Fuji almost did it! They almost made a super camera but there could be a problem. The price is very likely too high. $1699 for the body only? Niet! What are the other points in favour of the m43 system? The camera is also a bit to big compared to m43 cameras, video quality should be very low compared to what Panasonic cameras can deliver. The sensor looks promising but not revolutionary, no foveon alike design, no organic sensor, “only” the AA filter has been removed thanks to the new RGB pattern and with heavy postprocessing work. Not to play down the Fuji camera, it’s certainly a super nice camera, but I feel like there is a chance fro Olympus to get on par with this with the next [shoplink 27042 ebay]Olympus OM[/shoplink] alike m43 camera. While I am sure body quality and viewfinder technology of the Olympus will be on par with the Fuji X PRO 1 I don’t know if Olympus will make it right with the new sensor. Let’s cross the fingers!

The guys over at ePhotozine asked Fuji the following question: Why not join Micro Four Thirds?
Answer: “Fujifilm are a photographic company with a lot of history in Fujinon optics, using our own lens mount and sensor allows us to be in total control of the system and final image quality.”

And here below you can hear a Fuji manager that at the end of the interview talks about the Olympus situation:

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Fuji X PRO 1 at Amazon (notification only).
Fuji 18mm lens at Amazon (notification only).
Fuji 35mm lens at Amazon (notification only).
Fuji 60mm lens at Amazon (notification only).

A short update to give you one more messy news about Olympus. The day after Woodford abandoned the plan to be re-instaed as CEO he sued Olympus. “I will most definitely be suing Olympus,” Woodford said Friday at a press conference at the Foreign Correspondent’s Club in Tokyo. And the “The Kyodo News Agency had heard that the panel would advise the company suing over 10 existing and former executives for a total equivalent to $1.2 billion for hiding losses for 13 years” (Electronista).

What else can I say? It’s a mess and it’s pity that there is no way to solve the problem in a fast way.

Big japanese Olympus shareholders refused to sustain Woodford in his battle to be reinstated as CEO of the company. Reuters reports that: “The company’s main lender and major shareholder Sumitomo Mitsui Financial Group (SMFG) is backing existing management led by CEO Shuichi Takayama, which is seeking a capital tie up with a rival company to bolster its finances.”

And “Local media has reported that Sony, Fujifilm Holdings and Panasonic Corp are among the candidates that may ride to the rescue of Olympus.”

In short: Japanese shareholders hold together against the foreign influence on Olympus. This will lead Olympus to make an agreement with another japanese company to realign their financial situation. I vote for Fuji. They have both a long camera history and would certainly create some amazing new products.

UPDATE: Here is the full statement from Woodford: http://www.amateurphotographer.co.uk/news/michael_woodford_statement_on_why_he_quit_olympus_fight_news_311023.html.

Exactly on Midnight SLRmagic officially announced their new top quality Hyper Prime 50mm f/0.95 Cine M-mount Cine lens. Even if it’s not a native Micro Four Thirds lens you can use it via M to m43 adapter ([shoplink 28038 ebay]Click here to see them on eBay)[/shoplink]. Unlike the Noktor this is a high quality lens made specially for people looking for superb bokeh. It’s actually five times cheaper than the [shoplink 23018 ebay]Leica Noctilux 50mm f/0.95[/shoplink] and we have been told that it will have almost the same image quality (of course we have to see real tests to see if they are claiming the truth). Our friend Seb Farges tested the new lens on the [shoplink 16254]Panasonic GH2[/shoplink]. After the video you can read the full lens press release and specs.

World Premiere !!! SLR Magic HyperPrime CINE T0.95 / 50mm Part I : The Night Tests from Seb Farges on Vimeo.

PRESS RELEASE
NEW: THE SLR Magic HyperPrime CINE 50mm T0.95
SLR Magic expands its M mount lineup with a new normal focal length lens

Hong Kong, China (January 1, 2012)  – SLR Magic opens up the M mount lens lineup with the new SLR Magic HyperPrime CINE 50mm T0.95 ultra fast normal focal length lens. The world’s fastest interchangeable camera lens with an image circle beyond full frame coverage in its focal length, the SLR Magic HyperPrime CINE 50mm T0.95 concept lens will be publicly available for experience testing in September 2012 at Photokina in Cologne, Germany.

The field of view of this new HyperPrime Lens corresponds to a 50mm lens in 35mm format. It is optimized to be shot wide open. This ultra fast normal focal length prime lens opens up many new creative composition opportunities, particularly in the fields of available light, in portrait, and street cinematography. Built with modern non aspherical lens technology, the lens excels at defocusing busy backgrounds at T0.95. A minimum focus distance of 0.70m allows for artistic bokeh effect. A fast maximum aperture of T0.95 makes the SLR Magic HyperPrime CINE 50mm T0.95 ideal for available-light photography.

Our highest priority in the development of all HyperPrime lenses is to fulfill the demands of professional cinematographers and photographers. The design and build of the SLR Magic HyperPrime CINE 50mm T0.95 is solid and reliable.

The SLR Magic HyperPrime CINE 50mm T0.95, a concept lens, will be available from authorized SLR Magic dealers by the end of September 2012.

Technical Data
SLR Magic HyperPrime CINE 50mm T0.95
Lens Type: Fast normal lens with seven Tantalum glass elements to  ensure superior cinematic performance.
Compatible Cameras: All RangeFinder M mount, LM mount for cinematography,  E-mount, and micro four thirds cameras
Optical Design: 12 elements in 7 groups
Distance range:  0.70m to ∞, combined scale meter/feet
Aperture:  Manually controlled diaphragm, 12 aperture blades (circular), Lowest value 16
Bayonet:  M-mount, E-mount, micro four thirds
Filter Mount: 62mm; filter mount does not rotate.
Surface Finish: Black anodized
Length to bayonet mount: approx. 95mm (approx. 3.74in) without hood approx. 110mm (approx. 4.33in) with retractable hood
Largest diameter: approx. 73mm (approx. 2.87in)
Weight: approx. 975g (approx. 34.39oz)

Andrew Chan
Product Manager

A short message to wish you all a Happy New Year!!!

….And the first weeks for the year promise to be exiting with new Olympus and Panasonic m43 products coming soon ;)

UPDATE: On midnight there will be the first product announcement of the year by SLRmagic :)

The Taiwanese company Ownuser announced the start of the GH2 battery grip sales. Here is the official press release:

“Dear Customer
We will tell you a good news. PANASONIC GH2’s grip is already on the market in 2011/12/20. On this website, you can get more product information.
http://www.ownuser.com.tw/e_mig_pgh2.html
On this website, you can buy products through PAYPAL (online credit card page, like EBAY)
http://www.ownuser.com.tw/e_paypal_panasonic.html

MIG-PGH2 has four purchase specifications
(1) MIG-PGH2B = only BODY (B = BLACK)
(2) MIG-PGH2AB = BODY + MEB-03-c (A = external AA battery pack)
(3) [New specifications] MIG-PGH2RB =BODY + mini IR 2B & RHS (R = IR Remote, not the wired remote control)
(4) MIG-PGH2RAB = BODY + MEB-03-c + mini IR 2B & RHS

We recommend to buy (1) or (3).
Because AA batteries is not recommended as the main power supply that use on GH2 cameras.
Thanks for your business and support, wish you and your family a merry Christmas and happy New Year.

Best regards,
Sincerely,
Ownuser Customer Service”

Soon the battery grip will be on sale on eBay too ([shoplink 27770 ebay]Click here to search for Ownuser stuff on eBay[/shoplink]).