I got two short feedbacks from trusted sources who were able to test the new OMD. There are two things to report:

1) AF has been reported to be very fast, reliable and accurate with Four Thirds lenses. It’s on the same level as “native” MFT lenses. This is possible because of the new on sensor PDAF

2) IQ, DR and noise is only slightly better than current OMD sensor. (Thanks to new processor and some other “tweaks”).

One more thing: The camera will ship worldwide from end November!

Right before the new High End OMD announcement the Olympus E-5 has been marked as discontinued at BHphoto (Click here). The new High End Micro Four Thirds OMD will replace the E-5. Short simple question: Is this the official end of the Four Thirds Camera system?

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We all know the new High End OMD is coming. And on Facebook Olympus UK posted the following text:

What is going on? Get it in your diary:
Exclusive Olympus events in London and at a store near you in September…..

There is a bit of a buzz going round at the moment and it’s not someone taking the Vespa from the E-P5 exclusive Harrods kit for a joy ride. It is simply that there are a lot of special Olympus events being organised in London and at retailers during September.

A full current list of events is at the bottom of this post, and more details will be released over the coming weeks. So keep your eyes peeled!

We also recommend registering to receive our newsletters as these too will contain further information. You can do this by visiting: https://myolympus.olympus-consumer.com/en-GB/Newsletter/Subscribe

or alternatively you can follow us on Twitter @OlympusUK and of course on here.

Retailer Events (September):

Friday 13: London Camera Exchange -Horsefair
Saturday 14: Park Cameras – Burgess Hill
SRS – Watford
CameraWorld – London
Wednesday 18: London Camera Exchange – The Strand
Thursday 19: Ffordes Photographic – By Beauly
Friday 20: Merchant City Cameras – Glasgow
Saturday 21: Clifton Cameras – Dursley
London Camera Exchange – Colchester
Harrison Cameras – Sheffield
Saturday 28: Warehouse Express – Norwich

Other events – contents TBC (London, September):
Sunday 15, Monday 16, Tuesday 17, Sunday 22, Wednesday 25, Thursday 26, Friday 27, Sunday 29.

It confirms the rumor we posted before. The new High End OMD (which also replaces the E-5) is coming the second week of September.

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Egami spotted a new Olympus patent describing two new Micro Four Thirds macro lenses: The 70mm f/2.8 and 100mm f/4.5. DOn’t know you but I would prefer they would work on a 17mm f/1.2 lens :)

SLR Magic 35mm T0.95 test footage with 5 axis Olympus stablisation from Andrew Reid on Vimeo.

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The upcoming SLRmagic 35mm f/0.95 has been reviewed by EosHD. But I have been told that there will be a new updated version of the lens that will ship in September. Everyone having the current lens on preorder will get the updated (and even better quality) lens.

And not only that. Also a new fast 17mm prime lens will be announced soon! SLR Magic is really pushing a lot on the MFT lens development. And some of their lenses are now really of very good optical quality too. Nice to see so much third-party lens offer on the MFT system.

Current SLRmagic lenses for Micro Four Thirds:
SLR magic 11mm f/1.4 lens on [shoplink 22154 ebay]eBay (Click here)[/shoplink].
SLR magic Cine 12mm T/1.6 Lens at Adorama (Click here).
SLR Magic 25mm T0.95 at Adorama (Click here).
Toy Lens 26mm f/1.4 lens on [shoplink 18603 ebay]eBay (Click here)[/shoplink].
SLR Magic 35mm f/1.7 MC lens on [shoplink 14881 ebay]eBay (Click here)[/shoplink].
Noktor SLRmagic 50mm on [shoplink 25691 ebay]eBay (Click here)[/shoplink] SLR Magic Pin Hole Lens at Adorama (Click here).

These could be the specs of the next High End OMD camera. As i told you before this camera will also replace the Olympus E-5 Four Thirds camera. It’s the first MFT camera having 100% support of FT lenses. Body only is expected to cost around 1500 Euro/Dollars.

• New DSLR type grip
• 16MP sensor
• 81 AF target points
• 10 fps
• Built-in Wi-Fi
• Flash sync speed: 1/320s
• ISO range: 200-25600
• Shutter speed: 1/8000s-60s
• 3″ tiltable TFT LCD touch screen
• EVF with 2,360,000 pixels
• Micro Four Thirds mount only (not a hybrid mount)
• Weight: 430g | 0.9Ib
• Dimensions (WxHxD): 122mm × 68mm × 37mm | 4.8″ × 2.7″ × 1.5″

I now have been told that there will be an extra MFT to FT mount adapter for the camera. The term hybrid camera is referred to his ability to 100% support both MFT and FT lenses. The camera will be announced the second week of September!

Olympus first High End OMD could be priced around 1.500 Euro/ $1,500 (body only). That’s more expensive than other High End APS-C DSLR like the Nikon D7100 ($1200 at Amazon) or the just announced Canon 70D (again $1200). And the same price as the Full Frame [shoplink 40841 ebay]Canon 6D (right here on eBay)[/shoplink]. If the rumor is correct and that’s the price of the OMD it better has to be damn good to compete against the two mentioned cameras!

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For sources: Sources can send me anonymous info at 43rumors@gmail.com (create a fake Gmail account) or via contact form you see on the right sidebar. Thanks!
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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