43 Rumors – Page 1858 – Panasonic and Olympus Digital Camera News

Olympus 75mm f/1.8 resolution comparison and hands-on video

May 24, 2012
reviews
71 Comments

Click on the image on top to enlarge the size and see the resolution comparison posted by Olympus. As you see it easily beats the already good [shoplink 23577]Olympus 45mm f/1.8[/shoplink] lens and it has about the same performance of the Four Thirds 150mm lens (Damn, $3500 here at Amazon!!!). Not bad, not bad…if it only would be avaialble in Black and with hood (for no extra price).

And the first hand-son video has been posted by Snappydiablog (Click here).

P.S.: There is still some confusion about the final European price of the lens. If you know of any preorder with the final price drop me a message! Thanks ;)

(Continually updated) Olympus announced the new 75mm f/1.8 lens!!!

May 24, 2012
news
151 Comments

Finally Olympus announced the new 75mm f/1.8 Micro Four Thirds lens. The announcement was first scheduled for last Tuesday but it had been delayed because of some lens firmware issues. And Olympus decided in very last minute to release it today :) Keep watching this post for updates!

Preorders
Not available yet at Amazon (Click here). Should arrive soon!

Highlights
MTF curves offered by Olympus (Click here) show correction of astigmatism is almost perfect, the contrast (blue lines) is very high and very even center to corner, and that the resolution (red lines) is of similar rank. Image samples are available at Olympus Japan. The price in dollar is $899. But there seems to be a bit of confusion on the European price. 800 according to DSLRmagazine, 900 according to Quesabesde and 949 Euro according to Systemkameraforum. Same confusion in Japan…It’s also on Yodobashi for 99,000 yen and on Map Camera for 89,000 yen. I guess that’s why we had the not so correct rumor about the $799 price. Wrong prices are floating around the web :)

Here in short the lens specs:
• 75mm focal length (equivalent to 150mm in the 35mm film format)
• F1.8 aperture with circular blades
• 3 ED and 2 HR lens elements
• Premium multi-coating using Olympus ZERO lens coating technology
• High speed, silent focusing with MSC lens drive technology
• All metal barrel
• Precision manual focus ring
• Compatible with all Micro-Four Thirds standard mount cameras
• Portraiture, Fashion, Stage, Sports and low- light photography applications
• Expected availability in June/July 2012

Hands-on Previews and Image samples
Hands-on at Four Thirds User.
Image samples at Olympus Japan.
Hands-on by the finnish website Sulanto.

Press Release
Dpreview
Systemkameraforum (german). They actually say the price in Euro is 949! Hope it’s just a mistake.
Full Lens PDF at Olympus Australia
Techradar
Photographyblog
DSLRmagazine (google translation here)
Photoscala (german)

Poll
There are no reviews yet but the MTF curves promises that this is a very high quality lens. The only downsided are the price in USA which is $899 (no 1:! conversion rate with the European 799 Euro price) and the fact that you have to pay extra money for the metal hood. Here is the Question:

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Seb Farges films with the smallest anamorphic set (and plenty of new refurbished Olympus cameras)

May 24, 2012
deals
4 Comments

Seb Farges sent me the video you see here on top. He shot the film with the GH2 and the smallest anamorphic set. The 40mm f/1.4 Classic pancake lens from Voigtlander with the baby Berthiot Hypergonard 1.75X attached on it with an F clamp. Enjoy! ;)

For European citizens. [shoplink 22691 ebay]Olympusmarket (Click here)[/shoplink] got a huge amount of refurbished Olympus cameras. And there are many latest generation PEN cameras. I made a list of the most inetretsing stuff. Just click on it to see the auction:
[shoplink 31174 ebay]Black Olympus E-PM1 with 14-150mm lens[/shoplink] [shoplink 31175 ebay]Lila Olympus E-PM1 with 14-42mm lens[/shoplink] [shoplink 31176 ebay]Silver Olympus E-PM1 with 14-42mm lens[/shoplink] [shoplink 31177 ebay]Black Olympus E-PL2 with double lens kit[/shoplink] [shoplink 31178 ebay]Silver Olympus E-PL2 with 14-150mm lens[/shoplink] [shoplink 31179 ebay]Black Olympus E-PM1 with 14-42mm lens[/shoplink] [shoplink 31180 ebay]Brown Olympus E-PM1 with 14-42mm lens[/shoplink] [shoplink 31181 ebay]Silver Olympus E-PM1 with 14-42mm lens[/shoplink] [shoplink 31182 ebay]Silver Olympus E-P3 with 14-42mm lens[/shoplink] [shoplink 31183 ebay]Silver Olympus E-P1 with 14-42mm lens[/shoplink] [shoplink 31184 ebay]Black Olympus E-PL3 with 14-150mm lens[/shoplink] [shoplink 31185 ebay]Black Olympus E-PM1 with 14-42mm lens[/shoplink] [shoplink 31187 ebay]Brown Olympus E-PM1 with 14-42mm lens[/shoplink] [shoplink 31188 ebay]Olympus 9-18mm lens[/shoplink] [shoplink 31189 ebay]Silver Olympus E-P1 with 14-42mm lens[/shoplink] [shoplink 31190 ebay]Silver Olympus E-P1 with 14-42mm lens[/shoplink] [shoplink 31191 ebay]Silver Olympus E-PL2 with double lens kit[/shoplink] [shoplink 31192 ebay]Black Olympus E-PM1 with 14-42mm lens[/shoplink] [shoplink 31193 ebay]Olympus 75-300mm lens[/shoplink] [shoplink 31194 ebay]Silver Olympus E-PL3 with 14-42mm lens[/shoplink] [shoplink 31195 ebay]Olympus VF-3 external viewfinder[/shoplink] [shoplink 31196 ebay]Silver Olympus E-PL3 with 14-42mm lens[/shoplink]

Overpriced Silver E-M5 in Stock and reviews roundup (first battery grip review)

May 23, 2012
reviews
40 Comments

As I told you last night Olympus didn’t expect to sell the Silver E-M5 models as well as the Black models. And if you are lucky you will find just a couple fo them in Stock here and there. I found two (overpriced) Silver models at Amazon US (Click here) and in Europe at uw-photo.ch (Click here). 43rumors readers told me that February Silver E-M5 preorders are now shipping from different stores. I hope you can get your soon too!

And now let’s check the latest E-M5 news roundup:
Golftoimpress (Click here) tested the Konica Hexanon f/1.7 on the E-m5: “I have to say I love this lens, how can I not considering its price and its performance. It is not hard at all to manually focus on the E-M5 which makes it a great choice for those photo enthusiasts who own a stash of legacy lenses“. You may wonder ow much this lens costs? A used Hexanon costs between $30 and $60 only on [shoplink 31171 ebay]eBay (Click here)[/shoplink].
E-M5 impressions by John Brawley (Click here). Test charts at Pixelmania.nl (Click here).
Admiringlight (Click here) is the first to revie the E-M5 battery grip: “The well thought out control placement and solid build make it worth the price in my opinion. While it’s a shame the horizontal grip blocks the battery door, it’s a tradeoff I’m glad to make for the two piece construction.”

E-M5 (Pre)order links (Click on store name): Amazon, Adorama, B&H, Jessops, Amazon UK, Amazon Germany, Amazon Japan and Digitalrev.

(FT5) Olympus 75mm f/1.8 priced at around $800. In Store by end of June /early July!

May 23, 2012
Rumors
198 Comments

A couple of weeks ago a new source told us that the new 75mm f/1.8 lens would arrive on June 18th and priced at $799. Trusted sources now confirmed that the lens will be priced at “around $800“. Of course this is subject change depending on tax and conversion rate (Some sources know the real price in other currency). And the lens will start to be in Store by end of June /early July (more or less the same time when the new Panasonic 12-35mm X lens will ship). There is no word about the other 60mm macro lens release or eventual new PEN cameras. But I have been told something else “could” come. Don’t know what it is now but I am working on it.

Oh, and two of my sources said the lens is simply astonishing! Just for comparison. The lens corresponds to 150mm f/1.8 lens in Full frame terms (f/3.6 in DOF terms) or to a 100mm f/1.8 in APS-C terms (f/2.7 in DOF terms). Lenses giving a similar field view and aperture (but different DOF) to the 75mm Olympus lens like the Nikon 105mm f/2.0 (150mm on APS-C) costs more than $1000 at Amazon (Click here). And so the Canon 135mm f/2.0 (135mm on FF). The only weird thing is that Olympus sees the lens as a portrait lens while in my opinion it is not. But anyway, if it delivers the highest quality of all m43 lenses I am sure it will become a hotseller! Don’t you think?

Speaking of hotseller: The Panasonic 12-35mm managed to get into the 20 most sold lenses at Amazon (here is the ranking). Please let me know if you find more stores accepting preorders and I will post it here on 43rumors. Thanks! Here is the (short) list:
in USA at Amazon (Click here), BHphoto (Click here) and Adorama (Click here).
in Europe at FotoHanzKeuzekamp (Click here).
in Asia at Amazon Japan (Click here).

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

Olympus will not announce any partnership soon (and may not need it after all!)

May 23, 2012
news
44 Comments

As you know for months now rumors are floating around about possible alliances between Olympus and Sony or Samsung or Fuji or whatever else :)
Olympus is seeking a way to get some cash in the company. But today Reuters reports that “Olympus will not unveil an equity alliance at its major strategy briefing next month, despite speculation it might do so, sources said on Tuesday.” And there is also a surprise: “An investment banking source added that Olympus management hoped it could eventually raise capital on its own.” This would of course the best news if Olympus can stand on his own feet!

From a financial point of view the medical department is the one that matters but I hope their recent [shoplink 29074]E-M5[/shoplink] release and upcoming 75mm portrait announcement will help them to earn some money with the camera division too! That said I know from my top sources that Olympus didn’t expect that kind of success form the E-M5. particularly the Silver model is selling as good as the Black E-M5. That’s why it’s hard to find it in Stock. Here are all my search links to the E-M5. Links I check a couple of times per week to see where the E-M5 is in Stock:

[shoplist 29074]

Panasonic 12-35mm the day after (New preorders in USA and Europe)

May 22, 2012
reviews
100 Comments

Let’s start with the updated preorder list. You can preorder the new 12-35mm X lens:
in USA at Amazon (Click here), BHphoto (Click here) and Adorama (Click here).
in Europe at FotoHanzKeuzekamp (Click here).
in Asia at Amazon Japan (Click here).

Finally I spent an hour to carefully read all four available reviews at Photographyblog, ePhotozine, SLRgear and DSLRmagazine. I guess most of you read them and from a technical point of view this lens really almost has no flaw. Resolution is perfect. The lens makes no noise when zooming or focusing, distortion is low and harmonic across the range. Only the (surprisingly) missing Powerzoom function can be problem for videomakers. Really didn’t expect that lens to not come along the Powerzoom and as this is an ideal lens for filmmakers some of them may be frustrated right now :)
I may add that the USA price is a bit higher than expected. American readers are used to get that special Euro-Dollar 1:1 coversion. So after reading that the lens costa 1.100 Euro I would have expected Amazon (Click here) to sell it for $1,100. Anyway, I think the price is ok if you look at all features. The lens has a super image and build quality and as Dpreview writes: “Panasonic’s excellent implementation of ‘focus-by-wire’ manual focus is responsive and precise, and streets ahead of some of its rivals“. This lens really sets the latter so high that it makes look the competition really bad! The Micro Four Thirds system really became a lot more mature and it will be hard fro Sony, Nikon and even Canon to surpass the m43 system for a long time coming! At that point I have to remind you that the Panasonic 35-100mm f/2.8 X lens will arrive along the GH3 in late Summer while the Olympus 75mm f/1.8 is coming out within the next couple of weeks. And that’s not all that’s coming ;)

Great time ahead for us Micro Four Thirds users!!!