Price comparison:
Panasonic GF2 direct links at [shopcountry 17361] Olympus E-PL2 direct links at [shopcountry 18844] -> In US you have a $50 instant rebate, and a $100 instant rebate on the dual kit at BHphoto (Click here).

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Since a long time we are used to read Micro Four Thirds reviews only. But ePhotozine just posted four new Four Thirds lens reviews!

1) The first lens they tested is the Olympus Zuiko Digital ED 8mm f/3.5 Fisheye: “Performance-wise, it is a bit of a mixed-bag, with soft images at maximum aperture and strong chromatic aberrations towards the edges, but with a little care, and maybe some post-processing, this lens should be able to produce decent enough results.”
Check the lens price and availability at: [shopcountry 20015]

2) Olympus Zuiko Digital ED 12-60mm f/2.8-4 SWD: “Although the price tag may seem a little steep at first, this lens justifies it with very good optical performance, and a very handy zoom range for walking about town”
Check the lens price and availability at: [shopcountry 20016]

3) Olympus Zuiko Digital 14-54mm f/2.8-3.5 II: “For the price this lens commands, I expected a better performance than this lens delivers, especially at 14mm, where I am quite disappointed.”
Check the lens price and availability at: [shopcountry 20017]

4) Olympus Zuiko Digital Ed 50mm f/2 Macro: “This 50mm macro optic from Olympus is an interesting choice for Four Thirds format cameras due to its compact dimensions and bright maximum aperture. Although the performance wide open may not be of the highest order, it is well-suited to portraiture, and stopping the lens down can produce excellent results. ”
Check the lens price and availability at: [shopcountry 20019]

Photographyblog (Click here) tested the Olympus M.ZUIKO Digital ED 75-300mm f/4.8-6.7 Micro Four Thirds lens. After a five page long review the conclusion is: “Overall, we enjoyed shooting with the Olympus M.Zuiko Digital ED 75-300mm f/4.8-6.7 a lot and have been pleased with the results. Most of our photos came out sharp, with acceptable levels of distortion and almost no chromatic aberrations. However, a long telezoom like this will always be a speciality lens and with the M.Zuiko costing as much as it does, it seems one needs a very good reason to commit to a purchase.”
Check the lens price and availability at [shopcountry 15861]

Pocket Lint (Click here) posted their Olympus XZ-1 review “Shoehorning in almost as many features as its E-PL2 bigger brother, if you don’t want to change the F/1.8, 28-112mm equivalent lens on the front, the XZ-1 is the easier to use, as well as transport. Sure, an asking price of £399 is not inconsiderable, but at least it’s comparable with its immediate rivals that are also priced at a premium. After practically holding a wake with the release of the E-5 DSLR, fortunately it’s now party hats and streamers time for Olympus in the case of the XZ-1.”
Chek the camera price and availability at [shopcountry 19904]

Photographyhappenings reviewed the new [shoplink 19904]Olympus XZ-1[/shoplink]: “If you are comparing to the [shoplink 16886]Panasonic LX-5[/shoplink] or Canon S95, the Olympus XZ-1 will be a good choice if lens specification is your key consideration. The Olympus delivers strong performance over the competitors in good light and moderate distance, but fails to shine in poorer light condition and closer to infinity.”

But there are more testes: First look at Neutralday. Olympus XZ-1 Camera Studio Sample Photos (Photographyreview). Olympus XZ-1 Photo Gallery at letsgodigital.

A 43rumors reader sent has his first hand impression with the Olympus XZ-1 (Image samples at Picasaweb):

“I’ve had my XZ-1 for a few days now and I thought I would summarise my thoughts.

Plus points.
1) The image quality is excellent. Sharp everywhere. Certainly better than I need. Portraits look very nice at 112mm equiv with very good DOF for a compact.
This is a major point for me. Nice portraits from a compact. Who knew?
2) The menu is a lot simpler than an [shoplink 14832]E-PL1[/shoplink]. Less is more.
3) The controls work well and are quick to learn. I had it 3 days before I even bothered to look at the manual and that was only curiosity.
4) The performance is good. Focusing seems faster and better in practice than the E-PL1. Especially in poor light.
Thank heavens for the AF lamp.
5) The image stabilisation works very well. But then I don’t drink much coffee. :)

Minus
1) Auto ISO is plain STUPID. It will happily let you take shots at 1/10 second and ISO 200 rather than raise the ISO. Result? On Auto ISO you get a LOT of motion blurred subjects.
This would be the first thing I would fix if it were my design. It’s such a dumb mistake.
2) When you change mode with the dial, a message comes on screen to tell you what new mode you are in and stays there FAR TOO LONG. Irritating.
3) The lens cap is a bit of a bore.
4) YOU MUST use the strap. The front is slippery with no grip. I’ve put little grippy pads on mine.
5) Be nice to be able to assign AEL to the Movie button, or a LONG press of OK. But you can work around it.

I don’t think I’ll be using the E-PL1 much now I have the XZ-1.
Maybe I should sell it and save the money for a new toy when it FINALLY happens.

RR”

Direct product XZ-1 preorder pages at [shopcountry 19904].

There is a new article about the GH2 written by Luminous Landscape (Click here). I am going to post only a few key points of his review but I higly recomment to read the full text!

Video: “Let it be enough to say that with a fast lens (for shallow DOF) it is to my mind the best video capable DSLR type camera on the market. ”
Viewfinder: “In fact, I would say that it is an many instances preferable to the dismal (meant literally) and small optical viewfinders found on the smaller and usually inexpensive DSLRs.”
Ergonomics: “It doesn’t have the elegance and stark simplicity of a [shoplink 17844 ebay]Leica M9[/shoplink]; in fact quite the opposite. But, given that it is a small form factor DSLR style camera with full features, not only for still photography but for video as well, it does a remarkable job of satisfy sometimes contradictory needs.”
Reliability: “I’ve owned the [shoplink 14826]GH1[/shoplink] for a couple of years and now the GH2. Both have been totally reliable, as have all the Panssonic lenses that I own, with the exception of the new 100-300mm. It failed just a few days after I got to Mexico, with a locked-closed aperture”
Focusing: “Though the [shoplink 16254]GH2[/shoplink] uses contrast detection AF, you wouldn’t know it from its speed.”
Mirror Vibration: “There is no Mirror Vibration”
Image Quality: “The difference between APS-C and MFT is de minimis.”
Battery: “poor battery performance”
The biggest issue? “The biggest issue with the Panasonic GH2 is that a great many people that want to buy one, can’t, because these cameras seem to constantly be in short supply” (P.S.: Amazon US (Click here) says “Usually ships in 1 to 2 months”)

Do you agree with the LL analysis?

And you can check if the GH2 is in Stock by visiting the direct product pages at [shopcountry 16254].

GF2 preview…in french ;)

The french website hybridcams previewed the new Panasonic GF2 (Click here to read the google english translation). And Pixinfo posted a detailed ISO image table. A full review has been written by David Babsky (at stevehuff.com): “Its drawbacks are very few ..far, far fewer than I’d expected.. and it certainly APPEARS simpler to use for a novice. It’s a very nice little interchangeable-lens compact camera. But I’m not a novice. So I’d use it for movies (or for the 4/3 Leica 14-50mm f2.8 low-light portrait zoom) but otherwise I’ll stick with the [shoplink 14828]GF1[/shoplink] (the “Leica M9.5″) for stills. Out of 10? Eight-and-a-half ..and I can hardly wait for a HI-RES clip on viewfinder, to match the resolution of the GH2 SLR.”
Check price and availability of all GF2 combos at [shopcountry 17361].

Steve Huff had a lot of fun testing the new [shoplink 16258]Panasonic 14mm f/2.5[/shoplink] pancake: “I found it performed excellent every time it was slung around me on the E-P2. What else can I say besides I LOVE IT! Over 500 frames shot with it and I found no issues or problems so I really have nothing bad to say about it. Is it as good as a Leica lens? NO, but this is under $400, not $4000  If you want a wide angle prime that is lightweight, thin and not so expensive then this one should be on your short list without question.”
Click on the shop names to visit the direct 14mm pancake page and check price and availability: [shopcountry 16258].

As you know Zeiss AG joined the Micro Four Thirds System group and the first products are the adapted [shoplink 15756 ebay]CP.2 lenses[/shoplink]. One of our readers just sent us the link to the very first image sample taken with the [shoplink 16254]Panasonic GH2[/shoplink] and the $3.900 Compact Prime CP.2 85mm/T2.1 Cine Lens!

Click here: Portait sample at Flickr. You can enlarge the picture to his original size to check the sharpness. You can also see an image of the lens attached on the GH2. Huge!!!

Links: Compact Prime CP.2 85mm/T2.1 Cine Lens at Bhphoto (Click here).