Nice to wake up and find news like this! [shoplink 29074]Olympus E-M5[/shoplink] owners can upgrade their camera to the Version 1.5! Olympus grouped all mini updates in one single major release. The screenshot on top shows you the list of the fixes.Let us know if you find some nice improvement here and there.

Source: http://www.olympus.co.jp/en/support/imsg/digicamera/download/software/firm/omd/em5.html

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There is a $80 gift card deal on all Olympus cameras (Click here to see the detailed deal page on Amazon).

E-M5 at Amazon, Adorama, B&H, Jessops, Amazon UK, Amazon Germany, Amazon France, Amazon Japan and Digitalrev.

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E-M5 Case:
There is the official [shoplink 31898 ebay]CS-36FBC Olympus case[/shoplink]. A [shoplink 31899 ebay]leather half case from Hong Kong[/shoplink]. A full [shoplink 31900 ebay]leather case with strap from Cina[/shoplink]. Than we have half cases from two well known producers, [shoplink 31901 ebay]Zelenpol[/shoplink], [shoplink 31906 ebay]Kaza[/shoplink] and [shoplink 31902 ebay]Gariz[/shoplink].

E-M5 Batteries, and other things:
The [shoplink 31905 ebay]Olympus GS-4 strap[/shoplink] and the [shoplink 31903 ebay]DSTE E-M5 batteries[/shoplink] you have to use with an extra charger. There is an [shoplink 31903 ebay]E-M5 car charger[/shoplink] a [shoplink 31908 ebay]new E-M5 LCD screen[/shoplink] and a [shoplink 31909 ebay]Front Cover+ Top Panel[/shoplink].

So it’s done guys! Olympus and Sony will now officially work together on the mirrorless front. Today Sony-Olympus held a press conference in Tokyo and you can read more about it on DC.watch (translation here). In short:
– It is Sony’s interest to keep the MFT system well alive
– Sony will supply sensors to Olympus
– Olympus will share their lens and mirrorless knowledge and technology to Sony
– Future mirrorless camera parts may be co developed by Sony and Olympus (example EVF and OLED screen).

For now this sounds like a good deal. It also opens a new kind of possibilities for Olympus. For example they could make lenses for the NEX system or even uses Sony’s FF sensors for a new PRO system. But all that is just speculation for now!

Novoflex Tilt- and Shift Bellows System for CSCs via Photographyblog.

And here is a new list of Photokina related news:
An image sample with the 15mm lens at TheDigitalStory. Nokton 17.5mm hands-on at ePhotozine. E-PL5 samples at ePhotozine. Nokton 25mm at ePhotozine. E-PM2 image samples at ePhotozine. E-M5 with the new 17mm f/1.8 lens by FourThirds-User. 35-100mm X at OpenPN. E-PM2 hands-on at Digitalcamerainfo. 35-100mm hands-on at m43.eu. DC.watch (Translation here) posted an Interview of Olympus. No bog deal here. It’s again obvious how Olympus wants to focus on the improvement of the EVF quality and dynamic range of the pictures (more than on the increase of Megapixels). Hands-on at DC.watch. Photokina impressions on Flickr. Shcneider Kreuznach won the Photokina Star Award. A roundup from ePhotozine. Swarowski lens on the G2 at m43.eu.

43rumors reader Nils wrote an interesting Photokina report:
“Just came back from Photokina. This is what I could find out about the GH3:
– Definitly the camera people where interested in at the Panasonic stand.
– Ergonimcs seem great to me. Feels like a real workpeace. Not overly big (exspecially if you compare to other Pro cameras) and just the right weight. Did compare it to an OMD with battery grip and the Olympus felt heavier and uncomfortable edgy in my hands.
– Firmware version was 0.4
– 5 copys made it to Photokina
– No information wether AF Light works with external flashs.
– ATM internal flash doesnt seem to work with electronic shutter, just as with the G5, might be due to early firmware.
– EVF is 16:9 ratio and gets cropped in other modes, making the viewable area rather small. Image is fast to respond no noticeable lag when moving fast. I could see the pixel grid the EVF picture. G5 EVF looked better in comparison. I hope its not the final version.
– Panasonic representatives reinforced that the sensor is multiaspect. With the current (0.4) firmware resolution is shown as 16M for 4:3, 14M for 3:2, 12M for 16:9.
– Reps only got their hands on the cam this morning.
– No words about XLR accessorie, wasnt on display either.
– Couldnt try and of the flash units whith the cam. Reps where afraid that it would freeze the cam due to early firmware.
– According to the guys filming the HDMI output looked great to them, and judging from the monitor they had hooked up to one cam the picture looked very clean with no discernable noise at ISO 1000. They hadnt tried out the clean hdmi mode, overlays where shown on the monitor.
– One rep hinted a kit with the 35-100mm 2.8 lens.
– Buttons felt nice and responsive not mushy like the OMD.
– No word about new version of the 7-14mm lens.
– Didnt try focus peaking, its not that important to me.
– Noticed with the “exploded” camera on display that the handgrip area of the cam seems to be rather hollow.
Maybe you can get more detailed info from the reps at the end of the exhibition when they got more time to play with the cam themselves.
With just 5 copys and firmware 0.4 it feels like the rushed quite a bit to make it to Photokina. The GH3 is clearly Panasonics headline for this show.
I really liked the cam. The EVF was a bit of letdown though. If it gets improved until the camera hits the shelves, along with the multiaspect part, its a definite buy for me. Otherwise I might wait for a GH3x.”

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Panasonic and Olympus Preorder Links with specs and price:
Special GH3 page at Amazon (Click here) and a full Olympus presentation page at Amazon (Click here).
GH3 at Amazon (Click here), Adorama (Click here), Bhphoto (Click here) and in Europe at Wexphotographic UK (horrible price in UK!).
35-100mm X lens at Amazon (Click here), Bhphoto (Click here).
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,
XZ-2 at Amazon (Click here), Adorama (Click here), Bhphoto (Click here).
60mm macro at Amazon (Click here), Adorama (Click here), Bhphoto (Click here).
12mm Black prime lens at Amazon (Click here), Adorama (Click here), Bhphoto (Click here).
15mm cap-lens at Amazon (Click here), Adorama (Click here), Bhphoto (Click here).