We have two full reviews of the newly announced Olympus E-M10II. And also the preorder list got updated with US and Europe links.

Dpreview gave a Silver Award:

As with its predecessor, the Olympus E-M10 II brings the best features from its more expensive siblings and puts them into a reasonably priced (albeit less robust) package. It doesn’t feel as much as a traditional photographic tool as its main competitor, the Fujifilm X-T10, nor can’t it track moving subjects as well as DSLRs like the Nikon D5500, but in most respects the E-M10 II keeps up nicely. The E-M10 II is well-suited for those moving up to a more capable mirrorless camera and don’t need the weather-sealing of the E-M5 II. The E-M10 II is also an attractive choice for those seeking a lightweight second camera. Either way, the E-M10 II offers a lot of camera for the money, and is well worth considering.

Robin Wong writes:

Using the E-M10 Mark II to me felt like I was using the older, more expensive E-M5 Mark II, minus a few features (weather sealing, 40MP high res shot, swivel screen, and 1/8000sec mechanical shutter). You get similar image quality, camera performance, and basically all the unique and useful shooting functions. E-M10 Mark II now has 5-Axis Image Stabilization which benefits both image and video recording, In short, I would describe the E-M10 Mark II as a camera that can do anything a mid-level APS-C DSLR can do (low light shooting, interchangeable lens, rendering shallow depth of field, having large viewfinder, good handling and controls), with added bonus of powerful image stabilization system and packed with long list of useful shooting features. 

Park Cameras also posted a video review on Youtube.

Preorders:
Black E-M10II at Amazon, Adorama, Bhphoto, GetOlympus, AmazonDE, AmazonUK, WexUK
Silver E-M10II at Amazon, Adorama, Bhphoto, GetOlympus, AmazonDE, AmazonUK, WexUK
Black E-M10II with kit lens at Amazon, Adorama, Bhphoto, GetOlympus, FocusCamera, AmazonDE, AmazonUK, WexUK
Silver E-M10II with kit lens at Amazon, Adorama, Bhphoto, GetOlympus, FocusCamera, AmazonUK, WexUK
Metal Grip ECG-3 for the E-M10II at Amazon, Adorama, Bhphoto, FocusCamera, WexUK.

[/shoplink] Image courtesy: Photozone

Photozone posted their full Kowa Prominar 25mm f/1.8 MFT lens review:

The Kowa Prominar MFT 25mm f/1.8 faces a difficult task especially given its price tag of 800US$. The 25mm segment is covered by a variety of lenses which are either much faster, much cheaper or both. However, the Kowa lens has at least one advantage – optical performance. The image quality is decent at max. aperture but when stopping down it is about as good as it gets on the micro four thirds system.

The Kowa Micro Four Thirds lenses on eBay:
8,5mm f/2.8 in on [shoplink 54790 ebay]eBay (Click here)[/shoplink].
12mm f/1.8 in [shoplink 50867 ebay]Black (Click here)[/shoplink], [shoplink 50868 ebay]Green (Click here)[/shoplink] and [shoplink 50869 ebay]Silver (Click here)[/shoplink].
25mm f/1.8 in [shoplink 50870 ebay]Black (Click here)[/shoplink], [shoplink 50871 ebay]Green (Click here)[/shoplink] and [shoplink 50872 ebay]Silver (Click here)[/shoplink].

Image courtesy: Lensrentals

Roger Cicala from Lensrentals got their hands on the new Samyang/Rokinon Xeen 85mm T1.5 lens. As you know Cine Lenses are quite expensive so it’s good to get a much cheaper alternative like the new XEEN series.

So what’s the verdict on build quality? Overall, it’s very good, especially given that it’s selling for about half of what other cinema lenses sell for. I do have some very real concerns about how the focus system will hold up over time and with hard use, but the compromises made seem very reasonable overall. Put another way, I wouldn’t hesitate to buy one based on what I saw today, but I’d be make sure my focus puller was gentle and didn’t ‘slam’ focus. Over time hard use, especially hard focusing use, will take a toll on this lens I think.

The new XEEN Cine lenses are now available on preorder at BHphoto and at Adorama too.

Let’s catch up with some GX8 news:

European readers can now preorder the camera at Amazon Germany (Click here) and Amazon UK (Click here).

Imaging Resource posted some high res images shot on the new GX8. Panasonic GX8 Sample Gallery + downloadable full-size RAW at Cameras.Reviewed. Panasonic Lumix DMC-GX8 added to studio scene comparison on Dpreview. And Focus Numerique posted the full GX8 test.

Richard: “I’ve finally got the GX8 v1.0 firmware from Panasonic and also the required lens firmware update so I’ve tested the Dual I.S. performance. Took almost 1000 photos and also compared with the EM5 II, pretty impressive! Also did a 5EV test to test the GX8’s RAW/sensor output and compare with the GX7..  again, looks pretty good all of them + a few smaller bits are in my updated (again!) GX8 review..http://photobyrichard.com/reviewbyrichard/panasonic-lumix-gx8-review/”

Preorders:
Black GX8 at Amazon, Adorama, BHphoto and Panasonic. In Eu at Amazon DE, Amazon UK, WexUK.
Silver GX8 at Amazon, Adorama, BHphoto and Panasonic. In Eu at Amazon DE, Amazon UK, WexUK.
FZ300 at Amazon, Adorama, BHphoto and Panasonic.

Image courtesy: ePhotozine

We have two brand new reviews of the new Nokton 10,5mm f/0.95 MFT lens:

Dpreview says:

In truth it never gets critically sharp, and at all apertures there is a significant difference between center and edge definition. If you are buying for shooting movies this may not matter too much, as even in 4K picture quality looks nice, but stills workers hoping to blow up big will have to fashion their expectations.

Lenstip says:

We hereby inform that an experiment entitled “ultra fast ultra wide-angle lens” ended with a failure.

ePhotozine says:

Overall this is another fine, fast lens from Voigtlander for Micro Four Thirds. Those shooting video will appreciate the option for a stepless aperture and many will enjoy exploiting the fast maximum aperture and ability to isolate a subject from their surroundings with shallow depth of field.
Sharpness delivered by this lens is excellent, with acceptable distortion and falloff. It’s a shame CA levels are a little on the high side, but then that is probably unavoidable on a lens as wide and as fast as this. Build quality harks back to a bygone era of brass lenses with a silky-smooth focusing action. As a result, it is sure to win over many fans.

You get the lens in many stores like BHphoto (Click here), [shoplink 53940 ebay]CameraQuest (Click here)[/shoplink] and [shoplink 54016 ebay]Photovillage (Click here)[/shoplink]. In Europe at [shoplink 53816 ebay]FotoMundus (Click here)[/shoplink] in Asia at [shoplink 53614 ebay]Taku (Click here)[/shoplink].