Amateur Photographer is keeping us daily updated about the Olympus fee scandal. Today they report that “Two members of the Olympus board and the company’s auditor have quit the scandal-hit camera maker”
Yesterday Former Olympus CEO Michael Woodford was mobbed by photographers and TV crews on his first return to Japan (Read more at Amateur Photographer). And Olympus officially said that there is no evidence of “crime syndicates” link (Source: AP).
Amateur Photographer also posted another Woodford article where he says that he is a big fan of the E-P3 and says: “The problem for Olympus has always been the dominance of Canon and Nikon in the DSLR market. Their dominance was rather like our business in endoscopes, but the advent of mirrorless cameras has brought about a renaissance.”
Something else: Photographyreview just posted a new E-P3 review. Shop links: [shopcountry 23568]
DPreview posted a new E-Pm1 review. Shop links: [shopcountry 23565]
A source that gave me once a correct “rumor” just told me that he found an image of a new Panasonic 35mm f/2.4 X macro lens! It will cost LESS than the current Pansonic-Leica 45mm f/2.8 macro ([shoplink 14794 ebay]Current price is 700 dollars/Euro on eBay[/shoplink]). The 35mm is not a Leica branded lens. I have no direct contact to the source but if he is reading the message feel free to send me the image you found ont he web at 43rumors@gmail.com. You can also use “anonymous” tools like wetransfer.com or imageshack.us. Thanks!!!
P.S.: other sources can confirm that the lens really exists???
Links to the current Panasonic macro: [shopcountry 14794].
I have two new lens reviews and a new article from ThePhoBlographer to share today:
The Online Photographer (Click here) tested the amazing Olympus 12mm f/2.0 and is surprisingly unsatisfied with it: “This is not a bad lens. But it is no better than merely good, and its performance doesn’t come anywhere close to justifying an $800 price tag.” This is probably the very first negative review of the lens. So it’s worth to read it! They also reviewed the 45mm Olympus lens last week and that’s a lens they absolutely like: “All in all, I think this lens is worth every bit of the $400 price tag. Even if it weren’t a fast lens, it would deserve accolades. It is that good.” And also SLRgear (Click here) highly recommends that lens “With excellent test results, this is a no-brainer of a conclusion – it’s a great and inexpensive addition to your Olympus PEN kit, especially if you’re a portrait shooter“.
Here are the links to both lenses to check price and in Stock status:
Olympus 12mm f/2.0 at [shopcountry 23576].
Olympus 45mm f/1.8 at [shopcountry 23577].
ThePhoBlographer (Click here) explains you how to upgrade you Micro Four Thirds Camera System. It’s a short guide for beginners!
P.S.: For european readers, the Nokton 25mm f/0.95 is in Stock for 719 Euro only on [shoplink 27114 ebay]eBay France (Click here)[/shoplink].
UPDATE: Google translation tool made a mess because the questions were made in nrowegian and the answers are written in swedish (what the heck?). Thanks to all readers sending me the correct info!
We are receiving more and more bits about the upcoming Panasonic 12-35mm and 35-100mm X lenses. We know they will have a constant aperture (f/2.8 or faster), we know the lenses are weather sealed. The info get’s a backup by Mac Berggen, a Norwegian Panasonic product specialist He revealed at akam.no: 1) “The new lenses will definitely be the best thing we ever did“…”the best performance of all Pany lenses” 2) “The aperture will be great“. 3) “The price will be high“. UPDATE: The price will be lower than the 70-200mm f/2.8 zooms from the competition. Note: Canon ([shoplink 27104 ebay]Click here to check that price on eBay[/shoplink]) and Nikon ([shoplink 27105 ebay]Click here to check that price on eBay[/shoplink]). He susggests the price could be around 10.000 Norwegian Krone which is 1.300 Euro ($1700).
The Olympus E-PM1 has been reviewed at Photoreview (Click here): “Because it provides most of the features of its more expensive siblings (the E-P3 and E-PL3), the E-PM1 represents excellent value for money. At $599 for the single-lens kit, it’s $200 cheaper than the E-PL3 and $400 less than the E-P3“.
E-PM1 price check links: [shopcountry 23565].
Olympus E-P3 test at Neocamera (Click here): “The Olympus PEN E-P3 rightfully deserves its flagship status among Micro Four-Thirds SLDs. By keeping the already great design of its predecessor and refining the internals, particularly the autofocus system, Olympus produced an excellent camera that is even more usable. True to the ideal compromise between performance and size, the PEN E-P3 compares well to previous generation entry-level DSLRs in terms of performance while offering it in a size comparable to a compact camera“.
E-P3 price check links: [shopcountry 23568].
There is a new E-PL3 review at Photoxels (Click here): “The Olympus E-PL3 is a perfect step up for someone graduating from a point-and-shoot and a better choice than one of the high end compact digicam or entry-level DSLR. Compact, light and giving DSLR-level image quality and performance, we believe it makes an ideal mirrorless DSLR for the whole family. Highly recommended“.
E-PL3 price check links: [shopcountry 23567].
Olympus 45mm review at m43blogspot (Click here): “The image quality is good, and the focus speed is fast. The lens is not so well suited for video recording, due to the lack of optical image stabilization.”
45mm lens price check links: [shopcountry 23577].
Panasonic 100-300mm lens review at Photozone (Clik here): “The delivered resolution is actually pretty decent across the image field and the focal length – especially towards the very long end of the range. The lens suffers from a high degree of lateral CAs – despite an extra low dispersion lens – which is mainly a problem for Olympus users whereas the auto-correction can cope with this issue on Panasonic cameras.”
100-300mm lens price check links: [shopcountry 16261].
Something different: Olympus E-1 Kodak sensor dynamic range test (dpreview forum).
The only place were you can find the old E-1 is on [shoplink 27100 ebay]eBay (Click here)[/shoplink]. Can’t find a reason why you should still buy that cam :)
A year ago 43rumors posted a lens poll asking our readers which new lens you would like to see for the Micro Four Thirds system. One of the most requested lenses was the 12-60mm zoom. It should remark the characteristics of the [shoplink 23681 ebay]Olympus Four Thirds 12-60mm f/2.8-4[/shoplink] zoom you see pictured on top of this post. And it sounds like your dream might become true soon!
Rumors from top sources (FT5!) are saying that Olympus will announce a new lens in December. It’s a zoom lens that at the wide end starts with 12mm and doesn’t have a constant aperture. There is no 100% reliable info yet about the exact focal length at the tele end but I guess it’s the new 12-60mm you were expecting for! A nice toy right in time for Christmas sales! Nice move Oly.
I hope to get some info about the exact specs and price soon. The current Four Thirds version costs around 900 dollars/Euro on [shoplink 23681 ebay]eBay (Click here)[/shoplink].
Stay tuned!
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
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