43 Rumors – Page 2124 – Panasonic and Olympus Digital Camera News

Olympus Meets Deadline to Avoid Delisting. Rumors: Fuji to buy Olympus???

December 14, 2011
news
45 Comments

Olympus managed to present their revised financial results tot he Tokyo Exchange. This will avoid the delisting of the company from the stock exchange. Reuters reports: “The most recent restatement, for end-March 2011, showed a 51 billion yen ($655 million) reduction in Olympus’ net assets, and Olympus added that at of end-September, net assets stood at just 46 billion yen, down from a restated 225 billion in March 2007. It also revealed a net loss of 32.33 billion yen for the six months ended September 30, further fuelling talk that the once-venerable firm would need to take quick steps to shore up its balance sheet or risk becoming prey to a takeover.”

Also Bloomberg (Click here) reports that: “Fujifilm, which makes equipment for medical scans, has been reported as a possible bidder for Japanese camera maker Olympus Corp. Yamamoto, who also is a board member at Fujifilm, declined to comment on a possible buyout of Olympus today. Fujifilm Chief Executive Officer Shigetaka Komori said last month it was too early to discuss Olympus issues while the third-party panel was still probing the fraud at the camera maker.”

So Samsung, Hoya and now even Fuji could buy Olympus. Damn, this is going to be a tuff time for Olympus! I hope they will stay alive with their own force! I would prefer a Fuji-Olympus partnership over a Fuji Olympus takeover. Imagine a m43 camera with organic sensor :) Yeah just dreaming I know :)

Announced! New Olympus 12-50mm f/3.5-6.3 EZ power zoom.

December 14, 2011
news
224 Comments

As usual I am continually updating this post!

My first impression:

Olympus announced a new kit lens with slow aperture and not so low price ($499). But the real strengths of the lens are the new powerzoom feature, macro focusing and the weather sealed body. It also should have a high optical quality. I think the lens would have made a lot of sense if launched along a new weather sealed PEN camera. But I guess that camera is coming soon anyway…

Press release links:

Pictures of the silver version and lens with hood at Fotopolis. Picture of lens with hood at TV.smith.
Olympus Asia
German press release at Photoscala.
Quesabesde (spanish).
Focus Numerique (french).
Dpreview

Lens resolution chart:

Poll:

Before to vote take some time to think! :)

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Full press release:

CENTER VALLEY, Pa., December 14, 2011 – Olympus adds to its powerfully simple and growing PEN family with the first fully-compatible interchangeable Micro Four Thirds lens to incorporate an electronic motorized zoom. The M.ZUIKO DIGITAL ED 12-50mm F3.5-6.3 EZ (35mm equivalent 24–100mm) delivers smooth, quiet zooming that gives you versatility, portability and maximizes the performance of the Olympus PEN^® compact system cameras.
The sophisticated new lens has a zoom ratio of approximately 4.2x, allowing photographers to capture anything from detailed, wide-angle group shots to medium telephoto-range images so you can get up close and personal for intimate portraits of children and pets – even indoors. The photographer can control the zooming speed by turning the barrel – slowly for drama, quickly for performance, or at an intermediate rate. Manual zooming is also available for those looking to take full control.
In macro mode, which can be set by pushing the zoom ring forward while depressing the macro button on the side of the lens, focusing is possible between 8 and 20 inches for close-up shooting with a maximum image magnification of 0.72X (35mm camera equivalent). The L-Fn (Lens Function) button suspends the autofocusing operation temporarily to avoid unintended focusing on obstacles that appear suddenly between the camera and the subject.
Perfect for brilliant still images and high-definition (HD) video capture, the Movie & Still Compatible (MSC) M.ZUIKO DIGITAL ED 12-50mm F3.5-6.3 EZ has also been enhanced with a linear motor that drives smooth and quiet autofocusing for stress-free shooting.
New lens elements and glass materials ensure the clearest possible imaging performance, and the proven dust and splashproof mechanism originally featured in the Four Thirds SHG (Super High Grade) series lenses is now incorporated for the first time in a Micro Four Thirds System lens. Multiple sealing rings, fitted throughout the lens body, prevent water splashes and dust from penetrating, making the M.ZUIKO DIGITAL ED 12-50mm f3.5-6.3 EZ a versatile zoom lens for the toughest conditions.

U.S. Pricing and Availability
M.ZUIKO DIGITAL ED 12-50mm f3.5-6.3 EZ: Available Mid-January 2012
Estimated Street Price: $499.99

(FT4) The 12-50mm Olympus is weather sealed?

December 14, 2011
Rumors
6 Comments

Just got this from another new source: “The new 12-50 is the first weather sealed lens. The powerzoom can detect if the lens ring is rotated slow or fast for either quick, fast zooming or slow precise zooming.”

So weather sealedlens without a weather sealed camera? Com on Olympus, shows us the PEN pro too :)

Thanks V.!

New Olympus USA rebate program!

December 13, 2011
Rumors
6 Comments

Olympus is launching a new deals action on cameras, lenses and the external VF-3 viewfinder.

Micro Four Thirds lens deals:
-$50 on the M.Zuiko ED 14-150mm at Amazon (Click here) and BHphoto (Click here).
– Silver Olympus M.zuiko Digital ED 40-150mm f/4.0-5.6 R Superkit deal for $169 only on the Adorama (Click here). Black version for $186 via third party resellers at Amazon (Click here).

Four Thirds lens deals:
-$50 on the 12-60mm lens at Amazon (Click here) and BHphoto (Click here).
-$50 on the 50-200mm at Amazon (Click here) and BHphoto (Click here).
-$50 on the 50mm macro at Amazon (Click here) and BHphoto (Click here).

PEN camera deals:
Olympus E-PL3 with 14-42 for 599 & the 2 lens kit $150 more $648 at Amazon (Click here), Adorama (Click here) and BHphoto (Click here).
Olympus E-PM1 with 14-42mm lens $24 savings to $425 at Adorama (Click here). Not valid on the kits. Valid on stock on hand only.
Black E-Pm1 with 14-42 use coupon code S1442111
Brown E-Pm1 with 14-42 use coupon code S1442112
Pink E-Pm1 with 14-42 use coupon code S1442113
Purple E-Pm1 with 14-42 use coupon code S1442114
Silver E-Pm1 with 14-42 use coupon code S1442115
White E-Pm1 with 14-42 use coupon code S1442116

(FT4) New Olympus 12-50mm lens for around $400? (FT5) Full specs.

December 13, 2011
Rumors
113 Comments

I just got a price indication about the new upcoming Olympus 12-50mm lens. It came from an asian source so I have to convert the price it in dollars :) That’s why you can’t expect this to be the exact price. Using the current conversion the new lens will cost around $400. But it will also be sold as kit lens along the E-PL3 and E-P3 and should be even cheaper in that case.

And here are the (FT5!) full specs of the 12-50mm EZ ED lens:
Focal length: 12-50mm
Aperture: f/3.5-6.3
Close focusing: 0.35 meter (0.98 ft)
Macro: 0.2 to 0.5 meter (0.66-1.6 ft)
Filter size: 52
Ring: Focus and Aperture ring
Zoom: Powerzoom button on the left side of the lens
AF: Super fast AF and silent focusing

Announcement tomorrow (December 14) at 6-7 am. Stay tuned on 43rumors!

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

(FT5) The new lens specs: 12-50mm f/3.5-6.3 and macro!

December 13, 2011
Rumors
165 Comments

Finally I got the specs about the upcoming new Olympus Micro Four Thirds lens. It is a 12-50mm f/3.5-6.3 macro lens! So it’s slower and has 10mm less at the end than the [shoplink 23681 ebay]Olympus Four Thirds 12-60mm f/2.8-4[/shoplink] zoom. But the new 12-50mm gains a macro feature, has super fast AF and has powerzoom. I have been told the optical quality is on very high level. The lens is quite big (two times the current 14-42mm collapsible kit lens).

The new lens is a nice walk-around camera for photographer and filmmakers. I wish it would have been a bit faster but as long as image quality is really high I can deal with that.

The lens will be announced tomorrow (Wednesday December 14) at around 6-7am London time. I don’t know if Olympus will also announce new accessories or a new lens roadmap tomorrow. As usual I will be here live to cover the announcement news and reviews. See you tomorrow morning!

P.S.: Don’t forget to join the Facebook 43rumors fanpage (Click here)!

New Micro Four Thirds reviews roundup…(E-P3 by Thom, Olympus 45mm lens at Photozone)

December 12, 2011
Rumors
20 Comments

Image courtesy: Photozone

Our friends from Photozone (Click here) tested the Olympus 45mm f/1.8 lens. And that lens gets highly recommended: “The Olympus M.ZUIKO DIGITAL 45mm f/1.8 is a highly desirable lens. The important center resolution is already on a very good level straight from wide open aperture and only the corners are somewhat softer here. The quality is very high across the image field when stopping down to f/4. Vignetting, lateral CAs as well as distortions are all well controlled and not relevant in field conditions.”
Yes, the lens is really a must have. Check price and availability at [shopcountry 23577].

Thom Hogan (Click here) reviewed the Olympus E-P3: “The sad thing is that we’re now in year three of the Pen, and the E-P3 hasn’t really budged the image quality bar. It’s a solid 2009-era 12mp camera. Unfortunately, it’s 2011. I’d expect more than a small nudge on noise reduction in terms of image quality change at this point.”

Panasonic Lumix G Vario PZ 45-175mm f/4-5.6 M43 review at ePhotozine (Click here): “Overall this lens is a very good, if a little pricey, general purpose telephoto, with good build quality and design. It may take those who are used to using more traditional lenses a little while to get used to the motorised zooming mechanism, but any issues will soon diminish with time given to familiarise yourself with its quirks“.
Price check at [shopcountry 25103].

Non english tests:
Olympus 12mm f/2.0 lens test at OpenPn (click here for the translation).
Price check at [shopcountry 23576].

Panasonic GX1 review at DC.fever (Click here to read the bad google translation). P.S.: I found a GX1 dedicated page at Panasonic Hong Kong. Nice!

Olympus 45mm f/1.8 review at Ganref (again with bad google translation).