The new Nokton 17.5mm f/0.95 is a marvellous lens but you usually have to pay 1.299 Euro for it. But I just found a super deal at Le Petit Boutique on [shoplink 31561 ebay]eBay France (Click here)[/shoplink]. They sell it for 1.1139 Euro only..you save $160 on the lens!!! They have eight lenses in Stock and shipping to Europe only! Another french store sells it worldwide for just 10 Euro more again on [shoplink 31562 ebay]eBay France (Click here)[/shoplink].

A full list of all stores selling the lens can be seen [shoplink 31562 ebay]here on eBay[/shoplink].

The video on top has been shot by Seb Farges. He writes about the lens: “The lens is great and I’m very impressed with this first hands on. It’s bigger and louder than it’s brother the 25mm f/0.95. On the first clip you will see them both (shot with SLR Magic 12mm), then clip number two is taken with the 25mm and clip number three (and all the others) is shot with the 17.5mm, so you can see the difference of the field coverage.
This lens has very smooth aperture ring, especially when you switch it on the “no clic” position. The focus ring is quite smooth, like the 25mm. The minimum focus distance is very very short, you can shoot quite in front of the glass ! I will do more test to compare with the 25mm and the SLR Magic Cine lens 50mm later.”

P.S.: Full review at DCFever.

ePhotozine (Click here) posted the full 3D lens review: “The view through the lens gives a cropped view equivalent to around 60mm in 35mm terms, which isn’t ideal for some and the low resolution is a little disappointing, however its higher resolution than Full HD TV so should be more than adequate for viewing at home and 3D results can be impressive.”

That said have you noticed how the 3D hype deflated recently? For years we heard about 3D here and 3D there. But the marketing machine wasn’t able to wash our brains :)  The Panasonic 3D lens now sells for $66 at Amazon (Click here). At that price Panasonic will be able to cover the costs but make zero profit.

One word for ePhotozine. With the 3D lens review they finally achieved the goal to review ALL(!) Panasonic lenses. You can see the full list here. Good Job guys! P.S.: They even tested the 12-35mm X lens which luckily is now back for preorder at Amazon US (Click here).

Reminder: New Oly/Pana Lens Preorders in Europe, USA and Asia:
Olympus 75mm lens at Amazon, Adorama, BHphoto, Amazon Germany and Amazon UK.
Panasonic 12-35mm X lens at Amazon, BHphoto, Adorama, Amazon Germany, Amazon UK, Amazon Japan and Digitalrev.

As you can see from the picture on top the first full leather case bag is now available on [shoplink 31532 ebay]eBay (Click here)[/shoplink]. It is also available in [shoplink 31533 ebay]Brown (Click here)[/shoplink].

My friend Tyson Robichaud tested the E-M5 and wrote a long list of PROS and CONS: “I love the camera, but feel that there are a few areas that can, and should, be improved upon in the future.  There is no one way to skin a cat, but I think Olympus could really fine tune a few of these shortcomings which would benefit not only new users, but seasoned Oly aficianados as well.  It’s not a perfect camera, but for the cost, it is close and truly offers a micro 4/3 shooter a good all around tool.“. Visit his website to read the full article!

I agree with 99% of his points. I hope Olympus will read his article and take care of his concerns when developing the E-M6 or E-M7 :)
This brings me to an idea. I will soon ask you to suggest your features for the next E-M cameras. But I will wait until you first got your E-M5 cameras. First you have to use it for a while. Sometimes first impressions are wrong!

E-M5 (Pre)order links (Click on store name):
Amazon, Adorama, B&H, Jessops, Amazon UK, Amazon Germany, Amazon France, Amazon Japan and Digitalrev. Cheap [shoplink 31278 ebay]third party E-M5 batteries on eBay (Click here)[/shoplink].

The E-M5 keeps to be present in the Amazon Bestseller list(changes hourly!):
USA: E-M5 on position 7/10 (Click here)
UK: E-M5 is on position 40 (Click here).
Germany: The E-M5 is on position 4/13 (Click here).
France: E-M5 on position 22/23 (Click here).
Japan: E-M5 on position 22/23 (Click here).

GF5:
While we are all waiting to see the new G5 announcement here are two tests of the newest Panasonic cameras: GF5 ISO test at Focus Numerique (Click here). Full GF5 review at Pocket Lint (Click here): “This ultra-small compact system camera is no slouch: its super-fast autofocus and decent image quality push the GF-series yet further forward.“. Order the camera at [shopcountry 30485].

New Lens reviews:
ThePhoBlographer tested the Nokton 17.5mm f/0.95 lens: “In fact, it has even moved me to sell my Canon 7D and Nikon D5100 because the image quality that this gives me on a Micro Four Thirds sensor surpasses what the others can do for me in a small enough form factor. And in the end, the Voigtlander 17.5mm f0.95 wins nothing but the highest praise and a place in my heart.“. You can buy the lens on [shoplink 30452 ebay]eBay (Click here).[/shoplink] Double Sigma lens test at Camerastuffreview, Sigma 19mm (here) and Sigma 30mm (here). The Sigma lenses are really nice lenses! You can get them here:
The 30mm lens is in Stock at Amazon US (Click here), Amazon DE (Click here), Amazon UK (Click here), Amazon FR (Click here), Amazon JP (Click here) and Digitalrev (Click here).
The 19mm lens is in Stock at Amazon US (Click here), Amazon DE (Click here), Amazon UK (Click here), Amazon FR (Click here), Amazon JP (Click here) and Digitalrev (Click here).

You really can’t go more micro than that! I just found a 3cmm small miniature OM phone strap on eBay. There are actually two of them for sale: The [shoplink 31458 ebay]Silver E-M5 miniature (Click here)[/shoplink] and the [shoplink 31459 ebay]Black E-M5 miniature (Click here)[/shoplink]. You also get two interchangeable lenses! Of course, it won’t take any picture. P.S.: A funny camera that works is the Ikea cardboard camera you can find on [shoplink 31460 ebay]eBay (Click here)[/shoplink].

We had many E-M5 reviews in these days but Admiringlight is the first to test it as Sports Shooting camera: “The continuous drive mode is competitive with even professional grade DSLRs, and the excellent viewfinder and stabilization helps in framing shots with long lenses. I was impressed that the battery lasted all day, including 872 shots and a bunch of chimping, and still had some juice in the tank. The image quality was excellent, even given the very difficult lighting conditions. Overall, I really couldn’t ask for more from this tiny wonder.”

P.S.: Leica X2 vs Fuji X100 vs Olympus E-M5 and Sony NEX-7 by Steve Huff. An E-M5 review by Savezzi.

E-M5 orders (Click on the names of the stores to see the product page):
Black E-M5 body at Amazon, Adorama, BHphoto, J&R, Warehouse UK, Digitalrev and Amazon Japan.
Silver E-M5 body at Amazon, Adorama, BHphoto, J&R, Warehouse UK, and Amazon Japan.
Black E-M5 body with 14-42mm lens at Amazon, Adorama, BHphoto , Digitalrev and J&R.
Black E-M5 body with 12-50mm lens at Amazon, Adorama, BHphoto, J&R, Jessops, Amazon UK, Amazon Deutschland , Digitalrev and Amazon Japan.
Silver E-M5 body with 12-50mm lens at Amazon, Adorama, BHphoto, J&R, Jessops, Amazon UK, Amazon Deutschland and Amazon Japan.

The Pansonic 25mm f/1.4 on the GX1 (Image courtesy Photozone).

Klaus from Photozone (Click here) posted the full [shoplink 23110]Panasonic Leica Summilux 25mm f/1.4 ASPH[/shoplink] review: “The Panasonic Leica DG Summilux 25mm f/1.4 ASPH is a very desirable lens. The quality is very high across most of the image field when stopping down to f/2.8. However, the extreme corners remain only “good” here. Lateral CAs as well as distortions are all well controlled and not relevant in field conditions. In addition, the quality of the bokeh is very good.”

The [shoplink 23110]Leica 25mm[/shoplink] is certainly a great lens but I still prefer the [shoplink 14796]20mm f/1.7[/shoplink] for his tiny size that allows me to carry a camera in a pocket!
Check the price and availability of the Panasonic Leica: [shopcountry 23110] Check the price and availability of the Panasonic Leica: [shopcountry 14796]

More lens tests: Standard-range micro 4/3 Imatest Results at Lensrentals (Click here). 50mm prime battle at 3Dkraft.