43 Rumors – Page 2266 – Panasonic and Olympus Digital Camera News

Fuji X100 hybrid Viewfinder (something we would love to see inside a MFT camera)

January 13, 2011
news
60 Comments

I am sure many of you are curious to see how the Fuji X100 hybrid viewfinder works. And by the way, we were told that Olympus is working on very similar concepts. For example with the use of semitransparent OLED viewfinders. Fuji said: “We cannot say whether other companies are going to follow in our footsteps, but in view of the speed with which other manufacturers’ technology is currently adopted, it’s possible this might happen.” But those are just rumors so enjoy the video!

The Fuji X100 should cost around $1.000-1.2000. Click here to signup at Amazon to be notified when it becomes available for preorder.

P.S.: Fuji is part of the Four Thirds group!

(FT5) Panasonic 25mm f/1.4 without O.I.S and not Leica branded (the 12-50mm lens with Power O.I.S.)

January 13, 2011
Rumors
107 Comments

[shoplink 14959][/shoplink] The [shoplink 14959]Four Thirds Panasonic/Leica 25mm[/shoplink] lens

According to our trusted sources the upcoming Micro Four Thirds lens will not feature in lens stabilization. And unlike the [shoplink 14959]Four Thirds version[/shoplink] the lens will NOT be Leica branded! One source told us the lens should be available in April!

We have also an update on the 12-50mm f/2.5-3.3 lens. The lens has Power O.I.S and not Mega O.I.S. stabilization. The difference explained by Panasonic: “The newly developed POWER O.I.S. (Optical Image Stabilizer) nearly doubles the hand-shake correction power of conventional MEGA O.I.S.”

We also heard that there could be one (or two?) more lenses. We are currently investigating those new rumors…

Feel free to share rumors by using the anonymous contact form on the right sidebar. Or contact me at 43rumors@gmail.com. Thanks!

Panasonic LX5 sensor tested at DxOmark

January 13, 2011
reviews
20 Comments

DxOmark tested the [shoplink 16886]Panasonic LX5[shoplink 14796] sensor which is also the heart of the Olympus XZ-1. As you can see the LX5 is on par with the Samsung EX1/TL500 and behind the Canon S95 sensor.

P.S.: Olympus XZ-1 preorders at Amazon, Adorama, Amazon Deutschland, Amazon France and Amazon UK.

New Panasonic GF2 review (+ BHphoto shows the GF2 price)

January 12, 2011
reviews
20 Comments

[shoplink 17361]

[/shoplink]

Digitalcamerareview tested the new Panasonic GF2. They wrote a five page long article and tested also the new [shoplink 16258]14mm f/2.5[/shoplink] lens. Conclusions are as usual on the last page. Interesting, the reviewer says that it will be a real challenge for Nikon to make a better mirrorless camera than the GF2.

P.S.: BHphoto (Click here) has pricing up for the GF2:
14mm kit -$699
14-45mm kit – $599
Body only – $499

Kowa 55mm f/1.0 review (suprise, it is a 90mm lens!)

January 12, 2011
reviews
34 Comments

[shoplink 16724 ebay]

[/shoplink]3Dkraft.de tested the [shoplink 16724 ebay]Kowa 55mm f/1.0[/shoplink] which has been modified to match the MicroFourThirds mount. The tester discovered that the modified version in reality has a 90mm focal length (180mm in Full Frame terms)!!! As you can imagine the lens is very soft wide open but pretty sharp at f/2.8 (and because of the tele characteristic it still offers a very shallow depth of field). You can buy the modified Kowa 55mm f/1.0 on [shoplink 16724 ebay]eBay (Click here)[/shoplink].

(FT5) Olympus France says innovative products will be announced starting from February-March

January 12, 2011
Rumors
33 Comments

Image on top: The Olympus teaser that was posted a few days before the [shoplink 14832]Olympus E-PL1[/shoplink] launch in February 2010

Usually January is a boring time for those of like me try to catch rumors. But the rumors I do receive in those days do prelude an even more exciting time than we had it at Photokina last year! Both Panasonic and Olympus will release tons of new stuff. It looks like Olympus had to make an unusual January announcement of the new [shoplink 18844]Olympus E-PL2[/shoplink] at the CES in Las Vegas to make “room” for the future product announcements :)

The french website “Forum Olympus France” had a smalltalk with Christopher Valentine (Marketing Director, Olympus France). At the end of the interview Christopher explains how Olympus will expand their market share in France (google English translation): “I think we can legitimately aim for the fourth place of the photo market in France (in volume). In order to do so, Olympus will be able to lever notably on the products presented today (Jan 6, 2011), but also on other particularly ground breaking novelties that we will be announcing shortly and throughout the year. Thus, announcements will be made next February and March, others will follow…..”

As you know Olympus will announce at least one pro Micro Four Thirds camera and three new pro pancakes within June!

How to write your user reviews on 43rumors.

January 12, 2011
news
11 Comments

Very often I do receive questions like “What should I buy” or “is the camera/lens good enough for me” and so on. That’s why I had the idea to add a user review section on 43rumors. If you take a look at the camera database on top you see a new link “User rating: xxx of 10” (where xxx stays for the average user rating). If you click on it you can rate the product and add your personal review. This will help other 43rumors readers to know more about the camera/lens they want to buy. To be able to write reviews you MUST BE a 43rumors member. You can register here: https://www.43rumors.com/register/. If you have any problem while registering contact me at 43rumors@gmail.com. Feel free to add your links to flickr or personal website to show your best pictures. You can also respond to other user reviews.

The new user review feature is in beta stage! Feel free to add suggestions to improve it! Thanks!

P.S.: You know see a small scrolling graph at the bottom of the camera database. There is more and more Micro Four Thirds stuff coming and that should make it a little bit more easier to understand where you are while scrolling the database. You can also click on the single sections to jump from one site to another!