There is a new Olympus E-5 review at Photographyblog. It’s a real pleasure to read the first phrase of their final conclusions: “The Olympus E-5 is an exceptionally well-built and rugged digital SLR camera that is a joy to use and produces remarkably crisp images with great colours, and resolution that defies its pixel count.” The camera gets “Highly Recommended“. As you will have noticed almost all E-5 reviews do mention the same (many) strengths but also the same only major weakness….the high price.
There is one more czech review at digimanie.cz (google tranlsated). And if you want to read more E-5 news and reviews click here to read all our E-5 related posts on 43rumors.

E-5 preorder links:
Amazon US, BHphoto, Adorama, Amazon DE, Amazon UK, Amazon FR.

P.S.: There are a few Olympus deals at BHphoto (Click here)!

Pocket Lint posted the new Olympus E-5 review with the intriguing title: “Has Olympus saved its best Four Thirds DSLR until last?” But their virdict is a little bit strange: “That said, as the [shoplink 17163]E-5[/shoplink] appears to be more an evolution of its existing E-3 owners might also want to consider the likes of an [shoplink 14832]E-PL1[/shoplink] if they want an Olympus feel, less bulk, and a camera that feels a little more in line with current thinking and future development. We do like the E-5, but in a tough present climate we’re just wondering who else will.” Can you really put the E-PL1 on the same level of the E-5??? Click here to read the full review at Pocket Lint.

Photographyblog tested the [shoplink 1482o]Panasonic 8mm fisheye[/shoplink]: “it is a very specialist lens that provides a unique view on the world. It delivers great image quality in a tiny package“. Build quality is excellent, focus is fast and silent, low CA, high resolution…so what’s the problem with the that lens? The high price :(

As you know the E-PL1s will be available in Japan only and it is a slightly tweaked version of the current E-PL1. It uses the new BLS-5 battery instead of the BLS-1 and shoots up to 6.400 ISO. The japanese website BCNranking tested the new Olympus E-PL1s and the new MSC (Movie and Stills Compatible) M.Zuiko Digital 14-42mm II 1:3.5-5.6. You can download and analyze a few image samples (but none of them have been taken at 6.400 ISO). P.S.: There is no plan to release the E-PL1s in Europe or America.

Olympus US is offering a new Christmas deal. You can get the E-PL1 + 14-42mm + 40-140mm lens for $549 at Amazon (Click here)!

There are tons of new Panasonic GH2 user reviews and I made a quick summary of the most interesting tests:

GH2 vs GF1 ISO Test at same Shutter Speed and Aperture (bmupix).
GH2 Video Features Demonstration (DVXuser forum).
GH2 Extra-Tele Slo-Mo Surfing (Vimeo).
The Path to Micro Four Thirds (Pitofknowledge).
GH1/2 Skew Comparison Test (Vimeo).
Very long user review at Amazon.

Panasonic GH2 in Stock at: Amazon DE, Amazon UK, Amazon FR, Pixmania IT, Pixmania ES.

The video shows the [shoplink 16254]GH2[/shoplink] / 1:1 Crop Mode (from Jean-Baptiste Lefournier)

The Polish site optize.pl tested the [shoplink 17163]Olympus E-5[/shoplink] camera with good results. The final score is 62.82/100. For comparison, the Canon 60D got 59.56 and the Sony A55 got 48.88. We’ll have to wait for the D7000 and K-5 for more direct comparison.

m43photo.blogspot.com compared the new Panasonic [shoplink 16258]14mm lens[/shoplink] with the 14-42mm and the 14-140mm lenses.

DC.watch.impress tested the [shoplink 15659 ebay]Nokton 25mm[/shoplink] on the Olympus E-P2[/shoplink] and the combination looks really good :)
If you scroll at the bottom of the page you can download a few full size images they have taken at f/0.95 aperture.

Meanwhile 3Dkraft made new GH2+Nokton tests and releases a surprising statement: “Another strength is the extreme sharpness that the GH2[/shoplink] with it’s new 16 MP sensor can deliver through this lens which already comes close to the results that I reached when I spent some time with the Leica M9 and two excellent Leica M lenses.” Don’t tell this to your Leica friends…they spent a lot of money for for their cameras and lenses….PSSS! The Leica M9 sells for over 5.400 Euro on [shoplink 17539 ebay]eBay (Click here)[/shoplink] :(
Of course, at full aperture the lens is not sharp in the corners  but stopped down everything looks excellent. And there is a second surprise at the bottom of the post: “Another question I already saw from other users: Is it really f0.95 at fully opened aperture? I have some doubts…” Click here to read more at 3Dkraft!

As you know the lens is sold out almost everywhere. Only german resellers do have one single lens in Stock from time to time. Right now [shoplink 15659 ebay]Fotomundus has one Nokton in Stock on eBay and auction ends in 5 hours (Click here)[/shoplink].

UPDATE: 2 lenses are in Stock at [shoplink 18467 ebay]top-foto on eBay (Click here)[/shoplink]!

P.S.: We europeans have the GH2 in Stock in almost every online or at local stores: Amazon DE, Amazon UK, Amazon FR, Pixmania.fr, Pixmania.it, Pixmania.pl, Pixmania.es.

Pocket Lint is the first website to post a (short) review of the new [shoplink 17361]Panasonic GF2[/shoplink]! Let’s start with the good news: “For those cautious of the touchscreen control, however, there’s really no need to fear – it works a treat should you want to get thoroughly involved.” Nice to hear that! Autofocus is fast “though it’s not as impressive as the forthcoming GH2“. And what about the image quality? “Images are clear and colourful, and the 14mm renders sharp results. There was the odd bit of overexposure in some circumstances, though not frequently or worryingly so.”

There are only a few issues. One of them has to do with the new 14mm pancake which is the official GF2 kit lens: “One of the 14mm’s issues is that minimum focus distance during autofocus is nowhere near as impressive as we’d expect – and this is usually a requirement for wideangle lenses.”

Click here to read the review at Pocket Lint!

Although Amazon US and BHphoto do list the camera they do not unveil the price. The only exception here is Amazon UK which shows the price of the different kits (in pounds of course!). But I suggest our US readers to take a close look at the older GF1 which now sells for $599 only at Amazon (Click here) and BHphoto (Click here). The GF1 shares the same GF2 sensor but is probably a better choice if you like to use buttons more than touchscreens!

The new 14mm lens is NOT in Stock in US but available almost everywhere in Europe: Amazon DE, Amazon UK, Amazon FR