New XZ-1 review at Digitalrev and Rollei 50mm lens test.

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What a nice Olympus XZ-1 review. I like that guy and I like the narrative style. In that video he compared the Olympux XZ-1 with the Canon S95. See the video to hear the conclusion!
You can get the XZ-1 at [shopcountry 19904] (Click on shop name to visit the direct product page).
For comparison. That’s the price of the Canon S95 at [shopcountry 21015].

For the first time I saw a Rollei lens tested ona Micro Four Thirds camera. You might be interested to see the results at DC.watch (Click here). They tested the [shoplink 21016 ebay]Rollei Planar 50mm f/1.4[/shoplink] on the new Olympus E-PL2. That’s what I like most of Micro Four Thirds, the fact that you use almost any existing lens. Canon seems to not understand that (See MirrorlessRumors.com).

See the [shoplink 21016 ebay]Rollei 50mm Planar lens on eBay (Click here)[/shoplink].
Olympus E-PL2 price checks at [shopcountry 18844].

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Look at that crazy Fuji X100 eBay auctions (What makes a camera such successful? What should Olympus and Panasonic learn from it?)

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[shoplink 20939 ebay][/shoplink]

Look at that crazy price people is going to pay for the first Fuji X100 camera listed on [shoplink 20939 ebay]eBay (Click here)[/shoplink]. The seller is probably becoming rich :)
The price went up to US $2,292.31 and there are still three days left! There are now two more X100 on sale on eBay from [shoplink 20999 ebay]Hong Kong (Click here)[/shoplink] and [shoplink 21000 ebay]Singapore (Click here)[/shoplink]. Those cameras will be sold for 2 or maybe 3 times the real price of the X100 which is 1199 Dollar/Euro (Check at [shopcountry 19929]).

What I am questioning now is WHY a camera can become that popular. It doesn’t take interchangeable lenses, it’s not cheap, it has not a particularly amazing sensor. A wonder what Olympus and Panasonic should learn from that X100!DO you have an idea?

P.S:: You can see a dissembled X100 at Petapixel (Click here). And there is a first X100 review at Photographyblog (Click here).

 

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Editors note: Had a small surgery today.

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Dear readers.

I had a small surgery today. That’s why I had no tiem to answer your emails and comments. Tomorrow (Saturday) I will have more time to work on 43rumors.

Thanks for your understanding.

P.S.: I am doing fine ;)

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Tons of new reviews (GF2, GH2, E-PL2, E-5 and XZ-1)

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Nice to wake-up in the morning and see that there are a dozen of new Panasonic/Olympus camera reviews. It will take a couple of hours to read them all :)

Panasonic GF2

Digitalcamerainfo (Click here) posted a 21 page long Panasonic GF2: “With a simplified design, touchscreen operation, emphasis on its Intelligent Auto mode and—perhaps biggest of all—a debut price that is $300 cheaper than the GF1, the GF2 is aimed squarely at those consumers looking to step up from a point-and-shoot without losing portability.
Camerguide (Click here) also posted a new GF2 review: “Smaller, lighter, and now touchscreen friendly, Panasonic has done its best to introduce a wider range of photographers to its “GF-series”. There’s no question that the changes do make the GF2 more appealing to photographers with less advanced skills, and nobody can fault Panasonic for trying to make the camera smaller, the question perhaps should be whether the touchscreen adds to the experience of using the GF2 for either set of photographers, be they more or less skilled.
GF1 vs GF2 comparison at Mobile01 (Click here).
GF2 direct links to [shopcountry 17361].

Olympus E-PL2

Pdnonline (Click here) tested the Olympus E-PL2: “Though it may not be the prettiest PEN camera in Olympus’ line-up, the E-PL2 has so many picture-taking improvements from previous iterations, it’s clearly the best.
Popphoto (Click here) tested the E-PL2: “In our opinion, the E-PL2 is one of the better ILCs on the market. It takes advantage of the now-wide array of lenses available for the Micro Four Thirds system while offering a compact and powerful body with the best features that Olympus has developed for this still-young format.
ThePhoBlographer (Click here) made a E-PL2 RAW File Test.
Focus Numerique (Click here) tested the Olympus E-PL2.
BHphoto (Click here) explains how it is using the Olympus EPL-2’s Art Filters To Shoot a Concert.
E-PL2 direct links to [shopcountry 18844].

More reviews

There is a short Olympus E-5 review at Dpexpert (Click here): “Professionals who are satisfied with nothing less than a full frame sensor may not buy what is, in effect, a half-frame camera. But consider this: in terms of body integrity and features the E-5 at $2200 will stand comparison with a Nikon or Canon costing many thousands more. And Olympus lenses are superb.”
Panasonic GH2 tested at Optyczne (Click here).
Neocamera (Click here) posted an Olympus XZ-1 review: “The Olympus XZ-1 is a compelling entry into the advanced compact category with a rich feature set. The ultra-bright F/1.8 wide-angle lens combined with a relatively large CCD sensor lets this model produce some of the best images to come out of a compact digital camera for a given scene. Dual control-dials enable efficient use of manual controls which include manual focus, manual exposure, spot metering, bracketing, custom white-balance and white-balance fine-tuning. The dual-port hot-shoe supports an optional tiltable EVF to provide eye-level and waist-level shooting, as well as supporting external lighting.
XZ-1 direct links to [shopcountry 19904].

 

That’s it!

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A roadmap reminder (When to expect the next Olympus and Panasonic announcements)

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A few other sources confirmed us that Panasonic will announce the new Panasonic G3 camera and very likely also the new 25mm f/1.4 lens in late April. Before the Earthquake-Tsunami-Nuclear disaster Panasonic had the plan to ship the G3 within May. But I guess there could be now a few weeks of delay. The 25mm f/1.4 should hit the market in summer (July). A next Panasonic camera and lens announcement is scheduled for late August.

Olympus has the plan to release new PRO prime lenses in late May/early July. But there could be a delay with the worldwide lens shipment. We are also not 100% sure yet if they will announce a new PEN in late May/early July. We heard there will be a [shoplink 14830]E-P2[/shoplink] replacement but we didn’t get exact info about the final release. A new product announcement from Olympus will be made in early September (We are almost certain they will announce the high-level PEN).

 

Anyway, what I really hope now is that Japan can soon take under control the Fukushima nuclear power plant. That’s all what matters now.

 

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Next Stock of Nokton 25mm lenses in late April only

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[shoplink 15659 ebay][/shoplink]

Camerquest (Click here) is keeping us up to date with the [shoplink 15659 ebay]Voigtländer Nokton 25mm f/0.95[/shoplink] availability: “March 6th Update: The February shipment is indeed SOLD OUT. The NEXT PRODUCTION RUN is estimated in late April 2011.

At least you find a few of them on [shoplink 15659 ebay]eBay (Click here)[/shoplink]. There are now more ongoing auctions than it was a few weeks ago.

One of our sources told us that Cosina doesn’t have any plan to increase the production of that lens. They do not have the capability to do that. So you can expect shortages for the whole year :(

P.S:: For our polish and European readers: Infoto.pl and Allegro.pl do list the Nokton as in Stock! Somewhat crazy if you think  that the rest of Europe doesn’t have it in Stock :)

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a little bit of everything…(GH2 does fashion!)

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Thanks Mike Kobal!

Goodgearguide tested the Olympus E-5: “The Olympus E-5 is definitely a beast of a camera, but its low-light performance isn’t as good as its competitors, and overall its images look a little muddy (although some users may prefer this). It also takes a while to learn how to use it effectively. However, it is fast when it comes to sequential shooting as well as focusing, and it has a useful articulating screen and Live View mode.” Get the E-5 at [shopcountry 17163].

Panasonic Lumix DMC-FT3 Review (Photographyblog).

March 11 Earthquake in Tokyo taken with the GH2 (Vimeo). Get the GH2 at [shopcountry 16254]

Panasonic Lumix DMC-TZ20 / ZS10 High ISO JPEG Noise preview (CameraLabs).

Panasonic GF2 review (Fotopolis). Get the GF2 at [shopcountry 17361]

3Dkraft tested the audio quality of the GH2 y doing a Bariton- and Sopran-Saxophon Live-cut. The quality is very surprising good and you should hear the video using good headphones!

 

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