Image credit: Yaotomi.co.jp

FInally we can see the first image samples taken with the Olympus 75mm f/1.8 lens. At Clubsnap (Click here) and Yaotomi (Click here). As you know Olympus says that this is the Best-in-class Micro Four Thirds lens. And I think they are telling us the truth. Question is, will you pay 899 Dollars/Euro for that lens?

New Oly/Pana Lens Preorders in Europe, USA and Asia:
Olympus 75mm lens at Amazon, Adorama, BHphoto, Amazon Germany and Amazon UK.
Panasonic 12-35mm X lens at Amazon, BHphoto, Adorama, Amazon Germany, Amazon UK, Amazon Japan and Digitalrev.

If the E-M5 is the hottest mirrorless of the moment the Nikon D800 is certainly the most “discussed” DSLR of the moment. Both are hotsellers at Amazon (here is the mirrorless ranking and here is the DSLR ranking). The video on top compares the video quality of both cameras. Of course you really can’t make any final judgement based on a youtube video and that’s why I leave it up to you to make any conclusion.

Gulio Scorio (Click here) shot his first work with the E-M5 about an organization that creates awareness about craft and artisan beer: “The touch screen and the IBIS really sets this tool apart from anything I owned in the past and the fact that I can shoot some assignments with everything I need in a small bag is just awesome.”

Camerastuffreview (Click here) posted the full E-M5 test: “In many details you will find that Olympus has done it’s best to incorporate all the functionality a real enthusiast photographer wishes for. Buttons and dials are in general well situated, easy to use and also configurable via the menu. The super control panel very effectively minimizes the time you loose searching in camera menus for a specific function. The adjustable warning for underexposure and overexposure is much more intuitively to work with than a histogram. Too bad the camera makes a constant noise and that the play button is hard to reach.”

E-M5 (Pre)order links (Click on store name):
Amazon, Adorama, B&H, Jessops, Amazon UK, Amazon Germany, Amazon France, Amazon Japan and Digitalrev. Cheap [shoplink 31278 ebay]third party E-M5 batteries on eBay (Click here)[/shoplink]. First full leather case bag is now available on [shoplink 31532 ebay]eBay (Click here)[/shoplink]. It is also available in [shoplink 31533 ebay]Brown (Click here)[/shoplink].

The E-M5 keeps to be present in the Amazon Bestseller list(changes hourly!):
USA: E-M5 on position 7/10 (Click here)
UK: E-M5 is on position 40 (Click here).
Germany: The E-M5 is on position 4/13 (Click here).
France: E-M5 on position 22/23 (Click here).
Japan: E-M5 on position 22/23 (Click here).

The new Nokton 17.5mm f/0.95 is a marvellous lens but you usually have to pay 1.299 Euro for it. But I just found a super deal at Le Petit Boutique on [shoplink 31561 ebay]eBay France (Click here)[/shoplink]. They sell it for 1.1139 Euro only..you save $160 on the lens!!! They have eight lenses in Stock and shipping to Europe only! Another french store sells it worldwide for just 10 Euro more again on [shoplink 31562 ebay]eBay France (Click here)[/shoplink].

A full list of all stores selling the lens can be seen [shoplink 31562 ebay]here on eBay[/shoplink].

The video on top has been shot by Seb Farges. He writes about the lens: “The lens is great and I’m very impressed with this first hands on. It’s bigger and louder than it’s brother the 25mm f/0.95. On the first clip you will see them both (shot with SLR Magic 12mm), then clip number two is taken with the 25mm and clip number three (and all the others) is shot with the 17.5mm, so you can see the difference of the field coverage.
This lens has very smooth aperture ring, especially when you switch it on the “no clic” position. The focus ring is quite smooth, like the 25mm. The minimum focus distance is very very short, you can shoot quite in front of the glass ! I will do more test to compare with the 25mm and the SLR Magic Cine lens 50mm later.”

P.S.: Full review at DCFever.

ePhotozine (Click here) posted the full 3D lens review: “The view through the lens gives a cropped view equivalent to around 60mm in 35mm terms, which isn’t ideal for some and the low resolution is a little disappointing, however its higher resolution than Full HD TV so should be more than adequate for viewing at home and 3D results can be impressive.”

That said have you noticed how the 3D hype deflated recently? For years we heard about 3D here and 3D there. But the marketing machine wasn’t able to wash our brains :)  The Panasonic 3D lens now sells for $66 at Amazon (Click here). At that price Panasonic will be able to cover the costs but make zero profit.

One word for ePhotozine. With the 3D lens review they finally achieved the goal to review ALL(!) Panasonic lenses. You can see the full list here. Good Job guys! P.S.: They even tested the 12-35mm X lens which luckily is now back for preorder at Amazon US (Click here).

Reminder: New Oly/Pana Lens Preorders in Europe, USA and Asia:
Olympus 75mm lens at Amazon, Adorama, BHphoto, Amazon Germany and Amazon UK.
Panasonic 12-35mm X lens at Amazon, BHphoto, Adorama, Amazon Germany, Amazon UK, Amazon Japan and Digitalrev.

As you can see from the picture on top the first full leather case bag is now available on [shoplink 31532 ebay]eBay (Click here)[/shoplink]. It is also available in [shoplink 31533 ebay]Brown (Click here)[/shoplink].

My friend Tyson Robichaud tested the E-M5 and wrote a long list of PROS and CONS: “I love the camera, but feel that there are a few areas that can, and should, be improved upon in the future.  There is no one way to skin a cat, but I think Olympus could really fine tune a few of these shortcomings which would benefit not only new users, but seasoned Oly aficianados as well.  It’s not a perfect camera, but for the cost, it is close and truly offers a micro 4/3 shooter a good all around tool.“. Visit his website to read the full article!

I agree with 99% of his points. I hope Olympus will read his article and take care of his concerns when developing the E-M6 or E-M7 :)
This brings me to an idea. I will soon ask you to suggest your features for the next E-M cameras. But I will wait until you first got your E-M5 cameras. First you have to use it for a while. Sometimes first impressions are wrong!

E-M5 (Pre)order links (Click on store name):
Amazon, Adorama, B&H, Jessops, Amazon UK, Amazon Germany, Amazon France, Amazon Japan and Digitalrev. Cheap [shoplink 31278 ebay]third party E-M5 batteries on eBay (Click here)[/shoplink].

The E-M5 keeps to be present in the Amazon Bestseller list(changes hourly!):
USA: E-M5 on position 7/10 (Click here)
UK: E-M5 is on position 40 (Click here).
Germany: The E-M5 is on position 4/13 (Click here).
France: E-M5 on position 22/23 (Click here).
Japan: E-M5 on position 22/23 (Click here).

GF5:
While we are all waiting to see the new G5 announcement here are two tests of the newest Panasonic cameras: GF5 ISO test at Focus Numerique (Click here). Full GF5 review at Pocket Lint (Click here): “This ultra-small compact system camera is no slouch: its super-fast autofocus and decent image quality push the GF-series yet further forward.“. Order the camera at [shopcountry 30485].

New Lens reviews:
ThePhoBlographer tested the Nokton 17.5mm f/0.95 lens: “In fact, it has even moved me to sell my Canon 7D and Nikon D5100 because the image quality that this gives me on a Micro Four Thirds sensor surpasses what the others can do for me in a small enough form factor. And in the end, the Voigtlander 17.5mm f0.95 wins nothing but the highest praise and a place in my heart.“. You can buy the lens on [shoplink 30452 ebay]eBay (Click here).[/shoplink] Double Sigma lens test at Camerastuffreview, Sigma 19mm (here) and Sigma 30mm (here). The Sigma lenses are really nice lenses! You can get them here:
The 30mm lens is in Stock at Amazon US (Click here), Amazon DE (Click here), Amazon UK (Click here), Amazon FR (Click here), Amazon JP (Click here) and Digitalrev (Click here).
The 19mm lens is in Stock at Amazon US (Click here), Amazon DE (Click here), Amazon UK (Click here), Amazon FR (Click here), Amazon JP (Click here) and Digitalrev (Click here).