So, in summation – it’s been a banner year for Micro 4/3. More than any other year since the first year it came out, 2012 saw the introduction of major pieces of gear on both the camera and lens side, and for once they were extremely tilted towards the high-end photographer. As a result, I’ve seen more and more professionals and serious amateurs migrating to Micro 4/3, either as a second system or even as their primary system like I did two years ago.
The good news is that next year looks to be shaping up to be another great year for Micro 4/3. There have already been a number of announcements and substantiated rumors for new things next year. Here’s a little bit of what we can expect:
- Two new high-grade prime lenses from Panasonic. At Photokina this year, Panasonic briefly mentioned two new lenses on their roadmap: A 42.5mm f/1.2 portrait prime and a 150mm f/2.8 telephoto. These would be outstanding additions to Micro 4/3, provided they are of high quality.
- Panasonic will almost certainly release a new high end compact Micro 4/3 camera. With the GF5 this year, they’ve solidified the GF series as their entry level, with the GX series taking the high end in that form factor. Not much is known about the future GX2, but it is quite possible it will share the same sensor as the GH3, and could possibly have an integrated low profile viewfinder.
- Schneider-Kreuznach will be releasing at least three native mount autofocus lenses. They’ve announced the 14mm f/2.0 Super-Angulon, the 30mm f/1.4 Xenon and the 60mm f/2.4 Makro-Symmar. Given Schneider’s reputation for outstanding lenses, these should all be extremely high quality lenses, though with a similarly high quality pricetag.
- While not confirmed, it is likely that Olympus will be releasing a new camera to fill in the E-P3’s old slot. Possibly a rangefinder styled camera with the OM-D’s IBIS and viewfinder. We’ll have to wait and see. It is also possible we’ll see an OM-D E-M5 successor. However, we don’t know what sort of cycle Olympus plans to keep the OM-D series on.
Finally….
Lastly, I just want to say thank you to all the readers of Admiring Light. I started this website last January, and the response has been fantastic. Admiring Light will pass its Half-Millionth page view sometime in the next day or two, and the overall support of the reader has been far more than I expected when I began this project. I’ve had a great time testing gear, trying out new techniques and passing on some of those experiences to you.
I’ll try and make 2013 even better. I hope to continue bringing you great equipment reviews and I’m going to try bringing a few new things to the table in the coming months. Thanks again and keep shooting!
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