If the price wouldn’t be that high this would certainly be the ONE lens I would always use on my Olympus E-P1 and Panasonic GH2. Today Cosina announced that the new Nokton 17.5mm f/0.95 lens will start shipping from April 29th (via DC.watch). The lens sale shipment was due for March but because of an exceptional high preorder demand the shipment had to be postponed! I am surprised to hear that the lens had such a high demand. The price is high (120,000 yen or 1.299 Euro), currently no website did post any image samples, there is no preview, and even bigger stores are not offering any preorder option. In fact there is zero Marketing around that lens! My guess is that the lens promotion is ongoing “underground” at the very basic Internet user level. The specs are amazing, Cosina is also known for making good quality lenses. Maybe that’s enough to push you guys to buy the lens.

The only two image samples that I found on the Internet are on Flickr (Click here) and (Click here). Europenas can preorer the lens at [shoplink 29368 ebay]Digitalhandel (Click here)[/shoplink] and [shoplink 29367 ebay]Bayern Fotoversand (Click here)[/shoplink].

P.S.:A cheaper alternative is the [shoplink 29238 ebay]Schneider 17mm f/0.95 (Click here to see it on ebay)[/shoplink] C-mount lens.

I guess that many of you still own or even use a Film camera. I still use the [shoplink 28309 ebay]Mamiya 7[/shoplink] on almost daily base. And even the [shoplink 28229 ebay]OM-3Ti[/shoplink] sometimes. So this is a very bad day for all of us because Kodak dropped and already removed all(!) slide films from their stores. The E100VS ([shoplink 29513 ebay]here on eBay[/shoplink]), E100G ([shoplink 29514 ebay]here on eBay[/shoplink]) and the Elite Chrome Extra Color 100 ([shoplink 29515 ebay]here on eBay[/shoplink]).

Is this the end of Film? I don’t think so, but it could be the end of Kodak :(

And I never asked you that questions:

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I am so curious to know how many of you are like me…still a bit of “old” time photographer :)

Back In December (Click here t read) I told you a bit about my current life situation and the intense work on 43rumors and MirrorlessRumors. It’s now three years that I work on 43rumors in almost every single free time I have. It’s an immense passion and joy to work with it but what started for fun become a real second job with lots of hours of work.

And it’s now time for me to find some help. In my “real life” I do travel a lot and have some major project to accomplish. I tried to find some help in the past through the “Online-friendhips” I made via 43rumors but somehow this never worked. I work as Photographer and Documentarist and starting from end 2011 I asked all my friends and colleagues if someone would help me on my websites. I needed at least one person that would help me to cover the daily news while I would keep being the only one working on rumors with my own anonymous sources.

In September 2011 I got a surprising call from “Frank”. He is a good friend of mine that studied with me Philosophy back in early 2000. He than kept studying Informatics and than Artificial Intelligence(!) He worked as professor at the University and he has been always a Canon shooter…hey nobody is perfect ;)

He heard that I was looking for some help and he proposed me this. I would promote his Canonwebsite and he would help me out whenever I would be busy at work. I accepted the offer and I am also curious to see what a man with his knowledge would do on a website like this. He has some crazy ideas that he will realize with his knowledge in informatics and artificial intelligence programming. But I will not tell you more. Here are the details of the deal:
– For the start I link from my website to his new website and for the moment he is using the same theme I have on 43rumors.
– He is the complete alone writer and administrator on CanonWatch. Just to let you know that I have no influence there.
– The website name is CanonWatch (Click here). It’s a news website less focused on rumors and more on creative content and news/reviews coverage.
– When I will unavailable for a couple of days Frank will cover the daily news on 43rumors. I will of course let you know when this happens and he will of course use his name to sign the posts.

Now I really invite you to visit CanonWatch (Click here). Not only because of the Canon news, but to know him as a person. He will need your help and feedback to check if what he does is alright. In particular you might be interested to see the full Canon 5DmarkkIII news coverage (Click here).

Something else:
Frank is not the only one that is interested to do “something” with my websites. My biggest wish is to add a creative section where good work done with m43 cameras can be easily shown. It’s often confusing to find interesting reportages and videos on social websites like Flicker and Youtube. And during my double life (as Photographer and Blogger) I learned that often non professional people I met through 43rumors have an immense talent and nice stories to show. This is my wish for 2012. To create a new room for your work. We talk a lot about cameras every day, but at the end isn’t your creativity what really matters? :)

Un abrazo
Ale (43rumors admin)

You can find some image samples on the same ebay page. This is not the first time I see such pinhole lenses. You can find many of them on eBay and sold by asian stores:
– Skink Pinhole Pancake Pro Lens Kit for Olympus PEN on [shoplink 21696 ebay]eBay (Click here)[/shoplink].
– Pinhole Cap Lens for m43 on [shoplink 21697 ebay]eBay (Click here)[/shoplink].
– Skink Pinhole Pancake Creative Kit for Four Thirds on [shoplink 21698 ebay]eBay (Click here)[/shoplink].

One more news: Kirk Tuck reviewed the Panasonic-Leica 25mm lens at TheOnlinePhotographer: “The 25mm Summilux is quickly becoming the anchor in my small system. I’m loathe to take other systems out anymore. The addition to a product line of an exceptional optic (or three) can make all the difference in the world.“…couldn’t agree more :)
Leica lens price check at [shopcountry 23110].

The Sonnetar 25mm f/1.1 prototype lens on the [shoplink 23565]Olympus E-PM1[/shoplink].

It is a great honour for me to write this post! As you know a couple of days ago I told you that the great and very innovative lens designer Mr. Miyazaki realized a new lens prototype for the m43 system. Yesterday his staff contacted me to ask me and in particular YOU a great favour. They are a very small team and the lenses they make like the [shoplink 29386 ebay]Leica Triplet lenses (Click here to see them on eBay)[/shoplink] are actually handmade! So they want to know if you would REALLY would buy the lens if they would take the huge effort to produce them on larger scale. They sent me a couple of images I posted here and some images samples can bee seen at KTF-turbo (Click here) and KTFdesign (Click here). This is a prototype lens so there can still be some improvements until the final production version. The lens will cost around $650 like the [shoplink 29387 ebay]Pentax Q version[/shoplink]. Please try to be honest…you really have to buy the lens if you answer yes ;)

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My personal two cent: What I like most about the lens is the incredibly tiny size for such a fast aperture. But image quality wide open is not 100% convincing. The picture below also show the lens on the [shoplink 29074]Olympus E-M5[/shoplink]. Click on them to enlarge!

I wanna thank all reader for sending me your best work examples made with m43 cameras and lenses! I think it’s a good chance to see what our 43rumors reader do in their real life :)

Marc: “Not a rumor, but here’s the first sunrise of the year (In Japan), timelapsed with an EP3. Marocchio and Youtube”

Michael: “Hi! I saw that you sometimes display reader’s work, and I figured I’d share this particular project I just did. All images in this series were done in Venice, CA with a E-PM1 and 45mm f/1.8, with natural lighting and no light manipulators: http://michaeln.fluidgalleries.co/the-last-shoot”

Gabriel: “Just wanted to share this promo video that was shot exclusively with a GH2 and Panasonic Leica DG 25mm f1.4. Check it out!  This was my first paid production and I really am looking for unbiased feedback.  So please comment. http://vimeo.com/34345610”

Henrik: “Hi there, you’re having a great website, it’s quite addictive. It inspired me to start my photography blog! This is it: www.m43view.tumblr.com So far only a few photographs I have taken with my Oly EPL2 and some old manual lenses (who needs power zoom lenses on a system camera ? ;-) ). Enjoy!”

Nam: “I’m currently in Fukui, Japan doing the whole teaching english thing and have put together a video that i’d like to share. http://vimeo.com/33962100. It was shot using Pana GF1 and GF2 20mm 1.7, 12mm 2.0, OM 50 1.8 w/43 adapter, iPhone 4 and a couple from a friends D90 w/10.5mm 2.8. Cheers.”

Nik: “I am an avid reader/visiter of 43rumors.  I typically post under the alias “blastingmills”.  I am a huge fan of Olympus 4/3 and micro 4/3.  I own an E-5 and a GH2, with a bunch of lenses. I noticed your recent reader roundup.  Here is a video I recently shot with the GH2, Voigtlander 25mm f0.95 and the 4/3 Zuiko 9-18mm.  Here is a link to the video: http://vimeo.com/34224892“

Farrukh: “Shot this with the EP3 and 25mm f1.4 http://implausibleblog.com/2011/12/23/world-dreams-uk-final-amika/”

Alex: “Not really a rumor, but wanted to share a funny Christmas music video. Shot with Panasonic GF1 and Sony EX3. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RlMQ7ZeWew0”

Nikolai: “Just wanted to share GH2 clip with 1974 vintage Russian lens Helios 44-2 58mm/F2 with M42-M4/3 adapter, no color correction or post processing, fabuluos bokeh!!! http://vimeo.com/34382701“

Uwe: “Monarchs 2012 at vimeo.”

Jurek: “I know you occasionally run a user’s-video post and if you think this qualifies, feel free to add it. The only pertinent fact is that is was shot with a bare un-hacked GH2 with the cheapest of kit lenses (14-42mm). http://vimeo.com/34686923”

Leo: “Hey I wanted to share a video I made of my new 14-42mm Panny X lens. I couldn’t find any videos on the net showing how the new power zoom options work in the menu of the GH2, so I made one myself. I thought it might help others when they’re thinking about getting the lens. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nVxo9DlfS14“

Alex: “Maybe, you would like to post next video “How to make an infrared camera”. Here is 43 minutes (m43:)) video of whole process, how to make IR camera from Panasonic G1 m43 camera.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SeySK1Q4QYE&feature=related“

A.: “Wanted to share an amazing video i’ve shot on Panasonic Lumix GH2 (hacked 150mbps). I’m STILLLLLL blown away about how great it looks. This camera is one mean sucka. Wanted to ask if you can share it on https://www.43rumors.com  :) Let me know what you think after watching it! Feel free to contact me via cell or email…link: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5aReu01CYC4“

Caen: “And as a way to participate, here is a mini web serie entirely filmed with a Gh2. It’s kinka weird, but hey, we’re french guys  :) First episode here and the blog which contains everything, here. No many important dialogues, so i think it’s kinda universal. Sometimes we say “what are you doing ?” that’s it, as a gimmick sentence.”

Martin: “Hi, not a rumor – just wanted to share some of my work. I’m working with the E-P2, since I don’t want to carry heavy equipment. Some results in my Google+ “Gnarly Trees” folder: https://plus.google.com/photos/115200235755880484786/albums/5658145180585466961”

Bob: “Check out this Panasonic Article on me: http://thecriticalview.com/2012/02/bob-gundu-shoots-feature-film-sidharth-in-india-with-the-ag-af100/ I actually used the GH2 for about 20 percent of the film, and the rest Af100”

Ed: “I have a small set on flickr showing sample shots taken with the SLR Magic 12mm 1.6.  I’m adding more tonight as well as images taken with Olympus M43 lenses.  http://www.flickr.com/photos/51051652@N05/“

Aaron: “I’ve mentioned my website, once previously, but thought I’d plug it again just for fun.  It’s aaroninasia.com which is my travel / photo website from my travel year through Asia. All photos are taken with my trusty, now travel-worn, GF1.  I use the 20mm and 14mm primes, and recently added the 45-200 zoom out of necessity.  Once I start getting paycheck again, I’ll replace my GF1 with it’s true successor, the GX1.”

Benoit: “Here’s my contribution to your list of reader’s work (it’s in French): http://vimeo.com/35531680”

Dave: “Here’s a video I shot on the GH2 with a Proskar anamorphic lens. Thought it might interest you. https://vimeo.com/37579329”

James: “Been shooting lots of Lens tests over the last 2 years- Here is my GH2 stuff.  Here is a nice one that I just finished, people seem to like it a lot.https://vimeo.com/37587145”

Steven: “I posted this mixed media video on Vimeo about two weeks ago. Although the background footage is 3D rendered, all of the live foreground footage is shot with the GH2 and the 14-140mm lens. There’s also some stop motion animation which is all shot with the GH2 as well. http://vimeo.com/36563194”

Len: “For the past two years I have exclusively used micro four thirds with a Voitlander 25 mm f 0.95 lens – specifically an Olympus EP-1. You can see my work here http://leonardmetcalf.com and at http://christineandlen.com The last four exhibitions have been shot with this camera and lens set up…. I am personally very pleased with my A2 prints, and as an ex large format photographer I am very critical of my print quality.”

Aike: “so a year ago i decided to put a demekin lens lens on my e-p1. Because the 110 film format has nearly the same size..not so easy to mod…but it works great. A funny story is that my demekin traveled over 18k kilometers..the post in germany is sometimes strange:)…the lens is very small n light. makes fun to shoot without any adjustmens..i like it. I also asked the dekemkin seller if there is a plan for the demekin lens (mod) in the future…maybe a m4/3 version…price range 30dollar…but the guy said no its not possible for the maufactor……..what a pitty :) okay here you can se some pics..: http://www.flickr.com/photos/59787432@N07/5466677530/in/photostream/ and here is a testvideo….shot 100% with demekin an e-p1 http://vimeo.com/36570415“

Philippe: “Here’s a link to a video made with the GH2 in Paris, starring the charming & beautiful model : Ida. http://vimeo.com/35639048“

Ilya: “Hi, there my very best fotos from last few years http://500px.com/yeapornope and there many more fotos http://yeapnope.tumblr.com/ all shots are done with gh1 and gf1 with a several of lenses. From Russia with Love”

Marc: “I show my work, not because It’s spectacular or good, otherwise I take lot of pictures every week of outdoor activities. M43 system is perfect for activities like climbing, trekking, mountain biking,… where the weight matters. Me and my girlfriend use EP-2 and EPL-1, with different lenses. I only use prime lenses, and I’m in love with Oly 12mm. It’s written in Catalan, but can easily be translated. www.engarrista.com”

Enjoy!!!

Make no mistake! We can be pretty sure Olympus and Panasonic will not launch any new system with larger sensor in the near future. There is still a lot to do in the m43 world to defend the primacy also against the future Canon mirrorless system. But the Full Frame battle just restarted after a long time of silence. Today Canon announced the Canon 5dmarkIII ($3500 at Amazon) and Nikon announced the Nikon D800 and D800E a couple of weeks ago.

So just for fun I made a short list of advantages and disadvantages of a hypothetical “Macro Four Thirds” system with FF sensor :)

PROS:
– Currently only Leica are offering a Full Frame digital mirrorless system. But the [shoplink 22857 ebay]Leica M9 is incredibly expensive (Click here)[/shoplink] and there is plenty of room below that price range.
– You could make Full Frame lenses backwards compatible to the m43 system. One lens to rule them all :) -> Disadvantage the lens would be bigger
– Marketing: It gives a kind of magical and professional aura if you can offer a Full Frame system. Sounds stupid but it is not. I know of many people that buy new and more expensive cameras just to feel like a “hero”.

CONS:
– It’s expensive to build up a new system. And Panasonic/Olympus have limited resources.
– Also the service has to be improved to satisfy the professional needs.
– The profit margin is larger on small sensor systems than on Full Frame camera systems.
– Lenses would be bigger and one of the main advantages (size!) over the FF DSRL market would be less visible.

Now it’s up to you to let us know what you would do:

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My two cent: 99% of us don’t need Full Frame. If you need absolute image quality for special work like studio photography or big prints than it may be better for you to go medium format. Or if you want that nice 3D depth of field feeling than buy a camera like my [shoplink 28309 ebay]Mamiya 7[/shoplink].