Before the (Olympus) stormes comes…something about me.

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Although I do not participate a lot on the 43rumors discussions (because I have no time) I see that many readers still don’t know who I am and how this website works. So I am trying to explain a little bit of myself and my work on 43rumors to help you to get an idea :)

This website is amateurish:
The first thing you have to keep in mind is that I am not a professional journalist, I am not a native English speaker and I never had English at school. This is just a small blog which relies on an unprofessional but very passionate work. That’s it. I don’t get paid by photo companies, I have a “normal” work as photographer and filmmaker which makes me travel a lot. That’s why for example I have no time to participate at the discussions on 43rumors.

My skills:
I speak German (main language), Italian and Spanish. I learned Portuguese and I am learning dutch and french right now. English is the last language I “learned on the fly” during my various trips (for example in USA where I still have to go 1-2 times per year for work). I studied, architecture and engineering at high school, cinema-philosophy-psychology at University. My dream would be to study physics but I guess this will remain a dream.

Why I started the blog:
As I told you I travel a lot. My main themes are war and economy. I spend a lot of time in Colombia, Bolivia, Rwanda, Uganda and I always had to travel as light as possible. When Olympus and Panasonic announced the launch of the Micro Four Thirds system I recognized that this could become my future working stuff. I needed something small, and a camera that I can use for both photography and video production. I was looking for news about the system but there was zero coverage about it. At that time I knew I had to stay home for at least six months because my mother was sick.  I spent my time to start a personal blog to collect the news. I was surprised to see people was visiting me regularly and website was growing. I renamed the blog 43rumors and it became what it is now.

Problems with the 43rumors popularity:
With increasing popularity I got in some big problems. First my language skills and time availability are very limited. With increasing amount of work I now have to spend a couple of hours per day to keep this website running. At least two times I was that close to shut down the website. I once closed it for two weeks but than readers convinced me to restart the blog. While working in stress situation I also did some mistakes (and I still do sometimes). And the biggest problems happened the last months when family issues kept me busy and I really came close to a burn out.

How I intend to work on 43rumors in future:
Two times I tried to work with some people that could help me but for many reasons it didn’t work out. The recent family issues convinced me that I have to find serious people that can help me out. It will work like that. They will work on 43rumors sister websites (like Mirrorless Rumors for example) and I will link to them regularly. In exchange they will help me whenever I am on travel or having other busy moments. But I will ALWAYS be the only one having access to my sources and to the mails. So rumors will always come from me alone!

About Cameras and Photography
A camera doesn’t matter if it comes to take great pictures. A camera only matters for me because it makes me easier to take that kind of picture is want to take. m43 is perfect for my work in countries where I have to walk a lot. A GH2 makes me easier to take videos and pictures at the same time. I use regularly my [shoplink 28308 ebay]E-P1[/shoplink] and I will use it for many years in future. My favorite camera is the [shoplink 28309 ebay]Mamiya 7 (Click here to see on eBay)[/shoplink] because it helped me to reduce the amount of “stupid” pictures I take (Main reason why: 1 picture = 1 Euro!). So while I like to talk about future cameras and technology I want you to know that no camera will ever make you a better photographer. So buy only a camera when you need it and when it meets your expectations. Example, I will probably buy the Olympus OM camera because it’s build like a rock and it’s weather sealed. Could be a perfect camera for my next Ecuador trip!

Personal stuff: The things I learned from travelling
Honestly, travelling doesn’t change you a lot. If you are an asshole you will remain an asshole :) What I really learned from my trips, in particular from the many months spent in the Amazonas is that I am a very limited person, with many fears. I learned that live is much bigger than our fears and hopes, and that there are many unexpected surprises. So never be sure of anything, and never give up. Life is much bigger than what others are telling us, what teachers are teaching us.

Personal stuff: How I imagine my future life
I know life is short and that all what matters is my relation with the people I love and the nature that surrounds me. The only hope I have is to have a peaceful live for me and the person I love. And I wish to never loose my sense of curiosity which makes me always keep an “open” look on the world. There are still so many things to see!  I keep those words from Blake deep in my soul:
To see a world in a grain of sand,
And a heaven in a wild flower,
Hold infinity in the palm of your hand,
And eternity in an hour.

My very next goal is to find a place where I can have my own terrain to grow potatoes and wine-grapes. I want to own many animals, and to play music almost every day. Of course I want many children…at least three ;) That’s it. Everything else that comes will be a beautiful extra in my life ;)

I hope you got an idea of who I am. Let me know if you have some questions. I am always online today!

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(FT4) Small image piece of the OM camera (very unclear).

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This is very likely the first REAL very small piece of image of the camera logo. I ask the anonymous source if he can send me another image where we can see just a bit more of the camera. Not the whole camera just a tiny bit more :) Oh and one more question: Is the dynamic range increase a result of the Olympus own designed sensor? Thanks!

Rumor correction: max ISO is 25.600 and not 25.800. Plus I have been told there are plenty of nice knobs/wheels on top of the camera, more than on the [shoplink 23568]E-P3[/shoplink] and more or less like on the older [shoplink 28231 ebay]OM cameras[/shoplink].

One more thing: The Japanese website Sankei (Click here) confirms the launch of the Olympus OM camera and writes that the camera+kit lens will cost a above $1000. What I don’t understood is if they got the news from their sources or via 43rumors? :)

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New Micro Four Thirds reviews roundup (with Seb Farges and Tyson Robichaud)

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WOMANHATTAN teaser, a creative documentary about New York, past loves and technological obsessions from Seb Farges on Vimeo.

I have to catch up on the reviews front and here is the post that contains them all :)

A special mention goes to my friend Tyson that  wrote a couple of “must-read” articles:
Lumix G3 vs the mighty might GF1, or why I chose to upgrade my MILC (tysonrobichaud): “the G3 provides enough of an argument to not be ignored.  It ends up, in my mind, as the poor man’s NEX7 or GH2, and I’m happy I saved my money.“. And there are two more articles from Tyson you have to read. One is about the “Holy Trinity” of m43 (Click here) and the second is a GX1 vs GF1 sensor comparison (Click here).

More reviews:
My final thoughts on the Panasonic GX1 vs E-P3 (Steve Huff).
Field Test of the Panasonic Lumix GX1 at The Digital Story (Click here): “Overall I’m very satisfied with the GX1. It feels great in the hand, has lots of external controls, an intuitive menu system, and excellent RAW image quality (albeit JPG just so-so). Overall I’d rate it at least 4.5 stars (out of 5).
Olympus E-Pm1 tested at Diwa (Click here). Lots of charts for experts!
Panasonic 14-42mm kit lens test at Camerastuffreview (Click here): “Few users will be dissatisfied with the optical qualities of this lens. You can already take surprisingly good shots in terms of image quality with this lens. Simple instructions for the Panasonic 14-42 mm: put the lens on aperture choice, choose aperture 5.6 and try to avoid the highest focal length.
Panasonic 100-300mm kit lens test at Camerastuffreview (Click here): “The Panasonic 100-300 mm surprises with high optical performance almost over the entire zoom range. At focal lengths above 250 mm (500 mm @ full frame) optical performance rapidly becomes less.
Olympus 12-50mm review at Fengniao (Click here).
Olympus 12mm review at Sansmirror (Click here): “Absolute pixel peepers will have some problems with the corners wide open, but as fast wide angle primes go, the 12mm f/2 is actually a very good lens.

P.S.: There is a new 12mm f/1.6 SLR magic lens is now on auction on [shoplink 28386 ebay]eBay (Click here)[/shoplink].

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BHphoto: Panasonic G3 (body and kit) discontinued. GH2 (with 14-140mm) discontinued.

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Last week BHphoto (Click here) informed that the Gh2+14-140mm lens kit has been discontinued and Amazon (Click here) itself isn’t selling that kit anymore. This doesn’t necessary mean that a GH3 is imminent. The GH2 body only is still available and that could also mean that there will be a new GH2+12-35mm X kit option (or 35-100mm X) soon.

But today also the Panasonic G3 body has been officially discontinued at BHphoto (Click here). And the RED, White, Brown G3 + kit lens too (again here at BHphoto)! You don’t discontinue the body only version without having an upcoming new model!

I am pretty sure that not only Olympus but also Panasonic will have a BIG announcement right before the CP+ show in Yokohama (mid February).

P.S: US deals:
Olympus 12mm lens now for $703 at Amazon (Click here).
Panaosnic GF2 with kit lens for $355 at Amazon (Click here).

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Focus on Imaging show invites you to see the Olympus “high-end” camera.

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Our reader “Alan” just sent us the latest newsletter from the Focus on Imaging show that will take place in Birmingham on 4 – 7 MARCH 2012:

Olympus – new enthusiast centred product
Focus 2012 will be the first UK viewing of Olympus’ hot new high-end product aimed at the enthusiast market. To be formally announced on 8 February, Olympus promises an action-packed stand full of surprises to mark the occasion – One Major camera’s much anticipated first public view in the UK. We can’t tell you what but there is a clue beginning with One.

I am working a lot on the rumors front. You know I am a bit conservative and I try to post good rumors only. I am right now checking some info I got about the sensor. If the rumors I got are correct than the sensor is really NEW! And different than the one used for the [shoplink 26836]Panasonic GX1[/shoplink]. Let’s cross the fingers guys! This could be a good shot from Olympus!

P.S.: Daywalker just told me the first black 12-50mm weather sealed lens fro m43 is now for sale on [shoplink 28378 ebay]eBay (Click here)[/shoplink].

P.P.S.: Someone asked me if I will go to the show in Birmingham. Answer, I don’t know. I am already using some of my holiday bonus to work on the Olympus OM rumors.  But I would love ot go there!

 

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One more fake OM-D camera…

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Just for fun guys: This is a Olympus OM-D design made by blog.livedoor.jp. It’ based on the current rumors and looks like a mix between the [shoplink 28222 ebay]OM-1[/shoplink] and [shoplink 23568]E-P3[/shoplink]. But that grip doesn’t look that nice for me. Would prefer no grip at all :)

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Panasonic GX1 and 100-300mm firmware updates (+review and in Stock status)

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[shoplink 26836][/shoplink]

Panasonic announced a new firmware updated for the new [shoplink 26836]GX1[/shoplink] camera and the 100-300mm zoom lens. You should soon be able to download the firmware at http://panasonic.jp/support/global/cs/dsc/. For some mysterious reasons the download is still not available but the new features are already here:

DMC-GX1
-Enhancement in the performance of AWB
-Enhancement in the performance of [AFF] (AF Flexible) and [AFC] (AF Continuous)
-Improved stability when used with the SD Memory Card complying with UHS-I
-Addition of [STEP ZOOM] and [ZOOM SPEED] in the setting of [Fn] (Function) button and [Q.MENU] -Reflection of [DRIVE MODE] settings to [CUSTOM SETTING] -[MENU RESUME] in each menu tab
-Page flip in the menu tab with [DISP.] (Display) button

LUMIX G VARIO 100-300mm / F4.0-5.6 / MEGA O.I.S. (H-FS100300)
-Improved performance of O.I.S. (Optical Image Stabilizer)


Jordan Steele (Click here) posted a new GX1 review: “for still imaging, this is easily Panasonic’s best compact style CSC to date, and rivals the flagship of the Lumix line, the GH2, in everything but video. Outstanding.

For USA readers: The Silver GX1 body only is in Stock at Amazon (Click here) while the black body will be in Stock within 3-5 weeks again at Amazon (Click here). More Panasonic GX1 search links: [shopcountry 26836].

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