Digital Camera News, Reviews and Tips
Recent rumors suggest that Olympus will be updating its E-Px and E-PLx series soon. The next generation should carry the logical names of E-P5 and E-PL6, which obviously would serve as replacements for the E-P3 (the number ‘4’ is considered bad luck in Japanese culture) and E-PL5, respectively.
[via Digicame-info]
Adorama is now stocking SLR Magic’s line of lenses, including the Noktor 50mm f/0.95 HyperPrime lens and the new Noktor 35mm T 0.95 HyperPrime Cine lens. There are plenty of cool Micro Four Thirds, Sony E-Mount and other lens mount options from SLR Magic.
These ridiculously fast primes could also turn out to be solid mates for the upcoming Blackmagic Pocket Cinema Camera, along with the 12mm T/1.6 lens, which works out to roughly 36mm field of view equivalent on the Super 16 sensor of the BPCC.
Check out the full line of SLR Magic lenses here at Adorama.
Panasonic has announced the Lumix GF6 mirrorless camera, which features a 16MP Micro Four Thirds sensor, built-in WiFi and NFC (Near Field Communication). [Read more…]
Sigma’s refreshed Micro Four Thirds and NEX primes, the 30mm F2.8 DN and 19mm F2.8 DN lenses, will begin shipping later in March for $199 each.
These new lenses are priced the same as their predecessors and should be solid additions to mirrorless kits – particularly the NEX versions due to the limited selection of available lenses thus far. I own the 30mm in the older version in NEX mount and have been more than happy with the performance it delivered at the $199 price point.
You can order the new, improved versions from B&H at the below links.
Sigma 30mm f/2.8 DN: Sony NEX version | Micro Four Thirds version
Sigma 19mm f/2.8 DN: Sony NEX version | Micro Four Thirds version
New rumors over at Photo Rumors point to an upcoming Olympus PEN Micro Four Thirds model that will follow closely to the design of the old PEN F film camera. Additional rumors suggest a built-in viewfinder, which would be a welcomed feature on the mirrorless model.
No other details on specs are being tossed around at this time; however, such a camera would presumably reside at the top of the PEN line-up while the E-PM and E-PL series rounded out the low- and mid-range PEN options. It’s been a couple of years since we’ve seen a new top-level camera in the PEN series (the E-P3 in 2011, which is now discontinued).
Reasonable expectations for a release time frame would be Summer 2013.
Adorama has the new Panasonic GH3 in stock and is now shipping them out to customers. Check it out here at Adorama. [Update: It’s now shipping here from B&H Photo too.]
(Note that there’s still a backorder message on the page at them moment, but that should be removed as soon as the inventory in their system is updated.)
Voigtländer has announced the Nokton 42.5 mm f/0.95 lens for Micro Four Thirds mount. The lens features 11 elements in 8 groups and 10 aperture blades for smooth bokeh. At 42.5mm, the lens will offer an equivalent field of view of 85mm on a Micro Four Thirds camera thanks to the 2x crop factor – making it a potentially great portrait lens for cameras like the Olympus OM-D E-M5.
The lens should be available in Summer 2013 with no price yet announced. Based on the price points of the Nokton 25mm f/0.95 and the 17.5mm f/0.95 for Micro Four Thirds, I would guess that a $1200-$1300 street price would be expected for the 42.5mm f/0.95 when it finally ships.
Olympus has officially announced its new M.ZUIKO ED 75-300mm f4.8-6.7 II lens for Micro Four Thirds mount. The lens has been designed to match the OM-D E-M5 and PEN Micro Four Thirds series cameras. Olympus added a new advancedZERO (Zuiko Extra-low Reflection Optical) coating to keep scratches off, and eliminate ghosting and lens flare.
The new 75-300mm lens offers a reach equivalent to 150-600mm when used on Micro Four Thirds cameras with their 2x crop factor. The M.ZUIKO ED 75-300mm f4.8-6.7 II lens should be available in March at a retail price of $549.99. Check availability here at B&H Photo.
Tamron has announced a new superzoom lens for Micro Four Thirds cameras. The new 14-150mm F/3.5-5.8 Di III VC lens offers a 28-300mm equivalent zoom range on Micro Four Thirds cameras and features built-in Vibration Compensation.
No word yet on pricing or availability; however, as with most new product announcements this week, availability this Spring would be a good estimation. We’ll have more as soon as Tamron makes it available.
Sigma has unveiled four new lenses – three of which are a refresh of existing models and one lens is entirely new. [Read more…]