Panasonic 12-35mm GX Vario f2.8 MFT Lens for Micro Four Thirds: Possible Kit Lens for Panasonic Lumix DMC GH3

eoshd writes about the upcoming 12-35mm weather sealed lens that is Panasonic's new top-range Lumix Zoom with a constant aperture of f2.8. While the Panasonic GH3 camera is not out yet, it is rumored to be a competitor to the current weather-sealed and in-body image stabilized Olympus OM-D (EM-5). The Olympus OM-D has the only flaw that it does not output clean HDMI, a shortcoming that the upcoming Panasonic GH3 could address (and solve) since the GH2 also outputs a clean HDMI signal and allows us to use RAW/HiRes external recording devices such as the Atomos Ninja or the Blackmagic Design HyperDeck Shuttle 2 SSD Video Recorder.

The Panasonic 12-35mm GX Vario f2.8 MFT Lens will of course also work with existing Micro Four Thirds Cameras, such as the GH2 or the OM-D, and features four aspherical elements, a 25cm minimum focus distance and Panasonic’s new nano-particle coating. Also the video-optimized image stabilizer (Power OIS) is said to be better.

Expected price is EUR 1100 (approx. 1400$). The original article is in spanish but definitely worth a read (just use google translate to get the information decrypted).

Here are some other sources from the web:
* ePhotoZine: "New Panasonic Lumix G X VARIO 12-35mm f/2.8 Lens Announced"
* dpreview: Panasonic Lumix G X Vario 12-35mm F2.8 ASPH Power OIS Preview
* dcresource: Panasonic announces F2.8, 12 - 35 mm Micro Four Thirds lens (sample photos available)