(FT5) Olympus 75mm f/1.8 priced at around $800. In Store by end of June /early July!

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A couple of weeks ago a new source told us that the new 75mm f/1.8 lens would arrive on June 18th and priced at $799. Trusted sources now confirmed that the lens will be priced at “around $800“. Of course this is subject change depending on tax and conversion rate (Some sources know the real price in other currency). And the lens will start to be in Store by end of June /early July (more or less the same time when the new Panasonic 12-35mm X lens will ship). There is no word about the other 60mm macro lens release or eventual new PEN cameras. But I have been told something else “could” come. Don’t know what it is now but I am working on it.

Oh, and two of my sources said the lens is simply astonishing! Just for comparison. The lens corresponds to 150mm f/1.8 lens in Full frame terms (f/3.6 in DOF terms) or to a 100mm f/1.8 in APS-C terms (f/2.7 in DOF terms). Lenses giving a similar field view and aperture (but different DOF) to the 75mm Olympus lens like the Nikon 105mm f/2.0 (150mm on APS-C) costs more than $1000 at Amazon (Click here). And so the Canon 135mm f/2.0 (135mm on FF). The only weird thing is that Olympus sees the lens as a portrait lens while in my opinion it is not. But anyway, if it delivers the highest quality of all m43 lenses I am sure it will become a hotseller! Don’t you think?

Speaking of hotseller: The Panasonic 12-35mm managed to get into the 20 most sold lenses at Amazon (here is the ranking). Please let me know if you find more stores accepting preorders and I will post it here on 43rumors. Thanks! Here is the (short) list:
in USA at Amazon (Click here), BHphoto (Click here) and Adorama (Click here).
in Europe at FotoHanzKeuzekamp (Click here).
in Asia at Amazon Japan (Click here).

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

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Olympus will not announce any partnership soon (and may not need it after all!)

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As you know for months now rumors are floating around about possible alliances between Olympus and Sony or Samsung or Fuji or whatever else :)
Olympus is seeking a way to get some cash in the company. But today Reuters reports that “Olympus will not unveil an equity alliance at its major strategy briefing next month, despite speculation it might do so, sources said on Tuesday.” And there is also a surprise: “An investment banking source added that Olympus management hoped it could eventually raise capital on its own.” This would of course the best news if Olympus can stand on his own feet!

From a financial point of view the medical department is the one that matters but I hope their recent [shoplink 29074]E-M5[/shoplink] release and upcoming 75mm portrait announcement will help them to earn some money with the camera division too! That said I know from my top sources that Olympus didn’t expect that kind of success form the E-M5. particularly the Silver model is selling as good as the Black E-M5. That’s why it’s hard to find it in Stock. Here are all my search links to the E-M5. Links I check a couple of times per week to see where the E-M5 is in Stock:

[shoplist 29074]
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Panasonic 12-35mm the day after (New preorders in USA and Europe)

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Let’s start with the updated preorder list. You can preorder the new 12-35mm X lens:
in USA at Amazon (Click here), BHphoto (Click here) and Adorama (Click here).
in Europe at FotoHanzKeuzekamp (Click here).
in Asia at Amazon Japan (Click here).

Finally I spent an hour to carefully read all four available reviews at Photographyblog, ePhotozine, SLRgear and DSLRmagazine. I guess most of you read them and from a technical point of view this lens really almost has no flaw. Resolution is perfect. The lens makes no noise when zooming or focusing, distortion is low and harmonic across the range. Only the (surprisingly) missing Powerzoom function can be problem for videomakers. Really didn’t expect that lens to not come along the Powerzoom and as this is an ideal lens for filmmakers some of them may be frustrated right now :)
I may add that the USA price is a bit higher than expected. American readers are used to get that special Euro-Dollar 1:1 coversion. So after reading that the lens costa 1.100 Euro I would have expected Amazon (Click here) to sell it for $1,100. Anyway, I think the price is ok if you look at all features. The lens has a super image and build quality and as Dpreview writes: “Panasonic’s excellent implementation of ‘focus-by-wire’ manual focus is responsive and precise, and streets ahead of some of its rivals“. This lens really sets the latter so high that it makes look the competition really bad! The Micro Four Thirds system really became a lot more mature and it will be hard fro Sony, Nikon and even Canon to surpass the m43 system for a long time coming! At that point I have to remind you that the Panasonic 35-100mm f/2.8 X lens will arrive along the GH3 in late Summer  while the Olympus 75mm f/1.8 is coming out within the next couple of weeks. And that’s not all that’s coming ;)

Great time ahead for us Micro Four Thirds users!!!

 

 

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Olympus E-M5 at 11.000 feet (and Astrophotography test)

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[shoplink 31139 ebay][/shoplink]

Zelenpol announced a new carbon case you can get $170 on [shoplink 31139 ebay]eBay (Click here to see the auction and more pictures)[/shoplink]. They also have a classic Black leather case for sale again on [shoplink 31138 ebay]eBay (Click here)[/shoplink].

And now lets’ talk about some unconventional reviews. Want you know for example if the E-M5 is good enough for Astrophotography? The answer comes from Therovingphotographer (Click here): “So there you have it – a somewhat unexpected review, but further solid proof that the E-M5 is a seriously capable little camera.“. And one of the main features of the E-M5 is the robust and weather sealed body. So does’t it really do his job at over 11000 feet? Check out the answer by reading that post on dpreview. And what if something goes wrong with the exposition? Steve Huff (Click here) explains you if you can save an underexposed shot. Oh, and he also compared the E-M5 to the big ones like the NEX-7 and the superpixel D800 (Click here). MirrorlessReviews posted six E-M5 videos on youtube (Click here). And finally the m43 sceptic admin of Camerazealot (Click here) converted himself to the E-M5 religion :)

And I end this post with the E-M5 preorder and Amazon ranking links:

E-M5 (Pre)order links (Click on store name): Amazon, Adorama, B&H, Jessops, Amazon UK, Amazon Germany, Amazon Japan and Digitalrev.

Bestseller list. Check the list (changes hourly!):
USA: E-M5 on position 11/12/13 (Click here)
UK: E-M5 is on position 7 (Click here).
Germany: The E-M5 is on position 2/9 (Click here).
France: not available (Click here to see rankings anyway).
Japan: E-M5 on position 3/4 (Click here).

 

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(UPDATED) Black E-M5 with 12-50mm lens in Stock at Amazon and Adorama!

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UPDATE: For the first time the Black E-M5 with 12-50mm kit lens was(!) in Stock at Amazon (Click here). You can now find it still in Stock at Adorama (Click here). Posted this on 13:57 Berlin time and sold out at Amazon after 30minutes. Let’s see how long it lasts at Adorama until they are sold out again! ;)

P.S.: Sorry for the broken links to the new Zelenpol cases. Here are the corrected links: New carbon case on [shoplink 31139 ebay]eBay (Click here to see the auction and more pictures)[/shoplink] and the classic Black leather case for sale again on [shoplink 31138 ebay]eBay (Click here)[/shoplink].

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Reminder: Olympus Portrait lens is also coming soon!

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Image courtesy: Techradar

UPDATE: You can preorder the lens at Amazon (Click here)

Today we had a great new Panasonic 12-35mm X lens announcement but you really don’t think that we can have a rest now  :)

After Techradar also Photographyblog today got the same Olympus teaser. The text really makes it easy to guess that they are talking about the new $799(?) 75mm f/1.8 lens. Stay tuned on 43rumors!!!

P.S.: Still I haven’t found any place where you can preorder the new Panasonic lens. I keep checking these search links at Amazon (Click here), Adorama (Click here) and BHphoto (Click here).

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Panasonic 12-35mm preorder now at Amazon! Priced $1,299.99!

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Finally you can preorder the super new Panasonic 12-35mm f/2.8 X lens at Amazon (Click here)!!! Be the first to get it. No other website reported it yet…Psss :) I haven’t found other preorders in other countries yet. Comment this post if you got something! Thanks!
UPDATE: SLRgear posted a new 12-35mm X lens review: “The pre-production version of the Panasonic 12-35mm ƒ/2.8 that we tested showed excellent performance across the board. In addition, it boasts image stabilization and a splash- / dust-proof design: there is a lot to like here, making it an attractive upgrade for GX-1 users.”

One more thing: Amazon notified that they will ship the Silver E-M5 body and kits (Click here) you preordered in February!

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