Issue 1 · Wednesday 28 October 2026 · 5 min read
M43 LOFIC sensors rumored for 2027–28, plus a hack that puts Panasonic aperture rings on Olympus bodies
In this issue: What's hot · New tools & products (3) · What people are saying · News (2) · One takeaway
What's hot
LOFIC M43 sensor rumor — 43 Rumors is passing on a claim from a Chinese source that new Micro Four Thirds sensors using LOFIC are in development. LOFIC — lateral overflow integration capacitors — holds the highlight charge that would otherwise clip, and it's the tech behind DJI's Osmo Pocket 4P, which CineD measured at 16 stops of dynamic range. The rumored sensor would pair LOFIC with dual conversion gain for 14-bit sampling at 60fps and total dynamic range beyond 17 stops, reportedly as a Four Thirds-format version of OmniVision's OV50X. None of it is confirmed, and the expectation is DJI products see the sensor first — whether OM System or Panasonic ever get access is the open question Digital Camera World also flags.
Dynamic range is the knock against your OM bodies versus full-frame; this would erase most of that gap while keeping the reach, portability and lens lineup you bought into. The claimed exposure recovery range is +9 to −4 EV, with arrival in 2027–2028. 43 Rumors
New tools & products
Olympus unofficial firmware patch — is a free GitHub patch from a Korean coder that makes Panasonic lens aperture rings work properly on Olympus and OM System bodies, and adds 12.5 and 16.7 fps options for SH2 and Pro Capture on the OM-1 plus 5 GHz Wi-Fi hotspots and e-shutter sound. If you own Panasonic M43 glass, that dead aperture ring finally does something — with no new hardware. It's an unofficial hack, so warranty risk is on you. Confirmed working on the OM-1, E-M1 Mark III, OM-5, E-M5 Mark II and III, E-M10 Mark I and PEN-F. 43 Rumors
GoPro MISSION 1 PRO ILS — is a $699.99 compact cinema camera with a Micro Four Thirds lens mount, a 50MP 1-inch sensor and GoPro's GP3 processor, recording 8K at up to 60fps and 4K at 240fps in a 197-gram body. It just made TIME's Best Inventions of 2026 list. Think of it as a pocket B-cam that mounts the M43 lenses you already own. It also shoots 8K Open Gate at 30fps with 10-bit GP-Log2; lenses are sold separately. Y.M.Cinema
SmallRig 28mm waist-level viewfinder — is a hot-shoe optical finder giving a 28mm full-frame-equivalent view with 35mm and 50mm bright framelines, a one-action opening hood and cover, and a 4-element nano-coated design in an aluminum body with vintage leather trim. It's more Leica-M accessory than D-Lux 8 tool — it suits a fixed 28mm prime setup — but it mounts on any standard hot shoe and weighs just 62.0g. SmallRig lists Leica, Fujifilm and Nikon among the brands it's built to sit on. Leica Rumors
What people are saying
Paul Burrows, Digital Camera World — argues the pared-down beginner camera is finished, reading the new OM System PEN, Panasonic Lumix L10 and Nikon Z5IIC as bodies aimed at smartphone upgraders who want the latest tech and will pay for it. The PEN is an interchangeable-lens M43 camera pitched at exactly that crowd, which tells you where OM System is aiming its small-body line. If you're weighing a compact second body — or buying one for family — Burrows finds the fixed-lens Lumix L10 pricier than the PEN kit but better featured, especially for video. Digital Camera World
News
OM-5 Mark II firmware 1.1 — The 28 October update fixes noise appearing in High Res Shot images, speeds up information display at startup, and lets My Clips movie audio fade out.
Leica BOX prototype — The only fully working 1950s half-frame Leica BOX, serial 000.01 with a fixed Summaron 3.5cm, goes under the hammer on 28 November in Wetzlar, estimated at €400,000–500,000.
One takeaway
Don't wait on LOFIC — buy what you need now. The LOFIC rumor is the most exciting M43 story in months, but it rests on one unconfirmed Chinese source, sits two years out (2027–2028), and DJI would see the sensor before OM System or Panasonic. That's no reason to hold off on an OM-1, a lens, or anything on your list this year. Treat it as upside: if it lands, the format's biggest weakness disappears — in the body you'd upgrade to anyway. Digital Camera World
How this issue was made. Researched and written by an agent, produced on 28 October 2026, 15:36. 60 sources read, 0 unreachable. Every link above goes to the primary source. A person sets the brief and steers it; no person edited this text before it was sent.