(FT4) More reports about delay on Olympus and Panasonic camera launch

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I keep receiving multiple feedback from different sources saying that the Kumamoto earthquake disaster had a much greater negative impact than officially stated by the companies. As you know I recently leaked images and info about the E-PL8 and 30mm macro lens. Both should have been already announced by Olympus. But the current situation is constantly changing as Olympus and Panasonic are still trying to assess the situation.

Two sources told me that it’s highly likely that there will be some major delays and some of the camera expected to ship in 2016 will ship in early 2017 only. The situation affects almost all companies, it’s not only Panasonic-Olympus issue.

So whatever you are hoping to get at Phootkina this year, GH5, E-PL8 or E-M1II. The chances are high the camera will not be available immediately after the announcement!

 

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The new Meike MFT lenses are now available at Amazon

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Bildschirmfoto 2016-06-07 um 19.14.33

All four new Meike MFT lenses are now listed and available for preorder at Amazon US (Click here to see the pricing of each lens).

Reminder:
The 300mm PRO lens is now in Stock at Cameta (Click here). Get it now because this will get sold out quickly…
Up to $600 off on Panasonic cameras and lenses at BHphoto (Click here).
Up to $80 off on Lexar cards at BHphoto (Click here).
Up to $150 off on Lensbaby lenses at BHphoto (Click here).
The full list of BHphoto special can be found on that page (Click here).

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Olympus shows a new “hybrid” RGB-IR sensor!

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Olympus developed a new kind of sensor cabaple of acquiring simultaneasuly (RGB) and near-infrared (NIR) images using only a single image sensor. Here is the press text:

Masatoshi Okutomi and researchers at Tokyo Tech and Olympus R&D have developed a new imaging system for simultaneous acquisition of color (RGB) and near-infrared (NIR) images using only a single image sensor.

Background

Commercially available compact and low-cost color digital cameras acquire single-sensor color images with a color filter array (CFA)— an array of R, G, and B filters and overlaid on the image sensor (Fig. 1). Therefore, the data acquired by CFA based image sensors are mosaic. A set of image processing algorithms such as an interpolation process of the mosaic data called demosaicking, and color correction is performed to acquire a full-color image. In this way, current color cameras realize low-cost and easy-to-use color image acquisition.

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Figure 1. Color image acquisition using a single image sensor with a CFA.

System developed in this research

In recent years, many applications using a pair of color (RGB) and near-infrared (NIR) images have been proposed by computer vision and image processing communities. With this background, the group of Masatoshi Okutomi at Tokyo Tech and researchers at Olympus R&D have developed a prototype of a new imaging system for the simultaneous acquisition of RGB and NIR images using a single image sensor. Figure 2 is an overview of a prototype of this system consisting of a novel CFA that contains both RGB and NIR filters. The arrangement of the new CFA is shown in the Fig. 2, where “N” represents the NIR filter. The researchers have also developed an image processing system that can execute sets of image processing algorithms, such as demosaicking and color correction, in real time. The new system can acquire and display high-quality RGB and NIR images simultaneously at 60 frames per second (fps). Since the new system can provide users with a practical solution for simultaneous acquiring both the RGB and the NIR images, it is expected to open up a new range of applications in many fields such as remote sensing, security, robotics, agriculture, and medical imaging, where the NIR information is useful.

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Figure 2. Overview of the developed prototype system.

found via Image Sensor World.

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a bit of everything…

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Photo Recovery: Two Minute Tips with David Bergman

5 Exposure Tips for Common High Contrast Scenes (ALC).
To St. Helens and Back: Olympus TG-Tracker Shooting Experience (Dpreview).
Macphun Filters for Photos Review (Photographyblog).
Opinion: A Disturbing Trend in Photography (PetaPixel).

Kai:Floating timeless sea characters and beautiful jellyfish in a meditative film – with classical music.  Kind of underwater love and diving impressions.
Shot with Panasonic Lumix GH4 and Olympus M.Zuiko Digital 12-40 mm 1:2.8 Pro lens for Micro Four Thirds –
with incredible sharpness through the glas of the
aquarium. Free hand shot, no stabilisation, few colour corrections. Shot in: Nordsea Aquarium Borkum, Germany. Hope you like and enjoy it :)
https://youtu.be/AIKQGQLfkoQ

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