(FT5) Uematsu (Panasonic) says: There will be no GH3 this year (not a surprise).

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Ok, that’s certainly not a surprise but at least it is official. Techaradar (Click here) talked with Mr. Uematsu from Panasonic and confirmed that “there will not be an upgrade to the GH2 by the end of the year“. And he also said that “Photokina 2012 would be very important for Panasonic“. All I know from my sources is that the GH3 will support AVCHD 2.0 with 1080/50p(60p) recording at 28mbit/s. EVF will be MUCH improved and the sensor will very likely have global shutter (like the [shoplink 25766]Nikon J1[/shoplink] and [shoplink 2567]V1[/shoplink] cameras).

The only camera we will see long before Photokina will be probably the GF PRO camera (named GF7, or GX1) which could be a sort of Panasonic L1 in Micro Four Thirds version([shoplink 20740 ebay]Click here to see that cam on eBay)[/shoplink]. The GF PRO will be announced in December/early January right before the CES event in Las Vegas.

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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Olympus 12mm review and 45mm first look.

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The video on top is made by Steve Huff. This is really one of the must have lens (like the [shoplink 14796]20mm f/1.7 lens[/shoplink]). It’s relatively cheap but with imrpessive performance. As Steve says: “I will have a review soon but I can already tell you that I love it and feel it is well worth the $399 investment.” You can check price and availability of the lens by clicking those links: [shopcountry 23577].

There is a new Olympus 12mm lens test at Photoreview (Click here): “Imatest testing showed the review lens to be a good, though not stellar, performer on the basis of JPEG files from the PEN E-PL3. Best performance was at f/2.5. There was a gradual decline in resolution from f/5.6 on as apertures were reduced“.
The lens is in Stock at [shopcountry 23576].

For US readers: The Panasonic 20mm pancake got another $10 price drop It is in Stock for $339 at Amazon (Click here).

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New reviews of all three new PEN cameras!

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Cameralabs (Click here) posted the full [shoplink 23568]Olympus E-P3[/shoplink] review: “The most flattering thing I can say about the Olympus Pen E-P3 is that I would definitely take it on holiday again. In terms of portability and general handling there’s very little to find fault with. As I was travelling, I decided against taking additional lenses and found the M Zuiko Digital 14-42mm f3.5-5.6 II R kit lens proved to be really versatile and produced excellent results.” With an overall score of 83% the camera gets Recommended!

ThePhoBlographer (Click here) posted a new [shoplink 23565]Olympus E-PM1[/shoplink] review: “This is a camera that us camera geeks can probably give to the less tech savvy members in the family providing we don’t mind wanting to play the role of tech support specialist. For the younger user that actively makes a camera a part of their life, they’ll become smitten with this camera. For the older generations, I’m not too sure what to say. My mother did figure it out when I walked her through it, but ended the session with, “Next you need to show me how to upload the photo to the computer.””

DC.watch (Click here) tested the [shoplink 23568]Olympus E-P3[/shoplink].

Photoreview (Click here) posted the [shoplink 23567]E-PL3[/shoplink] review and earned a good rating of 8.5/10: “Low-light performance was generally good with long exposures using ISO settings up to 1600, where image noise started to become apparent. Resolution began to decline from ISO 1600 on and noise was apparent at ISO 3200, although shots remained printable up to A4 size. By ISO 6400, noise was quite obvious in long exposures and at ISO 12800, colour reproduction was affected and images were blotchy and unsharp.”

Also Digitalcamerareview (Click here) tested the [shoplink 23567]E-PL3[/shoplink]: “If you want a compact camera with articulating LCD, a great selection of lenses and very good image quality, the E-PL3 is a smart choice. However, you have to put up with a camera that is downright “painful” to hold, displays a relatively tiny image on only part of the LCD, lacks a built-in flash, and doesn’t deliver noise-free high ISO.”

Those are the search shop links to all three new PEN cameras. Click on it to check price and availability:
Olympus E-P3 [shopcountry 23568].
Olympus E-PL3 [shopcountry 23567].
Olympus E-PM1 [shopcountry 23565].

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Patent: Sigma is ready to launch a 75-300mm f/4.8-6.7 Micro Four Thrids lens?

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Image on top: The Sigma 75-300mm f/4.8-6.7 design

It’s only a matter of months that Sigma will release the very first Micro Four Thirds lens(es). But what kind of lens should we expect? The Japanese blog Egami (Click here) found a new Sigma patent which describes the characteristics of the Sigma 75-300mm f/4.8-6.7 Micro Four Thirds lens. It has inner focusing and should have a fast AF design. I am not particularly excited about that lens. We already have an [shoplink 15861 ebay]Olympus 75-300mm f/4.8-6.7[/shoplink] and a [shoplink 16261 ebay]Panasonic 100-300mm f/4-5.6 O.I.S[/shoplink] lens. So please Sigma, release some nice fast (possibly pancake) lens first!

P.S.: Links to the current tele-zoom lenses:
Olympus 75-300mm f/4.8-6.7 at [shopcountry 15861].
Panasonic 100-300mm f/4-5.6 O.I.S at [shopcountry 16261].

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Double Panasonic X 14-42mm lens review!

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You can now read the first Panasonic 14-42mm X lens review at ePrice (Click here for the google english translation). The image on top is enough to make me say WOW what a lens! A month ago would you ever have thought it would be possible to make a zoom lens that has almost the size of the [shoplink 14796 ebay]20mm f/1.7 pancake[/shoplink]? I guess the answer is NO! ePrice posted a couple of image samples and some youtube videos. And if the google translation tool is annoying you to much there is another good news. The guys over at Clubsnap (Click here) wrote a short 14-42mm X lens preview in native English! More image samples have been posted by Reality Scanner here on Flickr.

Overall I am impressed by this lens. Image samples do look very good, powerzoom is smooth and responsive and it’s so tiny! I already preordered this lens which will be available soon in October!

Here are the direct search links to [shopcountry 25104].

And below you can find all the shops I usually check to see if a the lens is in Stock:
[shoplist 25104]

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Nikon’s new system development started before the first m43 camera (+ Olympus interview).

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Techradar (Click here) had a small chat with Mark Thackara (national marketing manager, consumer products for Olympus UK). They talked about the new Nikon mirrorless system: “There will be the usual debates about the various performance pros and cons relating to image quality, flexibility and so on, but my view is that it will be the overall system that is vital to success and battle lines are drawn“. And “It is not size however that Thackara believes will be paramount to compact system success, but the quality of the system as a whole“.

The probably most interesting news is coming via Imaging Resource (Click here). They interviewed MR. Masahiro Suzuki (General Manager R&D, Nikon). He said the Nikon 1 system development started four years ago; just before the Micro Four Thirds announcement. They worked quite a long time on it!

 

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New Eos to m43 adapter with aperture control.

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Redrock announced the new LiveLens MFT’s control touchpad that allows the full control of EF lens aperture! The aperture ring can be open and closed in increments as small as 1/3 stop. (Imaging Resource). That is definitely a more advanced (but also much more expensive) solution than using the manual Kipon adpater ([shoplink 20746 ebay]click here to see them on eBay[/shoplink]).

P.S.: And Birger will also announce a new product soon (Maybe a new Eos to m43 adapter?).

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