New Lens tests (75mm and body cap lens)

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Image courtesy: Quesabesde.

Quesabesde (translation here) tested the Olympus 75mm f/1.8 lens. Like any other review we have seen before Quesabesde likes the lens a lot. The optical quality is impressive. But when looking at the camera and lens pictures posted by Quesabesde I simply can’t get it why Olympus didn’t make a Black version of the lens. And if they plan to do it please don’t make it “Limited edition” like the expensive 12mm Black lens! No need to extra charge $300 for this :(
Olympus 75mm price check at [shopcountry 31284].

Ming Thein also posted a short Olympus 15/8 Body Cap Lens review: “At just US$60, it’s a no-brainer recommendation for anybody who owns a M4/3 camera, especially if you’ve got a older or spare one lying around.“. Also Digitfotopro tested the tiny lens.
Body Cap Lens preorders at Amazon (Click here), Adorama (Click here), Bhphoto (Click here) and in Europe at Amazon DE (Click here) and Amazon UK (Click here).

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Surprise: E-PL5 has one stop more Dynamic Range than the E-M5 at Low ISO!

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Image courtesy: m43.eu.

Our polish friends at M43.eu (Translation here) are the first to compare the image quality of the new E-PL5 with the current high end Olympus E-M5 camera. Both use the same sensor but according to m43.eu test the E-PL5 is slightly less noisier than the E-M5. I guess the image processing workflow has been improved over the E-M5. And it doesn’t end here because here comes the “WOW” surprise: They even tested the E-PL5 dynamic range (Click here) and the said that the E-Pl5 is: “shockingly better” (at Low ISO) than the DR measured for the E-M5 (here it is). The E-M5 still has the edge on High ISO but there is 1 EV difference in favour of the E-PL5 at ISO 200 and ISO 400.

If these tests will get confirmation by other websites too than we have really a major surprise. I really can’t figure out how the E-PL5 dynamic range can be that much better!

New PEN camera preorders:
E-PL5 at Amazon, Adorama, Bhphoto. In EU at Amazon Germany, Amazon UK, Amazon France,
E-PM2 at Amazon, Adorama, Bhphoto. In EU at Amazon Germany, Amazon UK, Amazon France.

Refurbished E-M5 is also back via Cameta:
Silver Olympus E-M5 for $849 at Cameta (Click here).
Black Olympus E-M5 with 12-42mm lens for $949 at [shoplink 34210 ebay]Cametaacutions (Click here)[/shoplink] and Cameta (Click here).
Silver Olympus E-M5 with 12-50mm lens for $1149 at [shoplink 34211 ebay]Cametaacutions (Click here)[/shoplink] and Cameta (Click here).
Black Olympus E-M5 with 12-50mm lens for $1149 at [shoplink 34211 ebay]Cametaacutions (Click here)[/shoplink] and Cameta (Click here).

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New Olympus patent to improve AF.

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Sometimes patents can be very…funny. The last one found by Egami (translation here) shows how Olympus wants to improve the AF performance by having a different height of the micro lenses. It’s a bot hard for me to get into the details of the patent without having an appropriate translation. But it sounds like this technique can give you a sort of phase detection alike performance.

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a little bit of everything…(with readers work roundup)

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‘100’ (from 0 to 100 years in 150 seconds) from Filmersblog shot on the GH2!

Got many mails and links during the Photokina time. And I am now catching up with all these news. Here is the next list of links and readers work roundup:

Reviews:
Nikon D700 vs Olympus OM-D E-M5 dynamic range comparison by Lepidi.
E-M5 vs D800 at ePhotozine.
Panasonic LX7 review at Der Spiegel and Neocamera.
Panasonic G5 review at Soundimagesplus and Digital-photography-school.
Panasonic Lumix DMC-LX7 vs Samsung EX2F Comparison Review at ePhotozine.
Olympus 75mm test at Soundimagesplus.
Olympus OM-D Events And Workshops (ePhotozine).
Olympus 75mm test at Optyczne.
Le bruit de l’Olympus OM-D E-M5 at Lepidi.
Short E-M5 review at Photocomment.

Greekdiaries:
My friend Elena who got an E-Pl1 from me keeps shooting pics and telling stories abut Greece. Latest news here: http://www.greekdiaries.me/

Readers messages:
Anonymous:A couple of weeks ago you posted a video comparison between the OMD and a 5D MkIi. The same guys have uploaded another video to Vimeo and to one of their blogs. www.modular4kc.com. Don’t know what there story is but the comparison between the cameras is pretty solid. OMD beats the 5D on image stabilization hands down.
Farrukh:I was shooting the London Paralympics with an EP3 and a 45mm f1.8. I’ve put up a few slideshows and written a short commentary of my experience here: http://implausibleblog.com/london-paralympics-2012/ I know, the EP3 is ‘old’ but it worked perfectly fine for me!
Ted:My 15-minute documentary, shot on a Panasonic GH1, is premiering at a film festival Saturday. The film is: http://www.imdb.com/title/tt2170278/ and the festival is: http://www.coneyislandfilmfestival.com/programs12/program5.htm Thanks! I know you sometimes post links about things made with the GH cameras. More info here: http://documentaryphotography.blogspot.com/
Naveed:This is not a rumor, but I thought I’d share with your readers my experience riding the Cycle Oregon 2012 bike ride earlier this month. I exclusively used micro 43s cameras and lenses and produced some great images. Everyone on the ride was amazed that I was carrying an interchangeable lens camera with many lenses under my bike seat bag. The OM-D EM-5 and the lenses were a joy to use and I had a great time over the week long 450 mile ride. For those who are not familiar with Cycle Oregon, it is a one of the most popular organized bike ride. About 2200 people ride for a week along Oregon scenic country side. This years ride was in South Central Oregon visiting landmarks like Crater Lake. The challenge with such a ride is carrying camera that would allow to capture the experience without weighing you down. The typical camera on such rides would be a point and shoot. But thanks to the magic of m43, I was able to carry the OMD EM5 and an assortment of lenses in an under seat carrying bag. In addition to it being an extremely challenging ride, I was rewarded with opportunity to visit some of the most beautiful landscapes and capture them with all the flexibility afforded by an interchangeable lens camera. I carried the OMD body with the M.Zuiko 12mm, 40-150mm, 12-50mm and the Panasonic-Leica 25mm lens, 1 circular polarizer and a 10 stop ND filter. On a give ride day, I would only carry 2 or 3 lenses, using the 12mm and 40-150mm lenses for a majority of the pictures. Both these lenses are just brilliant. Everybody expects the 12mm to perform well and it does live up to its hype, but the 40-150mm lens was the true star of my kit. Its easily one of the best lenses in the system for the size, quality and price.
Here are some of the pictures I took over the week. The complete set can be found here http://www.flickr.com/photos/stopkidding/sets/72157631564076321/
Robert:Great looking news image campaign shot on a hacked GH2 with the SLR Magic 12mm. Here’s the link: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UIxrxmOnBoU. Here is the post (top of page by Greek_m43): http://personal-view.com
Kiem:I saw your post on Craig Mod and David Clapp showing the potential of the GF1 and I thought I’d share my own around the world experience with it. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UGnrT0F-Igs. Everything here was shot on a GF-1. More info can be found at http://kienlam.net/travel-faq.
Gregor:I’m the creator of Digital Camera Database (www.digicamdb.com). My site is brand new and offers something that no other site offers – visual comparison of actual sensor sizes and other sensor characteristics for more than 3200 digital cameras, including of course Panasonic and Olympus cameras. I hope you will find this newsworthy enough to include it in the news section.

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Europe: New refurbished E-M5 deal and sub 300 Euro camera roundup…

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[shoplink 34191 ebay][/shoplink]

And here is the next roundup of cheap (but still very good) cameras you can find in Europe:

Some Refurbished Olympus auctions in EU via [shoplink 22691 ebay]Olympusmarket[/shoplink]:
[shoplink 34191 ebay]Black Olympus E-M5 with 12-50mm kit lens[/shoplink] [shoplink 34189 ebay]Black Olympus E-P3 with kit lens[/shoplink] [shoplink 34190 ebay]Black Olympus E-PL1 with double lens kit[/shoplink] [shoplink 34192 ebay]Silver Olympus E-PL2 with kit lens[/shoplink] [shoplink 34193 ebay]Black Olympus E-PM1 with double lens kit[/shoplink] [shoplink 34194 ebay]White Olympus E-PL3 with double lens kit[/shoplink] [shoplink 34195 ebay]Black Olympus E-PM1 with kit lens[/shoplink] [shoplink 34196 ebay]Lila Olympus E-PM1 with kit lens[/shoplink] [shoplink 34197 ebay]White Olympus E-PM1 with kit lens[/shoplink] [shoplink 34198 ebay]Brown Olympus E-PM1 with kit lens[/shoplink] [shoplink 34199 ebay]Silver Olympus E-P3 with kit lens[/shoplink]

New Olympus and Panasonic cameras for less than 300 Euro (all on eBay Europe):
[shoplink 34175 ebay]Black Panasonic GF3 for 199 Euro[/shoplink] [shoplink 34176 ebay]Brown Panasonic GF3 for 199 Euro[/shoplink] [shoplink 34181 ebay]Black Olympus E-PM1 for 199 Euro[/shoplink] [shoplink 34177 ebay]White Olympus E-P1 for 209 Euro[/shoplink] [shoplink 34182 ebay]Silver Olympus E-PM1 with kit lens for 279 Euro[/shoplink] [shoplink 34186 ebay]Silver Olympus E-PL3 for 279 Euro[/shoplink] [shoplink 34185 ebay]Black Olympus E-PM1 with kit lens for 279 Euro[/shoplink] [shoplink 34178 ebay]Black Olympus E-PM1 with kit lens for 285 Euro[/shoplink] [shoplink 34183 ebay]Brown Olympus E-PM1 with kit lens for 289 Euro[/shoplink] [shoplink 34187 ebay]Black Panasonic GF3 with kit lens for 299 Euro[/shoplink] [shoplink 34188 ebay]Brown Panasonic GF3 with kit lens for 299 Euro[/shoplink]

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Full Olympus E-PL5 review by Ming Thein. And travel review of the E-M5.

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Image courtsey: Ming Thein | mingthein.com

Ming Thein (Click here) reviewed that what he calls the “mini OMD” camera, the new Olympus E-PL5. He likes the camera a lot and ends the conclusions with a wish: “now if only they’d make one with a built-in EVF like the NEX-6…“. Don’t worry Ming, I think Olympus will do that soon! :)

Speaking of the E-M5. There is “travel review” at Eidolonfilms and writes: “I’d highly recommend the Olympus OM-D E-M5 to any travel or street photographer that craves a low profile camera that works quickly and produces great image quality.  I know my back is grateful that I no longer lug around a larger DSLR

E-PL5 at Amazon (Click here), Adorama (Click here), Bhphoto (Click here). In EU at Amazon Germany, Amazon UK, Amazon France,
E-PM2 at Amazon (Click here), Adorama (Click here), Bhphoto (Click here). In EU at Amazon Germany, Amazon UK, Amazon France,

And the refurbished E-M5 is also back via Cameta:
Silver Olympus E-M5 for $849 at Cameta (Click here).
Black Olympus E-M5 with 12-42mm lens for $949 at [shoplink 34210 ebay]Cametaacutions (Click here)[/shoplink] and Cameta (Click here).
Silver Olympus E-M5 with 12-50mm lens for $1149 at [shoplink 34211 ebay]Cametaacutions (Click here)[/shoplink] and Cameta (Click here).
Black Olympus E-M5 with 12-50mm lens for $1149 at [shoplink 34211 ebay]Cametaacutions (Click here)[/shoplink] and Cameta (Click here).

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Zacuto GH3 test. And LL says: “may be the best hybrid camera yet.”

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Zacuto’s First Look at the Panasonic Lumix GH3 from Steve Weiss on Vimeo.

Zacuto posted this first GH3 hands-on video. And Luminous Landscape are now testing the GH3 too. Review will be up soon but in the meantime they wrote that: “so far I am extremely impressed with the build, handling, and especially image quality, both stills and video. This may be the best hybrid camera yet.

GH3 at Amazon (Click here), Adorama (Click here), Bhphoto (Click here)Panasonic US and in Europe at Wexphotographic UK, Photogalerie FR and Technikdirekt.

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