Olympus Japan said that the new Olympus 9-18mm lens will be start shipping on April 23.

Amazon Japan will have it on Stock on April 30.
Amazon Germany confirms that the lens will be available in 3 to 5 weeks.
Amazon France will have it in stock soon.
In US pre-orders already started on Amazon US, Adorama and BHphoto

Good news Olympus folks! On April 22 Olympus will release a new firmware update for your PEN camera.

Read the press release:

Auto Focus Performance
This update will improve camera AF performance when shooting both stills and videos with the E-P1, E-P2 and E-PL1 cameras when using any Micro Four Thirds or Four Thirds lens. Auto Focus Lock time when shooting stills is improved by 15%. Auto Focus tracking accuracy when shooting movies is also improved.

Viewfinder/LCD Simultaneous Playback Function
This upgrade also brings additional display functionality to the E-P2 and E-PL1 cameras when fitted with the VF-2 Electronic Viewfinder. Photographers using these combinations can now view menu and recorded images on the LCD while the VF-2 Electronic Viewfinder is in use.

Movie-Still-Compatible (MSC) Lens Compatibility
This update also ensures that like the E-PL1, the E-P1 and E-P2 camera models are fully compatible with and able to take advantage of two recently announced and soon-to-reach market lenses; the M. Zuiko Digital™ ED 9–18mm F4.0–5.6 and M. Zuiko Digital ED 14–150mm F4.0–5.6 lenses. Olympus is designating these two lenses as MSC, or Movie-Still-Compatible. They are optimized for shooting high definition video with accurate and silent autofocus.

source: OlympusAmerica

UPDATE:
Tthe new Olympus Viewer 2 software that replaces Master 2 & Studio 2 is also availble!
Olympus Australia has the PDF Full Press Release on both the software & firmware updates.

A dpreview forum user tested the Schneider-Kreuznach Xenon 50mm f0.95Schneider-Kreuznach Xenon 50mm f0.95Schneider-Kreuznach Xenon 50mm f0.95Schneider-Kreuznach Xenon 50mm f0.95Schneider-Kreuznach Xenon 50mm f0.95Schneider-Kreuznach Xenon 50mm f0.95Schneider-Kreuznach Xenon 50mm f0.95Schneider-Kreuznach Xenon 50mm f0.95Schneider-Kreuznach Xenon 50mm f0.95Schneider-Kreuznach Xenon 50mm f0.95Schneider-Kreuznach Xenon 50mm f0.95 on his Olympus E-P1. We also found some sample images on flickr (with the Panasonic G1).

The lens is very epxensive! Check it our for yourself on Ebay: Schneider-Kreuznach Xenon 50mm f0.95Schneider-Kreuznach Xenon 50mm f0.95Schneider-Kreuznach Xenon 50mm f0.95Schneider-Kreuznach Xenon 50mm f0.95Schneider-Kreuznach Xenon 50mm f0.95Schneider-Kreuznach Xenon 50mm f0.95Schneider-Kreuznach Xenon 50mm f0.95Schneider-Kreuznach Xenon 50mm f0.95Schneider-Kreuznach Xenon 50mm f0.95Schneider-Kreuznach Xenon 50mm f0.95Schneider-Kreuznach Xenon 50mm f0.95

One more interesting test:
“Ruy” (dpreview forum user) modified the Hexanon 57/1.2 ARHexanon 57/1.2 ARHexanon 57/1.2 ARHexanon 57/1.2 ARHexanon 57/1.2 ARHexanon 57/1.2 ARHexanon 57/1.2 ARHexanon 57/1.2 ARHexanon 57/1.2 ARHexanon 57/1.2 ARHexanon 57/1.2 AR and is using it on his GF1.

Our friend Dracore sent us pictures from the new the AG-AF100. He also confirmed that the camera will cost $6000.
Click on the thumbnails to open the images in original size:

Today we have only good news for you :)

PRESS RELEASE:

CENTER VALLEY, Pa., April 12, 2010 – Olympus today announced its free GetOlympus App for iPhone, iPod touch and iPad. The App is available on the App Store. The App features a user photo gallery, photo tips, Olympus social media networks, special offers and more. Designed by Olympus to provide dynamic interaction with consumers, the App will be updated with new content and features over time.

“We’re always seeking innovative ways to connect with consumers,” said Christopher Kemmerer, manager, Engineering and Development, Olympus Imaging America Inc. “Offering the GetOlympus App for iPhone, iPod touch and iPad is one more way to engage our customers.”

The new GetOlympus App, designed and developed by Olympus, will provide iPhone, iPod touch and iPad users with easy, remote access** to many of the features and content currently available on www.getolympus.com and Olympus’ social network pages.

Features of the App include:

• Olympus Resolution User Gallery – view amazing user-submitted photos and read the “behind the shot” stories for inspiration to capture your own spectacular images.
• Tips – whether you want to learn to take vacation, underwater, panorama or any other memorable photos, tips are available for many different shooting environments. Read Olympus’ tips or submit your own!
• Connect With Olympus – visit Olympus social networks, Facebook, Twitter, YouTube and Flickr, with the touch of a button.
• Offers & Promotions – be among the first to know when Olympus is offering a special promotion or cash rebate. Learn about the latest photo contests sponsored by Olympus. Get cash back – trade in your old working digital camera for a new Olympus camera using the Olympus ‘Trade In Trade Up’ program.
• Favorites – save your favorite photos, tips and news and share them via email with other GetOlympus users.

The recent Panasonic AG-AF100 announcement created a lot of enthusiasm. Almost every MicroFourThirds user and professional videographer is getting really excited. Also Philipp Bloom is expressing his positive feelings on his blog!
According to him the camcorder should cost $6000.

The picture above shows the camera with the Olympus Zuiko 14-35mm Lens!
I believe that camera will add a huge value to the MicroFourThirds system. Of course there are also some challenges:
1) We need more video dedicated lenses (like the Panasonic 14-140mm)
2) We need also very fast zooms. That will be a very difficoult hurdle because of the bigger image sensor. Normal camcorder do have zooms which do start with f/1.7 aperture.
3) The AVCHD codec. The bitrate is a little bit to low. I hope Panasonic will find a better solution until the final release of the camera.

Let’s see the reactions on the WorldWideWeb:
On dpreview you can find a long discussion about the AG-AF100. Someone also made their own camcorder mockup!
The DVXuser thread is now 14 page long.
Only RED users seems to not be happy with the camcorder :)

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