Panasonic GH2, GF2, AG-AF100 news and 14-140mm review
“A Verse Before Dying” (Shot with the Panasonic AG-AF100)
Photographyblog tested the Panasonic 14-140mm f/4.0-5.8 O.I.S. lens.The lens gets Highly Recommended! “This lens is surprisingly small and lightweight for what it is….he lens is extremely fast to focus on the new DMC-GH2 camera with a response time of just 0.1 seconds….Optically, the lens is a good performer, much better than we expected from a 10x zoom. ”
DC.watch interviewed Panasonic engineers and asked them a lot of questions about the contrast autofocus development (Very interesting story!).
Panasonic Lumix DMC-GF2 Test Images at Imaging Resource and first look at Digital camera review.
SHort GH2 review by Lisandra at E-P1.net.
Philip Goetz
3 years ago |Enjoyed watching the film on Thursday Dec 23 in our shop with live director’s commentary. Mr Stephen Mick stopped by.
Duarte Bruno
3 years ago |I’ll certainly play, because as everyone knows:
All your base are belong to us!
frosti7
3 years ago |Lets start a funny translation mini blog, ill start:
“Hybrid AF phase contrast is not it?
Nakashima: Yes. AF is a hybrid and I do I do?”
You certainly do Mr.Nakashima, you certainly do.
Falk Kuebler
3 years ago |“I’ll try asking for a translation at the dpreview forums”
Good idea! Thank you.
Esa Tuunanen
3 years ago |Waste of time trying to read that “translation” and even more waste of time trying to conclude anything from WAG reading especially with technical details.
What is known is that Panasonic has increased read speed/frame rate of the sensor as instead of knowing how much and to what direction focus must be moved (the case with PDAF) CDAF must look for highest contrast by taking “shots” continuously while moving focus:
If sensor frame rate/read out speed is slow focus must be moved very slowly for body to stop it at right point because if focus is moved too fast processor doesn’t get new information from sensor fast enough resulting overshooting and even “sawing” back and forth if also correcting focus action was done too fast for processor to get information and react. But if sensor frame rate/read out speed is fast enough focus can be moved basically as fast as focus motor of lens works and processor still keep track of it.
There might be also something new in focusing algorithm but without fast enough frame rate of sensor nothing else matters much…
It’s just like if you were forced to park car into slot while seeing environment for only blink of an eye every couple seconds.
Luminous Landscape’s GH2 first look mentioned sensor impromevement couple months ago.
Ranger 9
3 years ago |The DC.watch interview makes me frustrated that I can’t read Japanese! For example:
‘Nakajima: In short, I find the Mountains of how quickly the contrast of the subject. Exchange of information and doing a slow, even too far gone from the mountain, “Oh, I know, there was a” mountain becomes feeling. Over there, but it falls a little, “a mountain” to find and quickly. So I want the exact location of the lens at all times.’
This, in context with some of the other sections, makes it sound as if Panasonic is not using contrast AF simply to go back and forth to “creep up” on the highest contrast, as all the writers had assumed; unavoidably this would be a slow process. Instead it sounds as if they are taking a series of contrast measurements and storing them in relation to lens position readings; this would make it very quick to return to the lens position that had achieved the highest contrast.
I wish I knew if this were true, rather than simply something I misunderstood from the translation!
safaridon
3 years ago |Thank you for posting these interesting articles on the the new GF2 and test on 14-140 lens. Although Photographyblog shows both 14-140 and Oly 14-150 to have the same lowest price $850 the description says the 14-140 is much more expensive? Maybe they are talking about camera and kit 14-140 lens? While the 14-150 is in fact less expensive it should be as lacks OIS and is half a stop slower speed at the important telephoto end and as the test says the 14-140 on right camera is lightening fast AF 0.1 sec on GH2.
The pictures from GF2 posted in Imaging Resource look very good to my eyes.
A bit surprised the Digital Camera Review thinks the slightly smaller GF2 size is insignificant. I don’t think so especially if you look at the picture comparisons rather then just reading the dimensions and after all the GF2 with pancake lens is even slightly smaller in dimensions and volume than the NEX3. However their comment about users may be finding the GF2 to be a imaging jackpot is high praise.
Duarte Bruno
3 years ago |Tripple that.
Couldn’t understand one single idea.
I’ll try asking for a translation at the dpreview forums. Here: http://forums.dpreview.com/forums/readflat.asp?forum=1041&message=37288439
Falk Kuebler
3 years ago |“DC.watch interviewed Panasonic engineers and asked them a lot of questions about the contrast autofocus development (Very interesting story!)”
I second the opinion of the other posters: the interview topic seems very interesting, and I would have loved to get some insight into contrast AF technology, its implementation, state of the art, and future developments. So thank you in principle for posting this in 43rumors.
But very unfortunately, I found it virtually impossible to understand even the tiniest bit from the translation.
What a misery…
panasonic
3 years ago |ohh damm. my pc ie not even able to show anything in the translation
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3 years ago |Must say the English Google translation of the DCWatch article is almost ununderstandeable, pity because it indeed looks interesting.