How to “trick” a sort of focus peaking mode on the E-M5
I just got a message from a source saying that there will be a new E-M5 firmware update rolling out mid-December. It adds several more options to the menu regarding EVF info and “one exciting feature that is sure to please users. ;)”
I don’t know yet what this feature is but my guess is that it is focus peaking! Or do you have another feature in your mind?
E-M5 Case:
There is the official [shoplink 31898 ebay]CS-36FBC Olympus case[/shoplink]. A [shoplink 31899 ebay]leather half case from Hong Kong[/shoplink]. A full [shoplink 31900 ebay]leather case with strap from Cina[/shoplink]. Than we have half cases from two well known producers, [shoplink 31901 ebay]Zelenpol[/shoplink], [shoplink 31906 ebay]Kaza[/shoplink] and [shoplink 31902 ebay]Gariz[/shoplink].
E-M5 Batteries, and other things:
The [shoplink 31905 ebay]Olympus GS-4 strap[/shoplink] and the [shoplink 31903 ebay]DSTE E-M5 batteries[/shoplink] you have to use with an extra charger. There is an [shoplink 31903 ebay]E-M5 car charger[/shoplink] a [shoplink 31908 ebay]new E-M5 LCD screen[/shoplink] and a [shoplink 31909 ebay]Front Cover+ Top Panel[/shoplink].
Mirrorless reviews posted that EM-5 Third Party Grip vs. Olympus HLD-6 Grip Review video
Time to catch up with a list of news I got from 43rumors readers!
Deals:
First off Stefano found that amazing deal on [shoplink 35238 ebay]eBay Italy (Click here)[/shoplink]. It’s the first E-M5 with 15mm lens kit and sold for 829 Euro (sadly it ships to Italy only). Weird to see that in Italy and France the price for the E-m5 is much lower! Just check them on Slidoo eBay (it’s our little new website so feel free to login and use it).
If you want to try to get the E-m5 for cheaper than the normal price you may check the refurbished auctions on [shoplink 22691 ebay]Olympusmarket (Click here)[/shoplink]. They ahve eight of them on auction!
Reviews:
A Weekend of Extended Use With the Fujifilm X Pro 1 and Olympus OMD EM5 (ThePhoBlographer).
Shooting the SF Auto Show with the Olympus OM-D (TheDigitalStory). Zelko: “I thought you might want to know, that the OM-D has become “an important EVIL camera for underwater use.” as said in this (http://wetpixel.com/i.php/full/using-the-olympus-om-d-e-m5-underwater/) article. Wetpixel is a serious website dedicated to u/w photography by professional photographers. Actually the writer Alex Mustard is a very well known one.”
Issues: Anonymous: “this is not a rumor but a kind request to evaulate the opportunity to highlight a recent discovered E-M5 manufacturing/design weakness: there are a lot of confirmations that the LCD bezel develops crack near the bottom fixing screws. This should not to be considered a trivial cosmetic-only issue, the crack, growing up, could easily compromise the weather sealing and will lower the price of an used body when sold. Please, for further details see here: http://www.mu-43.com/f42/omd-em5-crack-bottom-bezel-screen-normal-36685/index2.html and here: http://forums.dpreview.com/forums/post/50330633. Your support could greatly help to put some pressure to Olympus in order to officially acknowlegde the issue.”
Some more readers mails: Robert: “I just wanted to let you know that one of the biggest Swiss electronics dealers (www.digitec.ch) currently offers a 10% discount on all Olympus products. The offer is valid until 3rd December 2012. Unfortunately, they only ship to Switzerland and Liechtenstein, but still the discount is nice. Have just ordered an OM-D Kit with the 12-50mm zoom.” Pierre: “Like other sites, you missel the BEST deal available for Olympus OMD: 1049.99$ WITH 12-50 mm. A 249.99$ rebate! Link: http://www.henrys.com/68950-OLYMPUS-OM-D-E-M5-BLACK-W-12-50-LENS.aspx”
E-M5 Case:
There is the official [shoplink 31898 ebay]CS-36FBC Olympus case[/shoplink]. A [shoplink 31899 ebay]leather half case from Hong Kong[/shoplink]. A full [shoplink 31900 ebay]leather case with strap from Cina[/shoplink]. Than we have half cases from two well known producers, [shoplink 31901 ebay]Zelenpol[/shoplink], [shoplink 31906 ebay]Kaza[/shoplink] and [shoplink 31902 ebay]Gariz[/shoplink].
E-M5 Batteries, and other things:
The [shoplink 31905 ebay]Olympus GS-4 strap[/shoplink] and the [shoplink 31903 ebay]DSTE E-M5 batteries[/shoplink] you have to use with an extra charger. There is an [shoplink 31903 ebay]E-M5 car charger[/shoplink] a [shoplink 31908 ebay]new E-M5 LCD screen[/shoplink] and a [shoplink 31909 ebay]Front Cover+ Top Panel[/shoplink].
Nokton 25mm f/0.95:
I own this lens and I am always carrying it with me. Definitely my favorite lens! On top of this post you can watch a new video from Seb Farges shot with this lens. And ePhotozine just posted a new review of the Nokton. Another review has been posted in German by Heise.de. The cheapest price I found in Europe is 810 Euro in [shoplink 35293 ebay]France (Click here)[/shoplink] and 830 Euro in [shoplink 35292 ebay]Germany (Click here)[/shoplink]. As I mentioned yesterday yu can check for price drops via Slidoo :)
The newer sister lens sells for 1.010 Euro via [shoplink 35294 ebay]Fotomundus (Click here)[/shoplink].
Olympus E-M5: James Harold posted a 24hours OMD review made while traveling across Europe. And the Crazy Comparison Returns! The $999 Olympus OM-D vs the $7995 Leica Monochrom by Steve Huff.
DOn’t forget that there are always plenty of new auctions with refurbished E-M5 at [shoplink 22691 ebay]Olympusmarket (Click here)[/shoplink].
Readers work: Lars: “Hi not a rumor, but I just wanted to share some of my pictures taken during a recent trip to Ireland. All photos were taken with the E-M5 and either the 12-50mm, 45mm, or Pana 45-175mm. Hope you enjoy. http://www.flickr.com/photos/larsbeduhn/sets/72157632024744416/” Mal: “i’m an Olympus spanish promoter and I pleased to trying the new XZ-2 camera. I have taked some photos last Friday in a music concert. I have some direct JPG examples that I would be pleassed if you want to show everybody. Here are all of them: http://www.flickr.com/photos/malraulio/sets/72157632041612785/” Vitor: “I just bought an olympus 40-150, that came whith a bag and a 8G class 10 cardo for just 149€ brand new in a FANC store in portugal. U can check it online at: http://www.fnac.pt/Olympus-ZUIKO-ED-40-150mm-f-4-5-6-R-kit-Acessorios-Objectiva-Objectiva/a639264” Steve: “Thought I would share with you something that I still quite can’t believe. I am being quoted the sum of £1549.00 from my local Panasonic store in Elgin Scotland for the GH3 + 12-35 X lens. This is VAT inclusive and they have confirmed shipment at the end of November. I have asked them many times to confirm that the price is indeed correct and they have assured me that it is. The store is http://www.geddesandmellis.co.uk/” Andy: “For USA buyers, Costco has the Olympus E-PL2 with 14-42mm Lens for $299. Her is the link: http://www.costco.com/Olympus-E-PL2-with-14-42mm-Lens-Compact-System-Camera-Bundle.product.100011392.html” Twills: “Here is a climbing video shot simultaneously with the Panasonic GH2+25mm F1.4 and the GoPro 3 Black. The GH2 footage is 720p @ 60 FPS and 1080p @ 60 FPS. All of the GoPro footage is 2.7K @ 30 FPS with Protune. I love shooting wide angle and tight simultaneously. You never miss a shot that way. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SZ1NKGuiTPo” Rafe: “I dilmed this video last year on my wonderful Panasonic GH2. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Yb0mpMhae-k . Really looking forward to getting a GH3” Christoph Harrer: “I am an Munich based DP and have seen a lot of stuff on your site. I know, all are exited about the gh3 and I am waiting for my too. But maybe you are interested in a video completely shot on the Gh2, that could run under the phrase “Who needs a Gopro?” It is still an an amazing camera, that shoots amazing pictures. The Video was shot with the Voigtländer 25mm, 35mm, 50mm and a Panasonic 100-300 Zoom and the Panasonic 7-14 Wideangle. Editing andLook Design are completely done in Final Cut Pro 7. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lu47wKXtwqI I hope you enjoy it.“
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A couple of weeks ago Olympus Europe informed Pierre Paul Lepidi (translation here) that “As agreed during our recent telephone conversation, we confirm that the unit E-PL5 lacks the LPF, low-pass, unlike the M5-E device.”
Now Olympus Europe admitted that this was a wrong statement. They now corrected the E-PL5 specification info on the official website and confirmed that the E-PM2, E-PL5 and E-M5 do have the same sensor and the same Anti Aliasing filter. Source: Lepidi (translation here).
Yep, even big companies can do mistakes sometimes. But I am surprised that it took one month(!) to get and admission of error. Oly, you can make it good by leaking us some good news about your future products :)
Our french friends at Hybridcams (translation here) posted the full GH3 review and included a comaprison with the “older” GH2: “Meticulously designed, well thought out ergonomics and obviously excellent performance not only at the video where it was expected, but also in photo.”
And CameraLabs posted the full E-Pl5 review: “This-all round versatility is something that’s not easy to achieve but Olympus has pulled it of with great style and panache, a feat which earns the E-PL5 our Highly Recommended award.“. E-PL5 at Amazon, Adorama, Bhphoto. In EU at Amazon Germany, Amazon UK, Amazon France and eBay (via Slidoo). And gariz case in [shoplink 34731 ebay]Black (Click here)[/shoplink] and [shoplink 34730 ebay]Brown (Click here)[/shoplink].
There is someone (and it’s not me!) having fun spreading fake images on websites and forums! Yesterday we had that fake 40-150mm f/2.8 lens and today we have that fake OMD rangefinder design camera. It could be a sort of entry level OMD that is more compact than the real [shoplink 29074]Olympus E-M5[/shoplink]. I don’t really like that design. I would have taken inspiration from the [shoplink 34932 ebay]Olympus 35 series (here on eBay)[/shoplink] or the [shoplink 35221 ebay]PEN F (here on eBay)[/shoplink].
Let’s have some fun—Feel free to share your design of a “rangefinder design” camera! let’s see what you want form Olympus (or Panasonic) :)
There are still some residual Cyber Monday deals left at Amazon (Click here to see them). And also the Panasonic G3 with lens for $299 at Bhphoto (Click here) deal is still onogin. One thing that surprised me is to see that the Nikon 1 cameras are the most sold mirrorless stuff during these days (here is the ranking). It did beat all the rest of the Sony/Olympus/Fuji/Panasonic deals. Nikon does nice cameras but the Nikon 1 is in my eyes a sub average system. So I am wondering if someone can explain me why they did sell so well in these days…
Anyway, let’s go back to the new Jackar 34mm f/1.8 lens that is now for sale for the first time on [shoplink 35206 ebay]eBay (Click here)[/shoplink]. I have been told by the makers that the design of the lens is actually almost the same of current $40 [shoplink 35035 ebay]C-mount 35mm lenses[/shoplink]. Jackar informed us that they changed some material, finishing, the ring is larger and turning has been improved. Plus the lenses are multi-coated and of course mount is NEX. Of course what you also get is that lens hood and genuine leather case you see on the picture.
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