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After a couple of weeks without (m-)43 products [shoplink 22691 ebay]Olympusmarket[/shoplink] is back offering plenty of new refurbished cameras and lenses. All the products are like new and can be bought by EU citizen only. US readers can find refurbished stuff at Adorama (Click here to see the full list). Click on the products name to see the auction on eBay:
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Today it’s firmware update party! Also Olympus announced a new [shoplink 17163]Olympus E-5[/shoplink] firmware: “Firmware version 1.2 ensures the movement of the dial on the optional HLD-4 battery grip matches the movement of the selected AF point.“. You need the Olympus Digital Camera Updater software to upgrade the E-5: http://www.olympusamerica.com/cpg_section/cpg_downloads_updater.asp
It is not a Micro Four Thirds camera but many on 43rumors do own it and the news is worthy to be posted :)
Panasonic released a major firmware upgrade for the [shoplink 21136 ebay]Panasonic LX5[/shoplink] high end compact camera. You can download it here: http://panasonic.jp/support/global/cs/dsc/download/LX5/index.html
The main changes are:
Auto Focus speed-up.
[HIGH ISO NR] has been added to the [REC] menu.
Improved auto white balance performance.
[ACTIVE MODE] has been added to the [MOTION PICTURE] menu.
The AF/AE Lock operated by half-pressing the shutter button has been improved.
When [MF] is set, you can make fine adjustments to the focus using a simpler operation than before.
The position and size of the AF area you have set are now stored.
The upper limit of the shutter speed in Manual Exposure Mode has been raised. (Max 250 seconds approximately)
[MINIATURE EFFECT] has been added to My Colour Mode.
[MONITOR] / [VIEWFINDER] has been added to the [SETUP] menu.
And those are the direct LX5 search links at [shopcountry 21136].
Panasonic Japan announced a new firmware upgrde for the following lenses:
LUMIX G VARIO 7-14mm / F4.0 ASPH. (H-F007014)
LUMIX G FISHEYE 8mm / F3.5 (H-F008)
LUMIX G 14mm / F2.5 ASPH. (H-H014)
LUMIX G VARIO 14-42mm / F3.5-5.6 ASPH. / MEGA O.I.S. (H-FS014042)
LUMIX G VARIO 14-45mm / F3.5-5.6 ASPH. / MEGA O.I.S. (H-FS014045)
LUMIX G VARIO 45-200mm / F4.0-5.6 / MEGA O.I.S. (H-FS045200)
LUMIX G VARIO 100-300mm / F4.0-5.6 / MEGA O.I.S. (H-FS100300)
The update improves the tracking focusing for video recording, the silent auto focus, and the exposure control. The stability of the optical image stabilizer is also enhanced for video recording.
Doanload the firmare at http://panasonic.jp/support/global/cs/dsc/download/fts/index.html (via Slashgear).
Panasonic Leica 25mm unboxing and testing
The new Panasonic-Leica standard lens should be availble in “western” country any time soon. Time to give you an update about the latest image samples and in Stock status. First there is a comparison shot of M9+50mm and Leica 25mm on G3 on Flickr (its huge size!). Also at Steve Digicams Forum you can find image samples of the E-P3 with the Leica 25mm. And a lucky owner shared some pictures at Dpreview forum.
So, where can you find the lens in Stock?
Of course in Asia at Amazon Japan and [shoplink 23110 ebay]eBay[/shoplink]. In Europe there are some of them in Stock at Amazon UK at Amazon France. US readers have to be patient (preorders at Adorama and J&R).
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The Samyang is the second third party lens (non Oly non Pana lens) after the [shoplink 15659 ebay]Voigtländer Nokton 25mm f/0.95[/shoplink]. I am not a fisheye fan but I know Samyang can do very good lenses. I do hope they will announce more m43 lenses soon! Meanwhile let’s see how this lens performs! Lenstip (Click here) tested the brand new Samyang 7.5mm. And there are only good news! The lens has a “sensational image quality in the center of the frame…excellent image quality on the edge of the frame, including the maximum relative aperture“. There is only ver low chromatic aberration, almost no astigmatism, no coma and well balanced vignetting. The only “Cons” for the polish website is the lack of depth of field scale. You can find plenty of image samples after their conclusion text.
The lens is already in Stock on [shoplink 25327 ebay]eBay[/shoplink]:
[shoplink 25325 ebay]Click here to buy the Black Samyang 7.5mm lens[/shoplink].
[shoplink 25326 ebay]Click here to buy the Silver Samyang 7.5mm lens[/shoplink].
UPDATE: There is a hands-on video on the facebook page of ThePhoBlographer.
UPDATE: Good news folks! You can preorder the new 14-42mm X lens for $349 only at Adorama (Click here). That’s $50 less than you pay at Amazon (Click here) or BHphoto (Click here). That’s a quite good price for the new high quality lens with powerzoom and with that incredibly tiny size.
Now the only question is. When will that lens be in Stock? BH says the arrival is October but if Panasonic is going to mess it like it did with the [shoplink 23110]Leica 25mm standard lens[/shoplink] than we will have to wait at least a couple until November :(
It is not a secret that sooner or later Olympus will make a Micro Four Thirds camera that will be on par with the best Olympus Four Thirds camera (which currently is the [shoplink 17163 ebay]E-5[/shoplink]). But what will happen with Four Thirds lenses? They do not focus as fast on m43 camera as the new m43 lenses. The answer is coming from a new Olympus patent. It discloses an adapter that has built-in lenses. Those lenses will help Four Thirds lenses to have a much faster contrast autofocus. You can read a google translation of the Japanese patent at Egami (Click here).
It’s quite a complex design and It is up to our expert readers to understand the tiny technical details. My work now is to try to get some info about the Olympus PRO m43 camera that will replace the [shoplink 17163 ebay]E-5[/shoplink]…maybe next year? ;)
