Seb Farged had the chance to film with the new Aivascope 1.5x anamorphic lens on the Panasonic GH4. He wrote:

It’s a very sharp lens working great with some of my primes. It’s a single focus lens (you do the focus on it and let the prime on infinity).

In this movie you will see different shots done with :
GH4 4K uhd (no CC) 24p
Lumix 20mm f1.7 btw f1.7 and f4
Pentax-m 40mm pancake f2.8 at f4
Sicor-XL MC 28mm f2.8 at f5.6

Despite the fact the Pentax-m 40mm is less wider than the others, I like the result with it.

I’ve used a Dorr variable ND lens, on the GH4 the picture mode is on « portrait » with slight ajustments.
I did no color corrections at all.
I will do some test on full frame camera later.
Thanks for watching.

Here are the characteristics of the Aivascope 1.5x lens:
Designed for Full Frame systems.
Recommended taking lenses for full frame (16:9 aspect ratio) from 50mm to 90mm
Single focus From 80cm to infinity.
Non rotating front element.
Focus ring rotate 190 degrees.
Lens mounting clamp 52mm
Filter size 82mm
Weight 700 gr.
Integrated focus gear.
Price : 2 250,00 €

Aivascope facebook page: https://www.facebook.com/aivascope/

Here are a couple of videos displayin the new firmware uprade features for the E-M1II and E-M1X:

Preorder it now on BHphoto, GetOlympus and Adorama.

Digitalcameraworld tested the new Olympus MC-20 2x teleconverter. The verdict:

The Olympus M.Zuiko Digital 2x Teleconverter MC-20 is about twice as thick as its predecessor, the 1.4x Teleconverter MC-14. However, taking the Olympus 300mm f/4 as an example, the difference in magnified reach between the two lenses is a staggering 360mm (the MC-14 turning it into an 840mm equivalent, the MC-20 a 1200mm equivalent).

For the price difference between the two lenses, we would absolutely recommend the MC-20 – not only does it deliver super telephoto range for sports and wildlife shooting, it also doubles the magnification for super telephoto macro shooting.

It’s a fantastic performer that, thanks to the optimum optical design of its master lenses, produces fantastic images that would otherwise be impossible to achieve on the system.

Pair it with the Olympus OM-D E-M1X and you also get the benefit of Sync IS (which employs the in-body and in-lens stabilization in tandem) that gives you 7.5 stops of image stabilization – meaning that you can shoot without a tripod. A 1200mm lens you can use handheld? That alone is worth the price of admission.

More info about the firmware update on GetOlympus

Here are two video reviews from Robin Wong and Peter Forsgård:

Robin Wong also wrote a blo post and the conclusion says:

I applaud Olympus for providing such a significant update for E-M1 Mark II. After all, this camera has been around since 2016, with the updated and reworked camera features, the new Firmware 3.0 brings E-M1 Mark II closer to E-M1X especially when it comes to AF improvement, which to me is a critical upgrade. This will directly affect the camera performance across all shooting scenarios.

There is also a German written review by Photo Bern.

Peter Forsgård unboxed the camera that made history: The first Olympus mirrorless!

And you might didn’t know it but you still can buy it completely new at Amazon US!

The new Panasonic 10-25mm f/1.7 lens has been added at the CameraSize database. On top you can see the size comparison with the Olympus 12-40mm f/2.8 lens. Yes it’s a big lens but not too big. My only very personal complain is that I would have preferred to have a bit more tele. Next time Pana do me a favour and make a 12-35mm f/1.7 :)

Preorders: 10-25mm lens on BHphoto, Adorama, Amazon and FocusCamera.