Sony to announce new products on June the 8rd. And than again a Panasonic annoucement!

UPDATE: Announcement is on June 8 not June 3.

Sony will announce the new Sony NEX-C3, NEX 30mm macro lens and NEX flash on June the 3rd! (Source SonyAlphaRumors). And that isn’t all. A couple of days later Panasonic will again announce new Micro Four Thirds products! Also Olympus is rumored to release new m43 lenses in late June. So we are going to have a very busy month!

In summary what’s coming:
– Sony NEX-C3 with 16 Megapixels (549 Euro)
– Sony 30mm f/3.5 macro for NEX (249 Euro)
– New Flash for NEX (no price)
– Panasonic 25mm f/1.4 Leica branded m43 lens (not 100% sure yet)
– Probably a second zoom lens too (not 100% sure yet)
– The Olympus 12mm f/2.0 lens
– A second Olympus portrait lens.

And my “instinct” tells me that also in July we will see some new stuff from Samsung and Sony (yes again!).

P.S.: Panasonic G3 at preorders at Amazon US (Click here) and Amazon UK (Click here).

Panasonic G3 reviewed and tested. Gets positive ratings! And 25mm Lens coming soon!

The new Panasonic G3 has been announced and gets reviewed by Photographyblog. The very so impressed by the camera that they gave them the maximum ammount of starts 5 of 5! They also posted an interview with Panasonic (Click here) where Panasonic confirmed that they will soon announce the 25mm f/1.4 Leica branded Micro Four Thirds lens!

A few of links you might want to check:
Image samples for pixel peepers on Flickr.
Panasonic G3 presentation from Panasonic Uk on youtube.
Panasonic Lumix DMC-G3 hands-on and interviews at London 2012 HQ on youtube.
Hands-on preview at Dpreview.

PREORDERS:
Preoder the black,white, red or brown G3 at Amazon US (Click here)
Now preorders in Europe too! At Amazon UK (Click here).
Panasonic Lumix DMC-G3 14-42mm Lens Kit at Bhphoto (Click here)
Panasonic Lumix DMC-G3 Camera Body at Bhphoto (Click here)

Fuji X100 news roundup

After the initial hype(?) over the X100 people starts to realize the practical limits of the camera. Read for example the “top 7 complaints of the [shoplink 100018]Fuji X100[/shoplink] and how I get around them” written by Steve Huff (Click here). Innacurate AF and difficoult manual focus really are not something nice to see. Superb image quality isn’t enough if you can’t focus an image!

The Complete Fujifilm X100 Review has been posted by ThePhoBlographer (Click here): “Overall, the Fuji X100 is a hit and has received some flak on the internet in reviews but has also received quite a bit of praise. Make no mistake, this camera deserves all the praise and only most of the flak. The battery life issues are very true and indeed, the camera still feels a bit like something that wasn’t completely done or that could’ve been made better.“…”Will I be buying it? Probably not, though I’m extremely tempted. The reason why is because I feel that my delivers some great results that I’m very happy with in a smaller package and with interchangeable lenses.“

Ryan Brenizer (Click here) posted his review: “I kind of see the X100 as being like the iPad, a fantastic accessory to a main system. Most people who are just looking for their main camera will be better served by something cheaper or by something more versatile. But for people who love that street photography and 1960s photojournalism aesthetic or, like me, have funds, have big, heavy primary cameras and can’t stand the thought of walking around all day without a way to capture the world around you with more response and quality than your cell phone can, this is a great camera for you.“

Neil van Nierkank (Click here) posted his short preview.

A preview made by Hypebeast (Click here).

Check the availability and price of the Fuji X100 by clicking those direct links: [shopcountry 100018].

Fuji X100 versus Panasonic GF1

Photographer Michael Carpentier compared the Fuji X100 and the Panasonic GF1 camera. The original article has been written in french but click here to read the google english translation. You might be surprised to read that he considers the GF1 a better choice than the X100. Image quality difference is minimal, and he is particularly disappointed with the Fuji’s lens performance at f/2.0. There is also a huge problem with focusing at short distance. There are also other quirks with the X100 but also some positive notes. Anyway the small image quality difference in favour of the X100 doesn’t justify the huge price difference. And if you really need that bit more of IQ you can still go for the Sony NEX-5!

Check the Fuji X100 price and availability at [shopcountry 100018].
Check the Panasonic GF1 price and availability at .
Check the Sony NEX-5 price and availability at .

And also Thom Hogan cannot recommend the Fuji X100: “the camera has some near fatal flaws: for example, if it powers down due to inactivity, pressing the shutter release doesn’t bring it back to life. So you cycle the On/Off button and the power-on sequence is not fast to begin with. So much to like. So much to dislike. Oh, and a proprietary US$130 lens hood? Stinkaroo on that. Shame on Fujifilm for playing that game.“

One last news: Dpreview added the studio sample pictures of the X100.

Fuji X100 is an Amazon bestseller (+ news, deals and reviews roundup)

[shoplink 100018 ebay][/shoplink]

Let’s start the week by posting the latest Fuji X100 news. As you probably have noticed the first stocks of X100 cameras were quickly sold out. Amazon US (Click here) had a bunch of them in Stock and they were sold out in 23 minutes! BHphoto (Click here) increased the price up to $1399. In Europe Amazon UK (Click here) had a couple of cameras in Stock (now accepting preorders only). And to finish the X100 price is still very high on [shoplink 100018 ebay]eBay auctions (Click here)[/shoplink].

But let’s take a look to the latest news and reviews:
1) The Fuji X100 is the third most sold camera at Amazon US (Click here).
2) ePhotozine (Click here) posted a set of landscape image samples taken with the X100.
3) there is a new X100 forum in Germany (Click here).
4) Day 5 of the X100 field review at ThePhoBlographer (Click here).
5) read the new X100 user reviews at Amazon US (Click here) and Amazon UK (Click here).

New Nikon and Pentax mirrorless rumors!

A long time ago we posted the rumor that Nikon would use a 2,5x crop factor sensor for their new “Coolpix Pro” mirrorless system. Now a second independent and well known externals source (Nikonrumors) confirmed that the system will have a 2,6x crop sensor (not 2,5x): “the difference between 2.5x and 2.6x is probably because of different rounding“. But Nikonrumros also got one more info: “According to the rumor, three new lenses will be introduced at the time of the mirrorless camera announcement: one wide pancake and two zooms.” To bad that the announcements have been delayed. As Thom Hogan said: “The electronics companies in Japan still aren’t sure what they will and won’t be able to produce in the near term.“

P.S.: I know many of you will laugh at the “PRO” suffix for the mirrorless Coolpix camera. But you know…marketing rules the world!

One more news about the Pentax mirrorless system. Raphael Mabo (Dpreview forum) said that “If Pentax makes a mirrorless camera, it won’t be K-mount.” Sounds reasonable…

New Fuji X100 reviews and news.

Reidreviews (Click here) published the “Part II” of the Fuji X100 review: “It includes, among many other things, a detailed look at the comparative quality of files from the X100, Leica X1, Sigma DP2s and Leica M8.2.”

Brandon Remler (Click here) published a couple of Street Scenes High ISO images on his blog.

DCresource (Click here) posted a full Fuji X100 review: “When I got my hands on the FinePix X100, I was instantly impressed. The viewfinder and user interface took some getting used to, but once I became familiar with the camera and its quirks, I found it quite enjoyable to use. And did I mention the excellent photo quality? There is room for improvement in terms of performance, user interface, and manual control limitations, but for a first effort, Fuji has done a very good job.“

Golftoimpress (Click here) also tested the X100: “In the end, while not without its quirks or issues, the X100 is an awesome camera. It is built wonderfully, has great technology, and most importantly is fun to use and takes great pictures.“

A few Fuji X100 cameras are in Stock for the very first time in Europe:  at Amazon UK (Click here). As you know in US switches form the “in Stock” to “out of Stock” status every couple of hours. Check at Amazon US (Click here). I can’t keep up with all the status changes. If you want to check for yourself here is the full list of worldwide stores I do check from time to time…and yes I am crazy :)

Alphabetical order by country:
[shoplist ”]