Olympus announced three new compact cameras:
SZ-30 24x optical (25-600mm), 1080p movie, Can capture full res photos & video at the same time, Can shoot two videos at the same time
SZ-20 12.5x optical, 1080p Movie, 460k screen, 9FPS Continual shooting
TG-810 Crushproof, Waterproof, Shockproof, GPS & Electronic Compass, 920k dot screen

Although those are not m43 camera it’s always interesting to see what kind of new features Olympus did or didn’t implement. The most interesting feature is the “Multiframe movie” which simultaneous captures 1080p HD videos and full resolution stills. The necessary power for that is given by the new “Dual TruePic III+ Engine“. It’s also a surprise to see that Olympus is using a new 16 Megapixel “Backlight-CMOS-Sensor“. Is it from Panasonic or Sony?

UPDATE: If that 16Megapixel sensor is really from Sony than this could mean that Olympus is no more bound (by 2 or 4 years contracts) to Panasonic sensors. Could this have some influence on the next PEN cameras?

Press release

Megapixel
DPreview
Photographyblog
Photoscala

Quesabesde posted a new Fuji X100 field review (Click here to read the google english translation). They posted new image samples you can download and they also noticed quite a few issues during the X100 field test like:
– The X100 does not offer an automatic extension on the screen when operating the focus ring in manual mode.
– Shutter speed is limited to values between 1 / 30 and 1 / 1000 second in Aperture Priority modes
– very slow buffer

Fuji’s future

As you know Fuji is part of the Four Thirds group but has not decided to realize a mirrorless Micro Four Thirds camera. Instead they did develop the fixed lens X100. The real question now is if that camera will really help Fuji financial situation. Many experts out there do believe the camera will be a failure and Fuji should have gone with m43. What do you think? What should Fuji do?

You can preorder the Fuji X100 at Amazon US, Adorama, BHphoto. I didn’t find any European online shop accepting preorders.

UPDATE: Some people didn’t like (or didn’t understand) the video about Hitler making fun of the GH2 availability. I really didn’t imagine someone could get hurt by such a video. As a sign of respect for them I removed it. For those that didn’t see the video and do have no problem at all with the black humor behind that you can find the video here: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BhDoZbWOPQc&feature=player_embedded

A few personal serious thought about the “Hitler video”:
First: That video is very famous in Internet and millions of people saw different version of it. It’s a viral video that is going around since years! That’s why I didn’t have any problem at all to post it because I thought that being used to, people would understand it correctly.
Second: As I understand German I can assure you there is no racist speech, no talk about the horrific things he made inside that clip. It only shows the complete craziness of the person.
We could talk for hours about the question if it is correct to make Black humor using “Hitler” as main figure or not. But as this is not the place for it I will stop here and send my excuses for the few people that didn’t like that post.

P.S.: This brings me to the idea to watch “The Great Dictator” once again. Wonderful movie!

Fuji X100 Hands-on (Preorders at: [shopcountry 19929])

10 Reasons Leica Will Release an M43rds Camera (pitofknowledge).
Olympus XZ-1 Test Images at Imaging Resource.
Panasonic 100-300mm f/4-5.6 tested at Outback Photo.
Why I’m Big on Small – Part 1 of 3 (2guysphoto).
Impressions on the M.Zuiko 40-150 (and against the 45-200) at E-P1.net forum.
Field Review: Olympus EPL-2 (Day 2) at ThePhoBlographer.

Message from a 43rumors reader:
“I wanted to let you know about something that you and possibly some m 4/3 readers might like to know about. I have a good friend, Sonya Louise Barham, who is embarking on a grand adventure. She has sold all of her belongings and is soon leaving on at least a 2 year trip around the world (with her trusty [shoplink 16885]Olympus E-P1[/shoplink]) and only the vaguest of itineraries. She has a blog where we can all follow along vicariously with her travels and also a kickstarter page where many people have helped to support the project. Two weekends from now I am having an event at my gallery here in Los Angeles where some of her prints will be on display and the proceeds from which will go to her kickstarter. We can all follow along at http://sonyalouise.tumblr.com/ and maybe some of the m 4/3 readers can make friends with her and possibly meet up with her along her travels! I’ve always admired her eye for photography and she has a wonderful writing style which are all evident on her blog. She’s been recently focused on gathering donations for the project as she is coming to the end of her kickstarter goal but If you read back her usual writings are of much more entertaining. She has entitled the endeavor, “A Search for Heartbreaking Beauty” and I have no doubt she will find it and share it with us all. Anyhow, maybe you can pass this along!
Thanks,
Robert“

Panasonic announced a new firmware upgrade for the [shoplink 16841]AG-AF100[/shoplink]. Those are the improvements:
1: The color of the picture in the LCD display has been improved.
2: During VFR recording, an icon which tells “No audio is recorded” has been added in View finder and LCD display. There is no change for the functionality of the camera.
3: Capability for handling the invisible file made by Mac has been added. The firmware update for the items below has been made possible by using Mac.

Click here to download the firmware at Panasonics website.
You can order the Micro Four Thirds camcorder at [shopcountry 16841].

There is also a new AF100 and Voigtländer 25mm F0.95 hands on at EosHD. There are plenty of Voigtländer auctions on [shoplink 15659]eBay (Click here)[/shoplink]. But good luck in finding one for a decent price!

Samyang dropped a message on the facebook fan page to announce that the new 35mm f/1.4 manual Four Thirds lens will start shipping next month.
You can find all current Samyang lenses on [shoplink 16768 ebay]eBay (Click here)[/shoplink].

Reminder: If you donpt find the Samyang lenses at your preferred store please keep in mind that they are also sold with different brand names like “Falcon” and “Vivitar”. Check it out:
– [shoplink 14885 ebay]Falcon (Vivitar) 85mm f/1.4[/shoplink] – [shoplink 14887 ebay]Samyang 85mm f/1.4 IF MC[/shoplink] – Opteka 8mm f/3.5
– Falcon 8mm f/3.5
– Rokinon 8mm f/3.5
– Bower 8mm f/3.5

Test Olympus E-PL2 : écran et autofocus (Focus Numerique). E-PL2 links to [shopcountry 18844].
E-PL2 studio photography in P mode and in Jpeg (Flickr).
The japanese blog capacamera tested all new Olympus lens converters.
E-PL1s review at ganref.
ThePhoBlographer posted a teaser of the Olympus EPL-2 field review in the form of the gorgeous photo on their Facebook wall.
Panasonic GF2 review at Hybridcams. GF2 links to [shopcountry 17361] GH2+Nokton 25mm test at DC.watch.impress. Check the Nokton auctions at [shopcountry 15659].
Panasonic GH2 review at mobile01. GH2 links to [shopcountry 16254] Fujifilm Finepix X100 first look at Photoreview Australia. X100 preorders at [shopcountry 19929] Short Olympus E-5 review at faz.net (german). E-5 links to [shopcountry 17163]