The first real competition for the Panasonic GH4 has been announced. And it’s hard to say if it’s a real challenger. First of all Sony didn’t unveil any pricing. From a tech point of view these are also very different cameras. For example the Sony A7s cannot record 4K internally on SD cards (the GH4 can do that). And Sony also doesn’t offer something like Panasonic’s handy YAGH interface (Sony says you have to buy a third party external 4K recorder). And the A7s uses the same slow focusing system of the A7-A7r camera which are by miles behind the GH4 speedy, reliable and video optimized af. There is also little info about the software. Overall it looks more like an A7 camera with 4K added feature rather than e specifically designed hybrid camera. The big plus of the A7s is that it doesn’t use any pixel binning and from a pure photography point of view it’s curious to get back to 12 Megapixels which on a Full Frame camera like that should deliver impressive IQ (ISO goes up to 409,600).

But like I said, it’s too early to get an idea about the A7s. it will be also interesting to see the specs of the new JVC 4K MFT camera.

North American preorders, shipping date and price:
GH4 camera at Amazon (Click here), Adorama (Click here), BHphoto (Click here), and Panasonic (Click here). Price: $1,698. In Canada at Vistek (Click here).
GH4 camera with interface unit at Amazon (Click here), Adorama (Click here) and BHphoto (Click here). Price: $3,298
Interface unit only at Amazon (Click here), Adorama (Click here), BHphoto (Click here) and Panasonic (Click here). Price: $1,998

Europen preorders, shipping date and price:
Germany: Wexcameras, Marcotec-shop.de.
UK at Wexphotographic, CameraWorld, UKdigital, CVP, TipTop.
Holland at Fotohanskeuzekamp.
Belgium at Fotokonijnenberg.
Norway at Fotovideo.
Sweden at Cyberphoto, Skandinavianphoto.
Finland at Telefoto, Topshot, Verkkoauppa.
France at Photocineshop.
Spain: Fotoboom.

JVC (news via Olympus Japan) officially joined Micro Four Thirds! And they also said they will show a new 4K camera (with MFT mount) at the NABshow in Las Vegas! Info at jvckenwood.co.jp. There are no images or specs of the camera yet! Let me know if you can find them…thanks :)

This is again a great new for the MFT system!!!

Markus Tysk
Shot in the Closed down mental asylum in Säter, Sweden.
Em-5 + Nokton 17.5mm f0.95 @f5.6 — hier: Säters Mentalsjukhus.

These are some of the week most liked readers pictures posted on 43rumors facebook wall (Click here to see them all). As usual feel free to share your picture and like the pictures from others!

Thomas: “long time reader of your great blog and CEO of COSYSPEDD GmbH, a startup from Germany with a unique bag for mirrorless cameras. See our first video: http://youtu.be/-UFOpSG3g48 (Posted on top of this post at 43rumors). In short:
Wear your mirrorless camera like a western hero wears his gun. Cosyspeed CAMSLINGER bags give you fast, one handed access to your cam, comfortable wearing the whole day long and a new, cool feeling when shooting photos. It’s a unique bag system that really brings out the benefits of mirrorless cameras.
Our website is www.cosyspeed.com and I think you’ll find more info there. Go to the media page to find some videos that’ll show the functions of the CAMSLINGERs.”

Rey: “I posted some thoughts on my blog regarding my testing of the Fujifilm X-T1, Sony A7 and Olympus E-M1. Bottom line, I chose the E-M1. Here’s the rationale: http://2guysphoto.wordpress.com/2014/04/02/fujifilm-x-t1-vs-olympus-om-d-e-m1-vs-sony-a7/“

Cody: “I had a chance to shoot with the Panasonic Leica 42.5mm & GX7 this weekend and have complied my best photos out of a couple hundred. I can say 100% without a doubt the positive reviews online about this lens are an understatement. This lens literally is a steal @ its price of $1599 US. I have nicknamed it writefully “Bokeh Master” and to prove this nickname here is my photo set https://www.flickr.com/photos/princecody/sets/72157643127358715/”

Panasonic Lumix DMC-LF1 Review at Neocamera.
My Verdict on the Olympus 14-42mm EZ Pancake Zoom (TheDigitalStory).
TowerJazz Announces Kick-Off of its JV with Panasonic (Image Sensor World).
German E-M1 Feature Upgrade petition at Oly Forum.

If you plan to make high quality video production with your brand new Gh4 than you may be interested to get a top quality lens too. Zeiss just announced a new CZ.2 15-30/T2.9 lens you can preorder at BHphoto (Click here) for the very accessible price of $23,900.00! As you know this is a manual focusing lens only. But this is the very best cinema lens you can buy for MFT.

Press text:

Opéra de Paris. The Ball Pod Test… from Pier-Yves Menkhoff Films on Vimeo.

Olympus 25mm f/1.8 vs Panasonic Leica 25mm f/1.4 Lens Battle at Admiringlight.
Olympus Stylus 1 first part review at Betterfamilyphotos.
E-M10 tested at Trustedreviews.
5 Exciting Cameras to Look Out for in 2014 (Digitalrev).
Buyers Guide: Finding the Right Mirrorless Camera for You (ThePhoBlographer).

Bill: “Thought you should see a picture of mine the LA Times ran in it’s Sunday Travel section today. I credit the (iso 6400) photo as shot with an Olympus OMD-EM5. http://www.symphony-pictures.com/photos/i-gdtv3tp/0/X3/i-gdtv3tp-X3.jpg”

David: “You may be interested in these brief reviews of several lenses (including some surprises) that have worked well for me on MFT (Panasonic) bodies…: http://donferrario.com/ruether/MFT–Lenses.htm”

Jared: “https://www.google.com/maps/views/profile/117565688403001302622 Has some of the most spectacular panoramas I’ve seen. I was looking to see what equipment he uses and found some older panoramas with exif data still: https://plus.google.com/u/1/photos/117565688403001302622/albums/5947739153343402321/5947739152308789202?e This seems to use a 43rds olympus E-410 and the olympus 8mm f3.5 fisheye. Pretty stunning for not only a tiny sensor, but a really old sensor as well…Also, I see some newer panoramas mentioning olympus, so I think a lot of his panoramas are taken with 43rds gear.“

P.S.: I don’t know where you can have that sexy leather case for the new SH-1.

The first PEN looking compact camera has one unique feature: It’s the first camera with a 5 axis on sensor stabilization. Combine this with the super 25-600mm zoom range and you will have a great combination! A nice introduction of the camera with specs, video and images of the camera can be seen at GetOlympus (Click here). And here is the updated preorder list for the two new Olympus compact cameras and accessories:

Olympus Stylus SH-1 Digital Camera (Black) at Amazon (Click here), GetOlympus (Click here), BHphoto (Click here).
Olympus Stylus SH-1 Digital Camera (Silver) at Amazon (Click here), GetOlympus (Click here), BHphoto (Click here).
Olympus TG-3 camera in all colors at Amazon (Click here), GetOlympus (Click here), BHphoto (Click here).
Olympus Stylus SH-1 Digital Camera (White) at GetOlympus (Click here).
Olympus CSCH-120 Body Jacket for SH-1 Digital Camera (Brown) at BHphoto (Click here).
Olympus CSCH-120 Body Jacket for SH-1 Digital Camera (Black) at GetOlympus (Click here), BHphoto (Click here).