Give your Micro 4/3rd a Camcorder look with UN Japan Video Kit (via Akihabaranews)

UN (a Japanese company) just released a new Video kit for MicroFourThirds cameras featuring a ST gripST gripST gripST gripST gripST gripST gripST gripST gripST gripST grip and a Shading Hood to better take videos like on a real camcorder. It is the same company that makes the Olympus 17mm close-up lens. They make a lot of useful stuff for MicroFourThirds. Check our their list: http://www.un-ltd.co.jp/en/index03.html#loupe

via: Akihabaranews

P.S.: I found one ST grip On Ebay.ST grip On Ebay.ST grip On Ebay.ST grip On Ebay.ST gripST grip On Ebay.ST grip On Ebay.ST grip On Ebay.ST grip On Ebay.ST grip On Ebay.ST grip On Ebay.

How to shoot Leica on a Micro 4/3 camera (digitalrev)

Digitalrev tested the Leica Summilux 21mmLeica Summilux 21mmLeica Summilux 21mmLeica Summilux 21mmLeica Summilux 21mmLeica Summilux 21mmLeica Summilux 21mmLeica Summilux 21mmLeica Summilux 21mmLeica Summilux 21mmLeica Summilux 21mm the Leica Summilux 35mmLeica Summilux 35mmLeica Summilux 35mmLeica Summilux 35mmLeica Summilux 35mmLeica Summilux 35mmLeica Summilux 35mmLeica Summilux 35mmLeica Summilux 35mmLeica Summilux 35mmLeica Summilux 35mm and the Leica Summilux 50mmLeica Summilux 50mmLeica Summilux 50mmLeica Summilux 50mmLeica Summilux 50mmLeica Summilux 50mmLeica Summilux 50mmLeica Summilux 50mmLeica Summilux 50mmLeica Summilux 50mmLeica Summilux 50mm lens on the Panasonic GF1Panasonic GF1Panasonic GF1Panasonic GF1Panasonic GF1Panasonic GF1Panasonic GF1Panasonic GF1Panasonic GF1Panasonic GF1Panasonic GF1Panasonic GF1Panasonic GF1 and the new Olympus E-PL1Olympus E-PL1Olympus E-PL1Olympus E-PL1Olympus E-PL1Olympus E-PL1Olympus E-PL1Olympus E-PL1Olympus E-PL1Olympus E-PL1Olympus E-PL1Olympus E-PL1Olympus E-PL1.

Worth to watch!

Olympus 3D and contest

I already posted that but I have seen that many missed tha. Olympus launched a new 3-D virtual tour. Take a look here: http://www.getolympus.com/pen/index.asp?intCmp=geto_rdrct_pen3d

And if you have some time look at the Olympus contest videos on youtube. Some of them are really funny ;)

Oh! One more thing: The Olympus E-PL1Olympus E-PL1Olympus E-PL1Olympus E-PL1Olympus E-PL1Olympus E-PL1Olympus E-PL1Olympus E-PL1Olympus E-PL1Olympus E-PL1Olympus E-PL1Olympus E-PL1 will appear in the inaugural digital edition of WIRED for the iPad.

Panasonic GH1 hack updated.

EosHD.com is keeping us updated with the latest Panasonic GH1 hack news.

The hack enables following features:
– native 24p 1080p recording to the SD card (cannot be played back on the camera)
– patch to enable English language menus on the Japanese model
– 30min clip length limit has been removed
– 24p patches for 720p AVCHD and MJPEG modes

The hacker “Vitaly” (or “tester13”) believes the Panasonic GH1 has a lot more potential than Panasonic is delivering us. Why didn’t Panasonic allow some of the features listed above?

Read more on EosHD!

Drastic price drops on many MicroFourThirds stuff in US!

I guess the price war started at least in USA. On almost every camera and lens we are experiencing consistent price drops. It is far more difficoult for me to know if the same tendency is ongoing in Europe. A first check on the german website idealo.de do not confirm a massive ammount of price drops like in US.

Anyway, here the list of the discounts. If you click on the shop name you will jump directly to the product page.

CAMERAS:
– The blue and champagne Olympus E-PL1 with 14-42mm price is now $529.00 on Amazon. You save $70.99!
– The Olympus E-P2 + lens but without viewfinder now is in Stock for $899 on Amazon, Adorama and BHphoto
– The Panasonic GF1 + 14-45mm lens is in Stock for $754.95 on Amazon and BHphoto
– The Panasonic GH1 + 14-140mm lens is in Stock for $1,189.95 on Amazon, Adorama and BHphoto

LENSES:
– On Amazon you can get the Panasonic 20mm f/1.7 lens for $356.95. You save $43.00!
– The Panasonic 7-14mm lens is in Stock for $999.95 on Adorama and BHphotoAmazon

REMINDER:
The Olympus 9-18mm lens is in Stock on BHphoto. One of our reader wrote us that the same lens is shipping via Amazon US (His credit card has been charged).

The Olympus “Pen Magazine” is online. And Olympus America launches a new challenge!

Source: pen-emag.olympus.eu/

OLYMPUS LAUNCHES THE “PEN YOUR STORY CHALLENGE”

Submit Your Proposal on YouTube for an Opportunity to Win an
Olympus PEN E-PL1 Camera and $5,000 to Show What You Can Do

CENTER VALLEY, Pa., May 3, 2010 – Olympus wants to know: What you would do if you had the amazing new Olympus PEN® E-PL1 portable camera featuring professional digital single lens reflex (DSLR) image quality, point-and-shoot simplicity and high-definition (HD) video, along with $5,000 to bring your creative vision to life? The PEN your story challenge starts right now, so it’s time to find out.

Your “vision” can be anything that you could produce with the high-quality PEN and $5,000 budget. Whether your dream is to direct a short film with HD video, produce a fashion spread of pro-quality still images, chronicle an adventure or to create an amazing photomontage, you can submit your video proposal to www.youtube.com/getolympus and enter to win the PEN, the funds to make your project reality and a crack at the grand prize.

After the proposal submissions have been narrowed down to 20 semi-finalists selected by the community via thumbs up “likes” (be sure to tell your friends to watch and like your submission!), six of the best proposals will be selected by a panel of judges from Olympus, as well as the YouTube community. Those six individuals will receive the PEN, the funds and time to bring their proposals to life.

Once the six finalists have uploaded their final creations to YouTube for the world to see, one lucky Grand Prize winner will be selected based on a combination of popular vote and the panel of Olympus judges. The Grand Prize winner will receive an all-expense-paid trip for two to New York City to attend the Olympus-sponsored US Open National Championships on Olympus Day. The winner’s work will be displayed on the giant video board at the USTA Billie Jean King National Tennis Center before an audience of thousands.

Get professional tips to make your filmmaking dreams become a reality from multi Webby-Award winner Erik Beck, executive producer of the online DIY filmmaking network Indy Mogul (http://www.indymogul.com/). Beck has produced a how-to video with tips and tricks to assist you with the production of your submission for the PEN your story challenge. View the video here: www.youtube.com/getolympus and www.facebook.com/getolympus. The challenge is open to residents of the United States and Canada.
MAKE YOUR CREATION SHINE WITH THE PEN
When submitting your video proposal for the PEN your story challenge, explain how, as a finalist, you plan to use the creative features of the Olympus PEN E-PL1 for your project.

For more details about the PEN your story challenge and the Olympus PEN E-PL1 visit http://www.youtube.com/getolympus and http://www.getolympus.com, and connect with us on http://Twitter.com/getolympus, http://www.Facebook.com/getolympus and http://www.Flickr.com/groups/getolympus.

The need for speed: Voigtländer 50mm f/1.1

Now that I am testing the Noktor 50mm f/0.95 lens I wish to own the Voigtlander 50 Nokton f/1.1Voigtlander 50 Nokton f/1.1Voigtlander 50 Nokton f/1.1Voigtlander 50 Nokton f/1.1Voigtlander 50 Nokton f/1.1Voigtlander 50 Nokton f/1.1Voigtlander 50 Nokton f/1.1Voigtlander 50 Nokton f/1.1Voigtlander 50 Nokton f/1.1Voigtlander 50 Nokton f/1.1Voigtlander 50 Nokton f/1.1 to make a comparison. The Voigtländer is only half a stop slower but covers the whole fullframe sensor (It is an M-mount lens -> you can use it on the Leica M9!). But unlike the Noktor you need a M-mount to MicroFourThirds adapter and the lens itself costs $400 more than the Noktor ($1.149 ar BHphoto). So I googled around an this is what I found:

Steve Huff wrote a complete Voigtlander 50 Nokton f/1.1 Lens review
– E-PL1 + Voigtländer 50mm f/1.1 test on pen-and-tell.blogspot.com
– Image samples on flickr
– Olympus E-P1 + Noktor on e-p1.net
– Olympus E-P2 + Noktor on flickr

Check out the price on Ebay: Voigtlander 50 Nokton f/1.1Voigtlander 50 Nokton f/1.1Voigtlander 50 Nokton f/1.1Voigtlander 50 Nokton f/1.1Voigtlander 50 Nokton f/1.1Voigtlander 50 Nokton f/1.1Voigtlander 50 Nokton f/1.1Voigtlander 50 Nokton f/1.1Voigtlander 50 Nokton f/1.1Voigtlander 50 Nokton f/1.1Voigtlander 50 Nokton f/1.1

Do you have any experience with the Voigtländer lens? Let us know what you think!