Adobe’s new Ligthroom 5.2 and DNG Converter 8.2 now support the new Olympus E-M1 and Panasonic GX7 cameras. You can download the firmware by clicking those links:
Lightroom 5.2 for Windows
Lightroom 5.2 for Mac
DNG Converter 8.2 for Windows
DNG Converter 8.2 for Mac
Panasonic (Click here) just issued a new firmware update for the Panasonic GX7. It fix an issues with the power stability that provoces the camera to shut down. FW download:
Windows: https://eww.pavc.panasonic.co.jp/support/en/dsc/fts/win/GX7__V11.exe
Mac: https://eww.pavc.panasonic.co.jp/support/en/dsc/fts/mac/GX7__V11.zip
New GX7 review:
Digitalversus (Click here) posted the full GX7 review and writes:
Thanks to the sensor’s two-axis stabilisation system, its built-in viewfinder, and handling similar to a little rangefinder, it’s the ideal candidate for users looking to shoot with lenses other than those from Panasonic’s Lumix range.
GX7 preorder list (Click on store name to open the GX7 price, specs and preorder page):
Silver GX7 body at Amazon US, BHphoto, Adorama, Samys, Wex Deutschland, Wex UK , Amazon JP.
Silver GX7 with 14-42mm lens at Amazon, BHphoto, Adorama, Samys, Henrys, Wex Deutschland, WexUK, Amazon UK.
Black GX7 body at Henrys, Wex Deutschland, Wex UK, Amazon UK, Amazon Japan.
Black GX7 with 14-42mm lens at Henrys, Wex Deutschland, Wex UK, Amazon UK.
Black GX7 with 20mm lens at Henrys, Wex UK, Amazon UK, Amazon Japan.
Silver GX7 with 20mm lens at Henrys, Wex UK, Amazon UK, Amazon Japan.
You can now have some fun with the Four Thirds Matching simulation to see how the new E-M1 looks paired with a MFT or FT lens. The image on tops shows the camera with the massive [shoplink 25119 ebay]35-100mm f/2.0 (here on eBay)[/shoplink].
And now back to E-M1 reviews:
Luminous Landscape (Click here) just started their Rolling E-M1 Field Report. And that’s what they write about the E-M1 for now:
“I’ll close today’s entry by mentioning that when I wrote my Panasonic GX7 review a couple of weeks ago I called it “…the best MFT camera yet”. It’s fair to say that this claim to fame only lasted a short while.”
More E-M1 news:
Ongoing E-M1 review at CameraLabs.
Olympus OM-D E-M1: Big Brother or Successor? (Byrdphoto).
E-M1 Flickr Group.
E-M1 manual for download on Olympus website.
Touch and Try events in UK (OlympusUK).
Hands-on review by Amateur Photographer.
Preorder Links:
Dedicated page at Amazon.
Olympus E-M1 body at Amazon, Adorama and BHphoto, Amazon DE (via DL), Amazon UK (via DL), Amazon ES (via DL), WexUK, Topshot FI, CameraWorldUK.
Olympus M. Zuiko Digital ED 12-40mm f/2.8 PRO Lens at Amazon, Adorama, BHphoto, AmazonDE (viaDL), Amazon ES (via DL).
Olympus E-M1 with 12-40mm Lens kit at Amazon DE (via DL), WexUK and CameraWorldUK, Amazon UK (via DL), Amazon ES (via DL).
Olympus E-M1 with 12-50mm Lens kit at Amazon DE (via DL), WexUK, CameraWorldUK, Amazon UK (via DL), Amazon ES (via DL).
Olympus EP-13 Eyecup for E-M1 at Adorama and BHphoto.
Olympus HLD-7 Battery Grip for E-M1 at Amazon, Adorama and BHphoto.
Olympus LC-62D Metal Front Lens Cap for 12-40mm at Adorama and BHphoto.
Olympus LH-66 Lens Hood for 12-40mm at Adorama and BHphoto.
For a short moment Olympus displayed a mysterious “OM-D E-FZ1” camera name. It now has been removed. I don’t think this is a real name of a future camera. More likely this was a mistake…I guess :)
UPDATE: A source just told me that this was the internal code name of the E-M1!
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If you are really desperate and want the GX7…NOW than you can grab it via third party resellers at Amazon US, in Black (Click here) and Silver (Click here). But if you wait 10 days more than it will (hopefully) ship via Amazon itself. Meantime a Japanese camera owner posted a first unboxing video on youtube.
One more deal: E-Pm1 with lens for $248 at Amazon US (Click here).
Photoplus Expo in New York
Yep, I can now confirm via multiple trusted sources that Olympus will have one more product announcement in October! And there is definitely a High End Compact Camera. And I mean really High End…not a new XZ camera :) The announcement should take place right before the Photoplus show in New York City. I have no specs yet, but I will get them soon :)
There are plenty of competitors in that market:
– The [shoplink 41706 eBay]Fuji X100S (here one Bay)[/shoplink] with the superb hybrid viewfinder and unique sensor.
– The [shoplink 41707 eBay]Ricoh GR (here one Bay)[/shoplink] which is the smallest and also the cheapest
– The [shoplink 41708 eBay]Nikon Coolpix A (here one Bay)[/shoplink] fixed prime lens.
– The [shoplink 41709 eBay]Canon PowerShot G1 X (here one Bay)[/shoplink] fixed zoom lens.
It will be hard for Olympus to make something unique…or not?
Note: The High End fixed lens market is still growing and it makes sense for Olympus to join the battle. As reported via Personal-View in Europe the “More advanced fixed-lens cameras are also doing well. These are cameras with larger image sensors, which registered a sales increase of around 7%. Selling at steadily high prices of around EUR450.“
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Four Thirds Lens owners will be very interested to se Robin Wongs E-M1 FT Lens test (Click here). He tested these four FT lenses and you can see the results on the video I embedded on top:
1) Olympus ZD 7-14mm F4 ([shoplink 41751 ebay]here on eBay[/shoplink])
2) Olympus ZD 14-35mm F2 SWD ([shoplink 41752 ebay]here on eBay[/shoplink])
3) Olympus ZD 14-54mm F2.8-3.5 II ([shoplink 41753 ebay]here on eBay[/shoplink])
4) Olympus ZD 50mm F2 macro ([shoplink 41754 ebay]here on eBay[/shoplink])
5) Olympus ZD 50-200mm F2.8-3.5 SWD ([shoplink 41755 ebay]here on eBay[/shoplink])
6) Olympus ZD 50-200mm F2.8-3.5 (non-SWD) ([shoplink 41755 ebay]here on eBay[/shoplink])
And the conclusion is:
“The focusing speed of Four Thirds lenses on the E-M1 is NOT as fast as how they are on DSLR E-5, E-3 or E-30. It may not have fulfilled my expectations, but in all seriousness, the focusing speed was FAR from disappointing. In comparison to previous focusing on any micro Four Thirds camera, the focusing speed on E-M1 has increased by quite a far leap, and is now very fast and reliable. For some lenses, the focusing speed was very close to the DSLR E-5. The fastest focusing lens out of the series tested was undoubtedly the ZD 14-35mm f2 SWD lens”
Robin writes that the reason why the E-M1 cannot match the E-5 performance is:
“Looking at Olympus DSLR E-5, it has 11 point AF, and each point has TWIN CROSS sensor, meaning FOUR lines of phase detect sensor were installed in each point to maximize the focusing potential. Looking at the specifications of the new Phase Detect in E-M1, it was not the same, and rather completely different. It has 37 selectable points, which covered quite a large area of the frame. Now here is the main difference, the AF points are NOT Twin Cross, in fact, they were not Cross points at all. Again, knowing these facts, to expect the autofocusing performance to match DSLR E-5, was starting to look more and more difficult to happen.”
I guess most FT Lens owners are not surprised by these results. Already Dpreview mentioned that the AF wasn’t as fast as on the E-5. We may need an E-M2 or E-M7 before we see an AF performance as fast as on the E-5!
Please take time to read the full test at Robin Wong’s site (Click here).
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Preorder Links:
Dedicated page at Amazon.
Olympus E-M1 body at Amazon, Adorama and BHphoto, Amazon DE (via DL), Amazon UK (via DL), Amazon ES (via DL), WexUK, Topshot FI, CameraWorldUK.
Olympus M. Zuiko Digital ED 12-40mm f/2.8 PRO Lens at Amazon, Adorama, BHphoto, AmazonDE (viaDL), Amazon ES (via DL).
Olympus E-M1 with 12-40mm Lens kit at Amazon DE (via DL), WexUK and CameraWorldUK, Amazon UK (via DL), Amazon ES (via DL).
Olympus E-M1 with 12-50mm Lens kit at Amazon DE (via DL), WexUK, CameraWorldUK, Amazon UK (via DL), Amazon ES (via DL).
Olympus EP-13 Eyecup for E-M1 at Adorama and BHphoto.
Olympus HLD-7 Battery Grip for E-M1 at Amazon, Adorama and BHphoto.
Olympus LC-62D Metal Front Lens Cap for 12-40mm at Adorama and BHphoto.
Olympus LH-66 Lens Hood for 12-40mm at Adorama and BHphoto.
