The new Panasonic G3 is going to be announced tomorrow (May 12) at 8:00 am London time. And here is the first picture! The new G3 is 25% smaller than the current [shoplink 14834 ebay]Panasonic G2 (Click here to see that camera[/shoplink]). It features a new 15.8 Megapixel sensor but unlike the [shoplink 16254]GH2 sensor[/shoplink] it is not a multiaspect sensor. It records in FullHD, has the same ultra fast autofocus of the GH2 and goes up to 6400 ISO. It takes pictures at 4 fps (frame per second) and has a 3 inch articulating LCD. The G3 is a much more touch oriented camera than the G2. The left dial is gone, the Q-button moved on the trash button (just an example on how Panasonic tried to remove as much button as possible). The G3 will be priced at $649 with kit lens. One of the biggest changes is the design. It has a bit of [shoplink 19190 ebay]Samsung NX10[/shoplink] touch what do you think? It has the “G” mark only and not “G3″…interesting.

And that’s not all guys! In June Panasonic will announce the real hot stuff so stay tuned on 43rumors! But do not cross the finger for a Micro Four Thirds version of the [shoplink 21906 ebay]LC1 (Click here ot see that camera on eBay)[/shoplink]. That’s the only 100% sure thing I know for sure about the June announcement.

Reminder -> 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

For some mysterious reason during the last three days I got more rumor that during the last two months! And the best thing about that is that those are all very good news!!! Of course I need to double check the rumors before to post them with FT5 value (See rumor ranking description below). I will not publish all details yet because I need to check a couple of things (I want to avoid to make bigger mistakes). The only anticipation I can give you is….drumming drumming drumming….there is more to come from Panasonic than we expected!!! On Thursday we will see the G3, but my best sources confirmed that there will be a new Panasonic product announcement in June!!! And it’s high quality and hot stuff! And Olympus should release new m43 products in June too. I guess I have to delay my vacation in France because of that :(
Keep following us even after the G3 release!

A personal note:
The last 30 days I have been very busy in my private life. Sorry if I didn’t manage to answer all your emails. But finally I had the chance to recharge my “biological batteries” and I am ready to work even more on 43rumors and Mirrorlessrumors. One more thing: I invite you to follow Mirrorlessrumors too. I am going to post a lot of stuff there!

P.S.: Feel free to help me to cover the costs by shopping whatever product you want by clicking on those links: [shopcountry 16254]. Thanks!

Reminder -> 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

Tomorrow you can follow the Panasonic G3 announcement on 43rumors. As usual I will continually update the website with links to reviews, previews, image samples and other G3 related news. If you find something interesting drop me a text at 43rumors@gmail.com.

The G3 will be announced at 8:00 am London time (May 12). That’s:
0:00 (Midnight between 11th and 12th of May) Losa Angeles time
3:00 (am) New York time
9:00 Berlin time
10:00 Dubai time
15:00 Beijing time
16:00 Tokyo time
17:00 Sydney time

P.S.: Don’t miss any rumors: Join us on Facebook and Twitter! Subscribe our RSS feed!

A source sent me a rendering he made to explain me how the G3 will look (It’s not the real G3!). It has the same [shoplink 21136]Panasonic LX5[/shoplink] grip and a smaller EVF than the [shoplink 14834]Panasonic G2[/shoplink]. I didn’t found the LX5 grip that comfortable but I have been told the G3 grip is a bit bigger so maybe it’s working better than on the LX5. As you see the left dial is gone. The source also told me the real G3 is a bit more “rounded” than the rendering he made and the EVF is even smaller. Actually it’s a very nice looking camera (he said).

The camera is coming in black, white, brown and silver. UPDATE: It has an articulating LCD screen!

Help me to find the real G3 picture. I am currently checking all kind of websites to find a leak. If you can find something feel free to share it using the anonymous contact form on the right sidebar. Thanks!

Reminder: 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

Last week the chinese website Tech.sina.com posted a short interview with the ex chief of Olympus Akira Watanabe. ePhotozine (Click here) wanted to be sure that the translation from chinese to english is correct and asked Olympus to confirm the correctness of the text. Olympus confirmed that “We will replace E-XXX by PEN series.” and that “E-X and E-XX DSLRs will continue as long as mirrorless systems can’t fulfill SLR users demand. We don’t know when we will have technologies that will be able to substitute this camera class.” It sounds like the [shoplink 21666]Olympus E-30[/shoplink] could be replaced by a newer model. Anyway we didn’t receive any rumor about a possible E-40 or E-50.
Fact is the E-30 is almost impossible to find in Stock (Check [shopcountry 21666])

P.S.: I found a japanese patent (Click here) showing a new Olympus lens. Some japanese reader can help me to find out the specs of the lens?