Do you want to see an almost exact digital copy of the [shoplink 19825 ebay]Olympus F[/shoplink]? Gizmon made it! Cute! More info at Mirrorlessrumors.com.

Links:
– [shoplink 19825 ebay]Olympus F at eBay[/shoplink] [shoplink 19825][/shoplink]

Source: Photoscala.

Bad news for Olympus! The Japanese company reports a turnover decline of 4.5% for the third quarter (October to December 2010). Consolidated operating profit falls by 46% to 8.9 billion yen (about € 78.7 million). Source: Financial Results for the Third Quarter ended December 31, 2010 (PDF file). And the “worst” part of the company is the Imaging Division that had a 28% sales loss compared to last year. Strong YEN and sales drop in North America are the main reasons for the bad results. The medical division of Olympus is still the strongest and most profitable business.

It sounds like Micro Four Thirds didn’t help them to increase the turnover. Some expert out there that can explain us the reason for such bad results?

But we also have a major and very unexpected news. Michael C. Woodford will become Chief Executive Officer of Olympus on 1 April 2011.  Mr. Woodford comes from the Olympus Medical & Industrial Division of Olympus. He is the first non japanese chief in Olympus history. That’s almost a “revolution” for a japanese company! Let’s hope he can bring some fresh new ideas inside Olympus. Good luck Mr. Ford!

Source: Photoscala.

UPDATE: False alarm, BHphoto does it list again.

Looking at the message above you get a little bit worried that the Fuji X100 release might have been delayed. Soruce of the message is BHphoto (Click here and type “x100” inside the search box). And also Amazon (Click here) removed the X100 preorders! Only Adorama (Click here) is accepting preorder but they also say “currently we do not have a scheduled delivery date from the manufacturer“.

Amazon (Click here), Adorama (Click here) and BHphoto (Click here) are now offering $50 of Olympus E-PL-2 camera’s with 14-42mm lens and $100 off dual kit with 40-150mm.
The same deal is available on the E-PL1 too at Amazon (Click here), Adorama (Click here) and BHphoto (Click here).

The japanese website DC.watch posted a nice set of image samples from the Micro Four Thirds booth at CP+ in Yokohama.
As you can see from the image above the new Micro Four Thirds member Komamura showed the “TS-Pro” which is a shift adaptor for [shoplink 19740 ebay]Nikon F lenses[/shoplink]! The video below shows it better (in japanese).

I want to thank all 43rumors reader that sent me links to interesting news. You helped me a lot!

The lens above is the 30mm f/2.8 mockup for NEX. Where is the m43 mockup? I hope the m43 verison is as fast as the [shoplink 18951]Four Thirds Sigma 30mm f/1.4 [/shoplink].
More about the NEX/Ricoh/Sigma announcements at: Mirrorlessrumors.
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I told you all good things come in three! After Zeiss and Schneider also Sigma officially announced “The launch of new lenses for Micro Four Thirds and E-mount camera systems.”

Press release:
“The Sigma Corporation is pleased to announce the development of new lenses for Micro Four Thirds and E-mount camera system.
As demand for compact system cameras increase, we intend to meet the requirements of users and develop new lenses for these systems, utilizing our advanced interchangeable lens development technology.
Detailed information including specifications, product names, pricing and launch schedules will be announced in due course.
A mockup will be displayed at Sigma’s booth during CP+, a camera and photo imaging show, held in Pacifico Yokohama Japan from February 9th, 2011.”

Sigma made a lot of Four Thirds lenses and I would love to see some of them redesigned for Micro Four Thirds (Click on lens name to see current auctions on eBay):
[shoplink 18947 ebay]Sigma 10-20mm f/4-5.6[/shoplink] [shoplink 18948 ebay]Sigma 18-50mm f/2.8[/shoplink] [shoplink 18948 ebay]Sigma 18-50mm f/3.5-5.6[/shoplink] [shoplink 18949 ebay]Sigma 18-125mm f/3.5-5.6[/shoplink] [shoplink 18950 ebay]Sigma 24mm f/1.8[/shoplink] [shoplink 18951 ebay]Sigma 30mm f/1.4[/shoplink] [shoplink 18952 ebay]Sigma 50mm f/1.4[/shoplink] [shoplink 18953 ebay]Sigma 50-500mm f/4-6.3[/shoplink] [shoplink 18955 ebay]Sigma 55-500mm f/4-5.6[/shoplink] [shoplink 18956 ebay]Sigma 70-200mm f/2.8[/shoplink] [shoplink 18957 ebay]Sigma 105mm f/2.8[/shoplink] [shoplink 18958 ebay]Sigma 135-400mm f/4-5.6[/shoplink] [shoplink 18959 ebay]Sigma 150mm f/2.8[/shoplink] [shoplink 18960 ebay]Sigma 300-800mm f/5.6[/shoplink]

If you have some Sigma rumor to share contact me at 43rumors@gmail.com or use the contact form on the right sidebar. Thanks!

Olympus announced they will show the mockup of a “high-end” M.Zuiko Micro Four Thirds prime lens at the CP+ 2011 show (which starts today). That’s the way Oly wants to celebrate the 75 years of Zuiko-branded lenses! There are no details about the lens focal length or aperture but they said it will be available in 2011.

This is part of the press release:

ABOUT THE ZUIKO BRAND
It was in 1936 that the Takachiho Corporation, forerunner of today’s Olympus Optical Co., Ltd., introduced its first camera, the Semi-Olympus I. The camera’s lens was given the name Zuiko, a Japanese word that means “light of the gods.” It was an auspicious name, chosen partially because the lens had been developed at the Mizuho Optical Research Laboratory and partially because the corporate name, Takachiho, is a Japanese word that means “mountain of the gods.” But more than the name, it was the quality of the lens that sparked conversation at the time. Ever since, Zuiko lenses have been featured on succeeding generations of Olympus cameras. The Zuiko lenses are widely acclaimed for their remarkable imaging power, and have become one of the world’s most respected high-performance lens brands.

Semi-Olympus I (1936)
Launched in 1936, the Semi-Olympus I was the first Olympus camera fitted with the newly developed Zuiko lens, which was mounted on a Semi-Proud body supplied by Proud.

The lens looks nice but I want it for now! :)

Fuji announced that the X100 will be available in March in USA and in April in Europe. It will be priced at $1,199.95 (US) or 1.000 Euro. You can preorder the camera at Amazon (Click here). Sorry, I didn’t find any preorder option in Europe.

They also announced a new list of accessories:

Case
To perfectly complement the look and premium quality feel of the X100 camera body, a retro leather “quick shot” case with matching strap has been designed to fit the X100 like a glove. Made out of luxurious leather it has been thought out with uncompromising attention to detail, ensuring the ultimate ease of use and practicality .

Lens Hood and Adapter Ring
Precision milled from metal, the lens hood and adapter ring will be available as a set. The adapter ring is also compatible with commercially sold 49mm filters.

TTL Flash
EF-20 (Guide Number:20) and EF-42 (Guide Number:42) will be newly added to the TTL flash line-up.

Fuji posted a few official image samples at finepix-x100 (Click here). We do all agree the camera looks very nice but I do believe the camera will NOT sell well simply because it doesn’t take interchangeable lenses. You know the features, the price and you have see the image samples…so what are you going to do?

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Via Enagadget and Photoscala.

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I repeat: There are three reasons why we talk about that camera on 43rumors:
1) Fuji is part of the Four Thirds group
2) We were told by an anonymous source that Fuji is getting help from one of the current Micro Four Thirds members (which is making some parts of the cameras).
3) Because many 43rumors readers do like innovative concepts and well made cameras and I hope Panasonic/Olympus will take notice of our interest to make a [shoplink 17020]DMC-LC1[/shoplink] or [shoplink 17129]Olympus 35RC[/shoplink] version of the X100 (of course with interchangeable lenses!) :)