UPDATE: The website is back online! Noktor is alive!

This is the old 43rumors post:
You remember the 50mm f/0.95 Noktor lens? One of our readers just noticed that their website is gone. Check it out: http://noktor.com/products.php. I tried to contact them but I don’t get any answer. Lat time I heard them they told me that they wanted to make specially designed MicroFourThrids lenses. But that was 3-4 months ago. Someone knows more than me?

P.S.: The only place to watch if you want the lens is [shoplink 15629]eBay (no auction now)[/shoplink].

Image courtesy: Quesabesde

Focus Numerique interviewed the big boss from Panasonic Uematsu Michiharu. I exctracted some interesting notes for you (google english translated text!):

– “With our new sensor, and a new processor that analyzes 120 images per second instead of 60, we managed to make the autofocus GH2 two times faster than the previous model.”

– “I still think that 12 MP are quite sufficient for our photographic use. In the case of GH2, it is primarily a marketing decision, not a technical choice. We must follow the market trends that impose even now augment the definition of our sensors.”

– Panasonic is working on a new electronic shutter but their priority now was to work on the 3D technology.

– 3D will work with the [shoplink 16254]GH2[/shoplink] and the [shoplink 14834]G2[/shoplink] only (other cameras are not powerful enough).

New Slow Motion video taken with the [shoplink 16254]Panasonic GH2[/shoplink]

There is also a new awesome video from Bruce Dale. I am not allowed to emed it so click here to see it: Northern Michigan Shores from Bruce Dale on Vimeo.

A dpreview forum user reported that “Today in photokina i had the opportunity to test the new [shoplink 16254]GH2[/shoplink] with the [shoplink 16258]14mm f2.5[/shoplink] , 14-140mm…, new [shoplink 16264]3D lens[/shoplink] and [shoplink 16261]100-300mm[/shoplink] and also with the old [shoplink 14796]20mm 1.7[/shoplink] just to compare. well AF with [shoplink 14802]14-140mm[/shoplink] and 14mm f2.5 its really a turbo, it focus so fast then you dont see any lag time… (14-140mm is faster a little). the 14mm behave really good…much more faster then the 20mm 1.7 (also on GH2 its crappy slow and noise like on my [shoplink 14826]GH1[/shoplink] …maybe a little faster ..bot not so much..).I think its a problem of the lens not of the body. 100-300mm af is fast…not so much 3-4 times slower fast then the 14-140mm also when you use the last part of zoom …
btw the GH2 AF its also faster then the Pentax K-5 / Olympus E-5 Sony A55 canon 5D MII that i tested today (altough i must admit E-5 its very very fast). Also the 3D lens its fast emoticon – smile pity its a crappy 64mm FOV ! and record images only at 3mp !”

More about the GH2 here: The Panasonic GH2’s own ‘mud-gate’ (EosHD)

What does the famous GH1 hacker Vitaly Kiselev (alias “Tester13”) think about the new Panasonic GH2? I had the chance to talk with him. I kept the chat content untouched (without any language correction). The Interview is very long so please click the link below to read it!

Reminder: Tester13 (Vitaliy Kiselev) is the hacker that patched the GH1/GF1 camera software. He is active on DVXforum.com and Pentax-hack.info.

Thom Hogan just shared his toughts about the new product announcements. I copied only a part of the text related to Olympus and Panasonic. I strongly recommend you to read the whole post!

“Panasonic: the big news was the GH2, which looks like a winner (disclaimer: I’m shooting almost all my video these days on a hacked GH1). Coupled with new lenses, the LX-5, and a the other new Panasonic compacts, and taken together with the recent G2, Panasonic seems to be running engineering at full tilt. I’m curious, though. 18mp in a m4/3 body seems a bit ambitious. I’m hoping that Panasonic has made a noise breakthrough at the sensor level, not taken to more post processing noise reduction. I’ve always thought Panasonic’s engineers seem more like actual camera users than those at other companies, so I have high hopes for their new offerings. I just wish they’d quit crippling certain aspects in their designs (like video bandwidth).”

“Olympus: the E-5 seems like a warmed over E-3. The 4/3 pot was therefore stirred, but it didn’t produce a sauce any different than before. No new m4/3 bodies, though some lens action was visible. The big story was the prototype of YALSC (Yet Another Large Sensor Compact). Or is it a large sensor compact? Hard to say from what little info was revealed, but the use of the Zuiko name on the lens and the way it was discussed, the prototype is at least in the G12/P7000 category, perhaps better. Personally, I’d rather have seen Olympus concentrate on fixing the user interfaces on their m4/3 bodies (especially after another trip to Africa with them and constantly fighting the controls, which tend to set random things when you’re not looking). I suspect Olympus is in a lull between major offerings. They spent a lot of engineering energy on the E-P1, E-P2, E-PL1 set, and it’ll be a bit before the true second generation of m4/3 bodies appears. Shame, that. As Panasonic and Sony seem to be slowly getting more momentum in the arena that Olympus pioneered.”

Preorder the GH2 and the lenses:
– BLACK Panasonic GH2 with 14-42mm lens for $999 at Amazon (Click here)
– BLACK Panasonic GH2 with 14-140mm lens for $1,499.95 at Amazon (Click here)
– SILVER Panasonic GH2 with 14-42mm lens for $999 at Amazon (Click here)
– Panasonic Lumix 12.5mm f/12 3D G Lens for $249.95 at Amazon (Click here)
– Panasonic Lumix 14mm f/2.5 G Aspherical Lens for $399.95 at Amazon (Click here)
– Panasonic Lumix 100-300mm f/4.0-5.6 G Vario Aspherical MEGA OIS Lens for $599.95 at Amazon (Click here).

Image courtesy: Tyson Robichaud

Our friend Tyson Robichaud just announced the new Lensbaby 40mm f/1.6 for MicroFourThirds lens ([shoplink 16319]Lensbabies for classic 4/3 mount are already available[/shoplink]) T.R writes:”This Lensbaby offers not only a relatively affordable choice, but one that will double as an Nikon F Mount adapter. When the standard Lensbaby Composer element is removed, the Tilt Transformer acts as a lens conversion mount which will enable any compatible Nikon lens to function as a tilt lens would.  Think macro with a controlled slice of focus enabling you to shoot an entire bug in focus at f/2.8 or f/4!  Or, create the tilt miniature “effect” with a fisheye or a super telephoto lens!  If you prefer to avoid the tilting portion of the deal, center your lens and lock it down with the locking ring on the Tilt Transformer and viola!  You have yourself an F mount adapter, or a 40mm (80mm efov) f/1.6 portrait lens!”

Read more here: http://tysonrobichaudphotography.wordpress.com/2010/09/21/micro-43-lensbaby-tilt-transformer-is-here/

Sigma is contending the throne for the most exciting new Photokina product announcements with the FinePix X100 and Panasonic GH2. The new Sigma SD1 has a 15.3MP X3 foveon sensor.
More about that camera on Engadget and Dpreview. There are two reasons why we should be interested in future Sigma developments.

1) It looks like Sigma is working together with Olympus. Nagy (one of our readers) had an intuition: “Look at the reflection of the matte screen in Sigma SD1! http://www.sigma-photo.co.jp/english/news/img/SD1-front.jpg. The autofocus system features an 11 point twin cross sensor. The shifted twin cross type sensor improves AF accuracy. It is absolutely the same specifications as the Olympus E-3/E-5 AF modul. Did they buy an AF modul from Olympus?“. Or did both buy the AF technolgy from the same third-party manufactor?

2) According to two of our sources Olympus is testing foveon sensors on their PEN prototypes. And Sigma is part of the FourThirds “coalition”.

I will closely follow the Sigma SD1 reviews!

And now let’s talk about that awesome Fuji FinePix X100. We have good news. We all expected the X100 to cost around $1.500-$1.700 but according to Engadget the real price will be $1.000! The camera itself will be available in March 2011. Read the Engadget Hands-on (Click here) and on Photographyblog