image showing the sensor size comparison

The Las Vegas NAB show will start on April 14th. And of course we can expect new Panasonic (and other?) Micro Four Thirds camcorders. The questions only is….what kind of surprise should we expect? According to one of our sources there will be a new Micro Four Thirds mount camcorder with Super35 sized sensor! I haven’t got any detailed specs yet but I have been told all current m43 lenses will work fine on the new sensor size. For reference only, the Sony NEX-FS100 uses a super 35 sensor that which has a length of 23,6mm and a height of 13,3mm. The Micro Four Thirds sensor has a length of 17,3mm and height of 13mm.

I hope to get more specs about that soon. And as this is a major broadcast event I really hope Panasonic will finally release the new 12-35mm and 35-100mm f/2.8  powerzoom X lenses too :)

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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

A fake rendering of the GH3 made by our friends at E-P1/blog.livedoor (Click here)

The only thing we know about the GH3 is that 1) It is weather sealed 2) It will very likely arrive at Photokina in September. Now a new asian source sent me a list of specs of the GH3. I don’t know if these are real specs but I thought it’s good to post it here to see if my trusted anonymous sources can confirm and deny the spec list. And I am also curious to read your opinion about these specs:
Sensor: 15.5 mega-pixel sensor
Iso: Iso 160-12800, extends to 80-51200
Speed: 6.7fps
Body: Magnesium alloy body, weather sealed, thinner and lighter than GH2
LCD: 3.2″ ips, 1050k-dots, with capacitive touch screen (multi-touch depending on final setting in firmware). LCD tilt-able
EVF: new EVF with 2.06 mega-dots

Message for the anonymous source that send me this: Thanks for sending me the info. Sorry If I post it with a low rumor value but I had no chance to verify your info. Hope you will send me more details in future :)

In USA the GH2 now sells for $200 less than usual at Amazon (Click here). And thanks to the super hacking work from Vitaly you can enjoy a continual improvements. So the GH2 still remains a highly recommended camera particularly if you work a lot with video. I only hope those two nice X zoom lenses will arrive soon. No more prototype shows please Panasonic! :)

Panasonic GH2 shop links: [shopcountry 16254].

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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

Great news guys! The genius Mr. Miyazaki realized the first prototype of the Sonnetar 25mm f/1.1 for Micro Four Thirds! For those of you not knowing who the creator is you have to know that he has a long history of handmade and nice quality M-mount lenses. An example, he made that super nice and compact [shoplink 29386 ebay]Leica Triplet lenses (Click here to see them on eBay)[/shoplink]. The sonnetar protoype has a multi-coated lens, is only 25mm thick and weights 67g only! That is the design of the lens:

KTF-Turbo (Click here to read the google translation) is now testing the lens and you can already see the first image samples (Click here). I let you judge the image quality. I find the bokeh very… harsh :)

The lens you see here on top is a not available for purchase yet and price is unknown although I suspect it will have the same price of the [shoplink 29387 ebay]Sonnetar 25mm f/1.1 for Pentax Q mount ($650 here on eBay)[/shoplink].

One more news: Photoshop launched the new App for the iPad (Click here to see it on iTunes). This really sounds like an amazing app!

The japanese blog Egami (Click here for the google translation) spotted that new Olympus patent describing an updated version of the current [shoplink 14798]17mm f/2.8 pancake lens[/shoplink]. The lens has an improved optical performance. Egami also noticed that usually Olympus announces 6-12 months after a patent has been published. This means the lens could be announced within the year.

One more news: Photoshop launched the new App for the iPad (Click here to see it on iTunes). This really sounds like an amazing app!

Yasuhara will make a m43 vintage lens like the one you see here from the [shoplink 29359 ebay]Vest Pocket Kodak[/shoplink]!

Yasuhara announced that the new Madoka 180 degrees fisheye lens will ship in late March. And there is also one more crazy surprise: They also plans to make a modern version of the [shoplink 29359 ebay]Vest Pocket Kodak camera lens for m43 (Click here to see that cam on eBay)[/shoplink]. If you think that’s a joke read the press release at http://www.yasuhara.co.jp/m/index.html (Click here for the google englih translation). We will get a nice foldable lens…I really love that!

Here is the Madoka 180 fisheye press release:
“Yasuhara announced a new fisheye lens for Mirrorless cameras Sony, Olympus and Panasonic with Sony NEX (E-mount) and micro 4/3 mount. It will be called “Madoka 180” (180 degrees). Links below direct to two image samples you can find on Yasuhara.eu page in full size version.
Madoka 180 image sample No. 1
Madoka 180 image sample No. 2

Here are the basic specs of the Sony E-mount version:

• The lens will have f/4 aperture
• Compact  size
• Length: about 40mm
• Diameter: about 60mm
• Weight: about 200g

The first Yasuhara Madoka will be released for Sony E mount this spring. Madoka will be available for sale on Yasuhara.eu page at the end of March – begining of April 2012. The company is planning to release also a special software for the images taken with Madoka lenses.”

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P.S.: Really nice fisheye lenses have been made by Samyang/Rokinon:
The Black Samyang 7.5mm lens is available on [shoplink 25325 ebay]eBay (Click here)[/shoplink].
The Silver Samyang 7.5mm lens is available on [shoplink 25326 ebay]eBay (Click here)[/shoplink].

[shoplink 23568][/shoplink] Image on top: The [shoplink 23568]Olympus E-P3[/shoplink]

In an interview with Techradar (Click here) Olympus Japan’s Toshiyuki Terada said: “Looking at product lifespan, I think the next issue will be a new PEN.”

That isn’t really a surprise as we all expect new PEN cameras before the end of the year. I take the chance to remind Olympus that we don’t need many new cameras and more redundant products. Think easy, a new entry level cheap PEN and a a more advanced PEN are more than enough. In short…a new E-Pm2 and an E-P5 (having the tilting LCD of the [shoplink 23567]E-PL3[/shoplink]). My two cent: A new 12 Megapixel sensor based on the current [shoplink 29074]Olympus E-M5[/shoplink] sensor technology would be amazing!

Links to the current PEN and OM camera list:
Olympus E-M5 [shopcountry 29074].
Olympus E-P3 [shopcountry 23568].
Olympus E-PL3 [shopcountry 23567].
Olympus E-PM1 [shopcountry 23565].

Something else: Tsutomu Omori, managing director of Olympus India has been found death (suicide). My condolences to the family and to Olympus. More info at Indiatimes.

The Russian website Onfoto (Click here) published a new interview with Toshiyuki Terada (Product Planning, Olympus Imaging Corporation, Japan). Some interesting bits:
1.) A built-in viewfinder is not exclusive for the OM-D line. Future PEN camera can have built-in viewfinder maintaining the current form factor. Personal note: I guess this means that PEN can have a sort of rangefinder styled viewfinder like the Sony NEX-7 or even better, like the Fuji X PRO 1.
2.) The E-M5 cannot be considered like a professional camera because “Reliability for E-5 is much higher than the OM-D.” and “I can not tell you how many shots will slide OM-D, whereas for the E-5, we guarantee that at least 150,000.”
3.) When asked if the sensor is from Panasonic he answered: “We do not disclose any information about the sensor manufacturer. Maybe so, and otherwise. We do not say yes or no.”
4.) The E-M5 LCD rotates in only one axis to keep a compact size.
5.) About the Four Thirds adapter: “this is one of the essential areas that we explore and study“.
6.) About future Four Thirds products: “We already have started studying a successor of  [shoplink 17163]Olympus E-5[/shoplink].”
7.) Olympus sees no difference between using 12bit or 14bit RAW files.

Summary: PEN with built viewifnder is posisble, E-7 will arrive sooner or later, and a professioanl OM-D is also veyr likely to be developed. That’s a great plan or not? Question:

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More E-M5 bits: Image samples at Lydogbilde (Click here). Olympus E-M5 preoders search(!) links at [shopcountry 29074].

Something else: Tsutomu Omori, managing director of Olympus India has been found death (suicide). My condolences to the family and to Olympus. More info at Indiatimes.