We are close to a new year that I am sure will bring us many more innovations and cameras than the finishing 2011. And you already know most of what’s coming. Nikon will release their new FF cameras which as usual will bring a bit better image quality, a bit more features a bit more of everything. We can expect the same “slow advance” approach from Canon. Fuji is going to introduce a revolutionary new sensor made by organic materials that can surpass the quality of any other FF sensor. Sony will very likely introduce a fullframe NEX-9 camera and sensors with more Megapixels (there is already a working 100 Megapixel sensor prototype). Pentax plans to make both a fullframe and a medium format mirrorless camera. Panasonic will bring global shutter, and a new GH3 with top video quality.

But there is one technology that will probably be the ONE BIG THING of the year 2012. It’s the upcoming new Olympus viewfinder technology. I explain you my reasons:

I am pretty convinced (like many others) that mirrorless is the future. But there is one thing I really cannot fell in love with. It’s the electronic viewfinder. While I understand the advantages of such technology (What you see is what you get in terms of framing, depth of field and so on) I still think it will always miss that “special close to reality feeling” I have when I look through an optical viewfinder of a real rangefinder or DSLR camera. I prefer the use of the 3 inch LCD any time over the external viewfinder from my [shoplink 14830]Olympus E-P2[/shoplink]. And it’s not because of the poor quality. I also used the super high resolution viewfinder from the [shoplink 26379]NEX-5n[/shoplink]. It’s a bit better but it doesn’t change anything to the missing “reality feeling” I am looking for. It’s an unnatural process to look at a digital screen with a linear pattern of pixels that is placed at a couple of millimeters from your eye. It’s completely a different experience to look at the  direct stream of light coming from the real subject in the distance. And I believe that’s the real big gap between the current mirrorless cameras and the classic DSLR (or rangefinder) cameras. Neither a 100 megapixels sensor nor a super OLED technology can replace the ONE thing I need.

The [shoplink 19929 ebay]Fuji X100[/shoplink] hybrid viewfinder has been the first camera that made step in the direction I want. But it has on big limitation (it doesn’t work with interchangeable lenses). I know the new LX cameras from Fuji will use an optical (non-hybrid!) viewfinder. That sounds damn intriguing but what I heard about Olympus technology sounds far more advanced! It’s a sort of “semitransparent viewfinder“. You will have all the possible advantages. The optical “feeling” and when needed the digital “perfection”. Plus it works on a camera that can take interchangeable lenses. I still don’t know the details of the viewfinder. I only heard about a prototype having an invisible OLED layer on the optical viewfinder. I hope some of my sources can help me to figure out how it works. But all I know is that the camera is coming soon.

So dear Olympus, let others run the Megapixel race, the super fake perfectly boring specs war. What I need is to feel photography, to feel a camera that stays well in my hands, to feel a camera that brings me emotionally as close as possible to the moment I intend to capture. If Olympus will make that camera my little savings will be spent for them. No matter how many Megapixels the camera has.

P.S.: Thanks for all the positive energy you gave me today with your comments on my previous post. It really gave me the kick to write that post about the Olympus viewfinder!

P.P.S.: My favorite camera is still the [shoplink 27849 ebay]Mamiya 7 (Click here to see it on eBay)[/shoplink]. An absolutely non(!) perfect camera that makes me take superb pictures!

I long thought if I should write this or not. But there is no way around than be direct with you and tell you something personal.
No matter if you like 43rumors or not, no matter how many mistakes I may make or not, I am giving 100% of myself behind that website. I spend my time while I have breaks during my regular work, I spend my time while I am travelling around the world like I did in the last six months. I am the only one working on it, and I somehow managed to post daily news (even if it meant to work deep into the night). And looking back, I realize I am always on the extreme limit of my forces. As long as I am full of energy this hasn’t been a problem.

But recently I had some bad news in my life. I am going through tuff times since months (UPDATE: I am not ill, it’s something else). I guess you all understand what that means. These are the times when you fight against something that looks like you cannot beat. It’s amazing how life is so much bigger than our actions, hopes and fears. And in these last days I am feeling like I need to rest, slow down a bit. And that’s why I am writing this post. I cannot cheat on my energy and on my readers, I ask you to be patient if for the reason I mentioned to you I will be late in answer your emails, if I will not post 3-4 news per day as usual. I really need to take a deep breathe.

It may sounds like I am bit hopeless but I am not. For some reasons this is a healthy time. Sometimes life reminds you how stupid our thoughts, philosophy, and daily lies are. Life can be so tremendously honest and hit you with a big kick in the ass when you absolutely do not expect it. I am going damn close to what I am, more simple and with less waste of thoughts and actions.

And to end this post, I wish you that for Christmas: Don’t fear life, don’t lie to yourself, don’t waste time. Face the deepest and simplest part of your life, it may scares at the beginning, but once you are there you will feel much better than you think!

Merry Christmas
Ale

P:S.: A special thanks goes to the guys that created this: Cubestories.com. Thanks for the awesome experience!

P.P.S.: Wrote that post at 3.46 in the morning. Don’t care about my terrible English ok? ;)

SLRmagic announced the release of the new Spotting Scope for Micro Four Thirds. Their plan was to release them earlier but the product was delayed because customers asked them to add a tripod collar before we release the lens. You can see some image samples and buy the lens on their [shoplink 27827 ebay]eBay page (Click here)[/shoplink].

PRESS RELEASE

SLR Magic introduces a 12-36×50 ED Spotting Scope and expands its micro four thirds lineup with SLR Magic 12-36×50 ED Spotting Scope lens for Digiscoping.

Hong Kong, China (Dec 16, 2011) – SLR Magic introduces a 12-36×50 ED Spotting Scope and expands its micro four thirds lineup with SLR Magic 12-36×50 ED Spotting Scope lens for Digiscoping. With this latest addition, the portfolio of lenses for the micro four thirds system is now comprised of six focal lengths.

The SLR Magic 12-36×50 ED Spotting Scope gives you the highest resolution and brightest view possible by three key elements. It features an over sized eye relief, utilized Extra-low Dispersion optics, as well as fully Multi coated glass to help you with spotting the rare bird species. The SLR Magic 12-36×50 ED Spotting Scope also offers stacked, dual-focus controls, so you can make both rapid and fine-tuning adjustments. The scope comes with a soft carrying case and handle. The micro four thirds version comes with the mFT adapter objective.

The field of view of this spotting scope on the micro four thirds camera corresponds to a a 840-2520mm lens in 35mm format. The user friendly design allows you to attach your camera by mounting it like any other camera lens. Everything you need comes with the package and there is no need to have a compatible lens to use it. This is the perfect solution for amateur digiscopers who want to take photos or video of wildlife.

The 12-36×50 ED Spotting Scope will be available from authorized SLR Magic dealers end December 2011.

Technical Data
SLR Magic 12-36×50 ED (Premium Extra-low Dispersion glass) for mFT
Lens Type: Spotting Scope
Compatible Cameras: All micro four thirds mount cameras
Magnification: 12-36x
35mm equivalent focal length: 840-2520mm
Objective: Φ50
Lens Coating: Multi Coated
Close Focus: 15 ft.
Weight (oz./g): 28.2/800, 49.4/1400 (with mFT adapter objective)
Water Resistant/Fog proof: Yes
Eyepiece: Straight Zoom
Eye relief: 23mm
Accessories: mFT adapter objective with tripod collar
MSRP: $549

Andrew Chan
Product Manager

EXTRACT Sky News Chinese Hackers and Baby Buying stories from Andy Portch on Vimeo.

DSLRnewsshooter (Click here) posted an interesting article about using the AG-AF101 and GH2 for reportage work. Definitely worth to read it!

Something else. There are also some unboxing pictures of the Ownuser battery grip for the GH2 at Mobile01 (Click here and then on the green links inside the first post). You can usually find this grips on [shoplink 27770 ebay]eBay (Click here to search)[/shoplink].

Two more 43rumors readers work with the GH2:
Brian: “I wanted to share a promotional video that I shot on a Panasonic GH2 for Anime World Chicago. No hacks or expensive toys. Just my camera, the 20mm pancake lens, and a tripod.  http://vimeo.com/29159618”
Seb Farges: “This is the end of the friday morning, here it’s the holidays in France. My daughter is playing and reconstructing her own home. http://vimeo.com/33444906”
Objectivo Sevilla: “What a typical Sevillian this Monica! Despite the difficulties of life, if you don’t stop her to do what she wants, this genuine Andalusian never abandons her smile and her good humor. http://vimeo.com/33502906”
Travis: “I shot a bunch of video and stills at the regional bouldering competition my son competed at this weekend. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=02r6ArAnvHY“

Amateur Photographer reports that “Speaking at a press conference in Tokyo, Takayama told reporters that a merger was one of the options on the table after Olympus was forced to reveal the true state of its business in the wake of a £1.1 billion accounting scandal dating back to the 1990s. ”

Bloomberg reports a Takayama statement: “We’ll review our management structure, corporate governance and our business plans as we prepare for the shareholder meeting (March-April). We’ll be reborn as new Olympus so that we can provide value to all our stakeholders including shareholders, customers, banks and our employees.”

The last weeks we heard about Samsung, Fuji and Hoya being interested in a possible Olympus acquisition. Of course these are all rumors only. As I told you yesterday I would prefer if Olympus would remain an independent company. But I really don’t know what kind of “obscure” powers are now deciding the destiny of Olympus. I can only cross my fingers for Oly!

UPDATE: The good news is that betwenn April-September 2011camera sales rised by 15% from the same period the year before (4.2 million units manufactured).

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P.S.: Today Olympus shares went down 20% (Source: Bloomberg)

Olympus managed to present their revised financial results tot he Tokyo Exchange. This will avoid the delisting of the company from the stock exchange. Reuters reports: “The most recent restatement, for end-March 2011, showed a 51 billion yen ($655 million) reduction in Olympus’ net assets, and Olympus added that at of end-September, net assets stood at just 46 billion yen, down from a restated 225 billion in March 2007. It also revealed a net loss of 32.33 billion yen for the six months ended September 30, further fuelling talk that the once-venerable firm would need to take quick steps to shore up its balance sheet or risk becoming prey to a takeover.”

Also Bloomberg (Click here) reports that: “Fujifilm, which makes equipment for medical scans, has been reported as a possible bidder for Japanese camera maker Olympus Corp. Yamamoto, who also is a board member at Fujifilm, declined to comment on a possible buyout of Olympus today. Fujifilm Chief Executive Officer Shigetaka Komori said last month it was too early to discuss Olympus issues while the third-party panel was still probing the fraud at the camera maker.”

So Samsung, Hoya and now even Fuji could buy Olympus. Damn, this is going to be a tuff time for Olympus! I hope they will stay alive with their own force! I would prefer a Fuji-Olympus partnership over a Fuji Olympus takeover. Imagine a m43 camera with organic sensor :) Yeah just dreaming I know :)

As usual I am continually updating this post!

My first impression:

Olympus announced a new kit lens with slow aperture and not so low price ($499). But the real strengths of the lens are the new powerzoom feature, macro focusing and the weather sealed body. It also should have a high optical quality. I think the lens would have made a lot of sense if launched along a new weather sealed PEN camera. But I guess that camera is coming soon anyway…

Press release links:

Pictures of the silver version and lens with hood at Fotopolis. Picture of lens with hood at TV.smith.
Olympus Asia
German press release at Photoscala.
Quesabesde (spanish).
Focus Numerique (french).
Dpreview

Lens resolution chart:

Poll:

Before to vote take some time to think! :)

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Full press release:

CENTER VALLEY, Pa., December 14, 2011 – Olympus adds to its powerfully simple and growing PEN family with the first fully-compatible interchangeable Micro Four Thirds lens to incorporate an electronic motorized zoom. The M.ZUIKO DIGITAL ED 12-50mm F3.5-6.3 EZ (35mm equivalent 24–100mm) delivers smooth, quiet zooming that gives you versatility, portability and maximizes the performance of the Olympus PEN^® compact system cameras.
The sophisticated new lens has a zoom ratio of approximately 4.2x, allowing photographers to capture anything from detailed, wide-angle group shots to medium telephoto-range images so you can get up close and personal for intimate portraits of children and pets – even indoors. The photographer can control the zooming speed by turning the barrel – slowly for drama, quickly for performance, or at an intermediate rate. Manual zooming is also available for those looking to take full control.
In macro mode, which can be set by pushing the zoom ring forward while depressing the macro button on the side of the lens, focusing is possible between 8 and 20 inches for close-up shooting with a maximum image magnification of 0.72X (35mm camera equivalent). The L-Fn (Lens Function) button suspends the autofocusing operation temporarily to avoid unintended focusing on obstacles that appear suddenly between the camera and the subject.
Perfect for brilliant still images and high-definition (HD) video capture, the Movie & Still Compatible (MSC) M.ZUIKO DIGITAL ED 12-50mm F3.5-6.3 EZ has also been enhanced with a linear motor that drives smooth and quiet autofocusing for stress-free shooting.
New lens elements and glass materials ensure the clearest possible imaging performance, and the proven dust and splashproof mechanism originally featured in the Four Thirds SHG (Super High Grade) series lenses is now incorporated for the first time in a Micro Four Thirds System lens. Multiple sealing rings, fitted throughout the lens body, prevent water splashes and dust from penetrating, making the M.ZUIKO DIGITAL ED 12-50mm f3.5-6.3 EZ a versatile zoom lens for the toughest conditions.

U.S. Pricing and Availability
M.ZUIKO DIGITAL ED 12-50mm f3.5-6.3 EZ: Available Mid-January 2012
Estimated Street Price: $499.99