You might not be interested in getting those converters but it’s good to know that Olympus manged to solve all logistic problems due the recent Japan earthquake disaster. The new converters worldwide shipment was scheduled for March 18 but i had to be delayed. In a recent press release (Click here) Olympus announced that worldwide shipment will now start on April 28. Reminder, those converters can be used on the new 14-42mm II lens which is also the new kit lens of the [shoplink 18844]Olympus E-PL2[/shoplink].

You can already preorder the converters in many stores:
Olympus Fisheye Converter at [shopcountry 21289].
Olympus Wide Lens Converter at [shopcountry 21292].
Olympus Macro Converter at [shopcountry 21293].

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Tomorrow (on Saturday) for the very first time I will have the chance to see some of my readers….for real! Everybody can meet me between 13:30 and 16:00 at the “Bar 2” which is located in the center of the city (Vrijdagmarkt 19). How can you find me? Easy, I will have my white E-P1 with Nokton lens on the table.

The reason for the meeting is quite simple. I need to discuss about the further development of the website and you will might help me on that. And It’s by far more funny to talk about it on a table with a couple of beers!
UPDATE: I plan to make more minimeetings in Barcelona, Montpellier and NYC.

See you tomorrow!

P.S.: If you will arrive after the start of the meeting and for some reason we will not be there because we might moved to other place ask the barkeeper where “43rumors” has gone.

-> The full list of TIPA award winners can be seen here: http://www.tipa.com/english/XXI_tipa_awards_2011.php

What a surprise! The [shoplink 17163]Olympus E-5[/shoplink] has been voted as “Best expert DSLR camera” for the year 2010. It received the TIPA award for the following reason: “For a very reasonable price, the Olympus E-5 provides benefits that rival those found in some professional SLRs: complete weather-sealing, comprehensive functions, excellent responsiveness, 100% viewfinder, good noise control, dual CF/SD slots, built-in image stabilisation, all in a rugged magnesium-alloy body. Add to this Olympus’ Dust Reduction System, which has proven to be among the most effective solutions in the market. The 12.3 Megapixel Live MOS sensor, combined with the ‘TruePic V+’ image engine produces images that rival competitors with substantially higher pixel counts.”
To be onest we have to admit that the E-5 had almost no competition. The [shoplink 21101]Nikon 7000[/shoplink] the price in the category “Best D-SLR Advanced” and Canon didn’t announce any high-end DSLR cameras in 2010.
Check out price and availability of the E-5 at [shopcountry 17163].

And that is certainly NOT a surprise. The Panasonic GH2 won the price as “Best Compact System Camera Expert“: “The Panasonic Lumix DMC-GH2 is a true ‘hybrid’ photo and video camera, where video is no longer just an additional function. The DMC-GH2 features full HD 1920×1080, 60i (NTSC) / 50i (PAL) smooth, high quality video recording with 60p (NTSC) / 50p (PAL) output in addition to the high quality photo, a world’s first for cameras in this category. The DMC-GH2 can be operated through an intuitive touch control screen. For example, just tapping a subject on the screen will make the camera focus with a speed that rivals the best DSLR’s on the market.”
Check out price and availability of the GH2 at [shopcountry 16254].

And the Olympus XZ-1 won the price as “Best Expert Compact Camera“: “The Olympus XZ-1 has one of the fastest zoom lenses in its class, the iZuiko f1.8-2.5 6.0-24mm (28-112mm equivalent angle of view in 35mm cameras.) Rather than succumb to the continuing Megapixel race, the light-reception area of each pixel of the 1/1.63-inch, 10 Megapixel CCD has been doubled. The XZ-1’s AF illuminator, Dual Image Stabilisation, Low-Light mode that automatically adjusts the ISO sensitivity up to ISO 3200 and the compact size all add up to an exciting “candid” camera that also offers advanced manual controls.”
Check out price and availability of the XZ-1 at [shopcountry 19904].

The full list of TIPA award winners can be seen here: http://www.tipa.com/english/XXI_tipa_awards_2011.php

The very well informed Amateur Photographer website (Click here) noticed that “high-end digital SLRs threatens to raise street prices in the coming weeks as UK dealers struggle to meet demand after last month’s Japanese earthquake.”

Also our sources told us that product shortage is expected for all Japanese camera producer (Including Panasonic and Olympus). The worst “rumor” I received told me that there will be supply problems for the next 6 months! If you noticed a price increase on Panasonic/Olympus products drop me a message at 43rumors@gmail.com. The only thing I have seen is that in US there were almost no price drops or deals on any Micro Four Thirds product during the last 3 weeks and also the Panasonic GH2 is out of Stock again (Check [shopcountry 16254]). That’s pretty unusual.

The only real good deal is the GH1 kit offer. It’s ongong since a few weeks and will last until the last GH1 has been sold:
1) Panasonic GH1 with 14mm lens for $699 at Amazon (Click here). The lens alone costs $364. and if you would buy it separately with the GH1 it would cost you a total of $764. With that deal you save $64!
2) Panasonic GH1 with 20mm lens for $699 at Amazon (Click here). The lens alone costs $399. You save $99!
3) Panasonic GH1 with 45-200mm lens for $649 at Amazon (Click here). The lens alone costs $349. You save $100!
4) Panasonic GH1 with 14-45mm lens for $649 at Amazon (Click here). The lens alone costs $359. You save $90!
5) Panasonic GH1 with 14-42mm lens for $499 at Amazon (Click here). The lens alone costs $199. You save $100!

P.S.: There were a few dollar price drops on the Panasonic 100-300mm lens which is now in Stock for $525 at Amazon (Click here).

Olympus XZ-1 with VF-2 Electronic Viewfinder – Best of Both Worlds? (TheDigitalStory)

GF1 vs. E-PL2 size comparison on Flickr.

Olympus E-PL2 test at DC.watch.

Angle and Frame bis (Jjsemplephotography).

Panasonic Lumix DMC-TZ18 / ZS8 review (CameraLabs)

Link to the new redesigned Olympus Cafe Forum: http://www.olympuscafe.com/forums/

I received that message from Chris Kovacs,: “We would like to introduce you to a new venture in fine art photography. Adore Noir Magazine is an digital (PDF) black and white fine art photography magazine. You can download a sample of Adore Noir Magazine from the download section of our website. Download directly to iPhone, iPad and any other electronic device supporting PDF files. The sample includes the full feature of acclaimed photo artist Dominic Rouse and an article on the Artistic Mind, by Sandra Djak Kovacs. We hope you enjoy this new venture.
Kind regards,
Chris Kovacs, Editor, www.adorenoir.com facebook.com/Adore.Noir.Magazine“

For all our GH2 current and future owners. Noah Kadner just sent me the press release text of his latest training video:

“Call Box, a provider of interactive training for digital media professionals, has released their latest training course worldwide, “Panasonic GH2 Guidebook.”
About the Panasonic GH2 Guidebook
Created by Apple Certified Pro instructor Noah Kadner, this course takes users through the usage of the GH2 camera in production and post-production. “Panasonic GH2 Guidebook” features original content broken down into learning modules with interactive demonstrations and easy to understand, real-world examples. The course focuses on the use of the DSLR camera as a filmmaking tool.
“The Panasonic GH2 is an exciting milestone in the evolution of affordable, high-quality cameras.” says Kadner. “With the right settings and accessories you can easily create video content that looks like a Hollywood movie. This course gets you up to speed with tips and tricks only hinted at in the manual and is aimed at the starting to intermediate user.”
In addition to camera settings and lens recommendations, the Panasonic GH2 Guidebook also gives tips for working with footage in post-production. “We go step-by-step through copying and archiving operations off the SDHC media cards,” says Kadner. “Then we look at ingesting, editing and outputting finished projects with a focus on Apple’s Final Cut Pro. As far as we know, this is the first training course of its kind for the GH2– the camera is that new.”
Topics include Interchangeable Lens Choices, Working with Lens Mount Adapters,
Controlling Exposure with ND Filters, Audio, AVCHD Format Choices, Extra Tele-Convergence, Final Cut Pro Workflow, SDHC Card Management, HDMI Output, Focus Control and more.

Pricing and Availability
“Panasonic GH2 Guidebook,” is available on as a digital download and is priced at $34.99 (US). It can be purchased directly from the company at http://www.callboxlive.com/products/panasonic-gh2-guidebook.“

I guess you are curious to see who won and who lost market share during 2010. Bloomberg posted the market share of all units sold in 2010 (compact cameras and system cameras). It’s not a surprise to see that Canon is leading the group. But Sony is just a small step behind and Samsung is very close to Nikon. I would have almost bet a bunch of dollars on a small Panasonic and Olympus market share growth but de facto they didn’t grow at all. Panasonic and Olympus do have almost exactly the same share as 2009. It’s a bit difficult to analyze the results. Most of the sold cameras are compact cameras so m43 sales do have only a small influence on the whole data. Generally spoken worldwide camera sales jumped 10 percent to 141 million units last year.

If you need more detailed data take a look at BCNranking (Click here) which displays the weekly cameras sales in Japan. And you can check the Amazon Bestseller rankings to see what’s selling best on Amazon. As you can see compact cameras are always on top:

Amazon US (Click here): The LX5 is selling well
Amazon DE (Click here): The Panasonic TZ10 is on top
Amazon UK (Click here): Again the TZ10 on top.
Amazon FR (Click here): and for the third time the TZ10 on top!
Amazon IT (Click here): No Olympus or Panasonic cameras on top.