You didn’t forget that we just ahd a new Panasonic announcement…you didn’t? In case you want to read more about the new G5 check out the latest review at Photographyblog (Click here) posted the full Panasonic G5 review: “One of our favourite compact system cameras from 2011 may have become more expensive, but it’s also more accomplished than its predecessor, making the new Panasonic Lumix G5 one of the best DSLR pretenders and one of the best mirrorless cameras on the market.” Preorder the Black G5 at Amazon (Click here) and BHphoto (Click here) and the Silver G5 at Amazon (Click here) and BHphoto (Click here)

And while the Canon EOS-M is ruling the Amazon (pre-)order rankings (Click here to see) you may watch out for the much cheaper and interesting deals ongoing in US. Particularly Panasonic has ben very active in offering deals this month. We now have a Panasonic GX1 with 14-42mm lens for $499 at Adorama (Click here)! Even cheaper is the Panasonic GF3 with 14mm pancake for $379 at Amazon (Click here). On the lens front we have aPanasonic 20mm pancake for $359 at Amazon (Click here) and aPanasonic 14-42mm X pancake for $279 at Amazon (Click here).

Image courtesy by Phil Rudin

A while ago we reported about a possible new High End OM camera coming this winter. But the best camera is the camera that ffullfills your needs now and reviewers keep posting super reports about the [shoplink 29074]Olympus E-M5[/shoplink].

Before to start US and European readers should know that:
1) Eight E-M5 bodies are in Stock at [shoplink 32390 ebay]Adorama eBay (Click here)[/shoplink] on Adorama’s website and at BHphoto (Click here).
2) Body + 14-42mm kit is in Stock at Amazon (Click here).
3) The very rare to find SIlver body only is available in Europe at [shoplink 32391 ebay]Simplyelectronics UK on eBay (Click here)[/shoplink]

Here is a full roundp of the latest E-M5 reviews:
Is the Olympus OM-D the perfect digital camera? By Imaging Resource. In the bush with the Olympus OM-D E-M5 by Scott Rinckenberger. Wildlife with E-M5 by Pekka Potka.The Olympus E-M5 by The Frugal Filmmakers.A report by PEN and Tell (german). Robin Wong report abotu the Olympus Malaysia event. Our friend Phil Rudin posted a set of E-M5 underwater pictures on Digitaldiver.

About the rumored professional E-M5.
I am collecting your OM PRO features suggestions posted here: https://www.43rumors.com/ft3-high-end-om-camera-coming-within-the-next-6-months-e-m5-price-drop-this-winter/. Will do a poll soon.

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E-M5 preorder links:
Amazon, Adorama, B&H, Jessops, Amazon UK, Amazon Germany, Amazon France, Amazon Japan and Digitalrev.

E-M5 Case:
There is the official [shoplink 31898 ebay]CS-36FBC Olympus case[/shoplink]. A [shoplink 31899 ebay]leather half case from Hong Kong[/shoplink]. A full [shoplink 31900 ebay]leather case with strap from Cina[/shoplink]. Than we have half cases from two well known producers, [shoplink 31901 ebay]Zelenpol[/shoplink], [shoplink 31906 ebay]Kaza[/shoplink] and [shoplink 31902 ebay]Gariz[/shoplink].

E-M5 Batteries, and other things:
The [shoplink 31905 ebay]Olympus GS-4 strap[/shoplink] and the [shoplink 31903 ebay]DSTE E-M5 batteries[/shoplink] you have to use with an extra charger. There is an [shoplink 31903 ebay]E-M5 car charger[/shoplink] a [shoplink 31908 ebay]new E-M5 LCD screen[/shoplink] and a [shoplink 31909 ebay]Front Cover+ Top Panel[/shoplink].

Journey (Olympus OM-D E-M5) from Andrew Reid on Vimeo.

Before to start. Be aware of mistakes on eBay. A reader pounted me out that “someone” is selling the E-M5 battery grip for 2.500 Euro ([shoplink 32323 ebay]Click here to see the auction[/shoplink]). I see those kind of “mistakes” all the time :(

UPDATE: Body only in Stock at Amazon (Click here).

Our friend Andrew from EosHD (Click here) posted an E-m5 review focusing more on the video aspects of the camera: “There are some things the OM-D E-M5 does better even in video mode than the competition including even the GH2. Unfortunately the image quality in video mode is not an all-out winner like the stills mode.”

Steve Huff tested the 12-50mm kit lens: “It’s a good lens though not a GREAT “wow” lens.”

DxO Optics Pro 7.5.2 gains Olympus E-M5 and Panasonic GF5 support (Dpreview).

ePhotozine posted a E-M5 1-Month User Review

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E-M5 preorder links:
Amazon, Adorama, B&H, Jessops, Amazon UK, Amazon Germany, Amazon France, Amazon Japan and Digitalrev.

E-M5 Case:
There is the official [shoplink 31898 ebay]CS-36FBC Olympus case[/shoplink]. A [shoplink 31899 ebay]leather half case from Hong Kong[/shoplink]. A full [shoplink 31900 ebay]leather case with strap from Cina[/shoplink]. Than we have half cases from two well known producers, [shoplink 31901 ebay]Zelenpol[/shoplink], [shoplink 31906 ebay]Kaza[/shoplink] and [shoplink 31902 ebay]Gariz[/shoplink].

E-M5 Batteries, and other things:
The [shoplink 31905 ebay]Olympus GS-4 strap[/shoplink] and the [shoplink 31903 ebay]DSTE E-M5 batteries[/shoplink] you have to use with an extra charger. There is an [shoplink 31903 ebay]E-M5 car charger[/shoplink] a [shoplink 31908 ebay]new E-M5 LCD screen[/shoplink] and a [shoplink 31909 ebay]Front Cover+ Top Panel[/shoplink].

Before to to start, the E-M5 with 14-42mm lens is right now in Stock at Amazon (Click here), and so the E_m5 + 12-50mm kit again at Amazon (Click here). That said let’s go back to the “boring” news! The german Digitalkamera (Tranlsation here) and the japanese DC.watch (Translation here) websites posted a new Olympus 75mm lens review. Conclusion? Boring easy…the lens is almost perfect! If you need a lens of that focal length just buy it! ;)

It’s the same conclusion we read at Lensrentals, DSLRmagazine (Translation here), Robin Wong (part two) , Robin Wong (part one), Pekka Potka and SLRgear.

There is another good news. US stores will start shipping your preordered lens tomorrow: Amazon (Click here), Adorama (Click here), J&R(Click here) and BHphoto (Click here).
Also in Europe  Amazon Germany (Click here), Amazon UK (Click here), Amazon France (Click here) and Amazon Italy (Click here) will very likely ship the lens by end of the month.
In Asia it’s already available at Amazon Japan, Digitalrev and on [shoplink 31284 ebay]eBay[/shoplink].

Image courtesy: ePhotozine.

UPDATE: Now preorders at Amazon too:

Black G5 at Amazon (Click here) and BHphoto (Click here)
Silver G5 at Amazon (Click here) and BHphoto (Click here)

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Let’s focus on the new Panasonic G5 which already got previewed on many websites. The G5 looks like a well thought step forward from the G3 although it doesn’t come with any kind of “revolutionary” features to make you “WOW” when you read the press release. But the many small improvements are very nice and welcome!

The G5 has a new (or tweaked?) sensor according to Panasonic website presentation. Techradar was among the first websites to post a resolution and noise test. The image below (courtesy of Techradar) shows the Signal to Noise ration of the RAW images. I would say there is very little difference with the “older” G3.

But it’s the RAW dynamic range that shows that at leats at Low ISO the new G5 is doing a better job:

Visit Techradar to see all graphs! Their conclusion is: “Overall we have been extremely impressed with the output from the G5 and we can see it being very appealing to lots of people, especially with innovative new features such as the TouchPad AF operation. It also has a good number of automatic controls, digital filters and scene guides to appeal to novices or those looking simply to point and shoot.”

Also ePhotozine published a full G5 review and is particularly excited about the test: “The G5 is more expensive than the model it replaces, however we feel that the improvements make it worth the investment. The Panasonic Lumix G5 has an abundance of features, excellent image quality, and is good value for money, making it well worth investing in. Highly Recommended.”

They also compared the new G5 image quality with that of the more expensive Olympus E-M5 (Click here to read that comparison): “The Olympus OM-D E-M5 has an extended ISO range compared to the G5, however the G5 has a slightly lower first ISO setting of ISO160. Noise is very low on both cameras, with the E-M5 showing higher levels of detail and sharpness.”

In short: From an Image Quality point of view the difference between the two cameras is negligible. So you have to focus on your real needs and real budget. But overall it looks like the G5 is a great and cheaper E-M5 alternative!

Preorders:
Black G5 at Amazon (Click here) and BHphoto (Click here)
Silver G5 at Amazon (Click here) and BHphoto (Click here)
45-150mm lens in Black at BHphoto (Click here) and in Silver at BHphoto (Click here).
LX7 in Black at Amazon (Click here) and BHphoto (Click here) in White at Amazon (Click here) and BHphoto (Click here)
Other compacts, the FZ200 at BHphoto (Click here), the FZ60 at BHphoto (Click here).

Image courtesy: Robert Cicala by lensrentals

Now this test is going to push the Olympus 75mm preorders ;)

Robert Cicala from Lensrentals (Click here) just published another kind of Olympus 75mm lens review. He actually disassembled the lens to see what’s inside. He didn’t care a lot about the image quality because…”I won’t repeat what has already been done more thoroughly elsewhere. But I will say the Imatest results are spectacular.”

The real question was, how well is the lens made? He writes: “Some people are put off by the price, at least from the discussions I’ve seen online. My perspective is that sometimes things are expensive because they’re worth it. This seems to be one of those times. The build quality is different than the majority of mirrorless lenses. The ones that are built like this are about this price range.”

Read the full article at Lensrentals (Click here) to get the nice feeling that Olympus that time did it right and didn’t save a single penny on the lens costs. Full image quality reviews can be seen at DSLRmagazine (Tranlsation here), Robin Wong (part two) , Robin Wong (part one), Pekka Potka and SLRgear.

And now to the preorder options and shipping info:
In USA Amazon (Click here), Adorama (Click here), J&R(Click here) and BHphoto (Click here), will start shipping the lens in a few days.
Also in Europe  Amazon Germany (Click here), Amazon UK (Click here), Amazon France (Click here) and Amazon Italy (Click here) will very likely ship the lens by end of the month.
In Asia it’s already available at Amazon Japan, Digitalrev and on [shoplink 31284 ebay]eBay[/shoplink].

Hood alternatives:
As I told you days ago the original hood costs $80 at Adorama or 80 Euro at Amazon Germany. On eBay (via Hong Kong) you can buy a third party [shoplink 32155 ebay]standard hood for $15 (Click here)[/shoplink] and a [shoplink 32156 ebay]tele hood for $16 (Click here)[/shoplink].

Image on top: Francis Ford Coppola looking into his top options. And he picks the GH2 :)

Zacuto (Click here) posted the second part of the great Camera Shootout. It worked like that. An audience (including Francis) saw five short movies each made with a different camera, the [shoplink 16254]GH2[/shoplink], Sony F65, Red Epic, Canon C300 and Arri Alexa. The audience had no way to know which movie had been made with a certain camera. At the end they had to pickup their favorite choice. The most voted camera was the Panasonic GH2!

Andrew from EosHD writes: “For digital theatre screenings in 2k or 1080p, extremely high end cameras simply don’t look that much different to the lower end ones. It is therefore the lighting and the skill behind the camera that makes a larger percentage of the difference. As the level of skill involved here behind the camera was all very high, each scene was similar butthe GH2 was still able to overcome the F65 or Epic, mainly because –

A) It was handled better
B) The lighting was most creative
C) The technology inside the GH2 was advanced enough to deliver on this shoot relative to a $70,000 F65”

Yep, as I always try to remind you it’s your creative skills that do matter. The camera you use “almost” doesn’t matter anymore! And again, a long hand clap clap clap to all Panasonic engineers for delivering us such a great camera. And we really can’t wait to see what you guys did with the GH3! ;)

P.S.: If you need a great hybrid camera for a low price you may don’t care about the GH3 which will be priced at $1,500. Go for the much cheaper GH2! Price check and search links at [shopcountry 16254].