And now it’s here! Someone called it the Full Frame OMD, or the Full Frame for the masses. I am talking about the Sony A7 (or A7r) that it’s now available at Amazon (Click here), Adorama (Click here) and BHphoto (Click here). You judge from the image on top if the OMD and A7 are really close. The one thing that is cool on the A7-A7r is that you can fit MFT lenses in crop mode by using that [shoplink 42338 ebay]Fotodiox MFT to NEX adapter (Click here)[/shoplink]!

Here are some OMD vs A7 info:
– The A7-A7r advantages are: Higher MP count, larger FF sensor, Better High ISO, A7 body for $1700 only.
– The OMD advantages are: way faster AF, smaller lenses, 5 axis stabilization that works on all lenses, much better weather sealing and almost half the price.

So why is the Sony announcement that important?
1) FF never was as cheap as now and challenges the high end APS-C MFT models
2) Sony-Olympus partnership lead to have a close A7-OMD design, and same EVF. And 5 axis IBIS will be used in some future Sony models too
3) I am curious to see if Olympus will go FF too (would be easy now that they have access to Sony sensors).
4) Eventually Olympus could make some lenses for the E-mount FF.
5) Our [shoplink 27042 ebay]OM-lenses[/shoplink] now can work on a FF digital camera.

A full test roundup and worldwide preorder list can be found on SonyAlphaRumors.com (Click here).

Panorama photography lovers can get a new tool at Tomshot360.com (Click here). Here is the press text:

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TOM SHOT 360 releases the new Ultralight Panohead for panorama photography, for taking spherical panorama photos in as few as 4 to 6 shots.

The new design stays true to its goal to provide a portable solution for mirrorless cameras. At 110g and 128mm high, it is easily one of the most lightweight and compact panoheads available, compared to other heads that are geared towards large DSLR cameras.

The new design has a click stop rotator, a 6082-T6 aluminum base, stainless steel detent disk with 12 or 24 clicks, and the most distinguishing feature, a 3D printed polyamide nylon upper ring. Additional features include a friction lock and bubble level.

Currently there are models available to fit the following lenses, with plans to expand the list in the future:
Samyang 8mm f2.8 Fisheye Lens (Sony NEX E-mount, Samsung NX, Fuji X)
Samyang 7.5mm MFT Fisheye Lens (Micro 4/3, Sony NEX E-mount – adapter required)
Yasuhara Madoka 180 Fisheye Lens (for Sony NEX E-mount)
The Samyang 7.5mm MFT Fisheye Lens is compatible with Micro 4/3 cameras.

Made in and ships from Germany
http://www.tomshot360.com

Under the sky by Blazouf from blazouf (Astro timelapse with OM-D)

BMPCC C-Mount Test Field of View on Youtube.
GX7 review by Ericcote.net.
GX1 vs. GX7 (and GF1 as well) image quality, mainly high ISO performance (Tysonrobichaudphotography).
Lumix 35-100mm f/2.8 (Bestmirrorlesscameras).
OM to Pentax 645D adpater at DC.watch.
Photo Ninja and Lightroom Integration (OutBackPhoto).

Kornel Lehocz: “I’m the developer of the Scarab Darkroom raw converter, which I think is fairly popular among Olympus users. I’d like to send you news about the availability of Scarab Darkroom 2.0 and 2.0 Lite. (In fact already 2.02 after 2 quick bugfixes.)
I’ve pasted the press release at the end of this message, but you can find the properly formatted press release, and other material at
http://www.scarablabs.com/press
and more information on the product’s page and the About section of the site.
If you have any questions, feel free to contact me!”

—–
Press Text: Scarab Darkroom 2.0 released

Scarab Labs has released the new version of its popular raw conversion software.

Zadar, Croatia, October 7th, 2013: Scarab Labs has released Scarab Darkroom 2.0 – the advanced version of its fast and easy-to-use digital camera raw converter for Windows. Compared to the earlier free versions, it also contains a number of new features like noise filtering, chromatic aberration correction, split toning, Adobe RGB color space support, and more… The software is now available for purchase on the Scarab Labs website for $49. The free variant is still available, and has been renamed to Scarab Darkroom Lite. The program supports most raw-capable cameras from Canon, Nikon, Olympus, Panasonic, Pentax, Samsung, and Sony.

About Scarab Labs:
Scarab Labs was founded in 2008 by ex-game programmer Kornél Lehőcz to follow his passion and create software for the photographic imaging industry. Scarab Labs’s other currently available product is a star filter plug-in for Adobe After Effects and Photoshop. For more information please visit the Scarab Labs website!
—–

SLRmagic just announced a new MFT lens. Here is the press text:

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Hong Kong, China (Oct 8, 2013) – The SLR Magic HyperPrime CINE 12mm T1.6 w/ Gear is a mechanical upgrade over the original SLR Magic HyperPrime CINE 12mm T1.6 with optional lens gear. Due to popular request for the optional lens gear we have redesigned the mechanical design to better suit cinema needs and to match the design concept of the current SLR Magic HyperPrime CINE 25mm T0.95, SLR Magic HyperPrime CINE II 35mm T0.95, and SLR Magic 35mm T1.4 CINE II. There is no change in optical design.

The field of view of this HyperPrime Lens corresponds to a 24mm lens in 35mm format and this ultra fast wide angle of view opens up many new creative composition opportunities, particularly in the fields of interior, architectural and landscape cinematography and photography. Additionally, an ultra fast max aperture of T1.6 makes the SLR Magic HyperPrime CINE 12mm T1.6 w/ Gear is ideal for available-light photography.

We place our highest priority in the development of all HyperPrime lenses to fulfill the demands of professional cinematographers and photographers. The design and build of the SLR Magic HyperPrime CINE 12mm T1.6 w/ Gear is solid and reliable.

The SLR Magic HyperPrime CINE 12mm T1.6 w/ Gear will be available from authorized SLR Magic dealers end November 2013.

Upgrade program details: Owners of the original SLR Magic 12mm F1.6 (Not SLR Magic CINE 12mm T1.6) may send in their lens (regardless of user condition) to Hong Kong + $250 to upgrade their lens to the SLR Magic HyperPrime CINE 12mm T1.6 w/ Gear by contacting support@slrmagic.com.

Technical Data SLR Magic HyperPrime CINE 12mm T1.6 w/ Gear
Lens Type: Ultra Fast wide-angle lens with three Tantalum glass elements to ensure superior cinematic performance.
Compatible Cameras: All micro four thirds mount cameras
Optical Design: 12 elements in 10 groups
Distance Settings: Distance range: 0.15m to ∞, combined scale meter/feet
Aperture: Manually controlled diaphragm, 12 aperture blades (circular), Lowest value 11
Bayonet: micro four thirds
Filter Mount: internal thread for SLR Magic 58/77 RING (optional) lens hood for 77mm filter; filter mount does not rotate.
Lens Hood: SLR Magic 58/77 RING (optional)
Surface Finish: Black anodized
Length to bayonet mount: approx. 73/81mm (approx. 2.87 /3.18in) (without/with lens hood)
Largest diameter: approx. 60/79mm (approx. 2.36 / 3.11in) (without/with lens hood)
Weight: approx. 370g (approx. 13.05oz)

Andrew Chan
Product Manager

——

Current SLRmagic lenses for Micro Four Thirds:
SLR magic 11mm f/1.4 lens on [shoplink 22154 ebay]eBay (Click here)[/shoplink].
SLR magic Cine 12mm T/1.6 Lens at Adorama (Click here).
SLR Magic 25mm T0.95 at Adorama (Click here).
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].
Noktor SLRmagic 50mm on [shoplink 25691 ebay]eBay (Click here)[/shoplink] SLR Magic Pin Hole Lens at Adorama (Click here)..

Didn’t know that you can get an Emmy Award also for Technology achievement! And this years prize goes to Panasonic for their in camera chromatic aberration tool! Here is the press text:

Panasonic Corporation will be presented with a Technology and Engineering Emmy® Award for 2013 by the National Academy of Television Arts & Sciences. The honor is being conferred upon Panasonic in recognition of the company’s development of In-Camera Electronic Compensation for Lateral Chromatic Aberrations in External Lenses. The Emmy Award will be presented on Thursday, January 9, 2014 as part of the International Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas.

Lateral chromatic aberrations are inherent to all optics and must be compensated for in the optical design. The trend to smaller imager formats and less-expensive optics had meant compromises in image performance without an alternative solution to this problem. The concept of modeling the aberrations of a lens and applying real-time electronic correction provides a very significant increase in image quality and permits lower cost-cameras and optics to create better images. Panasonic has incorporated this technology into its HD handheld cameras from the    AG-HVX200 to the AG-HPX255 and in shoulder mount camcorders, through a feature it calls Chromatic Aberration Compensation (CAC), in its high-end P2 HD production cameras, including the new AJ-PX5000G (with AVC-ULTRA recording), the AG-HPX600, AJ-HPX3100 and the VariCam™ shoulder-mount series.

“Panasonic is honored to receive the coveted technical Emmy for its pioneering efforts in the development of Chromatic Aberration Compensation,” said Michael Bergeron, Business Development Manager, Panasonic System Communications Company of North America (PSCNA). “This technology has helped us maintain high-quality imaging while making improvements in size, weight and affordability, and now combined with master-quality AVC-ULTRA recording and native 1920 x 1080 imagers, CAC has contributed to new benchmarks for HD acquisition, getting around inherent limitations of optics.”

Source: Panasonic.com.

Light & Magic – SLR MAGIC ANAMORPHIC PROTOTYPE from Andrew Reid on Vimeo.

The video on top has been taken by Andrew (EosHD) withe the SLR Magic anamorphic prototype. This prototype is still uncoated. The final version will have less crazy flares!

Test complet Panasonic Test Lumix X Vario 12-35 mm f/2,8 ASPH (Focus Numerique).
Comparison at 140mm (M43photo).
Olympus PEN Mini E-PM2 Camera Giveaway (ePhotozine).
Sony Alpha A3000 Sample Photos (ePhotozine).
Why I choose a Panasonic GH3 over an Olympus E-M1 (Soundimagesplus).
Official music video for Tricky shot on GH3. vimeo.com/75948094

Dino: “I ended up writing a long term review of the Olympus 12-50 lens. With rumors and reviews coming out on the 12-40 and em-1, I wanted to give others perspective that you don’t need to spend a couple grand to take decent photos. If you feel inclined to share, I would greatly appreciate it: http://13thfloorphotography.blogspot.com/2013/09/ballin-on-budget-olympus-12-50mm-kit.html”

Brian: “you might like to include a new article I wrote a couple of days ago called “A Gripping Tale of Two OM-D E-M5 Grips”, which can be found at http://byrdphoto.com/blog_article.php?ID=278”

Heather: “I just wanted to share a blog post I came across this evening. It is written by Tracy of Ashfield Images Photography who won Damian McGillicuddy’s “Don’t Forget Your Toothbrush!” competition. She shares her experience at the Olympus launch of the E-M1, along with a few nice photos as well. I’m actually surprised this post didn’t make the rounds earlier! http://ashfieldimagesphotography.wordpress.com/2013/09/12/dont-forget-your-toothbrush/”

Anonymous: “The hotly contested expose to the right (ETTR) issue, noise, sensor size, pixel pitch, and where do all the tonal levels for the right side of the histogram go if ETTR is wrong, in one place. Scientific and sometimes a bit hard to follow unless you delve into the calculus, but backed up with photographic proof, unlike LL’s all text no proof assays. It also further answers the question why Olympus state higher ISO than what he sensor is actually using. http://theory.uchicago.edu/~ejm/pix/20d/tests/noise/noise-p3.html#bitdepth”

Atmtx: “I was also lucky enough to get a pre production OM-D E-M1 and the 12-40mm f2.8 lens to test for a week. I’ve done a couple of posts and photo essays about it in case your readers will be interested.
http://blog.atmtxphoto.com/2013/09/21/the-olympus-om-d-e-m1-goes-to-drink-and-click/
http://blog.atmtxphoto.com/2013/09/22/olympus-om-d-e-m1-downtown-monochromes/“

Heather & Mat: “Here is our latest article about the AF/C-AF of the E-M1 with 4/3s and Lumix lenses. http://www.bestmirrorlesscamerareviews.com/2013/09/22/hands-on-with-the-olympus-om-d-e-m1-autofocus-with-four-thirds-lumix-lenses/”