(FT5) Panasonic G2 with touchscreen!
UPDATED: According to our sources the Panasonic G2 will be the first digital (interchangeable) camera with touchscreen! I do not count here the very expensive Hasselblad
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The Panasonic G10 will probably not have a touchscreen. That will be the main difference between the two new models.
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Recent comments
Comment from kkbkk: some medium format digital backs does ha...
Comment from jt: The G10 won't have a touch screen? That'...
Comment from Mazoeca: Touchscreen - WHY? Difficult to see wha...
Comment from Javi V.: I think using a touchscreen to select AF...
K
3 years ago |Are you talking about the google’s translation of “New generation digital SLR can be manipulated by touching the G series.”? If so, you are misled.
Correct translation for this part would be,,,
“In Touch&Try booth in CP+, you can touch and manipulate new generation digital SLR in hand.”
toramas
3 years ago |No it doesn’t say that. It says you can “touch” the new generation Lumix G series. Basically. There will be demo cameras available for you to play around with. Classic lost in translation case.
admin
3 years ago |Hi Toramas and K! Thanks for your help! Anyway we now know from our sources that the G2 will have touchscreen!
spam
3 years ago |Awful news, then I assume the tilt and swivel LCD of the G1/GH1 has been replaced with a fixed one.
Duarte Bruno
3 years ago |I don’t know what’s better: the news or the ilustration!
Kudos to both!
Paul
3 years ago |Any indication if the video recording on the G2 is likely to be better than on the GF1?
Zed
3 years ago |What does “touchscreen” exactly mean? I’d love to set focus (and maybe exposure) by touching a certain part of the screen. Does it do that?
Juan
3 years ago |i may be in the minority, but i’ve never been that much in love with touchscreen interfaces for cameras. the buttons tend to be a bit larger than the menu icons on non-touchscreens, and it’s always been easier for me to find a physical button on the back of the camera. then there are the smudges.
on the other hand, if they keep the physical buttons to bring up menus, then you directly select an item with the screen, rather than having to hit , it may make it quicker to get set and ready.
i’m officially of two minds about this.
Chris Gampat
3 years ago |Digital Medium Format cameras do not have touchscreen digital backs. I’ve used Mamiya, Phase One, Leif and Hasselblad. None of them have it.
chow
3 years ago |@ Chris
http://www.vistek.ca/results/ProPhotoDigitalBacks/cameras-cam%20digbac-backdig-dig%20back%20c/Leaf/Digital-Backs.aspx
swetty
3 years ago |There could be some nice uses for touch screen like thumbing through photos on your camera or the pinch squeeze zoom effect…. for interacting with the camera function though I think I would still prefer buttons and dials.
I see no reason why they couldn’t keep the touch screen AND the articulated display.
Honestly though, if they haven’t improved ISO then I will probably just buy the GH1… can’t believe I waited this long for such a let down.
Don
3 years ago |I think you need to link this rumor together with an earlier one of someone reportedly seeing someone testing a camera which appears to look very much like a GF1 only smaller and with a touch screen. The reason they maybe have gone to a touch screen is very small size makes use of multiple buttons difficult to handle so they have gone to touching the screen. Remember this is the low end model. While this model could still potentially had a small EVF in left upper corner and still be very small I think they would leave that for an upgraded model a future mini L1. But then again they have made such a big deal over this camera so must have something special other than just a touch screen which others like myself would not prefer.
The good news to me is this will be an all new body and it promises to be even smaller than the GF1. I fully expect Pany has already shown us the darkened silhouette shown in their earlier teaser ad. If the earlier ad is to be believed then maybe the second model is essentially the existing G11 with video added and a new sensor.
The Lazy Photographer
3 years ago |For me, the idea of a touch screen is bad enough, but if said screen replaces the articulating display, then I won’t be buying one. I shoot in the winter with gloves on and can’t imagine a touch screen being all too glove friendly. And I hate smudges on my display. Boy I’d kill to be a fly on the wall during Panasonic’s R & D and Marketing meetings.
“Okay, Marketing, what have we learned from the consumers worldwide?”
“Many seem to be very disappointed that there is no image stabilization built into the camera like with the Olympus.”
“Got it. Okay, now how many want a touch screen?”
“Um, no one.”
“What do you mean, no one? The apple iPhone has a touch screen and everyone’s nuts about!”
“True, but we are building a next generation camera here, not a telephone.”
“But look at Apple’s shares, they are going through the roof!”
“Ours would be too, if we listened to the consumer and gave them in-body IS like Olympus did.”
“I get your point. So how has our articulating LCD display gone over with the consumer?”
“They LOVE it and a lot of our success with the G1 and GH1 can be attributed to that, despite the lack of IS.”
“Makes sense. Okay, so let’s recap: Customers want built-in IS and the articulating LCD, but couldn’t give a rat’s ass about a touch screen, right?”
“That about sums it up, yes.”
“Okay, R & D, get to work on the G2. Forget about in-body IS, lose the articulating screen, and throw in a touch screen ala Apple iPhone.”
“Um, Sir, do you secretly work for Olympus?”
“No comment.”
Din
3 years ago |I hope Panasonic put on new model a better high resolution display.
Reader
3 years ago |This wouldnt be the first Lumix model to have a touch screen. Existing model(s) combine physical buttons and touch, and do it quite well. Hopefully the use of touch screen will continue to be a minor part of the overall interface.
Most important to me is that the G2 retains the built in viewfinder and the traditional ‘DSLR’ styling
Richard
3 years ago |Good call, Don. Here is the important part of the rumour if people didn’t see:
“we saw a japanese guy taking pictures with a very small digital cam with exchangeable lenses. It looked a little bit like the Panasonic GF1 but it was smaller, had no logo on the body and the body was covered with a tape. The guy continuously touched the display – as to change settings or the like”
If the body is significantly smaller, perhaps a touchscreen was the only way they had of maintaining a 3″ screen. I’m not a fan though.
Am A Teur
3 years ago |The Lazy Photographer is right on.
Why doesn’t 43rumors vet (make a careful and critical examination of) its news stories the way it vets its rumors.
You wait days or weeks to run rumors you tell us in advance mostly about. Then you run stories you haven’t translated well or forget that the G with single digit series is the line for serious photographer and the G with two digit numbers is likely for amateurs.
And why, if this is a rumor site, are there so many ads for selling cameras and “news” stories about where newish cameras are available and for how much — do you really think those are Rumors? — I know, I know, you gotta make a living.
And what’s with all the complaints about how much work you have to do to maintain this site. I run a site with more than 1,200 pages, so I know that with any decent site, you gotta do work.
Am A Teur
BornBad
3 years ago |who says it wont be articulated. there are articulated touch screens on camcorders
Tom
3 years ago |I program touchscreens and author user interface designs for a living, and I have never had a desire to have a touchscreen on my camera. No screen and all mechanical controls would have been better news in my book.
Ole
3 years ago |I only hope that the camera will be smaller than the actually G1. Because a DSLR styled mFT would reduce mFT to absurdity. It would make no sense. I would buy a mFT Cam because they are small and lightweight like the GF1. When i will drag heavy equipment i go for DSLR. The weight and size is the main point for the success of mFT, so please Panasonic build a compact cam. Please!
Steve
3 years ago |The one thing I think a touchscreen would have actual practical value on a camera is for selecting AF point.
I think it’s possible that a good touch UI could be developed for cameras, but whether it would be better than non-touchscreen I don’t know. I’m not familiar with how they are currently being done.
Steve
3 years ago |I guess you could also touch where metering should concentrate on, in addition to AF. That might be interesting.
Is such a feature done with previous touchscreen cameras?
Jimson
3 years ago |Steve,
The iPhone 3GS uses the touch screen to direct AF and AE. Interesting system, but having to touch the screen to focus and shoot causes camera shake.
I have no desire for a touch screen on a camera, especially if it’s used to change all your settings. Smudges are already a hassle, touchscreens only make it worse.
What I’d rather see developed and implemented are weatherproof, higher resolution screens with ambient light sensors that can auto adjust backlighting. That’d be far more useful to me…
Carlos
3 years ago |ADMIN….sensor?sensor?sensor?……………..any information?
Jules
3 years ago |Pressing on the screen or pressing on a button, both will have the camera shake. That should not be a worry.
I personally am happy with the AF lock. But I can understand why someone would like to focus from the touchscreen.
That said, a touchscreen is a good thing to have for configuration and for in-memory manual.
Olf
3 years ago |“Jimson says:
The iPhone 3GS uses the touch screen to direct AF and AE. Interesting system, but having to touch the screen to focus and shoot causes camera shake.”
I think the use of a touch screen to set the AF and AE point (but not to direct AF and AE) is a great improvment. Todays, you have to move it with the pad, and it is so unconvenient than most people AF then recompose their images…
Javi V.
3 years ago |I think using a touchscreen to select AF is a great idea for “compact-style” use of cameras (I mean using the rear screen to frame). On the other hand, I think it is a useless feature in a camera like the G(H)2 where you frame and focus using the EVF.
Mazoeca
3 years ago |Touchscreen – WHY? Difficult to see what possible advantage it can bring.
As another respondent has noted, one can foresee smeared LCD’s and early wear due to frequent cleaning (aiming for artificial obsolescence?) …. and who needs frozen fingers in the winter?
If it means elimination of articulated screen, forget it – that’s a deal-breaker !
If Panny wants to pour out R&D and development money, why not spend it on improving IQ … better sensors, better processors, better lenses, addition of IBIS as a second IS option.
Ah well. let’s wait and see what Oly or Sony come up with.
Maz.
jt
3 years ago |The G10 won’t have a touch screen? That’s gonna be the main difference? Well, considering I would not want a touch screen I think the G10 will be the preferable camera.
kkbkk
3 years ago |some medium format digital backs does have touch screen, the Leaf have one for years, Sinar has their eSprit line with touch screens. Yes, I use Phase One P+ backs, H backs, none of them have touch screen.