CameraSpot is selling two Olympus 14-150mm lenses for $509 instead of $599 on Amazon (Click here).
There is also a $10 price drop on the white Olympus XZ-1 on Amazon (Click here).
You can get the LX3 (not the LX5!) for $359 on Amazon (Click here).
Note: The [shoplink 16254]Panasonic GH2[/shoplink] and the [shoplink 14796]20mm pancake[/shoplink] are still out of Stock and I guess it will be in that status for a long time.
Low light comparison between the FS100, F3, [shoplink 16841]Panasonic AF101[/shoplink] and Canon 5DmkII
The website 3Dkraft created 3D pictures using two Panasonic GH2 cameras and the 14-42mm kit lens. Take a look at the results on 3Dkraft (Click here).
For our polish readers. There is a new PEN blog you might want to bookmark: http://www.penowiec.com/
Definitive Answer on the affect of NR on RAW for the GH2 (Dpreview forum).
Olympus XZ-1 per se and compared to Samsung EX1 (Seriouscompacts).
The new Capture One 6.2 adds support for the Panasonic GH2 and GF2.
Videos readers sent to me:
Dulche con leche (GH13+Nokton video) on vimeo.
Panasonic GH2 Slow Motion video on vimeo.
A mirrorless zoom lens size comparison made by Serious compacts.
As you already know Panasonic will not announce new lenses along the Panasonic G3 (press release on May 11). The 25mm f/1.4 m43 lens and other lenses will probably come in late summer only. We have been also told that Panasonic will follow Olympus route and realize new compact (collapsible?) zooms. Our sources are pretty sure they will release them within 2011. We have no specs yet. It may be not an amazing news but it was about time that Panasonic reduces the size of their zooms. I guess this should be one of the advantage of the m43 system over the NEX and NX systems….to have smaller lenses!
If you know something more drop us an anonymous message using the contact form on the right sidebar. Thanks!
Olympus is currently offering two collapsible lenses:
The 14-42mm kit lens (direct links to [shopcountry 14816]).
The 9-18mm wide angle zoom (direct links to [shopcountry 14818]).
Reminder -> 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
Image source: review by Peter Lueck
According to Cameraquest (Click here) the next stock of [shoplink 15659 ebay]Voigtländer Nokton 25mm f/0.95[/shoplink] lenses will arrive in late June only: “orders to the factory far exceeded the first production run“.
Form what we have seen during the last months Japan and Germany are the two countries that usually receive most of the produced lenses. Here you have more chance to find them in Stock. Right now you can find 13 lenses in Stock in german ebay stores. There are also a few lenses sold by asian resellers but the price is really to high. Here is the list:
– The german store SHphoto has 8 lenses in Stock on [shoplink 21768 ebay]eBay (Click here)[/shoplink]. Price 899 Euro and worldwide shipment.
– The german store Fotomundus (I bought my Nokton lens from them and I highly recommend to buy from that store) has one lens for sale on [shoplink 21769 ebay]eBay (Click here)[/shoplink] for 897 Euro (Europe shipment) and three more lenses are in auction on [shoplink 21770 ebay]eBay (Click here)[/shoplink] for 932 Euro. Shipment worlwide.
– The german store Photoalps is selling one lens on [shoplink 21771 ebay]eBay (Click here)[/shoplink] for 899 Euro. Shipment worlwide.
If you want to know more about the lens here are a few useful links:
– A video about the handmade Nokton on 43rumors (Click here).
– A full review by Photozone (Click here).
– 43rumors readers reviews and ratings (Click here).
– Review at Lenstip (Click here).
– A review by DSLRmagazine (Click here to read the google english translation)
– A japanese test on DC.watch.impress.
– A korean review by SLRclub (Click here)
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Image courtesy: Photozone
How good is that tiny [shoplink 16258]Panasonic 14mm f/2.5[/shoplink] pancake lens? Combined witht the Panasonic GF2 it makes the smallest digital mirrorless package of the world (The NEX camera itself is smaller but the 24mm Sony lens is huge compared to the Panasonic lens).
Photozone tested the Panasonic pancake and the conclusion is: “Such tiny and light-weight pancake lenses like the Panasonic Lumix G 14mm f/2.5 ASPH turn micro-four-thirds cameras into almost pocketable combo. This is surely the primary appeal of the lens because performance-wise it does not stand out. The resolution capabilities are only decent but not stellar for a fixed focal wide angle lens. The center quality is very fine whereas the border and extreme corners are generally on a good level except at f/2.5 where the corners are somewhat soft. The amount of vignetting is a bit on the high side at f/2.5 and you need to stop down a few stops to resolve the issue. Distortions and Lateral CAs are very well controlled and not relevant in the field – that’s at least true for the auto-corrected image files. The build quality of the lens is excellent despite the low weight of merely 55g. The focus-by-wire approach (manual focusing) may be odd at first but you should be able to used to it in no time. The AF performance is very good and AF accuracy is nothing to worry about either. ”
Read the full review at Photozone (Click here)
Click on those links to see the lens at [shopcountry 16258].
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“Someone” just sent me a link to what appears to be a new Panasonic GH2 firmware. I didn’t try it on my camera because I don’t want to break it.Meanwhile ePhotozine (Click here) posted a new Panasonic GH2 review: “Someone looking for a more compact Digital SLR should look very seriously at the Panasonic Lumix GH2, as the size is great. The camera makes photography a lot of fun, and the system is arguably one of the best mirrorless cameras available with excellent usability. On top of this, image quality is very good, and the camera has the best HD video quality of any current camera. What more could you want? Highly Recommended!”
Sadly the Panasonic GH2 is again out of Stock in US stores: Amazon, Adorama, B&H and J&R.
Maybe should took a look on the GH1 deals instead:
1) Panasonic GH1 with 14mm lens for $699 at Amazon (Click here). The lens alone costs $364. and if you would buy it separately with the GH1 it would cost you a total of $764. With that deal you save $64!
2) Panasonic GH1 with 20mm lens for $699 at Amazon (Click here). The lens alone costs $399. You save $99!
3) Panasonic GH1 with 45-200mm lens for $649 at Amazon (Click here). The lens alone costs $349. You save $100!
4) Panasonic GH1 with 14-45mm lens for $649 at Amazon (Click here). The lens alone costs $359. You save $90!
5) Panasonic GH1 with 14-42mm lens for $499 at Amazon (Click here). The lens alone costs $199. You save $100!
6) Panasonic GH1 body only costs $399 at Amazon (Click here).
Panasonic announced that they will reduce nine percent of the global workforce due to restructuring efforts. 35,000 people will loose their job. Engadget said: “The cuts will come over two years. The news comes as Panasonic reported a ¥40.7 billion ($499 million) loss for quarter, largely on account of a ¥61 billion ($748 million) restructuring cost. Panny says that its bottom line was also affected by a strong Yen, stiff competition in television sales, and the recent earthquake and tsunami.”
That’s a terrible news for all the workers and maybe for Panasonic too. If you have to cut 9% of your employees means that something isn’t working very well inside your company. A wonder what kind of influence this will have on the Digital Imaging division and the future Micro Four Thirds products strategy.
UPDATE: Photoscala published the financial results from Panasonic. The bad news is that Panasonic had a 10% turnover drop on digital camera sales. The last quarter had the worst result since two years. See the image below (Image courtesy: Photoscala)
Doesn’t look good at all.
