Lepidi (translation here) reports the serial numbers of the European E-M5 cameras affected by the crack issue:
– Black: BEK501001 til BEK508887
– Silver: BF4501001 til BF4503865
Contact your local Olympus agent if you have that crack issue and they will fix it for you.

Something else: Olympus to Attend Focus with Damian McGillicuddy (Photographyblog).

And finally for EU readers: New refurbished Olympus cameras are on auction at [shoplink 22691 ebay]Olympusmarket[/shoplink]. This includes some of the latest cameras:
E-M5 [shoplink 36922 ebay]auction 1[/shoplink], [shoplink 36923 ebay]auction 2[/shoplink], [shoplink 36924 ebay]auction 3[/shoplink], [shoplink 36925 ebay]auction 4[/shoplink].
E-PL5 [shoplink 36921 ebay]auction[/shoplink].
E-PM2 [shoplink 36919 ebay]auction 1[/shoplink], [shoplink 36920 ebay]auction 2[/shoplink].

Olympus Japan officially announced the new E-M5 firmware update! Please let me know if you see some improvements beside the two mentioned on their page. Thanks!

P.S.: Use your Digital Camera Updater to install the new firmware And thanks to the new (anonymous) source that shared the correct info!

UPDATE: And Olympus Japan reports that the screw on the E-M5 LCD screen may cause a crack. Only a certain range of cameras with specific serial numbers are affected by the issue and Olympus may repair them. Here are the affected camera serial numbers:

UPDATE: The serials on top are for the cameras sold in Japan. here are the serials for Europe: “BEK501001 – BEK508887 (black) BF4501001 – BF4503865 (silver) Should your camera be listed in one of the above serial number batches, please call the free-of-charge hotline 00800 67 10 83 00 to receive support for a free check and repair of your product.“

Panasonic GH3 External Battery w/ P&C GearBox GB-2 DSLR Video Cage (via Cheesycam).

LX7 review at Digitalphotographyschool.
Tilt adapter for Micro Four Third – Part 3 – Simple adapter at Drinkcat.
GH3 images now at Imaging Resource Comparometer.

Alex: “I am still puzzled by the lack of noticing the dynamic range of the GH3, not less after the DxOmark of the GH3 showing it equal to the OMD – Which if you look at the attached can not possibly be true… The OMD is way behind when it when it comes to highlight. The shoot out is from this link: http://forums.dpreview.com/forums/post/50378636”

Farrukh: “Am back at London Fashion Week shooting with an EP3 and the 45mm f1.8. You can see some of my Backstage and Catwalk photos here: https://www.facebook.com/media/set/?set=a.366779943428268.66758.341504945955768&type=1”

Espen: “Looks like the Nauticam under water housing for the DMC-GH3 is right around the corner, they will showcase the housing at the NAB show in april: http://nab13.mapyourshow.com/5_0/exhibitor_details.cfm?exhid=410905&CFID=89448138&CFTOKEN=ea65bbf280d0a3e9-EEA1621E-A092-3054-FD418731D33F6C03 “Nauticam is the worlds premier manufacturer of underwater camera housings and accessories. Visit the Nauticam booth to see housings for the Canon 1DC, Panasonic GH3, RED EPIC and SCARLET, SmallHD DP4 and more.”

Cody: “I just posted my 1st gh3 video w/lumix 35-100mm. I used the i0S app & ETC mode also! Enjoy https://vimeo.com/59870449”

Kyle: “$249 Canadian with free shipping for PEN E-PM1 with 14-42 II R lens.  $599 Canadian with free shipping for the DMC GF3 X with 14-42 PZ lens.“

Angenieux 12-120mm C Mount Test on the Panasonic GH2 from Logan Stewart on Vimeo.

GH3 vs E-M5 at Hardwarezone.
Olympus 60mm macro review at Digitalcamerareview.
Second part of the 60mm macro review at Lepidi (translation here).
Panasonic 3D lens patent at Freepatentsonline.

Ben: “We took the GH3 for a “TEST FLIGHT.” Panasonic liked it so much that they posted it on their Facebook page. I thought your readers would enjoy it too. Here’s the link:
https://vimeo.com/58942114”

Nicolas: “I just posted the last post of my series on a cheap tilt adapter for Micro-Four third cameras: http://drinkcat.blogspot.sg/2013/02/tilt-adapter-for-micro-four-third-part3.html.At least for amateur work, and as long as you only want tilt, and notshift, my adapter does the trick. The only thing you need is a legacy lens (20-30$ on eBay), a body cap, a lens cap, and some plastic. I’m working on a more elaborate version that would allow to take videos,
will keep you posted ,-)”

Ryan: “Found the closest way to “Cinestyle” type profile is -5,-1,-1,-1. Shot this short travel piece with that setting on the GH3. It would be amazing if you could post this up at some point. Looking forward to NAB, waiting for rumors on a 2k or 4k micro four thirds panasonic. Its bound to happen at some point. https://vimeo.com/59450878”

Ted: “A 15-minute documentary I filmed using a Panasonic GH1 has been accepted at 5 film festivals, including the Boston International Film Festival in April, 2013. If you would like to see what the film looks like, I’ve posted a short trailer for it here: http://vimeo.com/57326102”

Anonymous: “A nice test of the Panasonic long zooms (70-200mm f/2.8 and 100-300mm f/4-5.6) on an Olympus E-M5. Great pictures of nature (especially birds). Also in the comments section and interesting remark by the author: “I always switch the lens stabilization off – the Olympus IBIS is much better in my opinion.” http://lindsaydobsonphotography.com/pets/panasonic-35-100-f2-8-and-100-300-f4-5-6-olympus-omd/”

Aron: “I just did a few GH3 iso and in camera noise reduction test.If your interested please check them out. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=p3K3Y9r7T_U&list=PL4030B34F4B40FAC8&index=1   and http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zJpzR46vwOY&list=PL4030B34F4B40FAC8&index=2”

Vittore: “Hi I’m Vittore Buzzi, I’m a professional photographer who uses only Olympus Om-D cameras I won the 3rd prize for sport stories at  World Press Photo here http://www.worldpressphoto.org/awards/2013/sports-feature/vittore-buzzi?gallery=6096&photographer=5961. I think that this could be an interesting story for your blog. Here my sites: http://photographer.photoshelter.com/   http://www.wedding-photographer.it/“

We had a busy week and plenty of long discussion that shouldn’t get lost now. So here is a roundup if you want to read articles and comments posted this week:

Rumors:
Olympus will announce the E-P5 in June while a new OMD camera may be announced in September (Click here ot read the article).
New Panasonic MFT cameras coming soon (article here).
Panasonic and Olympus interviews. Panasonic wants to go PRO while Olympus will not use hybrid EVF (article here).
GX2 specs (article here).

Reviews:
GH3 got DxOmarked (article here).

News:
Olympus denied their DSLR investment reduction (article here).
Detailed Panasonic Colour Splitter Sensor report (article here).

Issues:
The Panasonic 12-35mm X lens has an issue on the stabilization system when shooting long exposure pics (article here).
GH3 Intervalometer issue (article here).

Panasonic UK just had the smart idea to launch the new ‘Try Before You Buy” servie! Basically you can get the new Panasonic GH3 and 12-35mm lens for 48 hours (excluding delivery and collection time). You will have to request he camera form one of the stores listed here below. I think that’s a great thing for all those of us that want to try a camera before to actually buy it. Barney Sykes, Lumix G Camera Product & Marketing Manager says “The GH3 is by far the most advanced system camera we have ever launched and we recognise customers may want to road test this product before committing to such as high value purchase, therefore we are  delighted to be able to offer this scheme to our key retail partners to help increase their sales opportunities”

I wish this service to be extended worldwide! :)

Retailers include:

·        Annings, Ilkley, Yorkshire
·        Bradford CE
·        Cambrian
·        Camerabox Kettering
·        Cameraland / Stanbrook Cardiff
·        Camera Solutions
·        Carmarthen Camera Centre, Camarthan
·        Castle Cameras Bournemouth
·        Chas Eagles
·        Chas Norman Cameras Sevenoaks
·        Chris Goodhead
·        Clifton Cameras Dursley
·        Comleys
·        Frank Wilkinsons
·        Harrison Cameras
·        Mathers
·        Mifsuds Brixham
·        Park Cameras
·        Peter Rogers
·        Photo Express
·        Photosound Vantage, Bishops Stortford
·        Richards (Bass & Bligh)
·        S R S Microsystems Ltd Watford
·        T4 Cameras Swindon
·        Williams
·        York Camera Mart
·        Conns Camera, Ireland
·        Bermingham Camera, Ireland

found via Whatdigitalcamera.

In response to yesterdays article from Sponichi Annex (translation here) today Olympus officially denied that they are going to reduce their DSLR (aka Four Thirds) business (Source: DC.watch). And they underlined that their DSLR plans will remain “unchanged”. And regarding the compact camera business they said that they are now “focusing management resources on higher-priced models”.

Editor’s note: With no new Four Thirds lens released in three years and just one Four Thirds camera (the E-5) there is no need to read a press release to see that their DSLR investments and product strategy has been “reduced”. No matter what Olympus says. Of course, Olympus may could restart to push the Olympus FT system. But I don’t think this is ever going to happen (just my personal opinion).

In summary what to expect in 2013: Rumors are unreliable and unproven stories but they tell us that there will be a new PEN in June, new OMD in September, new MFT zooms and indeed a high end premium compact camera with fixed lens. It is also rumored that there will be a camera with a 100% lens support for Four Thirds lenses. But whether this will be a high OMD with phase detection AF pixels or an E-7 has yet to be seen.