John Brawley tested the [shoplink 16254]Panasonic GH2[/shoplink] and the [shoplink 16841]AG-AF100[/shoplink] cameras. He complains one particular issue the AG-AF100 has:
“Listen to the noise picked up by the camera mike as I change the iris on the camera. It actually sounded worse to me than what was recorded in this clip This is a test clip shot on an AF 102 (AF100). that was done using the Olympus 7-14 and a Panasonic m4/3 adaptor. I tested it with a great many 4/3 lenses from both Panasonic and Olympus. They all make the same noise. The interesting thing is that the same lenses and adaptors on the GH2 didn’t seem to make the same noise.”

More at johnbrawley.wordpress.com

AG-AF100 preorder links at Adorama or BHphoto.

DCresource tested the new Panasonic GF2: “It offers very good photo quality, snappy performance, a touchscreen LCD with a customizable interface, the best Auto mode on the planet, and Full HD video recording. The bad news is that it has issues with redeye, underexposure, and highlight clipping, and one of the available kit lenses isn’t great, either.”
GF2 shop links: Amazon US , Adorama, BHphoto, Amazon UK, Amazon DE and [shoplink 19414 ebay]eBay[/shoplink].

Focus Numerique tested the Olympus XZ-1 and the results are astonishing! The lens is super sharp even wide open (at f/1.8)!!! Distortion is minimal. The only moderate issue is Vignetting. Image quality is good from ISO 100 to 400. Dynamic range is a little bit less than the [shoplink 17288]Panasonic LX5[/shoplink]. Message to Olympus: Great acamera, but please we want more good lenses for our Micro Four Thirds system! Thanks :)
Olympus XZ-1 direct shop links: Amazon US, Adorama, BHphoto, Amazon DE, Amazon UK, Amazon FR

I had the chance to play a little bit with the new [shoplink 18603 ebay]26mm f/1.4 ToyLens[/shoplink]. All images I post here have been taken on my E-P1, jpeg maximum quality, without postprocessing (resizing only) and always at f/1.4 maximum aperture. Click on the thumbnail to enlarge the picture. Feel free to share the images but commercial use is forbidden.

What do I think about the lens? First, the friends that are on pictures did like the funny effect. And when I told them how much the lens did cost they wanted to buy it too :)
I think the lens is good for all of you that love the imperfection in photography (and I am one of them). It takes unsharp pictures, with lot of vignetting and irregular bokeh…and that’s exactly what I liked from that lens!

You can get the [shoplink 18603 ebay]Toy Lens 26mm f/1.4 for Micro Four Thirds on eBay (Click here)[/shoplink].

You can get the [shoplink 18603 ebay]Toy Lens 26mm f/1.4 for Micro Four Thirds on eBay (Click here)[/shoplink].

Excellent news for Olympus! Dpreview tested the new Olympus XZ-1 and gave the camera the GOLD AWARD! That’s what they say: “The XZ-1 combines simple direct controls with an excellent lens to create probably the best photographers’ compact currently available.”
A few days ago Dpreview tested the Canon S95, the Panasonic LX5 and the Nikon P7000. The XZ-1 beats all of them!

Read the review and after that preorder the camera at Amazon US, Adorama, BHphoto, Amazon DE, Amazon UK ;)

Trustedreviews tested the Olympus E-5. It’s a eight page long review and conclusions are on page four: “Ultimately, though, if this is the company’s last DSLR outing, at least it has saved the best until last. It’s well built, easy to use and can produce some great results. Unfortunately, that’s the bare minimum for a high-end DSLR and while there are still plenty of lenses and attachments for the Four Thirds system, we couldn’t in all conscience recommend the E-5 as a system camera you might want to get into from scratch”
E-5 direct shop links: Amazon US, BHphoto, Adorama, Amazon DE, Amazon UK, Amazon FR.

Ephotozine publsihed the new Olympus E-PL2 review: “On the one hand we have a small and rather fiddly camera that needs some considerable care in operation. On the other hand we have a very compact unit that can deliver the very highest quality of results, and this must in the end be what counts”
E-PL2 direct shop links: Amazon US, Adorama, BHphoto, Amazon DE, Amazon FR

Focus Numerique tested the ISO performance of the new Olympus XZ-1: “Conventionally, images are crisp 100 to 400 ISO. In this speed range, the pictures are well detailed and grain virtually invisible, even at 100% on screen. Overall, the images lack a little contrast, but nothing dramatic. We may also regret a little dynamic range compared to some competitors, including the LX5. ”
XZ-1 direct shop links: Amazon US, Adorama, BHphoto, Amazon DE, Amazon UK

I have a Fuji X100 update which is worth a new post. First image samples taken with a pre production camera are available at Akam.no.
Let us know what you think about it!

UPDATE: Images have been removed from the official website but they are still available at google chache (Click here). Thanks John for providing the link!

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Dpreview posted a new Fuji X100 hands-on! And they were very impressed by the camera. They body quality of the working prototype is “absolutely superb“. But the most impressive thing about the X100 is “the way Fujifilm has managed to build a high quality EVF into a relatively compact body“. The hybrid EVF/OVF viewfinder gives “the best of both worlds“.
The X100 should be available in march for $1.200. Sadly both both Adorama (Click here) and BHphoto (Click here) do not accept preorders anymore! You can still sign up at Amazon (Click here) to be notified when it becomes available for preorder.

UPDATE: There is one more hands-on at Akam.no!

There are three reasons why we talk about that camera on 43rumors:
1) Fuji is part of the Four Thirds product
2) We were told by an anonymous source that Fuji is getting help from one of the current Micro Four Thirds members (which is making some part of the cameras).
3) Because many 43rumors readers do like innovative concepts and well made cameras and I hope Panasonic/Olympus will take notice of our interest to make a [shoplink 17020]DMC-LC1[/shoplink] or [shoplink 17129]Olympus 35RC[/shoplink] version fo the X100 (of course with interchangeable lenses!) :)