Sun Flares taken with the GH2 and [shoplink 20857 ebay]C-mount Canon 35mm 1:1.2 (Click here to see that lens on eBay)[/shoplink].

E-PL2

Olympus E-PL1 design patent (Freepatentsonline).
The Complete Olympus EPL-2 Review (ThePhoBlographer).
Test Olympus E-LP2 : colorimétrie et précision (Focus Numerique).
E-PL2 at [shopcountry 18844].

GH2

Panasonic GH2 Review (Seriouscompacts)
GH2 studio samples, a closer look (DPreview forum).
GH2 + wide C-mount Cosmicar 12.5mm 1:1.4 (Vimeo).
GH2 at [shopcountry 16254].

Other news

Olympus VG-130 Review (Photographyblog)
Panasonic introduce new SDHC UHS-I memory cards (ePhotozine)
Photos from the panasonic stand at Focus On Imaging 2011 (lumixg2photographer).
Panasonic launch the ‘A City Exposed’ campaign (ePhotozine).
Panasonic Announces Pricing For Its 2011 Premium Lineup Of Lumix Digital Camera Models (Imaging resource)
Fuji FinePix X100 Review: First Impressions (Photoradar).
Self-tutorial 01: Photographing interiors (Jjsemplephotography).

Videos you sent me

Solar Powered – Keep your camera charged (Vimeo)
Macklemore – The Making of Wings 01 (Youtube)

Right now you can get the Panasonic GH1 body only for $399 at Amazon (Click here).

Adobes new Camera RAW 6.4 and Lightroom 3.4 release candidates bring support for the newest Olympus’s XZ-1 and E-PL2 cameras:
Click here to download Adobe Photoshop Lightroom v3.4 release candidate
Click here to download Adobe Camera Raw v6.4 release candidate
You can order the XZ-1 at [shopcountry 19904].
and the E-PL2 at [shopcountry 18844].

And Olympus Japan just announced that worldwide shipment of the new Olympus lens converters will start on March 18. The Fisheye, wide and macro converter do work on the new 14-42mm II lens, and on the 14-150mm and 40-150mm lenses. P.S:: The Japanese website DC.watch.impress (Click here) tested the three new E-PL2 converters a few days ago.

The Chinese company “Ownuser” made a battery grip for all Panasonic Micro Four Thirds cameras except the GF1/GF2. Sadly the only info we got has been posted as an image with Chinese text so I cannot translate it with the help of the google translation tool. Some Chinese 43rumors readers can send us a summary of all the key features of the battery grip? What I can understand from the images is that they have three different grips and that there is also some kind of IR transmitter. The person that send me that news told me that they have made 1.500 of those items.

This is the website of the company with the battery grip page: http://www.ownuser.com.tw/mig_pg2.html
This are the Ownuser products on [shoplink 20831 ebay]eBay (Click here)[/shoplink] (didn’t find the battery grip…or is it there somewhere? I found the battery grip for Olympus cameras instead)

UPDATE: 43rumors reader “Kolen” translated the chinese text (Hurray for Kolen!)

“The first battery grip from Ownuser:

For Panasonic G2/G1/GH1/G10
MIG-PG2 with camera as shown:

Model description:
MIG-PG2B
MIG-PG2AB
MIG-PG2RAB

MIG-PG2 overview:
1) tripod 1/4 20 screw thread
2) External Shutter release input
3) External AC power input
4) Camera shutter release output
5) screw of the tripod thread
6) hand grip
7) tripod mount
8 ) Left battery cover
9) Right battery cover
10) battery to camera
11) battery contact
12) cable
13) shutter
14) on/off button
volume: about 12.6cmX6.2cmX3.9cm
weight: 110g

Compact, convenient, good build, comfortable for portrait

3 type of battery input for convenience:
1) two Lithium batteries
2) AA Battery (6A/8A)
3) External AC power input

1500 units produced globally, unique for personal style

MINI-IR 2B overview
1) IR output
2) focus
3) shot
4) Bulb
5) clear
6) 10s self portrait
7) battery

The camera with Mini-RHS 2
1) volume is smaller than the DX-RHS2 by 70%. Lighter and more convenient.
2) channel lock to protect interference from other sources
3) timer alarm for accurate dusk/twilight photography
4) Can used together with DX-51R 2 & Mini IR 2
5) Attached to the hot shoe on the camera, e.g. Minolta, Sony Alpha 100.
6) 360 degree rotation ability: can be used together with on camera flash
7) 2XAAA battery

Mini IR 2B
for amateur, indoor photography
channel can be locked to prevent interference
1) 5 key control, simple and clear, perfect fit
2) Focus and shot seperately
3) Bulb / 10s self portrait

Mini-IR 2B basic function
A. Channel lock (must choose the channel first, then lock the channel to prevent interference) (After the first settings, it is automatically saved for future use)
1) press for 5 seconds, red/green light lights alternatively and a beep three times.
2) press the shot button on MINI IR2B, it is finished after the beep
3) press the channel lock once again to complete

B. 4 main functions (IR function will consume battery life. Please shut down when it is not in use)
Focus is separate from shutter to prevent delay. Focus can be set as AE-L or AF-L.
Tele/macro photography
self portrait
LIVE VIEW shot

Single button control without menu
typical camera need to go into the menu for self-portrait, not so convenient
a physical 10s self portrait button is more convenient
in operation, autofocus green light will lights up first. red light flash once per second, continuous red light in last three seconds
(in the figure: autofocus indicator (green), and red light)
Bulb shutter can be used
bulb shutter has a function to prevent false alarm. only after focus, bulb shutter can be activated. Only can be used to end the bulb.
support longest bulb for 10 hours
dusk/twilight night astro

Rhythmic speaker supporting bulb
bulb has a function of beep per second. After activated bulb, use the control button to set speaker.
(In the figures:) control method: On-> OFF -> ON
press setting button once > ON
twice > OFF
again > ON
You can use one hand to control the remote and another hand to cover the camera at the right time.”

This is the website of the company with the battery grip page: http://www.ownuser.com.tw/mig_pg2.html
This are the Ownuser products on [shoplink 20831 ebay]eBay (Click here)[/shoplink] (didn’t find the battery grip…or is it there somewhere?)

Those are terrible news we are currently receiving from Japan. I think I speak for everyone here on 43rumors when I say that we are deeply concerned.  I confide that most people managed to escape the tsunami as the country has a well organized alarm system and procedure. I don’t have other words to express, I am really shocked.

A side note via Bloomberg:
Panasonic Corp. (6752) said several employees at its three factories in Miyagi and Fukushima prefectures sustained minor injuries. The Osaka-based company is still assessing the damage to facilities, Yuichi Takatoku, a Tokyo-based spokesman for the company, said by phone.

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].

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:

Almost every day you can find news about the Fuji X100. The camera worldwide shipment started yesterday in Japan (see Amazon Japan). It should be in Stock soon at Amazon (Click here), BHphoto (Click here) and Adorama (Click here) and in April in Europe (See Amazon UK). This is the latest news summary:

Leica M3 versus Finepix X100 (Source: Nokton on Flickr).
Download the Fuji X100 manual in english (.pdf): https://files.me.com/kylebarrow/dxsgl2
First image samples on Flickr.
First Impressions of the Finepix X100 from a rangefinder shooter by Pieter Franken (SteveHuffPhoto.com).
Those are the first unboxing pictures coming from Japan (More at dmaniax.com). Shots with the x100 from the same person: http://www.flickr.com/photos/fotois/sets/72157626059913905
The dpreview forum user “Ncruces” posted the patched source code to open the Quesabesdes RAW files with DCraw. Download from here: http://db.tt/jSGfK7R.
The dpreview forum user “ebrandon” posted two links to download the “before” (unprocessed TIFF) http://db.tt/uM3tnCm and the “after” (post-processed TIFF) http://db.tt/dvXlxHS.

P.S.: I am still hoping Fuji will join m43!!!