A korean company presented a new tele and macro converting lens that do work on the Olympus 14-42mm lens. There is some vignetting at 14mm that’s why they recommend you to shot at 25mm or more.

Orginal article: http://kr.aving.net/news/view.php?articleId=212067
Website: http://www.anydica.kr/ (see the section, “product info.”)
Nauticam made a new underwater housing for the GF3. here is the official press release:

Nauticam NA-GF3 Housing for Panasonic Lumix GF3
Nauticam proudly announces the NA-GF3 Housing for Panasonic Lumix DMC-GF3, opening the underwater world to owners of one of the smallest, best imaging cameras based on the advanced micro 4/3 sensor.

Panasonic Lumix GF3
Part of Panasonic’s micro 4/3 series of mirror-less interchangeable lens cameras, the Panasonic Lumix GF3 sports a 12 megapixel four-thirds size Live MOS sensor, 3” TFT LCD, 3.2fps still shooting and 1080i 60fps AVCHD video. The GF3 is a small, lightweight camera capable of shooting high quality stills and full HD video.
GF3 supports manual, program, aperture, shutter speed, auto, and a multitude of other exposure modes. Metering is accomplished via a TTL capable 144 zone multi-pattern system with 18EV range. Several white balance modes are available including 2 custom white balance settings.

Nauticam NA-GF3 Housing
The NA-GF3 housing from Nauticam delivers the advanced functionality of the GF3 in style and with the ergonomics that people have come to expect from Nauticam.
This is a very compact and lightweight housing, with all of the key GF3 camera controls available from the ergonomic grip sculpted into the side of the housing. A choice of hand strap and left/right handle means the shooter can customize the housing to meet their specific needs.
The same Nauticam patented mini locking port release system used in GF2, NEX-5 and E-PL2 housings has been incorporated, allowing easy and secure port changes. Ports are available for the major lenses that are useful underwater, including the Lumix 14-42mm kit lens, the Lumix G Fisheye 8mm, Lumix 7-14mm, and the Panasonic Leica 45mm macro lens.
The sculpted housing fits the GF3 camera perfectly – the camera is quickly mounted in the housing via a snap in camera tray, and the housing is securely closed with a locking rotary latch.
Nauticam housings are designed with ergonomics in mind, and this housing puts all of the important controls on the camera within easy reach. The shutter release is sculpted into the housing itself, landing the right index perfectly on the button. A four way controller with set button is easily reached from the right. New in the GF3 housing – video record and set button are larger and have a concave face, making them easier to distinguish, further adding the ease of use. Zoom is easily accessed from the left side of the housing.
NA-GF3 also features an audible and visual leak detector and cold shoe accessory mount.

Adding to the Nauticam Port System
The port system for NA-GF3 expands upon the existing port system for the NEX-5 housing, adding additional ports for the Panasonic Lumix m4/3 lenses. Olympus m4/3 lenses and Leica m4/3 lenses can be used with this camera as well, further expanding the lens choices. Lenses initially supported include the Lumix 14-42mm, Lumix 14mm/2.5, Lumix 8mm Fisheye, Lumix 7-14mm, Leica 45mm macro, Olympus 14-42mm, and Olympus 9-18mm. Zoom gears are available for the zoom lenses listed. The macro port includes a standard 67mm threaded mounting point for adding accessory wet lenses.
Locking Rotary Latch
The housing back is sealed with an easy to operate safety clasp. A safety release button must be pressed in order to begin rotating the clasp, eliminating the chance of accidental opening.

Nauticam Build Quality
Only the finest materials and cutting edge manufacturing processes are used to make Nauticam housings.  The housing body is machined from solid aircraft grade aluminum, then hard anodized making it impervious to salt water. The flat ports are optically coated glass.  The large acrylic LCD window is treated with an anti-reflective, scratch resistant coating.
Optional Rubberized Ergonomic Handles
Nauticam uses a sophisticated over-mold process to produce extremely comfortable rubberized ergonomic handgrips.  The soft feel and ergonomic design make the housing easy to grip and minimize hand fatigue on long dives.  Both single and double handle configurations are available for complete customization, and each handle can be adjusted laterally allowing the user to dial in perfect fit. A hand strap is also available for those wishing an even smaller profile.
Optical Flash Connectors for Inon S-TTL, and Sea & Sea DS-TTL
Reliable automatic flash exposure is available with Nauticam housings and a variety of optically fired flashes.  Inon Z-240, D-2000, S-2000, Sea & Sea YS-110 Alpha, and YS-01 strobes provide automated lighting, precisely reproducing the camera’s onboard flash at a proportionally greater intensity.  This system yields accurate TTL flash performance with no electrical sync cables to flood! With GF3, optical TTL is enhanced even more since GF3 can perform TTL in manual exposure mode.
Strobes can be attached to the housing via optional strobe mounting balls on the handles or a single strobe mounting ball point on the housing. The housing also features a cold-shoe mount for even more mounting options.

Specifications
* Depth Rating:  100m
* 166mm x 127mm x 92mm
* Weight: 1.03kg (2.2 lbs.)
Model Number:  17704
USA Retail Price: $1650
Estimated Shipping Date: October 31, 2011
More information is available from Nauticam USA at:
http://www.nauticamusa.com.

USA Dealer List:
http://nauticamusa.com/?page_id=9

Contact Nauticam USA:
Chris Parsons
Nauticam USA
3320 NE 32nd Street
Fort Lauderdale, FL 33308
954-489-8678
http://www.nauticamusa.com
innovation@nauticamusa.com
About Nauticam USA:
Nauticam USA is the exclusive wholesale distributor of Nauticam products in the North American Market.  Nauticam USA’s warehouse and service center is located in Fort Lauderdale, FL.  Our staff of underwater photography experts strives to provide the best customer support and after sale service available.  Dealer inquiries are welcome!
Dealer Inquiries Outside of North & South America:
enquiry@nauticam.com
International Dealer Listing:
http://nauticam.com/dealer.htm

Before friends, now enemies. Kikukawa and Woodford.

Olmypus CEO Tsuyoshi Kikukawa “has stepped down due to a series of media reports on the company’s problems and a plunge in its share price“. (Source: Reuters). But the whole current Olympus board is still devoted to Kikukawa and I don’t think that will be enough to stop the critics. Today Olympus lost -7% at Nikkei (Source: Bloomberg).

A couple of days ago Kikukawa attacked ex-Ceo Woodford with an internal company memo. Electronista writes that: “In the memo, Kikukawa stated that Woodford’s recent actions were the result of nothing more than a failed power grab. Using Woodford’s initials, Kikukawa stated that, Director MCW was not satisfied unless he could control everything himself.” And the most surprising attack is that Woodford broke company management rules, and even “did not like Japan.”. If you want to read Olympus explanation of the story and arguments against Woodford read their official statement: http://www.olympus-global.com/en/corc/ir/tes/pdf/nr111019.pdf

P.S.: The New York Times posted some details about the mysterious Cayman company owners. And one more article form the NYT (Click here) about the acquisition story.

I am surprised. I just checked the Amazon mirrorless camera ranking (Click here) and Nikon seems to sell their new J1 and V1 very well! Four cameras made it into the top 20 and I am trying to understand why Nikon is succeeding. One thing is sure, I saw massive advertising on European newspaper, tv’s and blogs. Something I never saw before. Nikon perfectly coordinated the launch of these cameras. It is certainly something not even comparable with what Panasonic and Olympus are doing. And another thing I noticed is that the Nikon cameras are in Stock less than one month after the announcement. If you look at the [shoplink 23110]Panasonic-Leica 25mm f/1.4[/shoplink] lens that has been announced in early June is still NOT in Stock in US stores than you can get an idea of how good Nikon’s (or how bad Panasonic’s) strategy is.

Let me know what you think:

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P.S.: These are the other Amazon rankings: Uk mirrolress, DE mirrorless, FR mirrorless., JP cameras. As you can see the Nikon sales are not as good as in the US!