New underwater housing for the Panasonic LX5

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If you own the Panasonic LX5 you might be interested to take a look at the new Nauticam underwater housing. It has a depth rating of 75 meters and will sell for $950. You can read the full specs here: http://nauticamusa.com/. It’s a lot more expensive than the [shoplink 21531]Ikelite housing (Click here ot see that item on eBay)[/shoplink] which costs $545 only. I am not an expert and I don’t know if the price difference is justified because of better specs.

Olympus XZ-1 user do have an even cheaper alternative: The Olympus PT-050 which is available for around $300 (300 Euro) at [shopcountry 21532].
Olympus E-PL1 user can get the Olympus PT-EP01 at [shopcountry 21533].
and the E-PL2 user can get the Olympus PT-EP03 at [shopcountry 21535].

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(FT5) Small pieces of G3 rumors…(and I am travelling to Antwerp)

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A fake and completely unrealistic G3 rendering (but I liked it) Source: Iffo.nl

I am on the road to Antwerp (Belgium) and it will take a few hours (exactly 11 hours drive) until I will be there. I hope I will not find any big traffic jam like the historic Florence jam in December (9 hours stuck in the snow) and the jam in Aachen in late December (4 hours…again snow.). It shouldn’t snow in Belgium at that time :) so I am quite confident I will be at my home in a reasonable time. I am writing this because I will have no Internet connection and comments that do need moderation will have to wait for my arrival.

And here is the news:
I asked my sources if they can give me some more details about the G3. I didn’t get a lot of info. First, the announcement will be made on May 11th (London time) and not on May 12th. Second, I got confirmation that the new 16 Megapixel sensor is NOT a multi aspect sensor. It’s a completely new sensor, but I don’t know yet if Panasonic managed it to improve the noise performance and dynamic range. Third, the design. Confess, you got a heart-attack when you first saw the image on top or not? Like you I am also hoping that Panasonic will sooner or later make a Micro Four Thirds version of the L1/LC1 camera ([shoplink 17020]Click here to see them on eBay[/shoplink]). That would kick in the xxx of the [shoplink 19929 ebay]Fuji X100[/shoplink] ;). Kill your dreams and let’s go back to the cruel real world. The G3 is not the L1/LC1 copy. Compared to the [shoplink 14834]Panasonic G2[/shoplink] the G3 is…more compact. It’s a bit like the difference between the [shoplink 14828]GF1[/shoplink] and the newer smaller [shoplink 17361]GF2[/shoplink]. Panasonic reduced the size, added more touchscreen options and removed some physical controls. Don’t know if you will like that change!
I didn’t hear anything yet about possible new “revolutionary” features and honestly I don’t think there will be spectacular surprises. The real new thing here is the 16 Megapixel sensor and the new design.

For the rest I am still trying to get some info about the next Olympus PEN. Sounds like it’s not in the near future (next 2-3 months). Don’t know yet if there was a delay or whatever. The good news is that I started to receive some info about the lenses. I am double-triple checking the specs with other sources. As usual if you can help me with rumors contact me at 43rumors@gmail.com or use the contact form on the right sidebar. You can avoid to send me your name and contact address and no IP-address gets stored. Thanks!

Links to the cameras discussed in that post:
UPDATE -> Link fixed: The dreamers camera, the LC1 search results at [shopcountry 17020 ebay] (don’t know if you can find it in Stock)
The older but very popular Panasonic GF1 at [shopcountry 14828].
The newer more compact and touchscreen Panasonic GF2 at [shopcountry 17361].
The Panasonic G2 at [shopcountry 14834].

P.S.: Message for Panasonic: take a look at the crazy expensive [shoplink 19929 ebay]Fuji X100 auctions on eBay (Click here)[/shoplink]. You might get an idea why we want the LC1 back :)

P.P.S.: First 43rumors mini-meeting in Antwerpen (Belgium) on Saturday 23 April at 15.00. Location: Bar 2 (Vrijdagmarkt). For those of you that want to participate please drop me an email at 43rumors@gmail.com.

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New GF2, 14mm lens and XZ-1 reviews

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[shoplink 17361][/shoplink] Our friends over at Quesabesde just published the full Panasonic GF2 review (Click here to read the google english translation). The review starts with an almost undeniable truth (attention google translated text!): “keep one thing very clear: the miniaturization has also affected the philosophy of the model, now more oriented to new users that experienced photographers.“..”A simpler and smaller camera is not what many expected, but we must recognize that their potentially commercially speaking, can be mostly targeted at all those users making the transition from a compact and want something of higher quality but much larger .“…”Moreover, during the time we spent with this camera has proved an excellent and inseparable companion for those days when simply too lazy to carry all the equipment.”
Quesabesde also tested the new Panasonic 14mm f/2.5 lens: “Made the relevant warnings, the performance of this light fixed lens (the official price is around 400 euros) is correct, but not great or as good as expected from a fixed lens. Although we have no complaints in terms of contrast, resolution and control of aberrations, distortion and vignetting especially when we use the maximum aperture are somewhat excessive.”
Direct links to the Panasonic GF2: [shopcountry 17361].
Direct links to the Panasonic 14mm f/2.5: [shopcountry 16258].

Geek.com (Click here) tested the Olympus XZ-1: “overall, the Olympus XZ-1 is a fantastic camera if you are looking for a serious compact. It’s fun to use and takes fantastic images. That noted, the video needs work and if you want something this size you should seriously be considering Micro Four Thirds. If you want to stick with a fixed lens I’d recommended the XZ-1 over the Canon G12 or the LX-5. The S95 has a size and price advantage so that will come down to user preference.”
Click those direct links to check out the XZ-1 price and availability: [shopcountry 19904].

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NABshow images of the Panasonic booth (And Four Thirds website adds a new Cine System Page)

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Herman Wong sent us a bunch of very nice pictures of the Panasonic booth at the NABshow in Las Vegas. You can see them here: https://picasaweb.google.com/108753860378700835441/

And 43rumors reader Rob sent us the link to the new Cine section of the Four Thirds Group website: http://www.four-thirds.org/en/microft/cine-sys.html. It adds very useful information’s to the Zeiss CP.2, Schneider Cine Xenar lenses and the HORSEMAN TS-pro (a tilt/shift lens control system that enables tilt shooting with an ordinary lens).

Shop Links:
The Zeiss CP.2 primes at [shopcountry 15756]).
Schneider Cine-Xenar primes at  [shopcountry 21514]).

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DxOmark: Fuji X100 sensor outperforms the best m43 sensors

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How does the Fuji sensor perform against the best m43 sensors? According to DxOmark (Click here) the Fuji can deliver better results in all measured aspects (Color depth, Dynamic range and ISO performance).  A bit surprising to see that the older [shoplink 14826]Panasonic GH1[/shoplink] is the best m43 camera here. Anyway, you have also to take into consideration other aspects of the camera. DxOmark measures the RAW performance of the sensor (not the .jpg results). And if you need decent video quality nothing beats the GH cameras. The main “advantage” of the X100 is the hybrid viewfinder and (if you like it too) the classic design and button layout. But it’s also an expensive fixed lens camera only. Price on [shoplink 19929 eBay]eBay (Click here)[/shoplink] is crazy high. Preorders with a bit more “affordable” prices are available at J&R (Click here), Adorama (Click here), Amazon UK (Click here) and Digitalrev (Click here).

Let’s cross the finger that Fuji will join m43. We need other sensor makers to put some pressure on Panasonic!

—
P.S.: If you are located in US than you definitely should take a look on those GH1 deals:
1) Panasonic GH1 with 14mm lens for $699 at Amazon (Click here). The lens alone costs $364. and if you would buy it separately with the GH1 it would cost you a total of $764. With that deal you save $64!
2) Panasonic GH1 with 20mm lens for $699 at Amazon (Click here). The lens alone costs $399. You save $99!
3) Panasonic GH1 with 45-200mm lens for $649 at Amazon (Click here). The lens alone costs $349. You save $100!
4) Panasonic GH1 with 14-45mm lens for $649 at Amazon (Click here). The lens alone costs $359. You save $90!
5) Panasonic GH1 with 14-42mm lens for $499 at Amazon (Click here). The lens alone costs $199. You save $100!

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a little bit of everything…with new m43 bag from Think Thank Photo

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Think Tank Photo just announced the upcoming release of our first camera bag specifically designed for Micro Four Thirds systems. It is called the Retrospective 5: http://www.thinktankphoto.com/products/retrospective-5-pinestone.aspx

The first “german” Fuji X100 is for sale on [shoplink 21487 ebay]eBay (Click here)[/shoplink].
Panasonic Announces AVCCAM Importer Software Accelerating And Streamlining Import Of AVCHD Files Into Final Cut Pro (Imaging Resource).
The first Micro Four Thirds only shop in Spain: http://www.micro43.net/.
Panasonic Lumix DMC-TZ18 Review (Photographyblog).
iSuppli on Japan Image Sensor Industry Hit by Disaster (Image Sensor World)
The 1-Minute Food Pic (TVsmith)

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Olympus XZ-1 firmware update coming soon?

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[shoplink 19904][/shoplink]

Steve Digicam’s reports that a new firmware update (version 1.2) has been published. He says following features will be added “picture orientation: Horizontal/Vertical, to the camera menu. The camera will record which way the image was oriented when captured, so in playback, the orientation of an image can be rotated by using the control ring. The desired orientation is then saved in the Exif portion of the image file. Photographers can choose to turn this function on or leave it off.”

Olympus Japan doesn’t list the new firmware. Maybe Steve published the news to early :)

Check out the XZ-1 direct links at [shopcountry 19904].

P.S.: There is a $7 price drop on the XZ-1 on Amazon (Click here).

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