Panasonic GM1 vs the others (including GH3 and BMPCC) from Andrew Reid on Vimeo.

Andrew from EosHD (Click here) reviewed the one camera my postman will finally bring me today…the Panasonic GM1! :)

His focus is on the GM1 video quality and his conclusions are quite surprising:

The GM1 is a surprise in low light. At ISO 3200 the GH3 has a lot of brown noise crawling over the image and detail begins to smudge. The GM1 here outperforms the GH3 with a much cleaner image with less noise and richer colour. It’s actually on par with the best Super 35mm cameras for video like the Nikon D5200 for low light. But it resolves more fine detail than the Nikon and has more features, despite being the size of a compact camera.
It’s precisely as a genuine compact camera where the GM1 impresses.

I will test my GM1 today. I know the E-M1, the GH3 and many other camera got a lot more attention by reviewers and testers. But I think the GM1 is the camera of the year 2013. Simply because at the end it does exactly what I always needed. Deliver me a top quality Image and Video quality performance in a real pocketable size.

GM1 preorder list:
In US at Amazon, Adorama, BHphoto.
In Europe at Amazon Germany, Wex Germany, Amazon UK, Fotohanskeuzekamp, Cyberphoto Sweden and Wex UK.

Image courtesy: Lensrentals.

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Roger Cicala tested the two new Micro Four Thirds Speed Booster especially designed for the Blackmagic cameras. As you can see from the image on top it is physically impossible to use them on “regular” Olympus-Panasonic cameras with mechanical shutter.

One thing I completely missed to see is that for the first time you can actually shoot with a f/1.0 constant aperture zoom lens on a MFT camera! When using the Sigma 18-35mm f/1.8 zoom with the BMPCC adapter becomes, effectively, an 11.5-22.5mm f/1.0 zoom!

And what does Robert say about the quality of the new adapters? Read:

Once again, Metabones Speedboosters work their magic. This time it’s Blackmagic.

What can I say…LOL ;)

It’s not a joke, both Stuff and Huff choose the Olympus E-M1 as camera of the year! :)

Stuff TV writes:

The E-M1 is also a dwarf among giants and yet, like the Argentinian soccer pygmy (Lionel Messi), it packs a mean shot and turns its Micro Four Thirds size to its own advantage.

Steve Huff writes:

Of course many will be arguing and disagreeing with me but I call it like I see it and like I say over and over and over…a camera is MUCH more than image quality (of which none of these cameras are lacking). A camera needs to have the ability to inspire you to take it out and shoot..a constant companion. One that delivers time after time, one that is versatile and one that is problem free. A bonus for the E-m1 is the 5-Axis, the EVF, the Build and the other one of a kind features. Easy choice for 2013.

E-M1 Store Links:
Olympus E-M1 body at Amazon, Adorama and BHphoto, Amazon DE (via DL), Amazon UK (via DL), Amazon ES (via DL), WexUK, Topshot FI, CameraWorldUK.
Olympus M. Zuiko Digital ED 12-40mm f/2.8 PRO Lens at Amazon, Adorama, BHphoto, AmazonDE (viaDL), Amazon ES (via DL).
Olympus E-M1 with 12-40mm Lens kit at Amazon DE (via DL), WexUK and CameraWorldUK, Amazon UK (via DL), Amazon ES (via DL).
Olympus E-M1 with 12-50mm Lens kit at Amazon DE (via DL), WexUK, CameraWorldUK, Amazon UK (via DL), Amazon ES (via DL).
Olympus EP-13 Eyecup for E-M1 at Adorama and BHphoto.
Olympus HLD-7 Battery Grip for E-M1 at Amazon, Adorama and BHphoto.
Olympus LC-62D Metal Front Lens Cap for 12-40mm at Adorama and BHphoto.
Olympus LH-66 Lens Hood for 12-40mm at Adorama and BHphoto.

Graph source: DxOmark.

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Focus Numerique (translation here) tested the E-M1 and as you see from the graph on top the E-M1 shows impressive results. A couple of years ago few would have believed a MFT camera can outperform a new ASP-C Canon DSLR :)

Photographyblog tested the Panasonic GM1 and writes:

In a nutshell, if you loved what you saw of the output of the GX7 but felt the body would be better even smaller, then the Panasonic Lumix DMC-GM1 could be well worth giving a proverbial spin.

E-M1 Store Links:
Olympus E-M1 body at Amazon, Adorama and BHphoto, Amazon DE (via DL), Amazon UK (via DL), Amazon ES (via DL), WexUK, Topshot FI, CameraWorldUK.
Olympus M. Zuiko Digital ED 12-40mm f/2.8 PRO Lens at Amazon, Adorama, BHphoto, AmazonDE (viaDL), Amazon ES (via DL).
Olympus E-M1 with 12-40mm Lens kit at Amazon DE (via DL), WexUK and CameraWorldUK, Amazon UK (via DL), Amazon ES (via DL).
Olympus E-M1 with 12-50mm Lens kit at Amazon DE (via DL), WexUK, CameraWorldUK, Amazon UK (via DL), Amazon ES (via DL).
Olympus EP-13 Eyecup for E-M1 at Adorama and BHphoto.
Olympus HLD-7 Battery Grip for E-M1 at Amazon, Adorama and BHphoto.
Olympus LC-62D Metal Front Lens Cap for 12-40mm at Adorama and BHphoto.
Olympus LH-66 Lens Hood for 12-40mm at Adorama and BHphoto.

F0.74 – The new Metabones Speed Booster – BMCC & BMPCC versions from Andrew Reid on Vimeo.

There is need of Megapixels, need of miniaturization and there is obviously the need for speed! If you want to go as fast as it gets you could try to emulate Andrew from EosHD (Click here). He used the [shoplink 43225 ebay]Nikon 50mm f/1.2 Ai lens (here on eBay)[/shoplink] in combination with the new Metabones Speed Booster. Yes, he used tw NEW adapters just announced at Metabones site (Click here). The bad news is that they work on the Blackmagic Pocket Cinema camera only because they will obstruct the mechanical shutter of the Olympus-Panasonic MFT cameras :(

Key features

• 0.64x Speed Booster for BMCC with 1 ⅓ stop increase in effective aperture (F1.2 to F0.80)
• 0.58x Speed Booster for BMPCC with over ⅓ stop increase in effective aperture (F1.2 to F0.74)
• Sensor 1.53x crop effective on BMCC
• Sensor 1.74x crop effective on BMPCC
• On Blackmagic Cinema Camera: true APS-C field of view from DX lenses (180° fisheye remains as such)
• Adds stepless aperture ring
• Nikon F-mount (compatible with legacy AI/S and modern G)
• $489 + shipping/tax
• Availability start of December 2013

Andrew writes:

Well the world has turned on it’s head once more. Suddenly a smaller sensor is an advantage. Remarkably a small sensor is now a hit in low light. This magic comes at a very small price… There’s some ghosting and reflection to watch out for but it occurs only very occasionally in real world shooting.

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Links to the Nikon Ai f/1.2 lenses on eBay:
[shoplink 43225 ebay]Nikon 50mm f/1.2 Ai lens (here on eBay)[/shoplink] [shoplink 43005 ebay]Nikon 55mm f/1.2 Ai lens (here on eBay)[/shoplink] [shoplink 43226 ebay]Nikon 55mm f/1.2 Ai lens (here on eBay)[/shoplink]

DxOmark (Click here) tested the MFT lenses on the new E-M1. Again no surprise to see the best lens is the Olympus 75mm f/1.8. But how does the lens score when comparing the E-M1 and the GH3? Here are the results:

E-M1 Store Links:
Olympus E-M1 body at Amazon, Adorama and BHphoto, Amazon DE (via DL), Amazon UK (via DL), Amazon ES (via DL), WexUK, Topshot FI, CameraWorldUK.
Olympus M. Zuiko Digital ED 12-40mm f/2.8 PRO Lens at Amazon, Adorama, BHphoto, AmazonDE (viaDL), Amazon ES (via DL).
Olympus E-M1 with 12-40mm Lens kit at Amazon DE (via DL), WexUK and CameraWorldUK, Amazon UK (via DL), Amazon ES (via DL).
Olympus E-M1 with 12-50mm Lens kit at Amazon DE (via DL), WexUK, CameraWorldUK, Amazon UK (via DL), Amazon ES (via DL).
Olympus EP-13 Eyecup for E-M1 at Adorama and BHphoto.
Olympus HLD-7 Battery Grip for E-M1 at Amazon, Adorama and BHphoto.
Olympus LC-62D Metal Front Lens Cap for 12-40mm at Adorama and BHphoto.
Olympus LH-66 Lens Hood for 12-40mm at Adorama and BHphoto.

Continuous shooting with AF-Tracking on the E-M1

Video on top by our reader Knut: “The FourThirds lens 50-200 SWD could NOT keep up with 6.5fps – fastest was 4fps with AF-Tracking. Haven’t tested with all my lenses, but it seem to be similar with all the FourThirds lenses. Tested with firmware 1.0, but I don’t think there’s any improvements in the new firmware 1.1 (just updated).”

After the GM1 also the E-M1 made it into the list of the camera gear of the year at Dpreview:

Overall it just feels like a genuinely serious photographic tool, giving up nothing compared to high-end APS-C SLRs like the Nikon D7100 or Pentax K-3. Crucially, it’s simply a great camera to pick up and take out shooting.

CameraStuffReview tested the 12-40mm PRO zoom:

The Olympus 12-40 mm f/2.8 is such a good lens that shows that you can make professional-quality pictures with the micro-43 system. The sharpness starting at f/2.8 is already very high from center to the extreme corners. The bokeh is a little less woolly, but that’s to be weighed against a great insensitivity to flare, low chromatic aberration and high sharpness in the corners at full aperture. The high purchase price should not be a barrier for so much photo enjoyment.

E-M1 and 12-40mm Store Links:
Olympus E-M1 body at Amazon, Adorama and BHphoto, Amazon DE (via DL), Amazon UK (via DL), Amazon ES (via DL), WexUK, Topshot FI, CameraWorldUK.
Olympus M. Zuiko Digital ED 12-40mm f/2.8 PRO Lens at Amazon, Adorama, BHphoto, AmazonDE (viaDL), Amazon ES (via DL).
Olympus E-M1 with 12-40mm Lens kit at Amazon DE (via DL), WexUK and CameraWorldUK, Amazon UK (via DL), Amazon ES (via DL).
Olympus E-M1 with 12-50mm Lens kit at Amazon DE (via DL), WexUK, CameraWorldUK, Amazon UK (via DL), Amazon ES (via DL).
Olympus EP-13 Eyecup for E-M1 at Adorama and BHphoto.
Olympus HLD-7 Battery Grip for E-M1 at Amazon, Adorama and BHphoto.
Olympus LC-62D Metal Front Lens Cap for 12-40mm at Adorama and BHphoto.
Olympus LH-66 Lens Hood for 12-40mm at Adorama and BHphoto.