New Olympus XZ-1, E-PL2 and Panasonic GF2 reviews (+ unconventional E-5 review)

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The most unserious [shoplink 17163]Olympus E-5[/shoplink] review that I ever found!

Digitalcamerareview (Click here) posted a new Olympus XZ-1 review: “The Olympus XZ-1 would be a notable entry into the high end compact digital field if only for its fast lens, but throw in a dose of excellent still image quality and the camera commands serious consideration.”
Also the german website Dkamera (Click here) posted the XZ-1 review and got a very good rating 85,94% -> That’s a very german way to calculate and express a rating :)
Olympus XZ-1 direct links at [shopcountry 19904].

RegHardware (Click here) tested the new Olympus E-PL2: “The E-PL2 is a great camera. It’s a huge amount of fun, is highly usable, and I’m a big fan of its retro design. It’s also an enormously capable performer“.
Olympus E-PL2 direct links at [shopcountry 18844].

Panasonic GF2 review at Imaging Resource (Click here): “Performance is also somewhat of a mixed bag. Panasonic promises improved noise reduction across the board, and the GF2 does indeed improve chroma noise in shadows, but this comes at the expense of subtle image detail. The effects of noise reduction can be seen as smudging in images shot at all ISO sensitivities, although you’re not likely to notice this at the base sensitivity without pixel peeping.
Panasonic GF2 direct links at [shopcountry 17361].

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Panasonic ready to attack the Canon and Nikon supremacy (Amateur Photographer)

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Amateur Photographer posted some more info from the Interview with John Mitchell from Panasonic UK: ‘There’s strong growth globally. The market is growing by huge amounts, more than doubling year on year. In the UK we are expecting over 200,000 of our Compact System Cameras to be sold in the UK.

John also ensured that Panasonic will release some “exciting products“. In December 2010 Panasonic managed to have 11.3% share of the UK changeable lens camera market. And Canon and Nikon are loosing ground in favour of mirrorless cameras. John said the reason for the success is the “small size” of the cameras. And Panasonic doesn’t fear Canon/Nikon future mirrorless cameras because they can offer an already mature system (with 11 lenses).

43rumors note: Would be nice to know the market share in US. Should be very low considering that the Panasonic GH2 isn’t in Stock at Amazon US, Adorama, BHphoto.

P.S.: The black Panasonic GF2+14mm is in Stock at Amazon (Click here) and BHphoto (Click here). Check all the kits and colors availability at [shopcountry 17361].

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Thom Hogan thoughts about the Olympus PEN pro (a must read!)

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The latest rumor about the Olympus PEN pro cameras created a very long and interesting discussion on 43rumors (Click here to read the original article including the 160 comments). Thom Hogan from bythom.com added his personal thoughts about Olympus PEN pro future. I believe he made a very understandable and rational analysis of the risks, limits and chances of future Olympus PRO cameras. Let’s read the text and discuss the single points!

The following text has been written by Thom Hogan on 43rumors:

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Pentax 6mm f/1.2 tested on the GH2 by Seb Farges (with Panasonic 14mm comparison)

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The fantastic 1:1 video crop mode of the Panasonic GH2 allows you to use C-mount lenses without having that huge vignetting. Seb Farges tested the Pentax 6mm f/1.2 lens: “AT LEAST I’ve found the PERFECT WIDE SHARP and CHEAP lens for the GH2 !!! It’s a [shoplink 20747 ebay]C-mount Pentax/Cosmicar 6mm 1:1.2 lens I’ve bought 9.99€ (12.50$) on Ebay[/shoplink]!
The rear barrel had to be modified for 20€ (watch pictures below) to fit on the [shoplink 20746 ebay]C-mount to micro 4/3 adapter (Kipon)[/shoplink].
This 6mm focal lenght on the GH2 gives a huge vignetting on micro 4/3 sensor, but thanks to the new crop 1:1 [shoplink 16254]GH2[/shoplink] function, the vignetting is disappearing completely !
This 6mm lens with the crop function gives nearly the same frame (same width but less height) than on the [shoplink 16258]Lumix 14mm 1:2.5[/shoplink], but much much more faster.
It’s a sharp lens, even with the crop. In 24X36 eq. it’s a 30mm.
This lens is incredible for GH2, there is no other competition for such a fast lens !

In this movie you will watch daylight tests (always @ 1:1.2, 1/50 shutter speed, 160 asa) with a 22€ Polaroid 43mm variable ND filter and a 40.5 to 43mm step-up ring, there’s my girlfriend preparing her new collection for children “Pitchoovintage”.
Then you will watch night test, from 160 to 3200 asa, always @ 1:1.2 and 1/50 shutter speed.

Seb tested many C-mount lenses and is one of our daily 43rumors readers. Feel free to make him any question you want and he will answer you! Thanks SEB!

UPDATE
: This is the original place where Seb got the lens on [shoplink 20770 ebay]eBay (Click here)[/shoplink].

Links:
– C-mount Pentax/Cosmicar 6mm 1:1.2 at [shoplink 20747 ebay]eBay (Click here)[/shoplink].
– Kipon C-mount to micro 4/3 adapter at [shoplink 20746 ebay]eBay (Click here)[/shoplink].
– Panasonic GH2 at [shopcountry 16254].
– Panasonic 14mm f/2.5 lens at [shopcountry 16258].

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(FT5) Panasonic confirms the 25mm f/1.4 is coming this summer!

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In an interview with Amateur Photographer Panasonic UK product manager John Mitchell confirmed that the 25mm lens is coming this summer: “We are sure it’s going to be a great hit because it’s 50mm [35mm viewing angle] equivalent – really fast, really bright

What we don’t know yet is if the 25mm lens is going to be announced along the Panasonic G3 on late March/early April and be available in summer or if the announcement itself will be in made this summer.

What we know about that lens:
– It has double the size of the [shoplink 14796]20mm f/1.7 pancake[/shoplink] – Unlike the [shoplink 16340 ebay]Four Thirds Panasonic/Leica 25mm f/1.4 lens[/shoplink] it is not Leica branded
– It has no OIS.
– It should cost around $700.

Links:
– 25mm f/1.4 Four Thirds lens at [shopcountry 16340].
– 20mm f/1.7 at [shopcountry 14796].
– 8mm fisheye at [shopcountry 20015].
– 45mm f/2.8 at [shopcountry 14794].

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POLL: is the digital camera future modular?

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Over at SonyAlphaRumors you can read the latest rumor about a modular NEX camcorder which should be announced within the next few weeks. The key feature about that rumor is the new Sony NXCAM works like a medium format [shoplink 20714]Hasselbald modular system[/shoplink]! Viewfinder, grip and other parts can be attached and detached. I don’t think the camera will become a strong [shoplink 16841]AG-AF100[/shoplink] competitor because of two reasons:
1) The price is to high. The body only costs $7.000 and once you add grip, EVF, LCD and the other missing parts total price will claimb over the $10.000 mark.
2) The most important part isn’t modular…the sensor!

Ricoh built a nice [shoplink 20713]GRX system[/shoplink] but it’s not fully modular (and the single sensor+lens unit concept doesn’t convince me). Now, imagine if your m43 camera could use different sensors, different LCD screens. Imagine if you would be able to remove the grip and the EVF to transform your pro-camera in a more portable GF or Pen. So what is your opinion on that? Maybe that could be the killer feature of the future Olympus PEN pro cameras?

Would you prefer a modular m43 camera-system over any other classic mirrorless camera even if you would have to spend a bit more?

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LInks:
Ricoh GXR system at [shopcountry 20713] Hasselbald medium format cameras at [shoplink 20714]eBay (Click here)[/shoplink]

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A not so popular lens gets tested at SLRgear: The Olympus 40-150mm for m43 (+ Geometric distortion correction for Panasonic lenses)

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[shoplink 15864][/shoplink]

There are some lenses that are tested and reviewed by many websites and there are lenses nobody ever talks about. That is the case of the Olympus 40-150mm f/4-5.6 ED M.Zuiko which has been recently tested by SLRgear (Click here): “The Olympus 40-150mm ƒ/4-5.6 M.Zuiko fared well in our tests, offering excellent performance up to 100mm, and above-average performance at 150mm. For the PEN system user looking for a portable telephoto option to supplement the 14-42mm kit lens, they should look no further.

That is the very first test or article we found about that lens. Just a coincidence or nobody really cares about that lens? Who are the target buyers? The biggest plus point for that lens is the price in US. With $209 at Amazon (Click here) the lens is the cheapest Micro Four Thirds zoom. Sadly the price is almost double as high in Europe (244 Euro at Amazon.de). Would love to know what you think about the 40-150mm M.Zuiko!
P.S.: Check the price of the 40-150mm lens at [shopcountry 15864].

M43photo.blogspot.com posted a very interesting article about the geometric distortion correction of current Panasonic lenses: “Many Micro Four Thirds lenses feature in-camera geometric distortion correction. Two examples are the Panasonic pancakes, [shoplink 16258]Lumix G 14mm f/2.5[/shoplink] and [shoplink 14796]Lumix G 20mm f/1.7[/shoplink]. Both have pretty similar distortion corretion needs. When converting the sensor output to the out of camera JPEG image, around 10% of the pixels in the border area are lost. This is somewhat controversial. Some feel that a quality lens should not require further software correction. In fact, the lack of geometric distortion is a traditional sign of a high quality lens.” Read the article to see the comparison of the uncorrected and corrected images for some lenses!

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