First Ownuser GH2 battery grip hands-on video

Under the category crazy Asian m43 stuff we can find that new Ownuser GH2 battery grip. The video on top shows a first hands-on. The battery grip can be purchased at http://www.ownuser.com.tw/e_paypal_panasonic.html. They already sell battery grips for other Panasonic and Olympus m43 and 43 cameras on [shoplink 27770 ebay]eBay (Click here to see all Ownuser auctions)[/shoplink].

And here is another exotic news: At DC.watch (Click here) you can see some Olympus E-Pm1 with Leica Elmar 35mm f/3.5 lens review. That lens is so tiny! You can find a few lenses for $400 on [shoplink 29579 ebay]eBay (Click here)[/shoplink].

Oh look! Did the GH2 just beat the 5DmarkIII? :)

Andrew from EosHD (Click here) posted a new detailed Canon 5DmarkkIII versus Panasonic GH2 video comparison. In terms of resolution the “$600 GH2 still matches the full frame beast at $3500.“. And “the 5D Mark III’s image cannot be sharpened in post to match the GH2. That camera has a sharper image yet it is organic and fine not digitally over sharpened.“. And the praise for the GH2 continues: “In the standard picture profiles the 5D Mark III and GH2 are pretty neck and neck for dynamic range. Nobody in their right mind would say the sensor in the GH2 was a match for the 5D Mark III’s full frame CMOS but in video mode, it is. This is because the GH2′s video image is very close to its JPEG output whilst the 5D Mark III’s is painfully far away from its superb stills.

We should really thank the Panasonic engineers and Vitaly’s hack for the awesome work they did on the GH2. On the other side I am surprised by Canon. Even when it comes to the stills quality they seem to have lost the train in favour of the Nikon D800 which sells way better than the new 5D (Here are the Amazon rankings). Makes me wonder if Canon will make a decent mirrorless system or not (more about that here on MirrorlessRumors).

What about the new GH3? I got some rumors from new sources I will post soon. It’s low value only but as usual I hope trusted sources can read this to confirm if it’s true or not.

Panasonic GH2 price check links: [shopcountry 16254].

Olympus E-M5 does more fashion…

It’s time for a short E-m5 recap!

1) Damian MacGillycuddy (Click here) started a new Olympus competition and posted a new E-M5 nude picture.

2) Federico Cabrera (Click here) posted some fashion photos taken with the E-M5. Nice!

3) Full resolution OM-D E-M5 samples compared to Pen E-P3, Lumix GH2 and Sony Alpha 55 at Four Thirds User (Click here).

So, when will our postman deliver us the E-M5? BHphoto (Click here) still says it’s coming on April 16th. Amazon UK (Click here) says the E-M5 will now ship within 1-3 months. Amazon Japan and Digitalrev will ship the camera from March 31th. Amazon US (CLick here) doesn’t share any info and the first [shoplink 29946 ebay]eBay preorders (Click here)[/shoplink] are up via Malaysian store :)
I don’t believe Olympus will be able to ship all the E-M5 preorders. The requests are really high and the E-M5 Olympus camera keeps staying on the Amazon US top seller list (Click here).

Here are all full store search linsk I check from time to time to see if the E-M5 shipment/preorder status changes:
[shoplist 29074]

UPDATED: SLRmagic versus Leica 50mm f/0.95 battle (Seb Farges).

The Shires from Andrew Reid on Vimeo.

UPDATE: Andrew from SLRmagic told us that Seb got a very early lens prototype that very likely has an issue. This means the video on top very likely doen’t show the full potential of the Hyperprime lens! A more represenative video has been shot by EosHD (Click here).

Seb Farges (Click here) tested the two lenses on the hacked [shoplink 16254]Panasonic GH2[/shoplink] and writes: “My opinion ? mmmm the Noctilux is an extraordinary lens, good rendering at f/0.95, smooth focus ring. This lens is a little smaller and lighter than the SLR Magic lens. It’s in M mount (Leica). The problem : the [shoplink 23018 ebay]Noctilux is too expensive for me, 8000€ (10600$)[/shoplink]!!! Please note that the SLR Magic I’ve used here is a prototype lens. It’s be available in september in M mount, it’s price is not fixed yet, but it will be around 2300€ (3000$), 3.5X less cheaper than the Leica. The SLR has more color aberration (purple fringing), mostly when the focus is not perfect.”

P.S.: The Leica Noctilux crazy price check on [shoplink 23018 ebay]eBay (Click here)[/shoplink]. Speaking of our m43 0.95 lenses here are the links to:
1) [shoplink 15659 ebay]Voigtländer Nokton 25mm f/0.95 on eBay (Click here)[/shoplink].
2) [shoplink 29927 ebay]Voigtländer Nokton 17.5mm f/0.95 on eBay (Click here)[/shoplink].
3) [shoplink 25691 ebay]SLRmagic 50mm f/0.95 on eBay (Click here)[/shoplink].

Sigma 30mm review and 19mm test (cute pic on the E-M5)

Looking at the picture on top made by DSLRmagazine the new Sigma 30mm f/2.8 lens doesn’t look bad at all. But the naked truth is that the lens specifications aren’t appealing at the first look. But we are ready to get over this if the lens performance is top notch. So let’s read the latest review from Valentin at DSLRmagazine (Click here to read the translation). In short, the lens has no flaws. It performs well in every aspect with just a slightly Chromatic Aberration you can easily correct in post production. Overall this is not a bad lens you get for $200 at Hphoto.

Laoburi (Click here) posted a set of image samples taken with the other new Sigma 19mm f/2.8 lens. I haven’t yet found any preorder option of that lens.

Rankings: Silver E-M5 kits are still selling more than the black ones and than more than the Fuji X PRO 1 according to Amazon US rankings (Click here).

E-M5 preorders (Click on the names of the stores to see the product page):
Black E-M5 body at Amazon, Adorama, BHphoto, J&R, Warehouse UK, Digitalrev and Amazon Japan.
Silver E-M5 body at Amazon, Adorama, BHphoto, J&R, Warehouse UK, and Amazon Japan.
Black E-M5 body with 14-42mm lens at Amazon, Adorama, BHphoto , Digitalrev and J&R.
Black E-M5 body with 12-50mm lens at Amazon, Adorama, BHphoto, J&R, Jessops, Amazon UK, Amazon Deutschland , Digitalrev and Amazon Japan.
Silver E-M5 body with 12-50mm lens at Amazon, Adorama, BHphoto, J&R, Jessops, Amazon UK, Amazon Deutschland and Amazon Japan.

 

EosHD video test: Panasonic GH2 versus new 5DmarkIII (support Vitaly NAB coverage)

[shoplink 16254][/shoplink] I know you guys are all waiting to hear more about the future GH3. But look at the hacked GH2 versus the super new 5DmarkII video resolution comparison posted at EosHD (Click here). The new super featured $3499 Canon 5D markIII (here on Amazon) is just marginally better than the $860 hacked GH2 camera. Of course the 5DmarkIII is vastly superior when it comes to still image quality but It has to be said that Panasonic does a great job when it comes to deliver a high quality video performance. It really makes me wonder what kind of surprise we should expect from the GH3!

Speaking of the hacker Vitaly, I kindly ask you to support him for the NAB show coverage (Click here). The NABshow is the biggest broadcast video event of the year (Click here to see the official website)

P.S.: From time to time the Gh2 gets some super deal like it was with the now ended [shoplink 29671 ebay]GH2 with 14-140mm for $899 on eBay (Click here)[/shoplink]. Drop me a message if you find more deals like that so that I can share it with other 43rumors readers! Thanks!
Here are some GH2 search links: [shopcountry 16254].

New E-M5 review and X PRO 1 comparison.

The Singapore website Hardwarezone (Click here) published a full Olympus E-M5 review. The camera earns nine points out of ten: “We could list its specs: 16MP image sensor, 5-axis image stabilization, weather-resistant body. We could tell you how well the camera handles with the twin control dials, quick AF speed and easy AF point selection. We could wax lyrical about its gorgeous, retro-inspired look. We could look at its images’ beautiful colors and remarkable high ISO performance. But it’s when these elements are brought together that something altogether new is born: Charm. Any photographer would be hard-pressed not to have fun shooting with the E-M5. The mostly well-placed controls let you give it swift commands which are promptly obeyed. Its quick and accurate auto-focus, together with the excellent image stabilization and image quality at higher ISO speeds, conspire to help you catch the most fleeting of moments.

Ok, we already know the E-M5 is a great camera but how does the image quality compare with the best of its class, the Fuji X PRO 1? Yesterday I published a probably not so fair E-M5 versus X PRO 1 image comparison at MirrorlessRumors (Click here). You can click that link to see the image of the full ISO comparison: http://i.minus.com/igOc5QWXHZSII.jpg. It’s not so fair because the E-M5 shots were taken with the kit zoom lens while the X PRO 1 used the very likely much better 18mm f/2.0 prime lens. So don’t care too much about the sharpness while noise will not be so effected by the lens quality. What do you think?

 

E-M5 preorders (Click on the names of the stores to see the product page):
Black E-M5 body at Amazon, Adorama, BHphoto, J&R, Warehouse UK, Digitalrev and Amazon Japan.
Silver E-M5 body at Amazon, Adorama, BHphoto, J&R, Warehouse UK, and Amazon Japan.
Black E-M5 body with 14-42mm lens at Amazon, Adorama, BHphoto , Digitalrev and J&R.
Black E-M5 body with 12-50mm lens at Amazon, Adorama, BHphoto, J&R, Jessops, Amazon UK, Amazon Deutschland , Digitalrev and Amazon Japan.
Silver E-M5 body with 12-50mm lens at Amazon, Adorama, BHphoto, J&R, Jessops, Amazon UK, Amazon Deutschland and Amazon Japan.