Voigtländer 25mm f/0.95 finally in Stock in Germany (+ RAW image samples)

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The german store Fotomundus is the first store having the new Voigtländer 25mm f/0.95 Micro Four Thirds lens in Stock (UPDATE: Now sold out!!). Check out the Fotomundus website or the [shoplink 17032]Fotomundus eBay store (Click here)[/shoplink]. ANother german store will have the lens in Stock in a few days: [shoplink 16903]Bayern-Fotoversand eBay store (Click here)[/shoplink].

Björn Utpott posted two images taken with the GF1+Voigtländer 25mm combo. Thee is also one RAW image zou can download here: http://dl.dropbox.com/u/1778054/BU_100924_120308_F095.RW2

The new Voigtländer is 1.5 stops brighter than the [shoplink 14796]20mm f/1.7 lens[/shoplink]. The lens alone weights 410g and Björn noticed that “the camera be somewhat unstable held at arms length, reflections on the rear screen can make it difficult to judge the optimum focus distance“. “I’m still debating whether adding this lens will be a priority. On the one hand, it has amazing potential as a low light lens where you can choose to work with a relatively shallow depth of field. On the other hand, it’s quite heavy, expensive and automatic control of focus and aperture are not supported.“

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Olympus [ib] updated (+40-150mm lens review)

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Olympus [ib] version 1.3 has been released today (Download at Olympus Japan). Following features have been added:

– Added the function to upload images to Flickr.
– Added the function to upload movies to YouTube.
– Added the function to upload images to “Private Space” on [ib on the net].
– Added the function to upload images to “Share Space” on [ib on the net].
– Added the function to back up images to “Photo Bank” on [ib on the net].
– Added the function to order online-prints (Photo Print, Photo Book) on [ib on the net].

Meanwhile DC.watch posted a new Olympus 40-150mm lens review. Reminder: The new Olympus Lens is in Stock at Amazon (Black lens) and Adorama (Black and White lens).

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New Olympus 40-150mm Micro Four Thirds lens in Stock (+ deals summary)

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The new Olympus M.Zuiko Digital ED 40-150mm f/4.0-5.6 Camera Lens is in Stock at Amazon (Black lens) and Adorama (Black and White lens).

And those are ll the other current deals:
CAMERA DEALS (As usual click on store names to see visit the relative product page):
1) The Panasonic GF1+ 20mm lens is in Stock for $674.99 at Amazon.
2) The Panasonic GH1 with 14-140mm lens is in Stock for $999 at Amazon, Adorama and BHphoto. A real deal!
3) Olympus E-P2 with 14-42mm f/3.5-5.6 Zuiko Digital Zoom Lens and Electronic View Finder for $779.00 at Amazon.
4) The new Panasonic AG-AF100 Micro Four Thirds camccorder is available for preorder at BHphoto.
5) Panasonic G2 for $633 at Amazon.
6) Not a Micro Four Thirds camera but the Panasonic LX5 is in Stock for $442 at Amazon and BHphoto.

LENS DEALS:
1) Panasonic 20mm f/1.7 for $326 at Adorama and BHphoto.
2) Panasonic 7-14mm for $999 at Adorama and BHphoto.
3) The new Panasonic 8mm fisheye is in Stock for $784 at Amazon
4) The Olympus 9-18mm lens is in Stock for $555 at Amazon and BHphoto.

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(FT2) Panasonic rangefinder styled Micro Four Thirds camera

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Image on top: The one year old Panasonic patent which shows a “[shoplink 14828]DMC-LC1[/shoplink]” styled Micro Four Thirds camera.

The last week I received two emails from an anonymous sender about a completely new Panasonic Micro Four Thirds camera. Before you read the rumor please keep in mind that the message from an anonymous source and not from one of my trusted sources:

“I can not tell you all the details. There will be a new camera type of Micro Four Thirds. The first camera will have a built-in electronic viewfinder and rangefinder look ([shoplink 14828]Like the Panasonic DMC-LC1[/shoplink]). It will not have a hybrid finder solution such as Fuji X100. The dimensions are slightly larger than those of the GF1. But the body is of very high quality! The camera is in fact designed to attract all those who want quality at an affordable price (though it will cost more than [shoplink 14828]GF1[/shoplink] … certainly above $ 900-1000). It will use a new 14-megapixel sensor (the same of the future Olympus PEN).
I can not tell you more than that.”

It’s not the first time I hear/receive such rumors about a [shoplink 14828]Panasonic DMC-LC1[/shoplink] alike Micro Four Thirds camera. But the only reliable info I have is that there is a Panasonic patent with such a rangefinder MicroFourThirds design and following main features (Source: United States Patent Application 20100060771):
Built-In EVF
Titlable EVF
The EVF is able to selectively display both moving pictures and still pictures.
The EVF “could” be OLED
Built-in Flash

I also know from trusted sources that Olympus is working on a PEN with built-in EVF. If you know more about those Panasonic/Olympus compact MFT with built-in EVF feel free to contact me at 43rumors@gmail.com or use the contact form on the right sidebar! Thanks!

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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3 days with the Panasonic AG-AF100 (Philip Bloom)

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3200 ISO Panasonic AF100 from Philip Bloom on Vimeo.

Philip Bloom just posted a short impression about the 3 days spent with the new [shoplink 16841]Panasonic AG-AF100[/shoplink]: “I have shot a little footage at 3200 ISO and it looks pretty damn good! Great to have features on the camera that I miss SOOOOO much on my DSLRs. Great to have a 4 setting ND filter wheel. Great to have a really good quality waveform, XLR inputs, zebras, headphone jack (!), the list goes on and on…stuff I struggle with not having on my DSLRs. It seems to have less digital noise than my 5dmk2”

The video he posted above has been made using the M mount Voigtlander 50mm 1.1 ([shoplink 17015]click here to see the current lens auctions and price on eBay[/shoplink]) and a Fotodiox adapter.

Filippo Chiesa compared the Panasonic AG-AF100 with the Canon 5DmarkII and said: “The new Panny is terrific: no aliasing, no moiré, the rolling shutter is present but minimum, great resolution.
The release in my hands, is not the definitive one and there are some bugs in the menu (the variable frame rate doesn’t work, for example) but I’m in love with this baby.“. You can see the comparison video on vimeo (Click here).

Reminder: You can preorder the [shoplink 16841]Panasonic AG-AF100 at BHphoto (Click here)[/shoplink]. BHphoto ships to Europe too and they can calculate the taxes and shipment costs for you.

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Also Hitler complains about the missing 25p for the GH2 (Barry Greens explains why)

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Barry Green (DVXuser forum) explains why the Panaosnic didn’t add 25p recording: “I was floored when I asked them where in the world 25p went, and the response I got from one of the Lumix reps from a PAL territory was basically “what are you talking about? It has PAL support, it does 50i!” Because they think they’ve gone beyond that. They offer 50i, 60i, 50p, 60p, and 24p.
It doesn’t help the PAL users who want/need 25p, but … near as I can tell, this is their thinking. They’ve gone and enhanced the camera beyond that stuttery film-look 25p, and added 50i for the “live” video look. And frankly, for the vast majority of their customers, that’s probably true — they will probably prefer that. For PAL users who want 25p, we’re left with either a case of use 720/50p and drop every other frame, or use 1080/24p and speed it up by 4%. ”

Panasonic GH2 preorders at: Amazon US, BHphoto, Amazon UK, Amazon France.

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New worldwide Amazon mirrorless rankings!

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Amazon recently added a new bestseller category for mirrrorless cameras! That’s one more proof for the success of such cameras. But there is one BIG mistake. Amazon US names the category “Micro Four Thirds cameras” unlike other Amazon Europe stores where they call it “Compact System Cameras”. Is that a mistake or a Panasonic/Olympus marketing action?

Check out the current rankings:
– Mirrorless camera ranking at Amazon US (Click here)
– Mirrorless camera ranking at Amazon Deutschland (Click here)
– Mirrorless camera ranking at Amazon UK (Click here)
– Mirrorless camera ranking at Amazon France (Click here)

Amazon Canada and Amazon Japan do not offer the new ranking system.

What can we learn from those rankings? Generally spoken Micro Four Thirds is winning the game against Sony and Samsung. In UK and Germany, Samsung is doing surprisingly well and in France the NEX cameras are on top of the list. And the most popular camera is (as usual) the [shoplink 14828]Panasonic GF1[/shoplink].

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