Panasonic UK launched a new GH4 preview campaign and Olympus France a new E-M10 course (LeMondeDeLaPhoto). The GH4 preview campaign press release can be read at the bottom of this post. before that I want to ask EU readers to send me the GH4 preorder links they find. For example I still have no preorder option in Germany! Weird…

European preorders and price:
UK at Wexphotographic, CameraWorld, UKdigital, CVP, TipTop.
Holland at Fotohanskeuzekamp.
Belgium at Fotokonijnenberg.
Norway at Fotovideo.
Sweden at Cyberphoto, Skandinavianphoto.
Finland at Telefoto, Topshot, Verkkoauppa.
Germany: Marcotec-shop.de.

North American preorders, shipping date and price:
GH4 camera at Amazon (Click here), Adorama (Click here), BHphoto (Click here), and Panasonic (Click here). Price: $1,698. In Canada at Vistek (Click here).
GH4 camera with interface unit at Amazon (Click here), Adorama (Click here) and BHphoto (Click here). Price: $3,298
Interface unit only at Amazon (Click here), Adorama (Click here), BHphoto (Click here) and Panasonic (Click here). Price: $1,998

—————-PRESS TEXT from Panasonic—————-

Panasonic Announces Preview Campaign for DMC-GH4

Panasonic is pleased to announce a preview campaign for the newly announced DMC-GH4 LUMIX interchangeable lens camera, allowing consumers the opportunity to see the new camera 7 weeks before it is released.  Three GH4 cameras will be in the UK for this weekend only for the preview campaign to be held exclusively at three stores for three days at each store.

The preview campaign will start on Thursday 13th March, Friday 14th March and Saturday 15th March, from 10-4pm at;

Conns Cameras, 54 Clarendon St, Dublin 2

The previews will continue at the following stores on Friday 14th March, Saturday 15th March and Sunday 16thMarch 2014 from 10-4pm;

Jessops, 129-131 Oxford Street, London, W1D 2HU

Park Cameras, Burgess Hill, not London

Each store will have a working sample of the camera for users to try, as well as a dedicated Panasonic person to talk through product features and answer any questions.  Offering a unique opportunity to see the new camera before it is released, the preview campaign provides a great opportunity for those considering purchasing the new camera to come and have a look.

Panasonic’s new LUMIX DMC-GH4 is the ideal interchangeable lens camera for photographers and videographers that want greater mobility and speed, while delivering the professional quality they expect. The most advanced camera yet in Panasonic’s series of LUMIX G cameras, the LUMIX DMC-GH4 boasts stunning image quality and 4K video capability in a compact and durable chassis.

For those consumers looking to purchase the new DMC-GH4, Panasonic is offering a free battery and battery grip worth £315 when they purchase a DMC-GH4 Digital Camera.  An excellent addition to the GH4, the DMW-BGGH3E battery grip offers a longer battery life and a comfortable grip and easy handling even in vertical shooting, while the spare battery will be most useful for more shooting enjoyment. The free battery and battery grip is claimed by consumer redemption to Panasonic (http://www.panasonic.co.uk/promotions) until 2nd June 2014.[1]

What better start to the weekend than having a first look at the new and much anticipated DMC-GH4 camera!

—-

Source: Photographyblog.

I guess some of you already saw that well made infographic made by Lensvid. It clearly shows you the decline of the overall camera market (Compact, DSLR and Mirrorless). There is no escape, the market is shrinking and will probably shrink further the next couple of years. There are many reasons for that, economic crisis, market saturation and so on. It’s also interesting how the IDC prediction of mirrorless camera shipment is way off the reality. Shows us once again how well paid analysts do (often) big mistakes.

I will give you my forecast based on pure animal instinct: Unlike all these negative reports Mirrorless will do well the coming 2-3 years. You wanna bet a beer with me? :)

Something local: Pekka Potka analyzed the Finnish Camera Market. It’s one of the few European market where Olympus is actually doing pretty well with 21% share of the full system camera market (DSLR+mirrorless). Not far behind Nikon and canon (both around 32%).

If you own the “cheap” and rather unspectacular [shoplink 22691 ebay]Olympus 14-42mm collapsible zoom (here on eBay)[/shoplink]…welll…that new will make your day! It has a unique and surprisingly funny feature. You can actually take shots with it even if you detach it from the camera! ;)

Just watch the video on top to learn the “freelensing” technique discovered by Tony Lin from Witonosfreestyle. By using that method you can get pictures like this one:

Image courtesy by Tony Lin from Witonosfreestyle.

–

You can find many more images at Witonosfreestyle. Thanks a lot Tony!

Brugge by night in 7-14 with a GM1… from Pier-Yves Menkhoff Films on Vimeo.

E-M10 sample gallery at Digitalcamerareview.
Kowa Prominar 8.5mm f/2.8, 12mm f/1.8 and 25mm f/1.8 Hands-on Photos (Photographyblog).
Panasonic 14-42 mm f/3.5-5.6 II test at CameraStuffReview.
New E-M10 review at Camerahoarders.
Cashback Panasonic 100€ for Gm1 with kit lens 12-32 at Redcoon.

R: “Tried a EF to m4/3 Focal Reducer ordered from China: http://raymondjessiephoto.blogspot.ca/2014/02/canon-ef-to-m43-focal-reducer.html”

M0: “I thought the company “Nissin” is a domestic company, so I didn’t inform you this, but now I found Nissin has an English pages. Just before CP+ 2014, Nissin Japan announced the new flash light i40 “for mirrorless”. The working prototype (unfortunately only for Canon and Nikon) were a kind of show-stopper. http://www.nissindigital.com/2014/02/new-products-compact-flash-nissin-i40.html“

Gonzalo: “After a few weeks enjoying shooting with the Lumix GM1 everywhere I went, I’m ready to share my personal experience with this little jewel, all from a very hands-on point of view, and with lots of images to show how our relationship has developed. I hope you find this tiny marvel as enticing as I do! http://gonzalobroto.blogspot.com/2014/02/gm1-me-review-of-how-we-met-each-other.html”

Robin: “Hi there, after reviewing the E-M1 and using it for a while, I wrote a short follow up on shooting flash with the E-M1. If you like it I would be pleased if you could share with the 43rumors community. http://www.fotodesign-rs.de/olympus-om-d-e-m1-using-flash/”

Findlay: “I’ve discovered that the Sigma 30mm f2.8 DN (‘A’ Version) has hidden image stabilisation. I can hand hold down to 1/20 sec. and consistently get sharp images. It works on my Panasonic G6 and Olympus E-M5. I cannot find any info. regarding my findings, so I’m spreading the news See my blog post. http://mrfindlayphoto.blogspot.co.uk/2014/03/sigma-30mm-f28-dn-has-hidden-image.html“

Texas Store listed the price of the Panasonic GH4 (price found via dealsrunner). We had a couple of stores in EU and Asia accepting preorders and some of them listed a price for the cameras that were likely just….pure guess!

Anyway, if $1,699 is really the final price than this is a fair price for a 4K camera! You have to pay much more for the Blackmagic Design Production Camera 4K (here at BHphoto).

Tresor Mukonkole (english subtitles) from Hapax Films on Vimeo.

Rachid (video on top): I know it’s the GH4 rush right now (the gear-head I am is lusting on thoses specs!) but I wanted to share a piece I’ve done recently using m43 on a fine artist. There is some optionnal english subtitles on vimeo. It’s my first video as a freelancer and I hope to tell the story of many creators in every fields. https://vimeo.com/85867865
For thoses interested in gear I’ve used :
GH3
GH2
Olympus 12mm
Voigtlander 25mm
Canon FD 50mm
Elicar Macro FD 90mm
Sennheiser G3 wireless
Sanken Cos. 11 lav
Edelkrone slider V2
Glidecam HD1000
that’s it ! Hope you’ll enjoy

Frank: “Here’s a Shawn Blanc podcast episode where he talks about moving from taking iPhone pictures to an E-PL5, and now to an E-M10. The m43 stuff starts at about 7 minutes: http://weeklybriefly.net/photo-mojo/”

Joe: “I just want to highlight a fashion editorial that was recently published in print for Elegant Magazine February issue. I shot them with the Olympus E-M1, Panasonic 12-35mm, and the Olympus 45mm. Hope you guys like them! https://plus.google.com/u/0/photos/108896848372137852224/albums/5979582819640243713. You can see more of my fashion and commercial work where are mostly shot with micro 4/3 camera (GH2 and GH3): www.fotosiamo.com“

Robert: “A music video for my brother’s band, The World Record. Includes one hex bug, one cat and a butler. Shot with the Panasonic GX7 and SLR Magic HyperPrime Cine 12mm T1.6. I previously had the original version of this lens and traded it in for the new version which was released recently. It does not disappoint. Better control over the flare and better handling. It’s a wonderful lens to shoot video with. In this video the close focus ability worked very well. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Eqayds0JyaM”

Vincent: “not a rumor. Just a video I shot on my GH3. Thought it demonstrates how well the 1080/60p feature works. http://youtu.be/Rout5y73Z88”

Ryan: I recently flew to Thailand with my girlfriend. We had two GH3’s and an Edelkrone slider. Everything flew by very quickly while we were there and getting good footage meant being ready for the shot in the matter of seconds. The GH3’s really stepped up in terms of size and image quality. We shot mostly on the Panasonic 12-35 2.8 and Olympus 75 1.8, which covered a good amount of range (especially with ex-teleconversion) I hope you can post this up to your next round-up. Link to video: https://vimeo.com/87152721”

Vincent: “I just finished a short promo video project for the school where I teach, which I made with the GX7 along with the Olympus 12-40mm f2.8 and the Olympus 17mm f1.8.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bc36XNbBy4o“