43 Rumors – Page 2144 – Panasonic and Olympus Digital Camera News

Photo competition by Olympus UK (and latest Olympus refurbished camera deals).

October 25, 2011
news
5 Comments

Ian Burley from Fourthirds-user.com kindly sent me this:
“Dear 43rumors
I want to make sure that you don’t miss out on an opportunity to enter either (or both) the new photo competitions we are currently running in conjunction with Olympus UK and featured on our two Four Thirds and Micro Four Thirds interest sites:.
The first is aimed at Olympus Pen and other Micro Four Thirds camera users using Olympus m.Zuiko lenses.You can find full details here:
http://e-group.uk.net/forum/showthread.php?t=17394
The second is for Olympus E-System DSLR users and other Four Thirds DSLR photographers using Zuiko Digital lenses. Details are here:
http://fourthirds-user.com/2011/10/update_olympus_esystem_fans_this_competition_is_for_you.php
Each competition has a top prize of £500 worth of Olympus camera gear of your choice. But even if you don’t get the big prize, you have a very good chance of receiving a copy of a limited edition photo book that will feature many of the images entered.
The competition closes at the end of the last day of this month, so there is no time to waste!
Good luck!
Ian Burley”

And here are the very last refurbished Olympus camera and lens deals europeans can buy at [shoplink 22691 ebay]Olympusmarket[/shoplink]:
[shoplink 26452 ebay]Olympus E-PL1 with double lens kit[/shoplink] [shoplink 26453 ebay]Olympus E-PL1 with kit lens[/shoplink] [shoplink 26454 ebay]Olympus E-450 with kit lens[/shoplink] [shoplink 26455 ebay]Olympus E-PL2 with double lens kit[/shoplink] [shoplink 26456 ebay]Olympus 17mm pancake[/shoplink] [shoplink 26457 ebay]White Olympus XZ-1[/shoplink] [shoplink 26458 ebay]Black Olympus XZ-1[/shoplink] [shoplink 26459 ebay]Olympus E-450 with double lens kit[/shoplink] [shoplink 26460 ebay]Olympus E-PL1 with kit lens[/shoplink] [shoplink 26461 ebay]Olympus E-PL2 with kit lens[/shoplink] [shoplink 26462 ebay]Olympus E-450 with kit lens[/shoplink] [shoplink 26463 ebay]Olympus E-PL1 with kit lens[/shoplink] [shoplink 26464 ebay]Olympus E-PL1 with kit lens[/shoplink] [shoplink 26465 ebay]Olympus E-PL1 with 14-150mm lens[/shoplink] [shoplink 26467 ebay]Olympus E-PL1 with kit lens[/shoplink] [shoplink 26468 ebay]Olympus E-PL1 with kit lens[/shoplink] [shoplink 26469 ebay]Olympus 14-150mm lens[/shoplink]

US deals: Panasonic 20mm for $329 (and 45-175mm X lens at Amazon and BHphoto).

October 24, 2011
deals
11 Comments

The most requested of all Micro Four Thirds lenses has seen a price drop at Vanns (now $329 Click here) and Amazon ($336 Click here). That price drop made jump the lens on first position at the Amazon mirrorless ranking sales (Click here).

The new X-lenses: The white 45-175mm X lens is in Stock at Amazon (Click here) and BHphoto (Click here).The black version is in Stock at BHphoto (Click here) only. The Black 14-42mm X lens is “temporarely out of Stock” at Amazon (Click here). The white 14-42mm X lens is in Stock via Japanese third party resellers on Amazon (Click here). But you have to pay an extra $150 for it.

Hot deal reminder: The Olympus E-P2 body is in Stock for $299 only at Amazon (Click here). That’s definitely one of the best deals I have ever seen.

Micro Four Thirds versus NEX-7 and Pentax Q.

October 24, 2011
reviews
70 Comments

When testing “non m43 cameras” many reviewers like to compare it with the mother of all mirrorless systems, Micro Four Thirds :)

Let’s start with Pentaxforums (Click here) that posted an incredibly long and detailed Pentax Q review. They included many comparisons with the [shoplink 23567]Olympus E-PL3[/shoplink]: “The new sensor technology employed in the Q has raised the cap for the image quality possible from a small sensor, but size still matters, and the Q cannot produce the same resolution and low noise as the 8 times larger sensor of our four thirds camera, the Olympus E-PL3. We chose to compare the Q to a four thirds system camera since the price is about the same and this is the closest interchangeable lens competitor in sensor size.”

Steve Huff (Click here) wrote a full NEX-7 review and compared the camera with the [shoplink 23568]Olympus E-P3[/shoplink]: “The 7 has a larger APS-C sensor, the E-P3 has a smaller 4/3 sensor. In all fairness the E-P3 is more fun to shoot and provides results that you just can not complain about. It has a cool factor and some serious mojo even with its limitations and I own it and am keeping it. BUT the NEX-7 is more serious with more potential. NEX has to win this if we are taking body to body. Lenses, Oly wins but then again“.

While I am not a big fan of the [shoplink 26437]Pentax Q[/shoplink], I have to admit the [shoplink 25396]NEX-7[/shoplink] looks very promising. Anyway, the limit of the NEX system are the quality, range and size of the lenses and the future NEX lens roadmap isn’t really appealing me. I hope Olympus and Panasonic will soon understand the potential of a camera like the NEX-7! It was on the bestseller list of Amazon US (Click here) for weeks until preorders have been stopped because of the terrible flood in Thailand that stopped the NEX-7 production. The Pentax is quite popular in Japan but not so in the rest of the world.

Also FBI is investigating the Olympus advisory fee story.

October 24, 2011
news
74 Comments

Sorry to wake you up with another bad news for Olympus. The story is developing very fast and there is a news that will bring more worries for shareholder. Reuters reports that the “U.S. Federal Bureau of Investigation is probing the massive advisory fee paid by Japan’s Olympus Corp in its takeover of a British company“.
And what is Olympus response? “Olympus has today denied reports that the fees controversy engulfing the firm could be linked to the criminal underworld (Source: AP).

Wow! Olympus you have to do more than that. Your shareholders are not believing in you anymore! Even today you lost $6,81 of your value (see screenshot on top. Source: Bloomberg.). If the shares keep falling like that an acquisition by others could become likely…

Olympus 45mm f/1.8 review (and in Stock at BHphoto).

October 23, 2011
deals, reviews
33 Comments

The Olympus 45mm f/1.8 lens is now in Stock for the first time at BHphoto (Click here). The lens is alreayd in Stock in Europe and Asia at Amazon Germany, France, UK and Japan.

And there is a new lens review at ePhotozine (Click here): “The low price may be a little misleading at first glance, as this lens is a very capable optic. Those looking for a fast aperture prime lens for portraits, photography in low light, or for greater control over depth of field will not be disappointed“.

New reviews (GF3, SLRmagic Hyperprime and 14-140mm lens)

October 23, 2011
reviews
12 Comments

[shoplink 23109]

[/shoplink] Adorama (Click here) posted a full GF3 review: “The GF3 is a sleek little camera. Its menu structure is logical, graphically pleasing and easy to navigate, and the touch controls are easily mastered making up for the lack of external controls (there are only seven). The camera is amazingly small yet easy to hold, exhibits minimal lag time (none if you prefocus) and should fit the needs of your typical well-heeled snapshooter“. GF3 links at: [shopcountry 23109].

Photozone (Click here) tested the Panasonic 14-140mm lens: “it is a compact ultra zoom lens for people who don’t just want to carry around several lenses and accept the performance penalty that are associated with such lenses.” 14-140mm links at: [shopcountry 14802].

Steve Huff (Click here) posted the full 12mm Noktor review: “When I was asked if I wanted to review this lens I was like “great, a 12mm 1.6 lens that is going to be super soft and a pain to use”. Boy was I proved wrong. So much so that this has become a fave of mine on my E-P3. The combo of the solid build and classic rendering make this a special lens for those times when you want a classic almost cinematic look.“. The lens cannot be preordered yet.

Other SLRmagic lenses for Micro Four Thirds:
SLR Magic 12-36×50 ED Straight Spotting Scope lens (w/ hand grip) is now available on [shoplink 25887 ebay]eBay (Click here)[/shoplink].
SLR magic 11mm f/1.4 lens you can preorder on [shoplink 22154 ebay]eBay (Click here)[/shoplink].
Toy Lens 26mm f/1.4 lens on [shoplink 18603 ebay]eBay (Click here)[/shoplink].
SLR Magic 35mm f/1.7 MC lens on [shoplink 14881 ebay]eBay (Click here)[/shoplink].

Panasonic 14-42mm X lens in Stock in Japan, eBay and Amazon (imported)

October 22, 2011
deals
13 Comments

The amazing tiny 14-42mm X lens is now in Stock at Amazon Japan (Click here) and of course via japanese resellers on [shoplink 25104 ebay]eBay (Click here)[/shoplink]. The status at Amazon US (Click here) changed to “Temporarily out of stock.” If you are in hurry you can find a japanese imported lens at Amazon US (Click here) for $539 instead of the normal $399 price. Full preorder search linsk at [shopcountry 25104].

The thai website gadget4thai posted a first hands-on of the lens. More (p)reviews and image samples can be found at DSLR-check (Click here), ePrice (C lick here), Clubsnap (Click here), Flickr.