The Panasonic AG-AF100 is the first professional Micro Four Thirds camcorder. According to [shoplink 16841]BHphoto[/shoplink] the camera will be in Stock within 6-10 weeks. The price without lens is $4,795.00 ([shoplink 16841]Click here to preorder the AG-AF100[/shoplink]).

We collected some of the recent comments made by Barry Green at DVXuser forum:

– In PH (24Mbit/s) mode the AF100 supports uncompressed LPCM audio in addition to the AC-3 audio supported by the HMC series.

– Three chips still deliver superior color to a single-chip system. The reason everyone’s going with a single chip is NOT increased color fidelity; a Bayer chip is inferior to three chips for color fidelity, and that’s why every broadcast camera on the market has three chips and a prism. But there are some things that just can’t be done with three chips — primarily, emulating the way a film camera works and the ability to use lenses that have been developed for film cameras. A single sensor directly emulates the way a film sensor works, and you don’t need to make accomodations in the lens design for a beam-splitting prism.

– I expect we’ll see many comparisons just like the 5D vs. Red comparisons, where people show a whole bunch of shallow-DOF headshots and say “see, the 5D is just as good as the Red One.” If people shoot AF100 vs. 5D/7D and they limit themselves to those kinds of shots, then they’ll probably look quite comparable and there won’t be any “blowing away” going on. Where the AF100 will be hugely superior is in wide-angle deep focus shots, in terms of actual resolved detail, and in features and usability.

– So, is AVCHD a “step down” from DVCPRO-HD? In some ways, yes, in some ways no. It’s 4:2:0 instead of 4:2:2. And it’s long-GoP instead of intraframe. However, it’s also 2001-era technology, vs. 2010-era technology. So would it be fair to say that AVCHD can deliver comparable images as compared to DVCPRO-HD? Possibly. An intriguing question.

– DVCPRO-HD is 4:2:2, but it also prefilters the recording resolution down from 1920×1080 to 1280×1080. AVCHD is 4:2:0, but it retains the full 1920×1080. So DVCPRO-HD will have twice the color resolution but only 2/3 the horizontal resolved detail.

– And DVCPRO-HD is bulletproof as far as motion artifacting, whereas AVCHD is a long-GoP codec. However, as a long-GoP codec, it’s really good; I compared it against XDCAM-EX and found AVCHD to be much more robust regarding motion artifacts from cases where the codec gets overloaded. So while it isn’t a true intraframe codec, it’s much less susceptible to the issues that caused long-GoP codecs to get the reputation they got in the early days of HDV.

Reminder: You can read his initial report at DVXuser (Click here)

And don’t forget. You can support this website by preordering the [shoplink 16841]Panasonic AG-AF100 at BHphoto clicking here![/shoplink] (Thanks!)

Samyang just announced the availability of the new 35mm f/1.4 lens since February 2011. Samyang lenses are manual focus only but very cheap with with good image quality! Read for example the Samyang 85mm f/1.4 Photozone review (Tested on the Canon 5d).

You can check current Samyang auctions on [shoplink 16768 ebay]eBay by clicking here[/shoplink].

Panasonic won three DIWA awards with the Panasonic G2, the Panasonic DMC-FX66 and the Panasonic Lumix DMC-TZ10.

“The Panasonic Lumix DMC-G2 features the world’s first touch-screen shooting control in a system camera. This small mirror-less system camera, tailor-made for the super-compact Micro Four Thirds System standard, makes the G2 package exceptionally portable, yet delivering professional image quality. In addition to its compactness, the Panasonic DMC-G2 receives its DIWA Gold Awards for its intuitive operation, first class screen and LVF (Live View Finder), and last but not least – its ability to capture high quality 12.1 MP stills and HD movies.”

P.S.: The Panasonic G2 is currently in Stock for $649.95 at Amazon (Click here)

Also the Olympus E-PL1 won the DIWA Gold Award:

“When it comes to user-friendly operation without losing creativity, the Olympus PEN E-PL1 really responds on demand. Special creative filters, HD-movie support, built-in flash and comfortable Autofocus Live View give photographers a complete set of photographic tools in a remarkably small package. Add to this its easy operation, photo shooting fun and professional image quality; a combination that made the DIWA organization honor the Olympus PEN E-PL1 camera with a Gold Award.

Kai Thon, test manager of DIWA Labs comments: <With the PEN range, Olympus has proved that it is perfectly possible to combine system cameras flexibility and professional image quality with a super-compact camera body. The Olympus PEN E-PL1 also has a built-in flash and improved control functions for added versatility. All in all, a full featured camera for any photographer who wishes to scale down in size, without compromising on performance and image quality. >”

The Olympus E-Pl1 is currently in Stock for $509 at Amazon (Click here)

During Photokina I received tons of mails from you with links to news, rumors and deals. With over 600 mails and comments per day it was impossible to answer every single message. That’s why I am writing to thank you for your help on this website. Without you 43rumors would not be alive.

In general 43rumors has a big role in my life now. There are many reasons why it is so. First it takes me several hours per day to work on it. And to find the balance between 43rumors, my real work as documentarist/photographer and my private life has been not easy! I always travel with my iPhone in my pocket and when there is some important news I write the article during coffeabreaks! That explains some of the misspellings, because I am always in a hurry. And when I am at home I am often in front of my laptop trying to chat with my rumor sources (I have 20-25 sources), to answer emails, check for news and fix issues. There are times (like Photokina) were I really had no time for my private life. But all works fine now, I have taken some rest, I will make some nice trip with my girlfriend (We will be in Barcelona soon) and in a few days I will know if I can shoot a documentary in Africa (Malawi).

There are so many stories I could tell you about the work behind 43rumors. There is so many people I am in touch with that I never met (and I wish to meet one day). There are so many mistakes I made so many things I learned and so many new ideas I have. I really like it to work on 43rumors and without you I could not do that. So once gain, I thank all of you!

Everything is written in Japanese and the website is in flash (google translation doesn’t work here). Some japanese 43rumors friend can help us to translate the text? Thanks!

UPDATE_2: Akihabara has some real world pictures of the new Lumix-phone (and so Engadget)

UPDATE_1: There is a first hand-on at mobile.cz

As you know Lensbaby is already selling the new TIlt-shift lens via Amazon US (Click here). What I didn’t know is that Arsat made a Tilt-shift lens with MicroFourThrids mount! One of those lenses is currently available on [shoplink 16586]eBay (Click here)[/shoplink]. I tried to found some image samples but I didn’t found anything. Did some of you test the lens?

Image courtesy: Norman Princen

Norman Princen just sent us the following text:

“I attended DV Expo today and sat through the AG-AF100 presentation by Jan Crittenden. I had my GH1 with me and snapped photos of her presenting the charts with intent to post them here. After the presentation, I asked Jan for permission to post my shots of the slides on DVXUser. To my surprise, she offered to give me the original presentation file! So, attached to this message are a link to a picture of Jan presenting the first slide and a link to the entire presentation converted to a PDF for everyone to read. There are a few new nuggets in the presentation, including the new official price of $5,000.”

Download: http://www.mediafire.com/?2j3qiaa7gcu7snp

More info here: http://www.dvxuser.com/V6/showthread.php?t=224660