The list of Olympus 75mm lens alternatives…

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[shoplink 31295 ebay][/shoplink]

If you are interested in buying a 75mm lens but want first to check if there is an alternative to the just announced Olympus 75mm lens check this list. Of course keep in mind that you have no autofocus on these third party lenses.

1) [shoplink 31292 ebay]Dallmeyer 75mm f/1.9 (Here on eBay)[/shoplink]. This is an extremely expensive lens and I don’t know why it is so. Only crazy guys would buy that :)
2) [shoplink 31293 ebay]Leica Summilux 75mm f/1.4 (Here on eBay)[/shoplink]. Extraordinary high quality lens for an extraordinary price (although it’s still less expensive than the mysterious Dallmeyer). It’s the fastest of all 75mm lenses
3) [shoplink 31293 ebay]Zeiss Biotar 75mm f/1.5 (Here on eBay)[/shoplink]. Fast and also a bit exotic lens made for the Exacta series.
4) [shoplink 31294 ebay]Leica Summarit 75mm f/2.5 (Here on eBay)[/shoplink]. High quality and relatively compact lens. A bit slow compared to the Olympus (f/2.5).
5) [shoplink 31295 ebay]Voigtlander Heliar 75mm f/1.8 (Here on eBay)[/shoplink]. Probably the best alternative of the new Olympus 75mm f/1.8 lens. Same aperture, superb high quality and cheaper.
6) [shoplink 31324 ebay]Fujinon 75mm f/1.8 (Here on eBay)[/shoplink]. This is a very cheap TV lens and I don’t expect the quality to be very good. I wouldn’t buy that unlike your really need that focal length and you have a very low budget.

In short, if you don’t care about autofocus I would go for the [shoplink 31295 ebay]Voigtlander Heliar[/shoplink]. If you are rich like a Sultan go for the [shoplink 31293 ebay]Leica Summilux[/shoplink]! But than again, you will probably use it on the $8000 Leica M Monochrome and not on a m43 camera  :)

P.S.: And here are the preorders to the m43 Olympus 75mm lens if you still want it (LOL): Amazon, Adorama, BHphoto, Amazon Germany and Amazon UK.

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G5 shoots Olympics. E-M5 firmware Ver 1.2 pulled. E-PM1 for $299 (with lens).

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Panasonic G5
Via Dpreview: “Panasonic has announced that Getty Images sports photographer Dean Mouhtaropoulos will be covering the London 2012 Olympic Games exclusively using its recently-announced Lumix DMC-G5.” Great! Meantime BHphoto notified that the camera may ship from August 10 (see screenshot).

Olympus E-M5
Our reader Melchior noticed a problem on the E-M5 firmware update: “On the Olympus.jp site they say “The update service to Ver. 1.2 was temporarily discontinued. The update service to Ver. 1.1 is available. http://forums.dpreview.com/forums/read.asp?forum=1041&message=42134144&refresh=1033
E-M5 vs GH2 highlight recovering test at Dpreview forum. How Sharp is the $999 Olympus OM-D E-M5 vs the $6800 Canon EOS 1D X? (Diglloyd).
Different E-M5 kits keep goin in and out of Stock every hour. Check the status via: [shopcountry 29074].

E-PM1 and other deals:
Refurbished E-Pm1 with lens for $299 at [shoplink 32469 ebay]BHphoto eBay (Click here)[/shoplink]. 20mm pancake for $359 at Amazon (Click here).

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Hack your GX1 and G3 now!

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The team around Vitaly Kiselev now released the new version 3,66D of the PTool hacking software (Click here). It supports the Panasonic GX1 and G3 cameras. Our reader Nils posted some G3 test results and video samples on the Personal view forum. I guess sooner or later also the just announced G5 will be supported. As usual it’s nice to know our cameras can get better in time without to have to buy a new one!

Links to the two new hackable cameras:
Panasonic GX1 [shopcountry 26836] Panasonic G3 [shopcountry 22077].

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(FT4) Olympus E-7 planed for second half 2013

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[shoplink 17163][/shoplink] A trusted source that gave me (always) correct info in the past confirmed that Olympus has scheduled the release for the new E-7 for the second half of 2013. That’s a long way to go! Of course such long term rumors are subject to change but it’s also a confirmation that you should not expect any [shoplink 17163]E-5[/shoplink] replacement any time soon!

The real question is, how should the E-7 be in order to be competitive with the other APS-C DSLR cameras? You have some ideas? :)

P.S.: Search(!) Links o the current E-5 camera: [shopcountry 17163].

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200 Euro price drop on the Nokton 17.5mm lens in Europe. New review by Lepidi.

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[shoplink 32407 ebay][/shoplink]

I always said that the Nokton 17.5mm f/0.95 is a superb lens and would probably be in my hands if it wouldn’t be that expensive. So I have good news to report today. At least in Europe the lens suddenly got around 200 Euro cheaper! Instead of the usual 1299 Euro you now pay 1049 at [shoplink 32407 ebay]Photo-Video eBay (Click here)[/shoplink] and many lenses are avaialble for 1079 at [shoplink 32406 ebay]Foto Mundus eBay (Click here)[/shoplink].

I am still trying to resist even if I just read that super nice review of the Nokton lens at Lepidi :)

P.S: In US the lens is in Stock for $1299 at Amazon (Click here).

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Panasonic X in Stock. Olympus 75mm in Stock in UK.

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A couple of readers got notification for the Olympus 75mm lens which should ship within the next few days in US and European stores. The first lens is in Stock via [shoplink 32435 ebay]eBay UK (Click here)[/shoplink]. The only thing in Stock in US is the official lens cap at [shoplink 32436 ebay]Adorama eBay (lol)[/shoplink]. Preorders are available at Amazon, Adorama, BHphoto, Amazon Germany and Amazon UK. And an alternative cheap [shoplink 32155 ebay]standard hood for $15 (Click here)[/shoplink] and a [shoplink 32156 ebay]tele hood for $16 (Click here)[/shoplink] via ebay Hong Kong.

In Stock: The Panasonic X zoom is still in Stock in limited quantity at Amazon (Click here). The Black E-M5 body is in Stock at Amazon (via JR) and at Adorama (Click here).

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