Is anyone likely to buy anything introduced in January? My only potential purchase (and I hope it's introduced this early) is a Nikkor Z 14-30. I've been very happy with the Z7 and the 24-70 - it is a shockingly sharp combo for relatively little weight! I may trade in some of my Fuji system to add a 14-30 to my Nikon bag (unless it's a lousy lens, I very much want one before the serious hiking season begins in May)...
Both the E-M1x and the new Panasonics look like they have some vexing design decisions to me... Is anyone interested in either one, and what are the really attractive features? I'm honestly curious, not bashing either manufacturer - both of whom have made some very interesting cameras and lenses over the years...
I've been keeping an eye on the E-M1x both out of curiosity and for an Olympus-shooting friend. It seems, to me at least, to be a deeply odd design. My Olympus-shooting friend has an E-M1 mk II which he absolutely loves - it offers the speed and durability of a high-end sports camera (1Dx mk II or D5) for about 1/3 of the cost and weight. At modest ISO, it offers very nearly the maximum print size of the other sports cameras - none of them are especially noisy below ISO 800 or so, and they're all ~20 MP. It doesn't offer the through-the-roof ISOs of the others, nor the subject isolation (the m4/3 equivalent to the pro sports photographer's favorite 300mm f2.8 would be a 150mm f1.4, which doesn't exist), but that's not a huge price to pay for its compactness and reasonable cost. It also doesn't have the "nuclear" batteries of the big sports DSLRs, although the battery life isn't bad.
What makes the E-M1x vexing to me is that it gives up the two best features of the mk II, the compactness and the reasonable cost, while retaining the one real downfall of the mk II - the sensor 1/4 the size of any other sports camera, which loses high ISO performance and subject isolation.
By a very crude calculation of volume (I simply multiplied published length x width x height), the E-M1x is a little larger than a Nikon D850, nearly twice the volume of an E-M1 mk II, and about 35% smaller than a D5. That's still noticeably smaller than competitors (apart from the Sony A9), but it's given up the night and day advantage. Could the built-in grip also end up "jamming" the pinkie fingers of large-handed photographers? It sometimes happens with accessory grips on smallish cameras - there's not enough height for a full larger hand, and the grip blocks putting a finger on the bottom of the camera. An X-T2 with a grip is uncomfortable with my big hand for that reason... The massive D5 and 1Dx mk II don't have this problem (although they can be uncomfortable for smaller hands), because they're tall enough to accommodate most hands.
Oddly, it doesn't seem to use a larger battery that could give it very long life... Could it take two batteries internally? Optionally, or will it require both batteries installed to function?
It's also nearly as expensive as the current price of the Sony A9, a very capable full-frame sports camera (if it's $2999, will $2999 vs. $3499 for the Sony make a real difference to anyone) - and twice as expensive as the E-M1 mk II.
Strikes me as an odd camera! Is anyone really excited for it, or are the Olympophiles all waiting for the E-M5 mk III or the E-M1 mk III?
It does look like Olympus is getting a great lens - a 150-400 with a 2x factor means a lens capable of 800mm equivalent (at f4.0)! Even accounting for the two-stop difference in subject isolation, an 800mm f8.0 is only a stop slower than the enormous 800mm f5.6 FF lenses (and this one looks like it might fit in a regular bag, and may even be handholdable, at least for a while - especially with Olympus OIS).
The new Panasonics also seem neither fish nor fowl, at least to me? A 24 MP full-frame body, with a brand-new lens line? Why not Sony, Nikon or Canon (with a few extra MP)? Sony has a great native lens line, and both Nikon and Canon have first-party adapters to huge lineups. More recent information indicates good (but not fantastic) video - not far from an A7III or a Z6. Oh, and it's the size of a D850, with extra-bulky lenses?
The pixel monster version runs right into both Sony and Nikon - Canon isn't in that space yet, but soon will be. Again, either competitive lens line has a significant advantage. Both competitors have IBIS and PDAF. With the bulky body and high price, they also run right into Fuji medium format with a superior lens line! Panasonic would need one heck of a sensor advantage to overcome the lenses their competitors have - and the Nikon and Sony sensors are already pushing right up to the edge of what a 14-bit readout at ~45 MP can do. I haven't seen any indication that the Panny is either ~60 MP or has a 16-bit readout?
Yes, they accept a few existing Leica lenses, but I haven't seen any reason to be excited about those, especially at their prices. The 24-90 f4.0 is actually heavier than the Sony 24-70 f2.8 G-master, which is a full stop faster (and the Leica is twice the price). It's only a little lighter than the Canon 28-70 f2.0, although the Canon gives up range at both ends. Is it really a better lens than the excellent G-master? Or the ultra-fast Canon? The few reviews I've seen of the Leica suggest that the little Nikkor Z 24-70 f4.0 is a worthy competitor, at less than half the weight and a fraction of the price... The Nikkor is a very darned sharp normal zoom!