There is a new firmware update for the 14-42mm II and 14-150mm Olympus lenses. Source: Olympus Japan. With the fw update the lenses will focus faster on the new [shoplink 23568]Olympus E-P3[/shoplink]!
Panasonic GF3 Hands-on Review by Digitalrev.
Pocket-Lint (Click here) tested the GF3: “Whilst the GF3 might not include everything we would have put on our wish list, for those making the step up from a point and shoot camera for the first time, this GF series Lumix is its most accessible yet. Plus, for any new users what it doesn’t offer in comparison to its predecessors won’t be missed”.
Cnet Asia (Click here) tested the new Panasonic G3: “Panasonic has impressed us with the G3’s sleek downsized chassis, but the touchscreen interface could have been more responsive“…”Though the G3 does have its quirks, the new camera offers good image quality and improved noise performance at higher ISO settings.”
The polish website with the so complicated name “Optyczne” (Click here) posted their G3 review: “After the test we have mixed feelings. On one hand, the camera offers very good image quality and low noise over a wide range of sensitivity, on the other hand, however, falls quite poorly in terms of tonal range. (google translation from polish)”
Panasonic G3 search page at [shopcountry 22077].
Panasonic GF3 search page at [shopcountry 23109].
P.s.: One of our readers told to us the Panasonic DMC-G3 kit with 14-42mm zoom lens is now available at retail in Vancouver, BC, Canada.
The E-PL3 will be in the shops from late summer in black, white, silver or red with 14-42mm II R zoom lens; pricing £549.99 for the standard kit. (Source: Photographyblog). There is no store accepting preorders yet. And only B&H (Click here) is showing them in their database (without price info). Olympus Japan also announce that a list of new E-P3 grips and caps will be available in August (See them at DC.watch).
From the new Olympus products only the 12mm is in Stock in non asian countries. At Amazon (Click here), Adorama (Click here) and B&H (Click here). The E-P3 is now out of Stock but could be in Stock at any time again at Amazon (Click here), Adorama (Click here) and B&H (Click here)!
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Just got this from a new source. As usual take it easy. I am still not sure if Fuji will join m43.
“Fujifilm’s Micro FourThirds prototype isn’t that dissimilar with their [shoplink 19929]x100[/shoplink] by the way. Many of the technologies will migrate to their maiden M43 camera. If everything goes according to plan, it is quite possible to expect an official announcement by Fujifilm before the year’s over. I’m fairly certain of this now although I cannot get confirmation about this”
UPDATE: The source is well known, I trust him a lot. But this is his first rumor! That’s why it is FT3 only…for now!
Fuji X100 camera links at [shopcountry 19929].
P.S.: I am still working on rumors. If all works fine I can give you soon some hints about the upcoming new Panasonic GF PRO camera which I hope will be similar to the [shoplink 20740 ebay]Panasonic L1 (Click here to see that cam on eBay)[/shoplink].
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
It’s not a Micro Four Thirds camera but some of you might be interested to see what kind of improvements the new FZ47/FZ48 has.
You can read the press release at Dpreview. Pity, the cameras has no RAW :(
And here is the new cheap LS5 compact camera: Dpreview press release.
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There is the next Panasonic-Leica 25mm review at Photographyblog (Click here). The lens gets Highly Recommended by the reviewer: “£548.99 / $599.99 is undoubtedly expensive for a 50mm lens for any system, but given the excellent results, creamy bokeh and snappy performance, we feel that it’s just about justified and a good investment for Micro Four Thirds who have patiently waited for a fast standard prime.”
The lens worldwide shipment starts on July 22th.And those are my affiliate search links if you want to check if it is available for preorder in your country!
Australia: Amazon, BHphoto, Digitalrev, eBay.au
Austria: Amazon.at, Pixmania.at, eBay.at
Belgium: Pixmania.be, eBay.be
Canada: Adorama, B&H, eBay.ca
China: Amazon.cn, Digitalrev, eBay
Denmark: Pixmania.dk, eBay
Finland: Pixmania.fi, eBay
France: Amazon.fr, Pixmania.fr, eBay.fr
Germany: Amazon.de, Pixmania.de, eBay.de
Hong Kong: Digitalrev, eBay, Amazon, B&H
Ireland: Amazon.uk, eBay.ie
Italy: Amazon.it, Pixmania.it, eBay.it
Japan: Amazon.jp, eBay
Netherlands: Pixmania.nl, eBay.nl
Norway: Pixmania.no, eBay
Poland: Pixmania.pl, Redcoon.pl, eBay
Singapore: Digitalrev, eBay
Spain: Redcoon.es, Pixmania.es, eBay.es
Sweden: Pixmania.se, eBay
Switzerland: Amazon.de, Pixmania.ch, eBay.ch
United Kingdom: Amazon.uk, Pixmania.uk, eBay.uk
United States: Amazon, Adorama, B&H, J&R, eBay
P.S.: Feel free to add your link if you find the lens somewhere else!!!
Dpreview posted the Olympus PEN E-P3 studio raw comparison files. But what’s even more important is that unlike Panasonic Olympus is very fast in delivering the new products! The E-P3 is now in Stock for the very first time at Amazon (Click here) and J&R (Click here). And the new top Olympus 12mm lens is also in Stock at Adorama (Click here), BHphoto (Click here) and Amazon (Click here).
One thing I noticed is that usually Panasonic stuff is first in Stock in Asia, than in Europe and than in US while Olympus stuff is first in Stock in Asia, than in US and than in Europe. So it looks like Olympus preference is for the US market instead for the European market.
