Tokyo Storm from Andrew Reid on Vimeo.

The Olympus E-Pm1 gets tested at DigitalcameraInfo (Click here): “In our select awards we named the flagship model of this line, the Olympus E-P3, the mirrorless camera of the year. If you’re looking to save some cash and don’t mind compromising on color accuracy, the quality of the LCD, and the lack of an included grip (or if you simply want a smaller camera), then the E-PM1 is an acceptable alternative.“.
Also Reghardware (Click here) tested the Olympus camera: “With the E-PM1 Olympus has released a sexy, versatile, pocketable camera that manages to bring increased ease-of-use to the PEN family without sacrificing the creative and technical performance of its more expensive models“.
Get the camera at [shopcountry 23565]

ThePhoBlographer (Click here) reviewed the Olympus 45mm f/1.8 lens: “Overall, I can’t help but recommend the Olympus 45mm f1.8 lens. It should be the portrait lens in the bag of every single Micro Four Thirds camera user and I will not retract or take that statement back“.
Lens price check at [shopcountry 23577]

Photoreview (Click here) got their hands on the Panasonic 45-175mm X lens: “Imatest testing showed the review lens to be a first-class performer on the basis of JPEG files from the G3 used for our tests. It was well able to match expectations for the camera’s 15.8-megapixel sensor and produced resolution that was slightly above expectations at several focal lengths“.
The X lens is in Stock at [shopcountry 25103].

According to Photofocus (Click here) the Olympus E-P3 is the camera of the year: “While Olympus as a company is going through some significant challenges right now, their cameras are first rate regardless.”
Get the camera at [shopcountry 23568]

P.S.: Japanese SLR magic 12mm review at jintarow.

The chinese website Mobile01 (Click here) and the  japanese website DC.watch (Click here) also posted a review. But the most interesting article comed via another japanese website Itmedia (Click here) compared the GX1 ISO quality with the Sony NEX-5n. Here is an example at ISO 3200: GX1 versus NEX-5n image. I have to say the GX1 does a very good job against the camera that is known to be the deliver the best image quality of all mirrorless cameras. Only at ISO 12800: GX1 image vs NEX-5n image you can see a major difference between the two. But honestly, I have to say if you shoot from ISO 100 to 1600 you will not see any visible difference. I guess the lenses here will make the difference and that’s where Micro Four Thirds has a considerable advantage.

The Panasonic GX1 is already available in Japan but it will take a couple of weeks before it will be in Stock everywhere. Check the links: [shopcountry 26836].

Cameralabs (Click here) posted a set of new GX1 image and video samples.

The GX1 is now shipping in Asia and more reviews and tests are coming in:

Focus Numerique (Click here) posted a GX1 ISO test. In short, the GX1 is better than the E-P3 but not as good as the NEX-5n. Compared to the G3, it seems that the GX1 noise is more smooth at high sensitivities.

First GX1 unboxing pictures at Mobile01 (Click here and than on the green links!).

A hungarian GX1 review at Prohardver (Click here).

Preorders search links: [shopcountry 26836].

The new Panasonic GX1 is now for sale in Japan (Amazon). Let’s see how long it takes to come to the rest of the world….months? As you know MR. Sykes from Panasonic said: “If you’re lucky you might get it (the GX1) under your tree for Christmas. It’s that type of launch. So that campaign may move into next year. Obviously the G3 we see as a mass product. The GX we don’t think will be a mass product“. LOL :(

Meanwhile watch the video on top for a first hands-on review and take a look at following image samples from Imaging Resource.

That is the new preorder link list:
Black GX1 body at Amazon (Click here), Amazon UK (Click here), Jessops (Click here), Amazon Japan (Click here), and Digitalrev (Click here).
Silver GX1 body at Amazon (Click here), Amazon UK (Click here), Jessops (Click here) and Amazon Japan (Click here).
Black GX1 with 14-42mm X lens at Amazon (Click here), Amazon UK (Click here), Jessops (Click here), Amazon Japan (Click here), Amazon France (Click here) and Digitalrev (Click here).
Silver GX1 with 14-42mm X lens at Amazon (Click here), Amazon UK (Click here), Jessops (Click here), Amazon Japan (Click here).
Black GX1 with 14-42mm at Amazon (Click here), Amazon UK (Click here), Jessops (Click here), Amazon Japan (Click here).
Silver GX1 with 14-42mm at Amazon (Click here), Amazon Japan (Click here) and Jessops (Click here).

I have two new lens reviews and a new article from ThePhoBlographer to share today:

The Online Photographer (Click here) tested the amazing Olympus 12mm f/2.0 and is surprisingly unsatisfied with it: “This is not a bad lens. But it is no better than merely good, and its performance doesn’t come anywhere close to justifying an $800 price tag.” This is probably the very first negative review of the lens. So it’s worth to read it! They also reviewed the 45mm Olympus lens last week and that’s a lens they absolutely like: “All in all, I think this lens is worth every bit of the $400 price tag. Even if it weren’t a fast lens, it would deserve accolades. It is that good.” And also SLRgear (Click here) highly recommends that lens “With excellent test results, this is a no-brainer of a conclusion – it’s a great and inexpensive addition to your Olympus PEN kit, especially if you’re a portrait shooter“.

Here are the links to both lenses to check price and in Stock status:
Olympus 12mm f/2.0 at [shopcountry 23576].
Olympus 45mm f/1.8 at [shopcountry 23577].

ThePhoBlographer (Click here) explains you how to upgrade you Micro Four Thirds Camera System. It’s a short guide for beginners!

P.S.: For european readers, the Nokton 25mm f/0.95 is in Stock for 719 Euro only on [shoplink 27114 ebay]eBay France (Click here)[/shoplink].

SLR Magic / Noktor 12mm F1.6 Sample from Adam Troup on Vimeo.

The Olympus E-PM1 has been reviewed at Photoreview (Click here): “Because it provides most of the features of its more expensive siblings (the E-P3 and E-PL3), the E-PM1 represents excellent value for money. At $599 for the single-lens kit, it’s $200 cheaper than the E-PL3 and $400 less than the E-P3“.
E-PM1 price check links: [shopcountry 23565].

Olympus E-P3 test at Neocamera (Click here): “The Olympus PEN E-P3 rightfully deserves its flagship status among Micro Four-Thirds SLDs. By keeping the already great design of its predecessor and refining the internals, particularly the autofocus system, Olympus produced an excellent camera that is even more usable. True to the ideal compromise between performance and size, the PEN E-P3 compares well to previous generation entry-level DSLRs in terms of performance while offering it in a size comparable to a compact camera“.
E-P3 price check links: [shopcountry 23568].

There is a new E-PL3 review at Photoxels (Click here): “The Olympus E-PL3 is a perfect step up for someone graduating from a point-and-shoot and a better choice than one of the high end compact digicam or entry-level DSLR. Compact, light and giving DSLR-level image quality and performance, we believe it makes an ideal mirrorless DSLR for the whole family. Highly recommended“.
E-PL3 price check links: [shopcountry 23567].

Olympus 45mm review at m43blogspot (Click here): “The image quality is good, and the focus speed is fast. The lens is not so well suited for video recording, due to the lack of optical image stabilization.”
45mm lens price check links: [shopcountry 23577].

Panasonic 100-300mm lens review at Photozone (Clik here): “The delivered resolution is actually pretty decent across the image field and the focal length – especially towards the very long end of the range. The lens suffers from a high degree of lateral CAs – despite an extra low dispersion lens – which is mainly a problem for Olympus users whereas the auto-correction can cope with this issue on Panasonic cameras.”
100-300mm lens price check links: [shopcountry 16261].

Something different: Olympus E-1 Kodak sensor dynamic range test (dpreview forum).
The only place were you can find the old E-1 is on [shoplink 27100 ebay]eBay (Click here)[/shoplink]. Can’t find a reason why you should still buy that cam :)

The new Panasonic 14-42mm X pancake zoom has been reviewed at ePhotozine (Click here): “If you value compactness above all but must have a zoom standard lens or you want ultra-smooth zooming movies from your CSC, you have (literally) no other choice than this one and I would therefore have to recommend it“. ePhotozine also said the optical performance is not better than the standard 14-42mm lens. But considering the increidble tiny size of the X lens this is sounds like a very good news.

Also the korean website Popco (Click here) tested the same lens. But there is no google english translation available. You can still look at their charts and image samples.

Check the 14-42mm X lens price and availability at [shopcountry 25104].