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MicroFourThirds posts

Olympus E-P2 official, patches over E-P1 problems and jacks up the price

by Paul Miller posted Nov 5th 2009 at 1:01AM

Functionality-wise there's not much to complain about the new Olympus E-P2, and in fact it pretty much exactly addresses all the primary issues with the E-P1. The main physical difference is an accessory port right behind and below the hot-shoe, which allows for plugging in the new VF-2 Electronic View Finder, or alternatively the EMA-1 audio input module. We would've preferred to have both simultaneously, but we'll take what we can get. In movie mode the camera now supports full manual shutter and aperture control, and the new Continuous Autofocus tracking system works both for stills and for video. The E-P2 has a new black paint job, but otherwise seems mostly unchanged, with just a few effects and a new "iEnhance" color adjustment mode rounding out the new features. Olympus will actually sell both of these micro four thirds cameras simultaneously, but here comes the real kicker: the E-P2 will retail in kit for for $1,099, a whopping $300 more than the E-P1 -- less than the comparable GH1, but still more than an entry-level DSLR. That cash gets you either an ED 14-42mm f3.5/5.6 Zuiko Digital Zoom Lens or a 17mm f2.8 Zuiko Digital Zoom Lens, and both versions come with an Electronic View Finder standard. Check out the full PR after the break.

Gallery: Olympus E-P2 official

Continue reading Olympus E-P2 official, patches over E-P1 problems and jacks up the price

Olympus E-P2 leaks out again, brings along lofty price tag

by Darren Murph posted Nov 4th 2009 at 4:31PM

We heard way back in August that an E-P2 could be on tap for a late 2009 release, and while it doesn't appear that the actual ship date will happen before next year, we'd be shocked if Olympus didn't come clean with its second Micro Four Thirds camera here soon. We've seen leak after leak after leak, and now we're staring at what appears to be a few press images of the not-yet-released camera. Reportedly, the 12.1 megapixel shooter will feature AF tracking, an electronic viewfinder, a black color option, 3fps shooting and a 720p movie mode. Nothing earth-shattering, but an appreciated update nonetheless. We're told that it'll be available across the pond in January for the mildly stunning price of £849 ($1,406), but at least that sum includes a 14-42mm lens. Or so they say.

Olympus E-P2 tap keeps leaking, new viewfinder now on show

by Vladislav Savov posted Oct 30th 2009 at 10:11AM

Now this is how you build up anticipation for a new product. Start off with just the name accidentally popping up on one of your corporate websites in order to get our imaginations flowing, then leak a teeny tiny image of the optional viewfinder. There's actually a good bit of info here -- you can tell the new attachment (titled VF-2) seems to be vertically adjustable, something missing from the previous generation, but there's also the bogus news that it'll fit only the forthcoming E-P2. The silver lining to that knowledge, though, is that the body we can only partially see must be the as yet unannounced E-P1 successor, which means the new Micro Four Thirds shooter will at least have the option of a black body... which some people care about. Deeply.

Olympus E-P2 leaked in the most insignificant of ways

by Darren Murph posted Oct 29th 2009 at 3:04AM

Olympus' E-P1 micro four thirds camera only hit the market a few months ago, but already it seems as if a successor is inching closer to release. A peek at the outfit's official Chinese website shows a panel and link for a "new" E-P2 camera, though it seems as if the page it's listed on isn't quite complete. Still, we're guessing there's a reason of some sort it's listed, but we're still struggling to find the patience required to see this whole thing through.

[Via 4/3Rumors]

How would you change Panasonic's Lumix DMC-GH1?

by Darren Murph posted Sep 19th 2009 at 1:01AM

Olympus' E-P1 may be cuter, but it was Panny's own Lumix DMC-GH1 carrying the Micro Four Thirds banner for quite some time. After an excruciatingly painful wait for it to slide from concept to production, it was largely met with praise from the industry. Of course, smaller rivals have since emerged, leaving early adopters with an expensive piece of larger-than-necessary kit. Still, we're anxious to hear if you MFT believers that jumped at the chance to own a GH1 are still satisfied with your decision. Is the image quality where it should be? Are the controls implemented well? Do you have to keep stealing it back from your lady friend? Rip it or praise it, but whatever you do, do it in comments below.

Olympus E-P1 meets 50-200mm SWD lens monstrosity, hilarity ensues

by Paul Miller posted Sep 5th 2009 at 11:02AM

We've already seen plenty of the Olympus E-P1, but when we dropped by Olympus' booth today at IFA we just couldn't resist slapping on the biggest lens they had, courtesy of the micro four thirds to standard four thirds adapter, and shooting a bit of dramatic show floor footage. The verdict? It's totally impractical, especially because there's no autofocus during video with certain lenses, meaning we're stuck working the manual focus ring, D90-style. Still, we didn't expect anything different, and our short film entitled "People Wandering Around, Totally Out of Focus" really made the effort worth while. Oh, and for our money? The white model is about twice as sexy as the gray. Videos are after the break.

Gallery: Olympus E-P1 meets 50-200mm SWD lens monstrosity

Continue reading Olympus E-P1 meets 50-200mm SWD lens monstrosity, hilarity ensues

How would you change Olympus' E-P1?

by Darren Murph posted Sep 4th 2009 at 11:05PM

Just look at that little bugger. Ain't it just so cute? All jesting aside, the adorably retro piece of kit you're inevitably peering at above rings up at $799 to $899, meaning that it's priced way too high to be slotted in most consumers' impulse buy category. Olympus' E-P1 was launched with high hopes, and it pretty much held the weight of the Micro Four Thirds world on its shoulders. During our time with the unit, we found image quality to be satisfactory overall and the design to be simply stunning, but we certainly didn't come away feeling it was flawless. For those of you who overlooked the entry-level DSLR in order to try something different, how has that decision treated you? Are you full of remorse? Could you not be happier? Spill all in comments below.

Panasonic goes rangefinder with the Lumix DMC-GF1

by Nilay Patel posted Sep 2nd 2009 at 12:01AM

We've been wondering when Panasonic would do something a little more interesting with a Micro Four Thirds sensor than simply pack it into an SLR-style body, and it looks like the new Lumix DMC-GF1 is the first step along that road. First leaked early last month, the spec sheet aligns pretty closely to the similarly sweet-looking Olympus E-P1, although most of the numbers max out a little lower: 12.1 megapixel Live MOS sensor with ISO 3200 sensitivity, 720p 30fps AVCHD Lite or Motion JPEG video (sorry, no mic input), three-inch LCD, and HDMI out. (In terms of size it's a wash: the GF1 is less wide, but it's a tick taller, and they're both about the same thickness, although the GF1 has a built-in flash.) Ready for the bad news? Panny's going to be selling this thing in two kits come October, one with a 20mm/f1.7 "pancake" lens and the other with a 14-45mm/f3.5-5.6 zoom, and both are priced at $900 -- not including the optional viewfinder attachment. Yeah, that's a lot of scratch, especially since the E-P1 has slightly better specs and lists for $800. We'll see what street prices look like after a couple months, but for now we're, oh, let's say, "waiting to be convinced." Full press release after the break.

Update: Well, what do you know? PhotographyBLOG has a nice gallery of sample shots up to give you a solid idea of what this bad boy's capable of.

Continue reading Panasonic goes rangefinder with the Lumix DMC-GF1

Panasonic Lumix GF1 banner ad hits the web, still not official

by Ross Miller posted Sep 1st 2009 at 7:26PM

So much for subtle, ambiguous leaks. As a great follow-up to the first blurry pics we saw of Panasonic's Lumix GF1, someone over at dpreview apparently pulled the trigger a little early and posted a vertical banner ad for the micro four thirds camera, with the tag line "DSLR photo quality in ultra compact flat design." 4/3rumors has some of the other ad variants if you're curious -- so now that its ad campaign is primed for launch, anyone care to take a guess how much longer we'll be waiting for its full debut?

[Via Photo Rumors; thanks, Ren K]

Purported Olympus E-600 apparently spotted in the wild

by Donald Melanson posted Aug 26th 2009 at 2:28PM

This one is being greeted with a fair bit of skepticism on the forums given its seemingly odd placement in Olympus' lineup but, if the pictures are to be believed, it looks like the company could be set to release a new E-600 ~~Micro~~ classic Four Thirds camera -- and soon, considering it's already in a camera shop. As you can see above, however, the camera looks a fair bit like Olympus' existing entry-level E-620 DSLR, and there's unfortunately no specs to speak of, although the E-600 model name did apparently crop up in another rumor a few weeks back. Is it the real thing? Hit up the link below for a closer look to judge for yourself.

[Via 4/3 Rumors, thanks Enzo]

Rumored Micro Four Thirds Panasonic GF1 gets pictured

by Donald Melanson posted Aug 6th 2009 at 1:51PM

Well, this one's a bit out of the blue, but a member of the Xitek.com forums has produced this image of a hereto unheard of Micro Four Thirds Panasonic Lumix GF1 that's purported to come from an internal Panasonic PDF. A second image (after the break, and full size at the link below), also reveals a few more interesting details, like a port below the hotshoe that would presumably be used for a detachable EVF, and a built-in pop-up flash. Otherwise, about all that's clear is that the camera itself appears to be slightly smaller than the Olympus E-P1, and that it's prompted an endless stream of speculation on the photography forums.

[Via Digital Photography Review]

Continue reading Rumored Micro Four Thirds Panasonic GF1 gets pictured

Olympus E-P1 review roundup

by Darren Murph posted Jul 17th 2009 at 9:03AM

Olympus did its darnedest to drum up hype for the recently unveiled E-P1 Micro Four Thirds shooter, and while we already shared our two pennies on the thing, we figured it prudent to round up the best of the best from elsewhere on the web to give you a fuller picture. The long and short of it is this: the E-P1 is universally praised in terms of image quality, with the only real knock in that department going to higher-than-likable noise levels in low-light scenarios. Still, a camera is about more than just the output, and reviewers were quick to lament the dearth of an integrated viewfinder and flash. Furthermore, critics panned the camera for being slow to focus, oftentimes requiring well over half a second to finally settle and snap a shot. That said, we couldn't find anyone who wasn't won over by the image quality, but we'd make darn sure those other nuisances won't frustrate you to no end before falling for the cute factor.

Read - PhotographyBLOG
Read - DigiCamReview
Read - photocrati
Read - PhotographyPress
Read - OutbackPhoto
Read - CNET
Read - Steves Digicams

Olympus E-P1 available to those willing to pay a little premium

by Tim Stevens posted Jul 14th 2009 at 7:13AM

If you've been lusting over the latest Micro Four Thirds entrant from Olympus just like we have since we first saw the E-P1, you'll be happy to know that it has finally entered that special time in its life when it's not available through mainstream retailers just yet, but it is available -- if you're willing to pay a bit more than Amazon's (still unshipped) pre-order asking price of $749. Kit prices of the body with the 14 - 42mm kit lens we tested are right now ranging between $799 (MSRP) and $899 (a Benjamin premium) at various Amazon affiliates, and while anyone willing to refrain from clicking the "Buy" button for a week or three will surely save quite a bit, waiting is such a bother.

[Thanks, Ron M.]

Panasonic Lumix DMC-GH1 gets reviewed, recommended

by Joseph L. Flatley posted Jul 10th 2009 at 2:48PM

If all those recently unveiled sample shots from Panasonic's Lumix DMC-GH1 have left you wanting more, you're in luck. The kids at Digital Photography Review have got their hands on the thing and have been kind enough to give us an extensive review. Rocking a Four Thirds imaging sensor, HD-video mode (with stereo sound recording), a multi-aspect sensor, and a video-optimized lens, the camera is essentially the G1 with HD-video, according to the review. Not that that's a bad thing, especially when noting that it has "the best implementation of video on a 'non-compact camera' that we've seen so far." Among the camera's strong points are its resolution, size and weight, build quality, image stabilization, and shutter-speed simulation. Still the reviewer didn't look kindly upon the camera's relatively small amount of RAW headroom, fairly low powered flash, poor battery life, and a loud shutter sound for a non-SLR camera. But overall? If you need a camera that performs admirably with video, and are willing to pay the $1500 premium, the GH1 comes highly recommended.

Olympus E-P1 hands-on, test shots, and mini-review

by Joshua Topolsky posted Jul 1st 2009 at 2:19PM

It goes without saying that we've been pretty excited about the Olympus E-P1 (or "digital Pen") since we first laid eyes on the prototype the company was showing off. The Micro Four Thirds camera just seems to breed gadget lust amongst the staff, combining the best of modern tech with a throwback retro style that is somewhat irresistible. Of course, no one wants to drop $800 on a digicam unless it's actually capable of taking a decent shot -- so we thought we'd put the E-P1 through some basic paces to see if this guy is worth unloading nearly a grand on. Read on for some of our first impressions and observations.