Panasonic GF1 Revisited (In Alaska)

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The [shoplink 14828 ebay]Panasonic GF1[/shoplink] camera was (and still is) one of the nicest mirrorless cameras ever made. And many photographers still use it for their professional work. Take a look at Photographyramblings (Click here) to read the full GF1 field review: “The camera is a wonderful street camera and a really good vacation camera.  It isn’t perfect, but it is very very good.  I was glad I left my DSLR’s at home in the end.  The biggest compliment I can give the GF1 is that it never got in my way and delivered excellent quality images when I wanted them.  If I could add anything to the wish list for this type of camera it would be to build in the viewfinder (or at least make it clip in securely), make it brighter, add weather sealing to the camera and some of the lenses and that’s about it.  I think with the newer GF2 and GF3 it seems like Panasonic is going more towards the consumer point and shoot market and that isn’t a good thing to me.  I’ll keep the GF1 thank-you.
On Photographyramblings you can see many image samples (some of them are very nice) from the trip to Alaska. At that point I want to remind you another amazing review written by Craig Mod (Click here). He used the GF1 for his work in Tibet and the photos are simply amazing.

Now let’s hope Panasonic will not let us wait to much before we get our hands on the real GF1 successor which is not the [shoplink 17361]GF2[/shoplink] nor the [shoplink 23109]GF3[/shoplink], but the soon coming GF7!

P.S.: Sadly it’s almost impossoble ot find the GF1 in Stock. It costs almost $1.500 on Amazon US (Click here to see the crazy price) and of course on [shoplink 14828 ebay]eBay (Click here)[/shoplink].

New Samyang 7.5mm lens image samples. + in Stock now on eBay!

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Arkadiusz Olech has been the first to publish a fulls et of full size image samples of the new Samyang 7-5mm fisheye lens for M43. You can find them at Lenstip (Click here). And the good news is that you can already get the lens on [shoplink 25327 ebay]eBay[/shoplink]!
[shoplink 25325 ebay]Click here to buy the Black Samyang 7.5mm lens[/shoplink].
[shoplink 25326 ebay]Click here to buy the Silver Samyang 7.5mm lens[/shoplink].

At the same time he published the english translation of the original polish Olympus 45mm review again on Lenstip (Click here). You can preorder the lens at Adorama, B&H, J&R, eBay. And there is already a price drop in Europe where you can get the lens for 256 Euro only at Amazon DE (Click here).

New Olympus 45mm f/1.8 review at Optyczne. A must have lens!

The polish website Optyczne (Click here) posted their final Olympus 45mm f/1.8 review. In short, this is a MUSTA-HAVE lens! It has a sensational image quality in the center of the frame and an excellent quality on the border. Very low CS, distortion,astigmatism and vignetting. The only minus is that it is not an all metal lens. But damn, it costs you 399 Dollars only! For that price you would be crazy to expect a [shoplink 23576]12mm f/2.0 quality[/shoplink] build quality!

You can preorder the lens at Adorama, B&H, J&R, eBay. And there is already a price drop in Europe where you can get the lens for 256 Euro only at Amazon DE (Click here).

New US deals: Price drop on the Panasonic 7-14mm lens at Amazon (Click here) and on the Panasonic 20mm pancake again at Amazon (Click here).

 

 

The giant M43 lens battle: Nokton 25mm versus Leica 25mm!

Image courtesy: Jean-Baptiste Lefournier via Hybdricams.fr.

Which is better, the Nokton or the Leica. That is the question! While other mirrorless system still struggle to offer some decent lenses we are sitting on the conftable position where we can choose between an ultra-fast manual standard lens and a Leica af lens. The french website Hybridcams (Click here) compared the image quality of the two lenses. Look at the photos and than come back and let us know which lens you like more.

The Lecia 25mm is in Stock via asian resellers on [shoplink 23110 ebay]eBay (Click here)[/shoplink], at Amazon UK (Click here) and Amazon Japan (Click here). US readers can preorder the lens at Adorama (Click here).
The Nokton 25mm is in Stock at Amazon US (Click here), on [shoplink 15659 ebay]eBay (Click here)[/shoplink] and the cheapest price in Europe can be found at Amazon France (Click here).

First image samples with the Panasonic X lens.

Arkadiusz Olech from Lenstip (Click here) posted the very first full size image samples taken with the two new Panasonic X lenses, the Panasonic 14-42mmm X and 45-175mm X. The test images do look good or not?

The same website (Click here) also posted some Olympus 45mm f/1.8 image samples. Olympus Japan confirmed that the lens will ship to every corner of this planet from Spetember 9. You can preorder the lens by clicking those direct search links at [shopcountry 23577].

Panasonic Leica 25mm f/1.4 review at Optyczne.

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The polish website Optyczne (Click here to read the translation) intensively tested the new Panasonic Leica 25mm f/1.4 lens. In short they say the image quality is “sensational” in the center of the frame (even at f/1.4!). The border quality is not exceptional at the widest aperture. You have to stop down to get top results on the edges of the frame. There is only a small amount of Chromatic Aberration and Astigmatism. You can also take pictures of light sources like Sun or Lights as there is no problem with flare. The only “negatives” is the little bit too high vignetting at f/1.4 aperture and marked coma.

The Panasonic Leica lens is in Stock at Amazon US (overpriced), Amazon UK (Click here), Amazon Japan (Click here) and of course plenty of them are sold via asian resellers on [shoplink 23110 ebay]eBay (Click here)[/shoplink].

More preorder search at [shopcountry 23110].

New Panasonic GF3 and Olympus E-PM1 (p)reviews. E-PM1 in Stock.


Engadget (Click here) posted an Olympus E-PM1 hands-on (The video is here on top): “Overall, our impressions of the PEN Mini: affordable, adorable and it took some pretty darn good photos. We really enjoyed this cam
Also Digitalcamerareview (Click here) posted an Olympus E-PM1 preview: “Since size (or lack thereof) is the E-PM1’s biggest difference from other Pen cameras, know that those with big hands looking for a solid grip will not like holding the E-PM1. It’s designed for portability and mobility, and though I didn’t have any trouble getting accustomed to it for an afternoon of shooting, other shooters may find it hard to grip.”. The black E-PM1 is in Stock for the very first time at BHphoto (Click here). You can check the E-PM1 availability also at [shopcountry 23565].

Digitalcamerainfo (Click here) posted a full 21 page long (!) Panasonic GF3 review: “In total, the GF3 is a very appealing compact camera that, through sheer association with the Micro Four Thirds lens family, offers incredible upside for anybody—enthusiast or novice—willing to pick it up and give it a try.” Panasonic GF3 price check at [shopcountry 23109].

Something else: There is a new Panasonic GH2 page (Click here) with pictures from Bence Maté.