cameras) in the period between late March-early April. I am working on the details yet but rumors from December pointed at a new GF and G camera release.

Still no news from Olympus, but I expect Oly to release the new f/2.8 zoom and the E-P5 in June.

Some surprise? I am still not sure about the GX camera model release and I heard about a new Panasonic MFT top video camera. But it’s all coming from anonymous new sources and I need some time to check that info. Olympus heavy stuff is coming the second half of the year.

In short: Stay tuned. Finally, five months after Photokina we can go back to some exciting rumor time!

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Rumors classification explained (FT= FourThirds):
FT1=1-20% chance the rumor is correct
FT2=21-40% chance the rumor is correct
FT3=41-60% chance the rumor is correct
FT4=61-80% chance the rumor is correct
FT5=81-99% chance the rumor is correct

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Smart: Panasonic ‘Try Before You Buy’ Service in UK!

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Panasonic UK just had the smart idea to launch the new ‘Try Before You Buy” servie! Basically you can get the new Panasonic GH3 and 12-35mm lens for 48 hours (excluding delivery and collection time). You will have to request he camera form one of the stores listed here below. I think that’s a great thing for all those of us that want to try a camera before to actually buy it. Barney Sykes, Lumix G Camera Product & Marketing Manager says “The GH3 is by far the most advanced system camera we have ever launched and we recognise customers may want to road test this product before committing to such as high value purchase, therefore we are  delighted to be able to offer this scheme to our key retail partners to help increase their sales opportunities”

I wish this service to be extended worldwide! :)

Retailers include:

·        Annings, Ilkley, Yorkshire
·        Bradford CE
·        Cambrian
·        Camerabox Kettering
·        Cameraland / Stanbrook Cardiff
·        Camera Solutions
·        Carmarthen Camera Centre, Camarthan
·        Castle Cameras Bournemouth
·        Chas Eagles
·        Chas Norman Cameras Sevenoaks
·        Chris Goodhead
·        Clifton Cameras Dursley
·        Comleys
·        Frank Wilkinsons
·        Harrison Cameras
·        Mathers
·        Mifsuds Brixham
·        Park Cameras
·        Peter Rogers
·        Photo Express
·        Photosound Vantage, Bishops Stortford
·        Richards (Bass & Bligh)
·        S R S Microsystems Ltd Watford
·        T4 Cameras Swindon
·        Williams
·        York Camera Mart
·        Conns Camera, Ireland
·        Bermingham Camera, Ireland

found via Whatdigitalcamera.

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New US deals roundup: GFX $399 at Groupon. GH3 accessory price drop.

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The most sold mirrorless camera of the moment is the G5 kit for $499 at Amazon (ranking here). This is the same price you pay at BHphoto too (Click here) but they also have an additional offer for a dual lens kit for $56t with the 45-20mm lens.

And here are the other USA deals:
GF5 with 14-42mm X lens for $399 at Groupon.
GF3 with 14-42mm X lens for $318 on [shoplink 36781 ebay]eBay US (Click here)[/shoplink].
Black Panasonic GX1 cameras with 14-42mm X lens kit for $499 on [shoplink 36738 ebay]eBay US (Click here)[/shoplink].
Olympus 40-150mm lens is now for sale for $99 only at Amazon and Adorama.
Silver Panasonic 45-150mm f/4.0-5.6 Lens for $199 at BHphoto.
$30 price drop on the Panasonic Wireless Flash at Shop Panasonic.
$30 price drop on the Panasonic GH3 battery grip at Shop Panasonic.

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GH3 gets DxOmarked! Is on par with the E-M5.

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The Panasonic GH3 sensor finally got “DxOmarked”! You can read the full test at dxomark.com. As you can see from the image on top the GH3 is basically on par with the other 16 Megapixel Olympus cameras. No surprise here. The real killer feature of the GH3 is his video quality which DxOmark doesn’t measure. DxOmark writes: “The Panasonic Lumix DMC GH3 is a very good camera, among the best tested by DxO Mark in this format. It is small and light and will make an excellent camera to travel with and fulfils all of the requirements that a serious enthusiast is likely to have. However, it is pricey for a hybrid and it has competition from several directions.”

Meantime the GH3 is still sold out in US and will ship from February 28th only according to BHphoto (Click here). By the way, there is a $30 price drop on the Panasonic GH3 battery grip at Shop Panasonic.

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Olympus denies the DSLR investment reduction news.

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In response to yesterdays article from Sponichi Annex (translation here) today Olympus officially denied that they are going to reduce their DSLR (aka Four Thirds) business (Source: DC.watch). And they underlined that their DSLR plans will remain “unchanged”. And regarding the compact camera business they said that they are now “focusing management resources on higher-priced models”.

Editor’s note: With no new Four Thirds lens released in three years and just one Four Thirds camera (the E-5) there is no need to read a press release to see that their DSLR investments and product strategy has been “reduced”. No matter what Olympus says. Of course, Olympus may could restart to push the Olympus FT system. But I don’t think this is ever going to happen (just my personal opinion).

In summary what to expect in 2013: Rumors are unreliable and unproven stories but they tell us that there will be a new PEN in June, new OMD in September, new MFT zooms and indeed a high end premium compact camera with fixed lens. It is also rumored that there will be a camera with a 100% lens support for Four Thirds lenses. But whether this will be a high OMD with phase detection AF pixels or an E-7 has yet to be seen.

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Panasonic 7-14mm tested by CameraLabs. And issues on the 12-35mm X stabilization system?

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Strange Panasonic 12-35mm Shakiness (w/14-140mm comparison), GH3 on tripod, image stabilization is off, manual mode, shown @200% from John Bklyn.NYC on Vimeo.

CameraLabs (Click here) just posted the full Panasonic 7-14mm lens review. The lens got a “Highly Recommended” mark by Gordon (the reviewer). So far s good but…there is also a not so good news for Panasonic. A DVXuser forum member sent me the link to his post where he explains an issue encountered on the 12-35mm X lens. Apparently the IS remains active even if you set it as “off”. And that’s a real issue for long exposure pics and causes a “shimmer” on the image. There is an example you can see here at http://vimeo.com/59358100 (video is also embedded on top).
The tester came to the conclusion that “this lens is not very suitable for tripod work or still photography with long exposures“.

UDPATE: A very detailed report of the issue is also available at Personal View Forum. There are more videos to watch like this one:

Panasonic 12-35mm Shakiness (Test #2 w/new lens) — unacceptable image jitter on tripod even when IOS is turned off from John Bklyn.NYC on Vimeo.

I hope Panasonic acknowledges it!

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Store price check links for the…
Panasonic 7-14mm lens at [shopcountry 14822] Panasonic 12-35mm lens at [shopcountry 31225]

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