43 Rumors – Page 2043 – Panasonic and Olympus Digital Camera News

New Nokton 25mm tests

March 1, 2011
reviews
23 Comments

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David Babsky (at Stevehuffphoto.com) posted a new Voigtländer Nokton 25mm f/0.95 review: “It’s useful for “pulling focus” (manually adjusting the focus) when shooting VIDEO on an m4/3 camera, and for shooting m4/3 video in (almost) darkness and up very close.“..”It MAY be just what you need, but it depends on what you like to shoot. Soft, contextualised portraits? Great! Harsh nitty gritty? No. Close-up sharp details? Yes, but only at f2.8 or smaller. The world in sharp focus? ..No: no point in paying extra for that 0.95 aperture.”

Cameraquest has a new status update:
I’ve shipped over half of February’s 25/.95 to customers. The remaining .95’s are delayed by customs. I hope to start shipping the remaining .95’s by Saturday February 26th or Monday February 28th. The shipment is indeed SOLD OUT. The NEXT PRODUCTION RUN will be in April.

43rumors reader H.Hackbarth posted a full size sample on Flickr taken with the GH2 + Nokton.

There is a comparison between the Leica 25mmf1.4 vs. Voigtlander 25mmf0.95 at thaidphoto.com

The only place where you can find the the Nokotn is on [shoplink 15659 ebay]eBay (Click here)[/shoplink]. But in most cases you have to pay more than the original price!

Hitler is mad at Panasonic for GH2 camera availability issues (GF2, XZ-1 in Stock)

February 28, 2011
news
59 Comments

UPDATE: Some people didn’t like (or didn’t understand) the video about Hitler making fun of the GH2 availability. I really didn’t imagine someone could get hurt by such a video. As a sign of respect for them I removed it. For those that didn’t see the video and do have no problem at all with the black humor behind that you can find the video here: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BhDoZbWOPQc&feature=player_embedded

A few personal serious thought about the “Hitler video”:
First: That video is very famous in Internet and millions of people saw different version of it. It’s a viral video that is going around since years! That’s why I didn’t have any problem at all to post it because I thought that being used to, people would understand it correctly.
Second: As I understand German I can assure you there is no racist speech, no talk about the horrific things he made inside that clip. It only shows the complete craziness of the person.
We could talk for hours about the question if it is correct to make Black humor using “Hitler” as main figure or not. But as this is not the place for it I will stop here and send my excuses for the few people that didn’t like that post.

P.S.: This brings me to the idea to watch “The Great Dictator” once again. Wonderful movie!

(FT4) Panasonic 25mm f/1.4 to cost around $750-800

February 28, 2011
Rumors
148 Comments

I just got the price info from two separated sources. The new 25mm f/1.4 Micro Four Thirds lens which is coming from Panasonic will cost around $750-800. That’s a bit less than the price of the Four Thirds Panasonic/Leica 25mm f/1.4 lens ([shoplink 16340 ebay]Click here to see price on eBay)[/shoplink] and in the same price league of the [shoplink 20015]Panasonic 8mm f/3.5 Fisheye[/shoplink] and [shoplink 14794]Panasonic 45mm f/2.8 macro[/shoplink]. The question now is if unlike the 8mm and 45mm lenses the 25mm will become a real bestseller.

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Reminder:
– It has double the size of the [shoplink 14796]20mm f/1.7 pancake[/shoplink] – Unlike the [shoplink 16340 ebay]Four Thirds Panasonic/Leica 25mm f/1.4 lens[/shoplink] it is not Leica branded
– It has no OIS.
– It should be announced late March/early April (but I am not sure about that yet!)

I have no info about the other lenses on the road map (see image on top).
– Bright zoom (this is the new video lens we are waiting for!)
– Bright Wide-Angle

Someone can send me info about those lenses ? :)

Thanks!

Links:
– 25mm f/1.4 Four Thirds lens at [shopcountry 16340].
– 20mm f/1.7 at [shopcountry 14796].
– 8mm fisheye at [shopcountry 20015].
– 45mm f/2.8 at [shopcountry 14794].

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

New Olympus XZ-1 Review and tests

February 28, 2011
reviews
3 Comments

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Trustedreviews tested the new Olympus XZ-1 high end compact camera. You can find the final verdict at page 4: “The [shoplink 19904]XZ-1[/shoplink] feels like a good, solid move for its maker, and in helping the brand stay competitive and moreover relevant, it deserves to do well. Olympus has come lately to the high performance compact party, so it’s just as well that its arrival is with a product that should be awarded a degree of fanfare.”

And Pocket Lint posted a “7 days living with… the Olympus XZ-1” article: “the Olympus isn’t really pocketable, not in the same way that the Canon S95 or the new Nikon CoolpixP300 are. That means I’m less likely to slip it into my suit pocket for a wedding“…”If it is to be your only camera and slipping it into your pocket is less important than the option to add accessories that the extra size brings, then the Olympus XZ-1 is a seriously attractive camera, and I’ve had great fun with it.

Direct Olympus XZ-1 links to [shopcountry 19904]

Full Olympus E-PL2 review at Cameralabs

February 27, 2011
reviews
14 Comments

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There is a new full E-PL2 review at Cameralabs (Click here): “On the surface, the differences between the E-PL1 and E-PL2 may not look extensive, but they make a big difference in both handling and performance. The rear control dial makes the E-PL2 a much more comfortable camera to use in manual exposure modes while the change to the ISO sensitivity range combined, we suspect, with some tweaking of the image processing, has resulted in improved image quality.”…”the broad appeal of the PEN E-PL2 and the excellent quality results it’s capable of producing look set to make it one of the most successful Micro Four Thirds cameras yet.”

The E-PL2 gets an Overall score of 83%. To read all E-PL2 related news and review on 43rumors click here.
And those are the direct E-PL2 shop links to [shopcountry 18844].

Reminder: On Saturday Dpreview posted the Panasonic GF2 review and we asked you if you prefer the E-PL2 or the GF2:

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Latest deals:

Olympus E-P2 and E-PL2

The Olympus E-P2 price is very low in these days. It’s only $50-100 above the new Olympus E-PL2. You can get the E-P2 with 14-42mm lens for $649 only at Amazon (Click here).
The E-PL2 has a $50 dollar instant rebate at Amazon (Click here) and Adorama (Click here).There is a $100 instant rebate on the double lens kit at Adorama (Click here).

Panasonic G2

Panasonic G10 for $399 Amazon (Click here).
Panasonic G2 is in Stock for $499 Amazon (Click here), Adorama (Click here), BHphoto (Click here)

Micro Four Thirds lenses

If you are on budget and want a zoom lens the Olympus 40-150mm lens is in Stock for $204 at Amazon (Click here).

Kowa 77mm f/1.0 modified for Micro Four Thirds

February 27, 2011
deals
22 Comments

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“jieying-usa” is a well known eBay reseller that modifies lenses so that they can fit on Micro Four Thirds camera without the use of adapters. And his latest creation is the modified [shoplink 20259 ebay]Kowa 77mm f/1.0 lens[/shoplink]. This is the description: “This lens is 77mm f/1.1~f/11 , was manufactory in Japan by Kowa. Lens rework on Panasonic Lumix G1 GF1 GH1 or Olympus E-P1 E-P2. After rework image little large than 77mm, Lens focusing from 5ft to infinity. (scale will not correctly you must use screen or viewfinder focusing). Glass looks mint, no fungus and no scratch. It is specially for Portrait use with full open aperture, image will be soft, when you step down after F/2.8 will get sharper, but when you use small aperture, corner image looks blur. I think buy this lens is to use large opening soft effect, smaller aperture doesn’t make any sense. Including a tripod mount, you may take it off if you feel not easy to carry on. (camera body for display only, not included)”

[shoplink 20259 ebay]Click here to see the Kowa 77mm f/1.0 lens at eBay[/shoplink].

I found a few image samples at Flickr (Click here). Let us know if you find more images!

New Fuji X100 image samples at DPreview and new Olympus E-5 tests

February 26, 2011
reviews
16 Comments

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DPreview posted a few Fuji X100 image samples. Reminder: The camera should be in Stock by early MArch. Preorders at: [shopcountry 19929]

CNET Australia tested the Olympus E-5: “The E-5 presents a good upgrade path for those amateur and professional photographers working with the Olympus Four Thirds system. It doesn’t provide enough to lure potential buyers from competing brands though.”

Also Macworld tested the camera: “What we particularly like about Olympus E-system cameras are the Art Filter digital effects filters and 10 have been shoehorned in here, including our favourites of pop art, pinhole and toy town-effect diorama. Further tweaks include a TruePic V+ image-processing engine that Olympus claims provides enhanced detail over cameras with physically larger sensors. Certainly the E-5, when used with our test lens, delivered bags of detail despite the low-ish headline resolution.”

Olympus E-5 direct links at [shopcountry 17163].