Two most popular products today are the Panasonic LX100 and the Olympus 40-150mm PRO lens. So here we are with the first brand new image samples:
Bernie De Chant posted a set of LX100 image samples on Flickr.
Pekka Potka posted image samples taken with the marvellous Olympus 40-150mm zoom.
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Olympus preorders:
Silver E-M1 body at Amazon, Adorama, Bhphoto, GetOlympus. In Europe at Wex UK.
40-150mm f/2.8 PRO lens at Amazon, Adorama, Bhphoto, GetOlympus. In Europe at Wex UK.
LH-76 lens hood at Adorama, Bhphoto, GetOlympus.
MC-14 1.4x teleconverter at Amazon, Adorama, Bhphoto, GetOlympus.
PRF-ZD62 Z protection filter at Adorama, Bhphoto, GetOlympus.
PRF-ZD72 Z protection filter at Adorama, Bhphoto, GetOlympus.
General links to all new Olympus stuff at Adorama.
ALL new stuff announced at Photokina at Amazon.
Panasonic preorders:
LX100 at Amazon, Adorama, BHphoto. Europe at Panasonic Germany, WexUK, Panasonic Austria, Panasonic France, Panasonic Italy, Panasonic Spain, Panasonic Netherlands, Panasonic Belgium.
GM5 at Amazon, Adorama, BHphoto. Europe at Panasonic Germany, WexUK, Panasonic Austria, Panasonic France, Panasonic Italy, Panasonic Spain, Panasonic Netherlands, Panasonic Belgium.
GM5 in red at Adorama.
35-100mm at Amazon, Adorama, BHphoto. Europe at Panasonic Germany, Panasonic Austria, Panasonic France, Panasonic Italy, Panasonic Spain, Panasonic Netherlands, Panasonic Belgium.
14mm at Panasonic Germany, Panasonic Austria, Panasonic Spain, Panasonic Netherlands, Panasonic Belgium.
And now the big 43rumors readers question:
[poll id=”251″]
54 Responses
Those images by Pekka Potka are stunning. For anyone who doubts that professional bird-in-flight images can be done with mirrorless, there’s your answer…
I was thinking the same. The photos of the hawk with the fish have me thinking that the AF of this lens is going to be awesome.
But I also worry that this lens might be a little short for that type of photography, seeing that for most of those shots he was at max focal length – with the teleconverter…
Absolutely wonderful shots and yes plainly too short, but you’ve seen the size of full frame 2.8 lenses!
But not all. Not to short for birds on the beach and overhead, or for occasional football match. Just right.
Anything less than 500mm is too short for birds. Start saving for the 300mm f4 Pro.
Admin — with past releases, Olympus has followed up with discounts for multiple purchases (buy a lens, get a discount on an accessory; buy a camera, get a discount on a lens; etc.). I *think* you posted a rumor a few months back to the effect that purchasers of both the 40-150 lens and 1.4x teleconverter would get a rebate of some amount.
Any new news on this front?
There is a TC and lens kit that is 150€ cheaper than sepperate purchase 1600 vs. 1400 + 350€ in EU
Thanks — I’ll have to wait and see if something similar is offered in the U.S.
samples of 40-150/2.8 are so sharps!
The Pekka Potka images are underwhelming. Bokeh is ugly as hell which is strange for this FL.
If I compare these 40-150 images to what I’ve seen from my 75 1.8, I feel as if these are not as razor sharp. Is anyone else underwhelmed by the sharpness?
1) Most of those were done with the MC14 PLUS the 40-150.
2) The 75mm is (at least among) the sharpest PRIME there is.
3) You seem to be comparing your MEMORY of YOUR photos to a WEB posting of someone else’s.
Conclusion: Duh?
Yeah. I noticed that most were with MC14. Although these samples have some value, I don’t think they really help me determine the sharpness of the lens. I’m still left unimpressed. It would be good to have some original JPEG downloads.
I’m comparing my memory since I’m at work and commenting on a thread. But I’ve looked at enough photos that I usually trust my eyes! Don’t you trust your eyes to determine the sharpness of an image?
um…you more likely need some RAW downloads….again..you are comparing jpegs from the web from a quality new “zoom” lens with a TC attached to the sharpest prime lens that Olympus makes for the system????? C’mon.
I also have a 12-40 2.8 Pro, which has impressed me for a zoom. At this point I’m just not impressed with the sample images. But as others pointed out, many of these images are with the MC14, which has likely compromised the IQ. I’ll wait to see more samples before I plop down $1500 for this lens.
Of course I trust my eyes. But my point is that what you are comparing this to makes no sense. Want sharpness, buy a prime. Want versatility, buy a zoom. Want even more versatility but are willing to give up some (more) sharpness, buy the MC14.
If you want to compare the sharpness of this to other 40-150 (80-300) zooms, fine. I’ve got the cheap one, and there’s no contest as far as I can see.
If you want to compare the cost of this to the 45mm, 75mm, and 150mm native primes (needed to cover the same range, but with better sharpness(and light-gathering, etc), go ahead.
But a zoom+EC14 compared to a prime, with absolute sharpness as your sole criteria to “impress” you? No.
To each his own.
I think its not a standard rule anymore that a prime is always better then a zoom regarding to sharpness. Maybe if its a low budget zoom but in this case a comparison between the two might be interesting.
Given that they are web JPEGs taken with a telephoto zoom, wide open, with a teleconverter, of moving wildlife in the distance, I would not be surprised if they are not as sharp as the sharpest prime lens in the system. They look pretty damn good to me, though.
+1000 Good insightful comment!
have to agree too, the photos from Pekka look all very crisp and detailed, but hard to judge 100% from a resized version how the lens performs regarding to sharpness.I can only assume its very good. Would love to see how it renders outdoor full figure modelshots at 75 and 150 for the sake of object isolation.
Yep, they are some of the best I’ve seen. And it blows me away that he was able to get these shots. I meam, for most wildlife photographers, these are once in a lifetime shots. Pekka goes to “test” a lens, and gets these: perfectly lit, in perfect light! And of some of the shyest wildlife there is.
I tried recently to photograph some Ospreys in Finland, with the E-M1 & Olly 75-300/II. I’m not going to show the results here, they’re humiliating in comparison. Chapeau to Mr Potka.
How many images did you look at? My eyes are bleeding!
Admin, what about Panasonic lens roadmap? All new lens are released (35-100, 15, new 14mm, etc…). Any news about the 150/2.8?
I think the Pana 150mm f2.8 might be dead.
No real place for it sinceit was rather big and 40-150 looks so good.
I bet Pana is rethinking the whole deal. I doubt the would sell many as I am sure they thought of charging us something like 1499$ for it.
Maybe they make it a 200mm f2.8 or offer it at 800$ if its done in r&d and come out with 1.4tc for 200$ that works an all their f2.8 lenses with more compromise than Oly was willing to make.
Yes, drop the 150 mm f2.8.
Needed (gap to be filled): 100-250 mm or may be 125-275 mm range.
Wanted: Panny style like 35-100. I mean: size and weight are leading here.
Outcome: 100-250 mm f3.2 to f4.
Why:
– could be made with a 70 mm diamter (purely glass: 250/4 = 62,5 mm).
– Weight (just a guess): with WS and DP, better glas I would max it at 700 gr.
– Fills a gap, (100-300 slow focussing, inconsitent IQ acroos the FL)
– With Weathersealing and dustproofing, the next logical step in the line up.
– OIS of course
Alternative 125-275 mm.
– Would be equally nice for Panny and Oly users. From 150 to 250 for Oly users might just be a little too short. 275 mm is more convincing.
– OIS: usable on both systems
Panny should also make a 1.4 TC for the 35-100 and for this new lens. And may be a 2.0 TC too.
It is time Panny stops fixating on the smaller GM5 series, which however deserves its special lenses. Now that that is covered, it is time to focus on the semi-pro users. With DFD working well, get us the lenses we need for (indoor) sports, BIF and other wildlife.
Is it just me, or is the bokeh just so-so?
Really? More bokeh BS? A brand new camera that looks really great and within a few hours someone has to question the “bokeh.” Of all the tired, worn out, petty things for people to worry about….bokeh this and bokeh that…Just a fancy name for the appearance of out-of-focus parts of the picture, but hey, let’s call it bokeh and pretend it makes us sound professional. Isn’t it amazing that most of the best photographs ever made were made by photographers who would not even know what that word is? With perhaps one or two exceptions, if you know how to shoot photos and have any sense of art and can identify subjects that are even mildly interesting, then the bokeh barely matters, so long as you know how to use depth of field to properly isolate your subject when appropriate
Typically it is just an excuse for crappy photos “Oh look at the beautiful bokeh in this boring lame image of my girlfriend posing like a mannequin in front of the fireplace…isn’t that bokeh great? I am such a pro!”
Look, just smear some vaseline all over the lens and you will have all the bokeh you need and for most of the bokeh obsessives out there, it can only improve their pictures
Give me a break.
AMEN !!!
I sometimes wonder what people are actually photographing, their subject or the ¨bokrap¨.
I think bokeh is a legitimate concern on a telephoto compared to a wide-angle. The DOF will be thinner, so more of your photos will have the bokeh. And so you have to ask yourself, do you like the way it looks? Creamy bokeh does help the subject pop while nervous bokeh makes the image appear more cluttered.
One, bokeh is subjective – I buy old Russian lenses precisely for the nervous bokeh. Two, it is up to the skills of the photographer to use any bokeh character to the best advantage.
your opinion reflects the thoughts of many who also see bokeh as a bad nightmare for something they dont appreciate. just seeing alot of bad over the top samples doesn’t make everything bad.
Did you consider that for someone this could be an important characteristic? What is a ‘BS’ for you (which is insulting btw) for others might be critical. But I see you already made your decision about who I am, having no information whatsoever. Just note, you are being very condescending and it is completely unprovoked.
If the LX100 uses a m43 sensor, would like to see Panasonic build a real compact 12-35 f/1.8-2.8 lens despite the overlap with the current 12-35/2.8
I guess not possible due to standardized register distance.
I think it should be possible if you accept a sensor crop.
Maybe Panasonic will feel adventurous with the GM lens line up at some point, that’s where my hopes are. As for the LX100 lens, i suspect a large part of it is recessed into the body (like the RX1), but yeah, even accounting for that it’s still A LOT smaller than the current 12-35mm 2.8, maybe it’s more SW corrected ? who knows, I wouldn’t care wither way, the end result is what matters, that, and portability.
I’d take a f/2-4 zoom, Panasonic could be on to something if they focused on making portable lenses.
“Bernie De Chant posted a set of LX100 image samples on Flickr.”
Any idea where the *beep* *beep* from Yahoo hidden the button to view images at 100%?
Bernie De Chant’s images with the LX100 are fantastic. Worth a trip to Flickr. Also available on the LX100 microsite in the UK:
http://www.panasonic.com/uk/consumer/cameras-camcorders/lumix-digital-cameras—point-and-shoot/compact-cameras/dmc-lx100.html
thanks for sharing. There are some you tube videos shot by LX100 in 4k and it’s amazingly sharp. Very tempting. I want to see how well the optical stabilization works in user reviews but otherwise i think it’s an upgrade from my OMD EM5. i might lose 5 axis IBIS but LX100 seems like a great value for $899. A decent travel camera.
IMO optical stabilization is and always was superior and the longer you go in terms of focal length the more it shows… just my 2 cents… 5-axis IBIS is a good piece of engineering for what it is but with a dedicated lens on such camera the OIS can be fine tuned to perfection.
Really wish they could have weather sealed the LX100. That is likely one of the reasons to wait for its successor. Why is it that not one of these high-end, fully-contained lens + large-sensor bodies have ever been weather sealed? I want to be able to throw this in a bag and be able to take it anywhere in all weather conditions. Hopefully, with the trend in smartphones, we’ll see this happen in the next generation. Other ideas for improvement are a tiltable LCD, OLED viewfinder, mic and headphone jacks, and H.265 video encoding.
on the other side, it has complex retractable zoom which isn’t easy to make weather-sealed.
Do you know of a good GUI to encode 265 video? And a Software Player that can play it?
I was struggling with one yesterday. Even more with players since they played my re-coded clip 10 times as fast.
It was 10 times less in size… 😛
Boy, some people will never be happy. Always something to kvetch about, eh. The LX100 looks good, not exactly what I was expecting but I will still be checking it out.
I would like to to humbly admit that I was wrong about the LX100 not having a Four Thirds sensor, even if it was reasonable to be skeptical. ^_^
Kudos to you. At least some people admit they were wrong xD
fixed lcd and zoom lens on LX100…would have preferred tilt screen with fixed Leica 15mm f1.7.
can’t have it all…nice camera though.
Get a PEN with the 15mm.
I don’t get what’s so special in 40-150. Its niche already well covered by CaNikon stuff. GM5 is more innovative because there are very few small cameras with EVF.
It was a missing cornerstone of the system, that’s all.
And they actually made it so that few can complain about, weight, IQ, speed, price, availability, etc
How is a mFT users going to use Canikon stuff on his Oly or Panny mFt cam? And what you say is also true for the 12-35, the 12-40 f2.8s. Etc.
Pekka Potka immages are nice but 300mm f/4 with tc1.4 will be the right wildlife stuff …they should do also tc2.0 too
My oh my – look at those MTFs:
http://asia.olympus-imaging.com/products/dslr/mlenses/40-150_28_pro/mtf/
http://asia.olympus-imaging.com/products/dslr/lenses/35-100_20/mtf/
http://asia.olympus-imaging.com/products/dslr/lenses/150_20/mtf/
Considering those two native Zuiko SHGs are some of the sharpest lenses ever made, the 40-150/2.8 PRO seems to be quite a performer! Even though the SHGs are f2.0 (and thus their graphs may improve a tad at f2.8), I dare say I’m impressed w/ the sharpness of this PRO lens. I have 4 SHG lenses, so I know well what they can do… Judged from Pekka’s samples though, it seems like the bokeh is more similar to that of the 50-200 SWD. Which is somewhat nervous/busy compared to the creamy out-of-focus you achieve w/ i.e the 35-100/2.0 and the 90-250/2.8 SHGs.
But add in all the other native M.Zuiko features and advantages, and I believe this will be quite a contribution to the system at large. Along w/ the other PRO lenses, the new 7-14/2.8 and the 12-40/2.8 (and also the new 1.4 TC), they add up to a compact holy trintity that will cope w/ almost anything! That said, I do hope the next roadmap entry will be a long tele zoom, to replace the amazing and versatile 90-250/2.8 w/ a M.Zuiko sibling, as there is quite a gap between 150mm and 300mm (yes, I know there’s a TC now, but still…) 🙂