Panasonic G3/GF3/XZ-1 news, reviews and in Stock status!


I have to catch up with some news I didn’t post because of the recent Olympus rumor and news mill! Here is the news list:

1) Lori Grunin from Cnet US (Click here) tested the G3: “If you’re looking for a camera that’s not quite as big as a dSLR but doesn’t skimp on hardware controls or features like an articulated LCD, EVF and stereo full HD video, the G3 is one of my top options. But performance is hit-and-miss for shooting action, so you may end up having to go with something just a bit bigger, anyway.”

2) Hardwarezone (Click here) tested the G3 and GF3: “In the two days of manhandling the G3 and GF3 in Chiang Mai, both cameras performed up to speed with our expectations and were outstanding in their respective specialization…Of course, we have also littered our hands-on observations with little quirks that we didn’t quite like – say, G3′s rather disappointing battery life and the positioning of GF3′s video button, but these are naturally little quirks in an otherwise pleasant shooting experience with both Lumix G cameras. ”

3) Engadget (Click here) posted a GF3 hands-on: “Shooting 1080i video is as simple as hitting record, just to the right of the shutter button. Remembering not to accidentally cover the microphone, however, was more of a challenge. Internal mechanical noises dominated the first few minutes of our first video — our subject picked up volume significantly after we adjusted our grip, creating a free path to the mic. ”

4) There is a new Olympus XZ-1 firmware you can download at Olympus (Click here). It has an improved algorithm for ESP spot metering. Get the camera at Amazon, Adorama, B&H, J&R, eBay.

And finally some in Stock status info about the very nice G3!
In Europe you can find it right now at Amazon.de (the brown model), Amazon.uk (they have all kits in Stock!) and eBay.
In US at Amazon, B&H, and eBay.