Patent: New 18-175mm m43 lens from Panasonic (+ rumored lens summary)

The 18-175mm lens design

The japanese blog Egami (Click here to read the google translation) found a new Panasonic patent that describes the 18-175mm f/3.5-5.6 m43 lens. The patent has been filled in March 2010. If the google translation tool didn’t mislead me than this should be a new X lens (motorized zoom). There are also charts showing the aberration, distortion, astigmatism and coma performance. The lens is weak at the very wide angle. That lens will be a perfect cheap travel lens.

In summary those are the rumored lenses that are on Panasonic’s roadmap:
7-14mm X lens (rumor)
12-35mm fast X lens (confirmed by Panasonic)
16mm f/1.4 (patent from Panasonic)
18-175mm f/3.5-5.6 X lens (patent from Panasonic)
35-100mm fast X lens (confirmed by Panasonic)
New 40 or 45mm pancake X lens (rumor)

The new 45-175mm X lens is in Stock in some stores. Check these links to see where you can get it: [shopcountry 25103].

And now just for fun:

What new Panasonic lens would you buy?

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(FT4) GF1 successorcoming in Nov/December and available in Spring (FT3) with GH2 sensor?


The imaginary GF1 successor from Blog.Livedoor based on the current [shoplink 23692 ebay]Panasonic L1 (See that cam on eBay)[/shoplink] design.

I am now almost pretty sure that the new GF1 successor will be pretty soon in November/December. The “bad” news is that I just heard from a couple of sources that the camera will be available in Spring only! So like it happened for the GH2 and the Leica 25mm lens we will have to wait for a very ling time before to get our hands on the new Panasonic camera. I am not sure that is a smart “strategy”. It gives plenty of time for the competition to adjust their product specs and prices and + many potential buyers will get upset with the long waiting and delays.

The second rumor I got from one single source is that the new GF1 successor will get a “tweaked” [shoplink 16254]GH2[/shoplink] sensor. I don’t know yet what we should imagine with the word “tweaked” :(

One more thing: We know Panasonic is using two new names for upcoming products, the GF7 and GX1. I don’t know if the GF1 successor will be called GF7 or GX1 yet.

Reminder -> 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

(FT5) This is the new 30mm f/2.8 Sigma lens for Micro Four Thirds!

43rumors reader “Fabrys” discovered the prototype of the first Sigma Micro Four Thirds lens! it is the 30mm f/2.8. See Fabrys photo-stream on Flickr (Click here).That lens has been displayed months ago but it was marked as Sony E-mount lens only. Now it seems like Sigma has chosen to “adapt” it for Micro Four Thirds too! If I remember it right this is actually a macro lens!
There are no other info about price and availability.

Just a reminder. Sigma is part of the Four Thirds and Micro Four Thirds coalition and already offers a nice amount of Four Thirds lenses:
[shoplink 18947 ebay]Sigma 10-20mm f/4-5.6[/shoplink] [shoplink 18948 ebay]Sigma 18-50mm f/2.8[/shoplink] [shoplink 18948 ebay]Sigma 18-50mm f/3.5-5.6[/shoplink] [shoplink 18949 ebay]Sigma 18-125mm f/3.5-5.6[/shoplink] [shoplink 18950 ebay]Sigma 24mm f/1.8[/shoplink] [shoplink 18951 ebay]Sigma 30mm f/1.4[/shoplink] [shoplink 18952 ebay]Sigma 50mm f/1.4[/shoplink] [shoplink 18953 ebay]Sigma 50-500mm f/4-6.3[/shoplink] [shoplink 18955 ebay]Sigma 55-500mm f/4-5.6[/shoplink] [shoplink 18956 ebay]Sigma 70-200mm f/2.8[/shoplink] [shoplink 18957 ebay]Sigma 105mm f/2.8[/shoplink] [shoplink 18958 ebay]Sigma 135-400mm f/4-5.6[/shoplink] [shoplink 18959 ebay]Sigma 150mm f/2.8[/shoplink] [shoplink 18960 ebay]Sigma 300-800mm f/5.6[/shoplink]

(FT3) Panasonic LX5 successor with larger sensor?

This is not a Micro Four Thirds related news but I think it’s worth the rumor to be posted here.

Techradar (Click here) interviewed Yoshiyuki Inoue (Panasonic Senior Engineering Planner): “he said that although the LX3 had been very successful, its replacement the LX5 had not sold as well as Panasonic had hoped.” And to appeal enthusiast photographers “one aspect that is being given serious consideration for the camera that replaces the LX5 is increasing the size of the sensor, Panasonic’s Mr Uematsu even joked that it could have a 1in sensor like the new Nikon V1.

The real question should be if there will be ever a sort of [shoplink 19929]Fuji X100[/shoplink] camera with Micro Four Thirds sensor. That would be something interesting!

(FT5) Uematsu (Panasonic) says: There will be no GH3 this year (not a surprise).

Ok, that’s certainly not a surprise but at least it is official. Techaradar (Click here) talked with Mr. Uematsu from Panasonic and confirmed that “there will not be an upgrade to the GH2 by the end of the year“. And he also said that “Photokina 2012 would be very important for Panasonic“. All I know from my sources is that the GH3 will support AVCHD 2.0 with 1080/50p(60p) recording at 28mbit/s. EVF will be MUCH improved and the sensor will very likely have global shutter (like the [shoplink 25766]Nikon J1[/shoplink] and [shoplink 2567]V1[/shoplink] cameras).

The only camera we will see long before Photokina will be probably the GF PRO camera (named GF7, or GX1) which could be a sort of Panasonic L1 in Micro Four Thirds version([shoplink 20740 ebay]Click here to see that cam on eBay)[/shoplink]. The GF PRO will be announced in December/early January right before the CES event in Las Vegas.

Reminder -> 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

Patent: Sigma is ready to launch a 75-300mm f/4.8-6.7 Micro Four Thrids lens?

Image on top: The Sigma 75-300mm f/4.8-6.7 design

It’s only a matter of months that Sigma will release the very first Micro Four Thirds lens(es). But what kind of lens should we expect? The Japanese blog Egami (Click here) found a new Sigma patent which describes the characteristics of the Sigma 75-300mm f/4.8-6.7 Micro Four Thirds lens. It has inner focusing and should have a fast AF design. I am not particularly excited about that lens. We already have an [shoplink 15861 ebay]Olympus 75-300mm f/4.8-6.7[/shoplink] and a [shoplink 16261 ebay]Panasonic 100-300mm f/4-5.6 O.I.S[/shoplink] lens. So please Sigma, release some nice fast (possibly pancake) lens first!

P.S.: Links to the current tele-zoom lenses:
Olympus 75-300mm f/4.8-6.7 at [shopcountry 15861].
Panasonic 100-300mm f/4-5.6 O.I.S at [shopcountry 16261].

(FT5) And here are the first GX1 product codes!

Image on top: The NEX-7 could get a strong competition from the Panasonic GX1?

I got one more prof that the rumored Panasonic GX1 camera is real! One of my trusted sources sent me the official product codes of the camera:

DMC-GX1k: That’s a camera with lens (no idea which one)
DMC-GX1x: That’s the camera with the new [shoplink 25104]14-42mm X lens.[/shoplink].

Usually when I get the product codes we can expect the new camera to be announced within the next 3-4 months. I bet the camera will be announced right before the CES which starts in early January in Las Vegas.

I have no specs about the camera yet. The big question is if the camera has a Sony NEX-7 (Click here to see that camera) alike built-in viewfinder. A sort of m43 verison of the [shoplink 23692 ebay]Panasonic L1 (See that cam on eBay)[/shoplink]. If you have some rumor to share feel free to send me a text by using the anonymous contact bar on the right sidebar! Thanks!

P.S.: EosHD got some specs about a camera he calls GFX1. It should have a built-in EVF, 920k LCD, new sensor, Full HD video at 60p and 24p and Same battery as the GH2. One of my trusted sources said that the rumor is wrong.

 

Links to the new X lenses and kits:
Black 14-42mm X lens is available for preorder at Amazon (Click here) and Amazon Germany (Click here).
Silver 14-42mm X lens is available for preorder at Amazon (Click here) and Amazon Germany (Click here).
Black 45-175mm X lens is available for preorder at Amazon (Click here) and Amazon Germany (Click here).
Silver 45-175mm X lens is available for preorder at Amazon (Click here).
Black GF3 with 14-42mm X lens at Amazon (Click here).
Red GF3 with 14-42mm X lens at Amazon (Click here).
White GF3 with 14-42mm X lens at Amazon (Click here).

Reminder -> 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