First unboxing pics have been posted at Mobile01. Click on the green links to open the images. And Olympus OMD facebook posted the text from Planning Manager Eiji Shirota and Development Leader Kazuya Nishimura. Both developed the 17mm lens. They say: “Although a large front element may provide an attractive exterior appearance for a lens, we decided on an efficient aspherical front element which minimizes thickness and diameter, helping us achieve the compact size of the M.ZUIKO DIGITIAL 17mm F1.8 lens while providing extraordinary picture quality. We urge you to confirm this image quality with your very own eyes.” As you know this lens left some mixed feelings on reviewers like Ming Thein, Robin Wong and Pekka Potka. Hmmm….does it really have an extraordinary picture quality??? A good lens it is…but extraordinary probably nope :)

Shipping status: The lens will ship on Dec. 20th at Amazon Japan. It’s still uncertain when the lens will be available in US and EU. BHphoto removed the shipping date (which was mid December) and Amazon US even doens’t even list the lens. The new Olympus 17mm f/1.8 lens can now be preordered at Adorama, BHphoto and Amazon DE.

We finally managed to make a small update on the 43rumors theme. Right in time before Christmas and before my baby will keep me away from 43rumors for a few days :)

So what changed?
1) We reduced the width of the website to allow a better reading experience on tablets. The latest comments and related posts can now be seen on the bottom of each article. Twitter and Facebook like and retweet buttons are on top of the main title. And surfing on the iPhone and Android cellulars shoudl also work flawlessly.
2) The contact form to Share rumors and news is now smaller and attached on the border of your browser.
3) Top Links to Fuji rumors and Slidoo have been added. Fujirumors is actually written by my close friend Patrick. He writes in a completely different style than me and has a more journalistic (and complete) style.

Some more hints about MirrorlessRumors and Slidoo:
If the baby permits it I will for the first time realize a long (very long) dream of mine. Mirrorlessrumors will become a completely new website. It should become a place where we can collectively write news and share stories realized with our mirrorless cameras. It is the “story” part that drives me to make the change. In these years I met many good filmmakers and photographers doing great work with mirrorless cameras. That should hopefully become the place where we can share this experience. That idea of a website is also much closer to what I really am. It will be a long work and as soon as the website will be online I will need your help to make it better any day.

Make it better any day is also the slogan for Slidoo.com. The ebay search and notification tool that will soon be extended to amazon. Keep in mind that this is an officially approved ebay APP. We have 100% full access. In these weeks we did a lot of bug fix work on the notification part and added some small features (like the markings on newly added products). One of the major new features will be the category addition (coming in January). For the full presentation of the website read that article on 43rumors.

—

So that’s it. Now let me take a few hours of sleep before I go back on rumor work. Want to see if that E-M5 firmware update is really coming this week! :)

Early 2013 sounds quite promising for us. The first half of the year we expect the release of the new GF5 and G5 successor along a new kind of PEN made by Olympus and maybe a new OMD too. I am still not sure if the GX1 successor is coming In February or in late 2013. So before to get into the next rumor storm we may decide what MFT camera was the most exciting event release of the year 2012.

Take time to think and pick up the one camera that is the most important addition to the system.

 Loading ...

Feel free to comment this post to explain the reason for your vote!

The GH3 body release in Asia has been postponed from December 13 to December 29 (Source: DC.watch).

As you know the body is already shipping in EU and USA, while kit versions have been shipped in Europe only.

GH3 store links and in Stock status check:
12-35mm GH3 kit: Wex UK, Wex DE, [shoplink 35309 ebay]Photoexpress UK[/shoplink], FotoHansKeuzekamp (NL),
14-140mm GH3 kit: Wex UK, Amazon UK, [shoplink 35310 ebay]Photoexpress UK[/shoplink], Wex DE, Amazon FR,
Body only: Amazon, Adorama, BHphoto, Panasonic store, Samys, Henry, Vistek, Wex UK, FotoHansKeuzekamp (NL), Amazon FR, [shoplink 35311 ebay]Webdistirbution FR[/shoplink].

Click on the image to see the fully exploded view of the E-P1

43rumors reader Warren sent me this image of his broken Olympus E-P1. He wrote: “The main control wheel gave up on me, and decided I cant be asked to have it fixed as I have like 7 ep1’s, 2 epl3’s a
ep2, epl5, epm2, 2 omds and a few others kicking about, so really just decided to make an artwork!”

The Olympus E-P1 was the first MFT camera from Olympus and is also the camera I still own and sue for my everyday shots along the superb [shoplink 15659]Nokton 25mm f/0.95 lens (here ot find on eBay)[/shoplink].

[shoplink 35447 ebay]

The [shoplink 35447 ebay]Olympus ECRU[/shoplink].

Ok, the E-P3 has been discontinued and Olympus is likely going to announce a new MFT cameras with a very “different design” (so say the rumors I got). Was looking at possible design inspiring cameras form the Olympus film history. Particularly cameras with a rangefinder design. And I found an auction having a camera that 99% of you will likely never have seen before. It is the [shoplink 35447 ebay]Olympus ECRU (Click here to see the auction)[/shoplink].

Olympus Global writes: ” “Ecru” is French for “unbleached.” The name of this concept camera was chosen to symbolize its intended role as a tool for living an intellectually enhanced life as natural as unbleached cloth. This concept is symbolized in the white body of the camera, which was sold as a limited edition of 10,000 units in Japan and 10,000 overseas.”

I am pretty sure Olympus will not use that kind of design for their next MFT camera :)

List of all Olympus rangefinder can be found on [shoplink 35450 ebay]eBay[/shoplink] (or via Slidoo eBay if you prefer)

Panasonic GH3 Review 6 – People – ‘C’ Graded for Vimeo from Nick Driftwood on Vimeo.

Nick Driftwood posted the sixth part of his ongoing GH3 review. This time he shows you the different ways of shooting people. By the way, there is a long list of work shared and discussed at Personal View (Click here). It’s a never ending discussion about the GH3 possibilities.

Ryan sent me this message: “I created a slow motion test using the GH3 yesterday at a Philadelphia Skate Park called Hazzard Park. It was filmed using the ALL-Intra 72mbps format, which records in 720p. When I began to edit the footage, I thought it was 1080 at first. The 720p image from the GH3, in my opinion, is as sharp as a 5D Mark III in 1080p. https://vimeo.com/54972772″. There is also a new GH3 vs GH2 ISO comparison by Excuse Cie on vimeo.

GH3 store links and in Stock status check:
12-35mm GH3 kit: Wex UK, Wex DE, [shoplink 35309 ebay]Photoexpress UK[/shoplink], FotoHansKeuzekamp (NL),
14-140mm GH3 kit: Wex UK, Amazon UK, [shoplink 35310 ebay]Photoexpress UK[/shoplink], Wex DE, Amazon FR,
Body only: Amazon, Adorama, BHphoto, Panasonic store, Samys, Henry, Vistek, Wex UK, FotoHansKeuzekamp (NL), Amazon FR, [shoplink 35311 ebay]Webdistirbution FR[/shoplink].