New GF Gold Box deal (and Canon SL1 vs MFT size comparison).

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Before to start to talk about the new minuaturization step taken by Canon and Panasonic we have three GF deals to report:
1) Brown GF3 + 14mm Gold Box deal at Amazon (Click here).
2) White GF3 with 14mm pancake and free soft case for $299 at Adorama (Click here).
3) GF5 with 14-42mm kit lens for $399 at Amazon (via third party reseller).
4) Plenty of deals on all GF + X lens kits on eBay. GX1X (Slidoo eBay), GF3X (Slidoo eBay) and GF5X (Slidoo eBay).


New Canon SL1 vs Panasonic GH3 size comparison via Camerasize.com.

With the new GF camera that will be announced in early April Panasonic will step out from the miniaturization war like they already did with the GH3. But Canon seems to think that the miniaturization is still the way to go and as you see from the size comparison on top the new Canon SL1 APS-C DSLR is smaller than the Panasonic GH3. Yep, the world turned up side down and we have DSLR cameras that are smaller than Mirrorless cameras :)
That said I prefer a DSLR or “DSLR styled”  like the GH3 to be big enough for ergonomic reasons. For me the SL1 size makes no real sense. It still doens’t fit in a pocket like a GF5 with pancake lens and you miss the usual advantage of a DSLR like having a nice grip and clear and easy to access button layout. That said I want to hold the Sl1 in my hands before to draw any conclusion.

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Some new cameras: Olympus compact and super tiny Canon DSLR.

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While we are waiting to see the next new Olympus and Panasonic MFT cameras we have some news to report:

1) Olympus announced a new Olympus announces Stylus VH-520 (more about it on Dpreview).
2) Canon announced the smallest APS-C DSLR ever made. It is the Canon EOS 100D/Rebel SL1 (Specs at Amazon, Adorama and BHphoto). The camera has one single goal…go against the mirrorless system camera hype :)
Don’t know if they will succeed with a camera like that…

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US deal of the day: Demo 75mm f/1.8 lens for $799!

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[shoplink 37435 ebay]

[/shoplink] The Olympus 75mm f/1.8 lens is certainly the best performing Micro Four Thirds lens to date. That’s why it is almost impossible to see price drops on that lens. But I finally found a way to save $100 by purchasing one of the eight available lens sold right now by [shoplink 37435 ebay]CameraLand on eBay (Click here)[/shoplink]. And you also have nine [shoplink 37440 ebay]60mm macro Demo lenses (you save $50)[/shoplink]. These are “Demo” lenses and here is the original text from Cameraland: “As one of the largest Olympus dealers in the USA we are happy to offer this great lens at a super price. We recently had an Olympus event and these were opened and demo’d for the day. They can all pass as new and come with a 1 year USA warranty“. Sounds great!

To get further notifications about eBay deals on that lens save that Slidoo eBay US search. And here is the Slidoo eBay Europe search with [shoplink 37436 ebay]two lenses sold for 797 Euro in France[/shoplink].

Why is the lens so good? Just read the reviews at Tyson Robichaud (Click here), DxOmark (Click here) and ePhotozine :)

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(FT5) Miniaturization war is over. New GF to be bigger than the GF5!

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[shoplink 30485]

[/shoplink]

The current [shoplink 30485]GF5[/shoplink]

A trusted and a new source shared a news about the new GF camera. The miniaturization war is definitely over and the new GF will be bigger and have a “more high quality” feeling over the previous [shoplink 30485]GF5 model[/shoplink]. As I told you before the camera is going to be announced in early April. So like they did with the GH3 Panasonic is now going the opposite direction than they did in the past. Bigger is Better is the new slogan :)

That said the current GF5 is a bargain compared to the new GF camera (that will be priced at $599). In UK you can get the GF5 with X lens for 290 Euro(!) at [shoplink 37420 ebay]Wilkinsoncamera UK (Click here)[/shoplink]. Too bad they do ship in UK only :(

In US you can grab it for $399 on [shoplink 37424 ebay]eBay (Click here)[/shoplink].

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

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Mirex T/S adapter for MFT.

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The world of Micro Four Thirds adapters is growing and sometimes it surprises you with new products from companies you never heard of it before. The German company Mirex launched a new Micro Four Thirds Tilt Shift Adapter. The adapter is not yet listed on their webpage, but it is available and 43rumors reader Florian owns it. You can read his report and see more pics at Floriansphotos.com.

Current T/S adpaters or lenses for MFT are:
[shoplink 37413 ebay]Arsat Arax Photex 35mm f/2.8 (here on eBay)[/shoplink].
[shoplink 37414 ebay]MC 2.8/20mm TILT/SHIFT lens (here on eBay)[/shoplink].
[shoplink 37415 ebay]Minolta Tilt adapter (here on eBay)[/shoplink].
[shoplink 37416 ebay]Kipon Nikon F mount Lens to Micro 4/3 Tilt & Shift Adapter (here on eBay)[/shoplink].

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12-35mm X lens gets DxOmarked!

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The 12-35mm X lens just got DxOmarked (Click here to read the test). And they write: “The Panasonic Lumix G X Vario 12-35mm f2.8 ASPH Power O.I.S is the best lens of it’s type by quite a long way, but at a price that would buy better equipment if you are not wedded to the Micro 4:3 system.

The 12-35mm X zoom beats the rest of the MFT lenses and comes very close to the Olympus 12mm and 45mm prime lens performance. Now we have to see if the upcoming new Olympus f/2.8 zoom can match or even beat the Panasonic X performance!

DxOmark writes that the X zoom is expensive but you can find some deals in US and Europe:
Panacam sells the lens for $985 via Amazon US (Click here).
Five demo lenses are for sale in [shoplink 37404 ebay]Germany (Click here)[/shoplink] for 829 Euro.

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