Hasta La Gadget!

It’s not scheduled to be announced until tomorrow, but it looks like Olympus’ Micro Four Thirds tribute to the classic rangefinder has leaked out onto these here Internets looking every bit as handsome as the top-side leak seen earlier. Remember, we’re talking about a DSLR-sized sensor stuffed inside that retro compact body. Judging by the pics of E-P1, we’re looking at a stock, 17mm lens with an interchangeable 14-42mm (3x) zoom lens available at launch. One more day and we’ll have prices, ship dates, and full spec-sheet to share — can you wait? 3x lens and few more color variations in the gallery below.

Update: Possible specs accompanying authentic looking images have now entered the rumor mill. Said specs have the camera measuring in at 120 x 70 x 35mm (about the size of a Sigma DP2 or slightly larger than mainstream point-and-shoots) snapping 13 megapixel RAW images and 1280 x 720 pixel video to SD card, ISO 6400 sensitivity, 11-point AF, electronic anti-shake, and 3-inch LCD if we’re reading the machine translated text correctly. It’s expected to ship in July with prices starting at about $900 — though it’s unclear what you get at that price point.

[Via 43rumors]

Filed under: Digital Cameras

Leaked Olympus E-P1 Micro Four Thirds compact has us hot, bothered (updated) originally appeared on Engadget on Mon, 15 Jun 2009 10:58:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Perhaps Leica has finally realized that its lenses are where the real action is. The M8 rangefinder might be a beautifully engineered tool, but it looks rather spartan next to other, much cheaper, digital cameras. And we don’t mean spartan in the good way, either — in the film days Leicas performed as well as any other 35mm camera as they all used the same film. Now, with low-light sensors, uncannily good autofocus and exposure meters that out-guess a human 99% of the time, the almost all-manual M looks like an expensive metal box.

The lenses, though, are magical. And now you can use them on the DMC-G1 and DMC-GH1, Panasonic’s Micro Four Thirds “DSLR” with a pair of adapters which marry up the cameras to Leica’s R and M lenses. If you’re paying attention, you’ll realize that these lenses are manual focus, and that both the G1 and GH1 lack an optical viewfinder. On of the things that makes the M-series cameras so easy to focus is the split image rangefinder. With these cameras, though, you’ll need to rely on a magnified section in the  middle of the LCD screen to judge if you have things sharp. Good luck with that.

Panasonic has not yet announced a price for these Lumix adapters, but you can be pretty sure they’ll cost more than Voigtländer’s $200 offering which does the same thing for any Micro Four Thirds camera. You’ll also have to watch out for compatibility issues, as some lenses won’t work with these adapters.

Press release [DP Review]

Olympus is preparing to release a rangefinder-style camera based on the Micro Four Thirds System this summer, a blogger reports.

We contacted Olympus and a representative confirmed that the Micro 4/3 camera would be available in summer 2009 — although they would not confirm the early July release date cited by Aving USA.

The picture here is a mockup Olympus released last year and may have no bearing on reality.

We’re excited about this camera (and the Micro 4/3 format) because it could combine a reasonably large sensor size with a fairly compact, point-and-shoot-like body and the possibility of using interchangeable lenses.

Panasonic released a Micro Four Thirds camera, the Panasonic G1, last year, to mixed reviews.

AVING USA – Global News Network (via Gizmodo)

It’s been a long, winding road to get to this point, but we’ve finally got Panasonic coming clean and telling us a little of what we already knew and lots of stuff we didn’t regarding its Lumix DMC-GH1. The hotly anticipated Micro Four Thirds shooter is indeed getting priced at $1,499.95 when it lands in the US in “early June,” and that MSRP will include the LUMIX G VARIO 14-140mm/F4.0-5.8 ASPH/MEGA O.I.S. lens. Speaking of the lens, it’ll boast a silent motor and continuous auto focusing (AF) capability for HD video, a feature that’s sorely (sorely!) lacking from video-capable DSLRs. The cam will ship only in black and will capture video in AVCHD 1080p/24p (or 720p/60p) form, and Panny also tells us that users can adjust shutter speed and control aperture during motion recording. Can you say: “want?”

Filed under: Digital Cameras

Panasonic Lumix DMC-GH1 gets officially detailed, priced for US market originally appeared on Engadget on Wed, 06 May 2009 12:22:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Granted, this was totally expected, but we can’t possibly be more excited to see such a peripheral emerge before the Micro Four Thirds segment even has a chance to blossom. Cosina, parent company of Voigtländer, has just introduced a new adapter which aims to make Micro Four Thirds cameras (you know, like Panasonic’s Lumix DMC-G1) compatible with a slew of existing Voigtländer, Leica and Carl Zeiss lenses. Unfortunately, we’re told that the device is mechanical only, which could cause issues with some of the more advanced features that require tight knit camera-lens communication. Head on past the break for a full list of suitable lenses, and feel free to ping your favorite Japanese importer with a mailing address and at least ¥19,800 ($205).

[Via Wired]

Continue reading Voigtländer adapter expands lens pool for Micro Four Thirds cameras

Filed under: Digital Cameras, Peripherals

Voigtländer adapter expands lens pool for Micro Four Thirds cameras originally appeared on Engadget on Mon, 27 Apr 2009 17:33:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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