43 Rumors – Page 1826 – Panasonic and Olympus Digital Camera News

14-42mm X lens review at Photozone (and lots of other new lens reviews)

August 12, 2012
reviews
20 Comments

Image courtesy: Photozone.

I have plenty of new Micro Four Thirds lens review to show you today :)

Panasonic 14-42mm X:
Sebastian Milczanowski from Photozone (Click here) tested the 14-42mm X pancake zoom: “surprisingly compact albeit not superb kit zoom lens as some might have hoped from its “X” designation. Size- and weight-wise it is hard to beat so if you are looking for an ultra-compact standard zoom solution – well … this is it. The price is also alright considering the whole package.”
At the moment of posting this four X pancakes are for sale at $259 at Amazon (Click here). For that price this lens is a must go. I like the lens because of the compactness. If I really need top image quality than I will go for the lens below:

Panasonic 12-35mm X:
That this lens is good we already know. But if you still need to hear more nice words here is the 12-35mm X lens part five review at Soundimagesplus, the full review at Frugalfilmmakers and at Steve Huff.
In Stock and price check by clicking those links: [shopcountry 31225].

Olmypus 75mm:
The 75mm lens is still available in Asia only although some stores (like BHphoto) already shipped the first preorders. Here are the links to two “Asian” tests at Nikkei and at DCfever.
In Stock and price check by clicking those links: [shopcountry 31284].

Tokina 300mm and Panasonic 45-150mm:
Not a mainstream lens but it’s nice to have Tokina as partner of the m43 group with the new 300mm lens. It has now been tested at Camerastuffreview. One more small news: Panasonic Lumix Vario 45-150mm Sample Photos at ePhotozine.

That’s it!

eBay madness! E-M5 for 10.000 Euro and Rodenstock 1.0 for m43. GF1 and L1.

August 11, 2012
deals
23 Comments

[shoplink 32718 ebay][/shoplink]

Sometimes readers send me some link to eBay crazy auctions. here are two of them:

1) Jjeing modified the Rodenstock Heligon 50mm f/1.0 you see here on top to make it fit without adapter on your Micro Four Thirds camera. Price? $549 ([shoplink 32718 ebay]Click here to see the auction[/shoplink]).

2) We all like the E-m5 but for 10.000 Euro I would buy a Leica instead :) ….[shoplink 32720 ebay]Click here to see the crazy auction[/shoplink]!

3) The glorious GF1 camera can still be bought in new condition. But you still have to pay over $1000 for it! [shoplink 32722 ebay]Click here to see the auction[/shoplink]!

4) The absolute speed winner is that Leitz f/0.75(!) lens…[shoplink 32724 ebay]Click here to see the auction price[/shoplink].

5) Sooner or later Panasonic will have to make a m43 version of the L1 camera. You can still find them in almost new condition: [shoplink 32726 ebay]Click here to see the auction price[/shoplink].

…

remidner: Intelligent eBay search for m43 stuff at mirrorless-deals.com.

Olympus Q1 report: compact camera market shrinks. Mirrorless sales doing well.

August 11, 2012
news
17 Comments

Screenshot of the Imaging Business Q1 sales (Click on it to enlarge the image).

Olympus released the latest Quarter Financial results report. You can download it here: http://www.olympus-global.com/en/corc/ir/brief/pdf/n120809aE_n.pdf.

It’s not a surprise that the overall results are very negative. While the medical business is still growing all other divisions are reporting losses. The Imaging Division sold less cameras mainly because of the shrinking compact camera market. The good news is that Micro Four Thirds sales increased thanks to the [shoplink 29074]Olympus E-M5[/shoplink]! Results would have been even better if the Silver kits would have been available earlier (only now in Stock at [shopcountry 29074] for example).

For the next Quarter Olympus forecast sees a return to profit. Let’s hope this is true. Below one more interesting screenshot about the digital camera world wide market:

I would say Olympus has to reduce the number of compact camera models and focus on very specific markets. The Sony RX100 is a good example of what could work (it is on top of the Amazon rankings). And than focus on Mirrorless of course…

Panasonic weatherproof SD cards for the GH3! Silver body in Stock via amazon itself.

August 10, 2012
news
31 Comments

Before to start…for US readers:
First time ever Amazon itself has the Silver E-M5 in Stock (Click here). And it’s quickly climbing the mirrorless rankings (see here).

Back to the Panasonic news:
One of the few things we know for sure about the upcoming GH3 is that it is weather sealed. And so it may not be casual that Panasonic announced super resistant SD cards. As Engadget reports ironically the cards are soo good that they will probably outlast the photographers life too :)

“It resits at temperatures from -13F to 185F, immersion in 3.3 feet of water for half an hour . The cards are also built to survive zaps of electricity, proximity to magnets and exposure to X-rays. If it all becomes too much to bear, the design will even fuse on the inside to prevent fire burning the card from within”

Sounds perfect for our next GH3 or not?

Source: Panasonic Japan.

And here is a rumor roundup about the GH3:
FT5: similar GH2 design, weather sealed, no global shutter, major improvements in AF speed and EVF quality, GH3X kit with 12-35mm X lens.
FT3: 15.5 mega-pixel sensor, Iso 160-12800 (extends to 80-51200), 6.7fps, 3.2″ inch LCD with 1050k-dots, EVF with 2.06 mega-dots, double SDXC slots, in-camera GPS, external battery grip.

(FT3) Panasonic GX2 coming in mid November?

August 10, 2012
Rumors
86 Comments

In a bit surprising move Panasonic could announce the “GH3 only” at Photokina and according to one source the GX2 may be scheduled for a mid November release. I have no info about the new GX2 features yet. Recent Panasonic patents disclosed that image of a compact m43 body with integrated viewfinder (de facto like the long rumored Micro Four Thirds version of the[shoplink 23692 ebay]Lumix DMC-L1 camera[/shoplink]). The same patent described the camera having an in body sensor stabilization too. But as usual with patents they may are just here to protect a technology and not to release a real product. Anyway, the good news is that Panasonic engineers are actually thinking on it :)

UPDATE: In an interview made by Amateur Photographer Panasonic itself said that: “We will define more clearly what GH and GX means this year, so consumers have a better idea of what their characteristics are.”

Question to you guys. How should the GX2 be? Message to sources: Please define the release period as official announcement or official availability…Thanks! :)

—-
The Sony NEX-7 (Click here) and the Fuji X PRO 1 (Click here) are for now the only mirrorless cameras with such a rangefinder styled design.
The [shoplink 23692 ebay]DMC-L1 eBay (Click here)[/shoplink].
The [shoplink 26385 ebay]DMC-LC1 on 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

New LX7, 12-50mm, 45mm and 17.5mm reviews (new GF5 Gariz case).

August 9, 2012
reviews
10 Comments

[shoplink 32732 ebay]

[/shoplink] Gariz just launched that new Gf5 case you see here on top. They are already available on eBay in [shoplink 32732 ebay]Black (Click here)[/shoplink] and in [shoplink 32733 ebay]Brown (Click here)[/shoplink].
And now to a roundup of the latest reviews.

LX7:
Although not a m43 camera some of you are considering to buy the new Panasonic LX7. So here are two new review: ISO tets by Focus Numerique (Translation here) and at DSLRmagazine (Translation here).
While the LX7 is certainly a nice camera I would have liked to see a larger sensor compact. Currently the RX100 is selling terribly well (here is the ranking).

Olympus 12-50mm,45mm and Nokton 17.5mm:
SLRgear posted the full Olympus 12-50mm review: “As the kit lens for the OM-D EM-5, you couldn’t really ask for more; the lens offers excellent results for sharpness, corner shading and distortion.”
M43.eu (Translation here) tested 45mm lens hood variations.
Admiringlight tested the Nokton 17.5mm f/0.95 lens: “Overall, I was absolutely blown away by the performance of this lens. I was not expecting anywhere near the performance it provides at f/0.95, and the resolution it delivers stopped down is equally stunning. ”

You don’t see Admiringlight use the word “stunning” very often! Lens is in Stock at Amazon US (Click here). Best price for Europeans at [shoplink 32734 ebay]Lapetitephoto eBay (Click here)[/shoplink].

USA: Next Olympus E-P3 superdeal (with pancake for $680)

August 9, 2012
deals
17 Comments

And again a new E-P3 super deal! The camera plus pancake lens now sells new for $680 at Amazon (Click here). That’s $130 less than the price at BHphoto. Maybe Olympus is clearing their stocks in favour of the upcoming new E-PM5 camera…

More deals:
E-P2 body for $239 at Amazon (Click here). Silver E-M5 in Stock at BHphoto (Click here). One 14mm pancake for $259 at Amazon (Click here). Same price for the 14-42mm X zoom (Click here). The 12-35mm X lens is also in Stock in high quantities (Click here). And don’t forget GX1 with 14-42mm normal (non-x) zoom at Adorama (Click here) for $479 by entering the coupon code “S4794799“.