Panasonic confirms RAW recording could come on the GH4 via firmware upgrade!

A month ago I told you that a trusted sources said Panasonic would add 4K RAW recording on external devices on a future GH4 firmware upgrade. Well, our source was right as this has been confirmed by two companies:

1) Atomos confirmed via Twitter that they will update their Atomos Shogun (Here at BH) (which will also be able to record 4K 444).

2) Panasonic said raw output from the GH4 could come with a future firmware upgrade as soon as external recorders will allow this (Source: EosHD).

Sounds great!!!

UPDATE: GH4 is not able to output 4:4:4 so Atomos 4K 4:4:4 feature can only be used by future new 4K cameras.

Quite cool Panasonic patent discloses a variable focal length optical viewfinder! Attacks last DSLR “advantage”.

Bildschirmfoto 2014-10-08 um 16.34.47

One of the remaining BIG advantages of DSLR camera over Mirrorless cameras is that you can frame your images through an optical viewfinder. It’s simply more “connecting” than watching through an electronic viewfinder. Well, it looks like Panasonic will soon eliminate that last DSLR advantage!

The image on top is quite complex but the idea behind it is simple: Panasonic patented an optical viewfinder which actually changes focal length in sync with any Micro Four Thirds lens! For example the optical viewfinder shows an 20mm focal length when you sue it along the 20mm pancake or 42,5mm focal length when you use the Leica Nocticron. And it obvisouly would also sync with any zoom lens too! It would become the first universal useable and variable optical viewfinder for any current digital mirrorless system. And it basically woudl do a similar job of an Optical viewfinder you usually have on a DSLR:

optical_viewfinder

Like you see th optical viewfinder zooms into the subject just like a real zoom lens. The official technical presentation from Panasonic says:

An optical viewfinder is configured to be attached to a camera body with an interchangeable lens. The optical viewfinder includes: a Keplerian viewfinder optical system 301 including a scalable objective lens group 330; a stepping motor 305 configured to drive the objective lens group 330 along an optical axis; and a control circuit configured to control driving of the stepping motor 305 based on a result of detection by a PI 306. When a variable focal length lens (an interchangeable lens) is attached to a camera body, the control circuit controls driving of the stepping motor 305 in accordance with a focal length of the variable focal length lens and displays at least a photographing frame on an EVF panel 307.

I love that!

Would you find such an optical viewfinder (external or built-in) useful?

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Note: Please be nice and link back to 43rumors if you repost that news. I spent half a day to find that patent :)

How should the E-M5 successor be to make you buy it?

Last week Olympus confirmed the E-M5 successor is “coming soon”. I think it’s going to be tricky for Olympus to position it “right”. Of course it should be better than the E-M5 and more advanced than the E-M10. But can/should it be better than the E-M1 flagship?

Let us know dear readers what you would like to see on the new E-M6! I want a 4 million dot EVF, new 3 layer sensor, faster AF in low light…

P.S.: I will collect your suggestion and features list and sum them up in a POLL to be posted the coming days. Will be nice to see what 43rumors leader want!

(FT3) New Olympus Mechanical shutter will do 1/16,000 (and electronic for 1/32,000)

An anonymous source told us Olympus next MFT camera will have a mechanical shutter that will do 1/16000. And there is also an Electronic shutter for 1/32000. Sounds like this could find his way in the new E-M5!

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Rumors classification explained (FT= FourThirds):
FT1=1-20% chance the rumor is correct
FT2=21-40% chance the rumor is correct
FT3=41-60% chance the rumor is correct
FT4=61-80% chance the rumor is correct
FT5=81-99% chance the rumor is correct

(FT4) There may be a new E-M1 firmware update to fix “mysets” delete bug.

The warning message has now been added ont he E-M1 firmware update page.

Our reader Enrico noticed one bug coming along the new E-M1 firmware update:

The recently released firmware version 2.0 for the Olympus E-M1 resets almost all current settings and deletes all Mysets (stored sets of settings) upon installation. Basically, the camera is back to factory defaults but still remembers the current image number and current date and time. Even things like the photographer’s name in the copyright field in metadata are gone.
This happened to me when updating from version 1.4. Aside from this, the update was uneventful and I have noticed no negative side effects of the new firmware.
Better write down all non-default settings in your Mysets before updating.

And an anonymous source just told me that Olympus will fix this with the next E-M1 firmware update.

 

There will be no 40-150mm + teleconverter bundle in USA :(

For unknown reasons Olympus US decided NOT to offer the new Olympus 40-150mm PRO + 1.4x Teleconverter bundle savings in USA. Such a bundle is or will be available in Asia and Europe (news via Photographicwanderings.com).

Here are the PRO zoom and teleconverter preorder links:
40-150mm f/2.8 PRO lens at Amazon, Adorama, Bhphoto, GetOlympus. In Europe at Wex UK.
MC-14 1.4x teleconverter at Amazon, Adorama, Bhphoto, GetOlympus.

 

Terada interview: Says Fast Aperture Prime lenses are in the works!

The spectacular f/1.0 MFT lens patent from Olympus (article here).

Pen And Tell interviewed Mr Terada from Olympus. Here are the translated key info:

– Olympus will keep the three lines of OMD cameras
– release cycle between cameras will become longer
– Olympus recognize the need of very fast aperture lenses
– 4K will not come on the E-m1. But maybe on future cameras (on previous Pen And Tell post)

Sounds all goot to me! Can’t wait to see that patented 12 or 14mm f/1.0 lens :)

Olympus preorders:
Silver E-M1 body at Amazon, Adorama, Bhphoto, GetOlympus. In Europe at Wex UK.
40-150mm f/2.8 PRO lens at Amazon, Adorama, Bhphoto, GetOlympus. In Europe at Wex UK.
LH-76 lens hood at Adorama, Bhphoto, GetOlympus.
MC-14 1.4x teleconverter at Amazon, Adorama, Bhphoto, GetOlympus.
PRF-ZD62 Z protection filter at Adorama, Bhphoto, GetOlympus.
PRF-ZD72 Z protection filter at Adorama, Bhphoto, GetOlympus.
General links to all new Olympus stuff at Adorama.
ALL new stuff announced at Photokina at Amazon.

Panasonic preorders:
LX100 at Amazon, Adorama, BHphoto. Europe at WexUK.
GM5 at Amazon, Adorama, BHphoto. Europe at WexUK.
GM5 in red at Adorama.
35-100mm at Amazon, Adorama, BHphoto.

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