The full Olympus presentation (It’s a new Panasonic fabricated and Olympus designed sensor!)


The big question of the day is, “Is Olympus using an own designed sensor?”. The official pree release didn’t mention anything about that but we know got a confirmation from Asian websites.
TvSmith interviewed “Mr Yasuo Asakura, the General Manager of SLR R & D, (he said) the E-P3 features a new Panasonic MOS sensor fabricated exclusively for Olympus

And Clubsnap posted the full Olympus press release power point presentation. It contains the info about the new sensor, new shutter and a lot more interesting news!

UPDATE: Clubsnap now removed the presentation!

Links to preorders

Olympus E-P3 preorders at Adorama (Click here). Price $899 with kit lens!
E-P3 presentation page on Amazon (Click here). No preorders yet.
Olympus 12mm f/2.0 lens preorder at Adorama (Click here). Price $799.
Olympus 45mm f/1.8 preorder at Adorama (Click here). Price $399.

a little bit of everything…


SLR Magic x [shoplink 209191 ebay]Toy Lens 26mm f/1.4[/shoplink] Olympus PEN E-PL2. Get the lens on [shoplink 209191 ebay]eBay (Click here)[/shoplink].

There is a Panasonic G3 review at CNET (Click here): “If you’re looking for a camera that’s not quite as big as a dSLR but doesn’t skimp on hardware controls or features like an articulated LCD, EVF and stereo full HD video, the G3 is one of my favorite options. But performance is hit-and-miss for shooting action, so you may end up having to go with something just a bit bigger, anyway.”
Check if the new G3 is in Stock by clicking those direct search links: [shopcountry 22077].

A very nice Olympus XZ-1 Field Report at Seriouscompact (Click here). Click those links to see the current Olympus XZ-1 price at [shopcountry 19904] (There are price drops in many countries).

Fotosidan discovered that the Panasonic GF3 catalogue pictures have been taken with the Canon 5D :)

Our japanese reader can participate to a Panasonic product presentation in Tokyo and Osaka (DC.watch)

Fuji X100 review at Steve Huff. In Stock check at [shopcountry 19929].

Innovation Underwater: Nauticam NA-EPL2 Housing for Olympus E-PL2 (Imaging Resource).

Olympus M.ZUIKO DIGITAL ED 14-150mm F4.0-5.6 review Popco (korean only).

Image samples of the GF3 Miniature function at Flickr. GF3 preorder search links: [shopcountry 23109].

Pentax makes a new mirrorless suicide system :)

Today Pentax announced their new “Q” mirrorless system! For $700 you get a camera with 47mm lens and a sensor that is smaller (1:2.33 inch) than the one used inside the [shoplink 19904]Olympus XZ-1[/shoplink]. I know Pentax will announce a more serious APS-C mirrorless system in autumn but isn’t that “Q” system way overpriced? And isn’t Pentax wasting to much of their (few) resources?

You can read the full announcement article on MirrorlessRumors (Click here).

Panasonic has 30% of the mirrorless market share in Japan (and confirms the new lenses by late 2011)

CNET Asia was at the Asia Pacific Lumix G Seminar 2011 in Thailand. Panasonic told them that they are holding the 30 percent mirrorless market share in Japan, Taiwan and Hong Kong and 25 percent market share in Singapore: “According to Panasonic, the company aims to increase its market share in the total ILC category by 10 percent (which roughly translates to 120,000 ILC units) by 2012. To achieve this, they shared some strategies which include targeting shutterbugs looking to upgrade to dSLRs and expanding its current lineup of Lumix G Micro System cameras, lenses and accessories. Panasonic also announced plans to allocate US$20 million in advertising dollars to promote the compact design of the Lumix G series cameras and focus on their touchscreen capabilities and iA mode settings.

Panasonic’s group general manager of AV in Asia Pacific, Motoki Nakahara, confirmed that there will be Micro Four Thirds lenses are slated for the later part of this year. As you might remember after the GF3 launch Panasonic confirmed that they are working on a professional GF camera, a new GH3 camera and that two new lenses would be announced by end of the year.

Reminder: Panasonic launched two cameras and one lens in 2011:
The G3 should be in Stock in most countries within the next days. Check those links: [shopcountry 22077].
The GF3 should be in Stock by late July/early April. Check those links: [shopcountry 23109] (It’s difficult to find preorder options in Europe).
The Leica 25mm f/1.4 will be in Stock in late July. Check those links: [shopcountry 23110] (Almost impossible to find it for preorder. And don’t confuse that lens with the Four Thirds version!).

Leica 25mm f/1.4 image samples on dpreview (+ US deals summary)

Dpreview (Click here) posted a few image samples taken with the new Panasonic-Leica 25mm f/1.4 lens. You can preorder the lens at Adorama (Click here) and on [shoplink 23181 ebay]eBay (Click here)[/shoplink].

Here is a short update about the latest US deals:
UPDATE: The GH2 with 14-140mm lens is in Stock at Amazon (Click here).
There are a couple of GH2 body only cameras for sale via third party resellers on Amazon (Click here). For the normal price ($899)!
During the last month the Panasonic 20mm was very difficult to find in Stock. If you are willing to pay a bit more than the official price you can fidn them in Stock at Amazon (Click here).
Panasonic GF3 preorders accepted at Amazon, Adorama, and J&R.
The price of the Panasonic 100-300mm dropped down to $521 at Amazon, Adorama and B&H.

Noktor 12mm f/1.6 will cost $499 and available in August

SLRmagic informed via Twitter that the new 12mm f/1.6 lens for Micro Four Thirds will cost around $499 and be available in August. The lens is made of metal and designed froms cratch for Micro Four Thirds.

As you know Slrmagic already makes three lenses (but they are not as good as the new Noktor):
SLR magic 11mm f/1.4 lens you can preorder on [shoplink 22154 ebay]eBay (Click here)[/shoplink] Toy Lens 26mm f/1.4 lens on [shoplink 18603 ebay]eBay (Click here)[/shoplink] SLR Magic 35mm f/1.7 MC lens on [shoplink 14881 ebay]eBay (Click here)[/shoplink]

What do you think about the price?

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Click on the thumbnails below to enlarge the pictures. All pictures have been taken with the Noktor 12mm preproduction lens!

a little bit of everything…(with GF3 tests and XZ-1 review)


AnalogRev: Rollei 35 T & Olympus Pen-D ([shoplink 23245 ebay]Click here to see that cam on eBay[/shoplink]).

New Firmware for Panasonic Lumix FP3, FH22, FS33 (Photoscala).

Full Olympus XZ-1 review at OutbackPhoto. Image samples at OutbackPhoto.

A new Micro Fur Thirds blog in France (u43.fr) -> Wish you good luck!

Panasonic GF3 accessories at Letsgodigital. Panasonic GF3 Video Review at PhotoRadar. Panasonic GF3 hands-on at TrendyNikkei. Panasonic GF3 test at the Czech website Digiarena. Panasonic G3 is now in Stock at Amazon UK (Click here). Preorders are available at Amazon, Adorama and B&H. In Europe at Amazon.de, Amazon.fr, and worldwide on [shoplink 22077 ebay]eBay[/shoplink].

Fotosidan discovered that the Panasonic GF3 catalogue pictures have been taken with the Canon 5D :)

Our japanese reader can participate to a Panasonic product presentation in Tokyo and Osaka (DC.watch)