[shoplink 32812 ebay][/shoplink] Doens’t look so but this is the most expensive [shoplink 32812 ebay]Olympus lens you can buy on eBay[/shoplink]!

So, we heard that Olympus will release a super cheap 15mm f/8.0 lens. But now let’s do a post for rich people. Ever wondered what the most expensive Olympus&Panasonic cameras and lenses are? Here is the list (with overall most expensive items included):

Most expensive Panasonic m43 camera is the AGAF100 for 5.195,00 USD ([shoplink 32811 ebay]here is the auction[/shoplink])
Most expensive Olympus camera is the OM-3Ti Black edition camera for 3.499,00 USD ([shoplink 32813 ebay]here is the auction[/shoplink])
Most expensive Panasonic lens is the ET-D75LE6 zoom for 6,176.95 USD ([shoplink 32814 ebay]here is the auction[/shoplink])
Most expensive Olympus lens is the very rare to find Olympus Zuiko Pen-F Mirror-T 800mm f/8 telephoto for 4.350,00 USD ([shoplink 32812 ebay]here is the auction[/shoplink])
Most expensive lens you can buy for your m43 camera is the used(!) Cooke S4 HD Cine 8-46mm T1.7 B4 Mount Lens for 32.500,00 USD ([shoplink 32815 ebay]here is the auction[/shoplink])
Most expensive Panasonic product is the Robotic Welding cell for 39.500,00 USD ([shoplink 32809 ebay]here is the auction[/shoplink])
Most expensive Olympus products is the Portable Gold box analyzer for 21.000,00 USD ([shoplink 32810 ebay]here is the auction[/shoplink])
Most expensive camera is that ancient for 959.000,00 USD ([shoplink 32816 ebay]here is the auction[/shoplink])
Most expensive fast lens is the Leica M3 Summilux 1.4/35 Black Paint # 1765589 *Mega Rare* + OLLUX for 95.000,00 USD ([shoplink 32818 ebay]here is the auction[/shoplink])
Most expensive digital camera is the 160 Megapixel Roundshot 6×17 DIGITAL Panoramic Camera for 48.222,00 USD ([shoplink 32819 ebay]here is the auction[/shoplink])

You going to buy something here? :)

European Compact System Camera 2012-2013 – Olympus OM-D E-M5 from EISA on Vimeo.

EISA just announced he 2012 award winners. The E-M5 won the price in the category best “European Compact System Camera“. But honestly, it isn’t that difficult to win a price if you create three different categories for mirrorless cameras:
European Compact System Camera (Winner: [shoplink 29074]Olympus OM-D E-M5[/shoplink])
European Advanced Compact System Camera (Winner: Samsung NX20)
European Professional Compact System Camera (Winner: Fujifilm X-Pro1)

Olympus also won the price for the best “European All Weather Camera” with the Olympus TOUGH TG-1.

The best “European Compact System Lens” is the [shoplink 31225]Panasonic LUMIX G X VARIO 12-35mm F2.8 ASPH[/shoplink] (you can watch the EISA video here).

For all you German native speaker there is a new E-m5 book written by the famous Olympus author Reinhard Wagner. It’s in Stock now at Amazon Germany (Click here). Sadly I found Zero E-M5 book in English or any other language. There are some Olympus PEN books in English like the one for David Busch and the E-PL1 for Dummies(!). So I guess it’s only a matter of time now until we have an E-M5 book too!

Screenshot of the Imaging Business Q1 sales (Click on it to enlarge the image).

Olympus released the latest Quarter Financial results report. You can download it here: http://www.olympus-global.com/en/corc/ir/brief/pdf/n120809aE_n.pdf.

It’s not a surprise that the overall results are very negative. While the medical business is still growing all other divisions are reporting losses. The Imaging Division sold less cameras mainly because of the shrinking compact camera market. The good news is that Micro Four Thirds sales increased thanks to the [shoplink 29074]Olympus E-M5[/shoplink]! Results would have been even better if the Silver kits would have been available earlier (only now in Stock at [shopcountry 29074] for example).

For the next Quarter Olympus forecast sees a return to profit. Let’s hope this is true. Below one more interesting screenshot about the digital camera world wide market:

I would say Olympus has to reduce the number of compact camera models and focus on very specific markets. The Sony RX100 is a good example of what could work (it is on top of the Amazon rankings). And than focus on Mirrorless of course…

Before to start…for US readers:
First time ever Amazon itself has the Silver E-M5 in Stock (Click here). And it’s quickly climbing the mirrorless rankings (see here).

Back to the Panasonic news:
One of the few things we know for sure about the upcoming GH3 is that it is weather sealed. And so it may not be casual that Panasonic announced super resistant SD cards. As Engadget reports ironically the cards are soo good that they will probably outlast the photographers life too :)

“It resits at temperatures from -13F to 185F, immersion in 3.3 feet of water for half an hour . The cards are also built to survive zaps of electricity, proximity to magnets and exposure to X-rays. If it all becomes too much to bear, the design will even fuse on the inside to prevent fire burning the card from within”

Sounds perfect for our next GH3 or not?

Source: Panasonic Japan.

And here is a rumor roundup about the GH3:
FT5: similar GH2 design, weather sealed, no global shutter, major improvements in AF speed and EVF quality, GH3X kit with 12-35mm X lens.
FT3: 15.5 mega-pixel sensor, Iso 160-12800 (extends to 80-51200), 6.7fps, 3.2″ inch LCD with 1050k-dots, EVF with 2.06 mega-dots, double SDXC slots, in-camera GPS, external battery grip.

Some news from the competition! Nikon announced their new Nikon J2 and 11-27.5mm lens. Full coverage at MirrorlessRumors. Price and specs at Amazon (Click here) and BHphoto (Click here).

I would say that there is no big news here. The lens is nice the camera offers small improvements over the J1. I really want to see in one year from now how the mirrorless market will be. My impression is that Canon EOS-M is a much stronger competitor than the Nikon 1 system.

Meantime an interesting info comes from Sony. They will announce a cheaper NEX-7 model, the NEX-6. Could be the competitor of the E-PL5 if this camera will have an integrated viewfinder!