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Panasonic unveils the LUMIX LX15: A premium pocket-sized 4K camera, with a fast lens to capture sharp images anytime, anywhere

Panasonic today announces the ultimate compact camera for creative photographers – the LUMIX LX15 – which sets the standard for low-light performance and bokeh expression. The new camera offers an exceptional F1.4 high-speed lens and a 1-inch large MOS sensor; all in a sleek, stylish pocket-sized body.

The LUMIX LX15 is the next generation of Panasonic’s world-renowned LX premium compact camera series. Integrating 4K video recording capability, it’s the perfect choice for enthusiasts who want to release their creativity anytime, anywhere.

Great low-light performance and beautiful bokeh expression

The LUMIX LX15 includes the newly-developed F1.4-F2.8 LEICA DC VARIO-SUMMILUX lens system with 3x optical zoom (35mm camera equivalent: 24-72mm). The lens lets a large volume of light into the camera, enabling the high-speed shutter release to capture clear, sharp images even in low-lit situations. It also allows for beautiful bokeh, making the subject stand out for impressive photos and videos.

Simple and effortless shooting of moving objects

The LUMIX LX15 brings the next era of photography to your pocket. The 1-inch MOS sensor with its 20.1-megapixel resolution realises high-quality image recording with stunning details. The MOS sensor contributes to a reduction in noise and improved S/N ratio, allowing for high-quality, high-sensitivity shots – even at ISO 12800. What’s more, the newly-added Random Filter granulates chromatic noise to be blended into the image more naturally.

For even faster response and greater mobility, the LUMIX LX15 features a fast, high-precision autofocus (AF) with DFD (Depth From Defocus) technology, which shortens the time to set focus. It calculates the distance to the subject by evaluating two images with different sharpness levels at 240fps.  This improvement in speed and precision is even greater as focal length increases. The LUMIX LX15 boasts high-speed burst shooting at 10 fps (AFS) / 6 fps (AFC) to capture fast-moving subjects in focus.

Experience the 4K evolution in videography/photography

Taking advantage of 4K technology, users can enjoy both 4K PHOTO and 4K VIDEO. With the 4K PHOTO capability, users can capture fleeting photo opportunities at 30 fps in 8-megapixel equivalent resolution by extracting the most photogenic frame from the 4K burst file to save as a photo. Three 4K functions are integrated to avoid missing the spur-of-the-moment action; 4K Burst Shooting, 4K Burst (Start/Stop) and 4K Pre-burst.
The LUMIX LX15 records stunningly smooth, high-resolution QFHD 4K video in 3840×2160 at 30p / 25p(50Hz Area) or 24p in MP4 in addition to the full-HD 1,920 x 1,080/ 50p videos in AVCHD Progressive or MP4 (MPEG-4 / H.264) format with practical full-time AF.

Not only that, the LUMIX LX15 also enables 4K Live Cropping in video recording – achieving stable panning and zooming. Thanks to the digital operation of the zoom lens, panning and zooming on images appears smooth because it doesn’t physically move the lens. If the original footage is recorded in 4K, users can create a perfect full HD video with impressive special effects.

Advanced macro shooting for creative freedom

The LUMIX LX15 excels in macro shooting capability thanks to integrating Panasonic’s cutting-edge optical/digital technologies. Stunning macro shots can be shot with a minimum working distance of 3cm (wide).

The LUMIX LX15 comes with Post Focus, a function that enables users to select in-focus areas after shooting. It’s helpful in situations such as macro shooting, where extreme focusing is required, or for changing the expression of the image by changing the subject in focus (simply by touching it on the camera’s integrated screen). This is beneficial when shooting macro shots of small objects such as insects or jewellery, or when shooting facial expressions.

Panasonic has also integrated a new Post Focus Stacking function into the LUMIX LX15, which enables users to take multiple images of the same frame with different areas in focus, then combine all or selected focus areas into one image.

Professional features in a compact body

The LUMIX LX15 is capable of shooting images in RAW and developing them in-camera. In addition to the colour space setting (sRGB/ AdobeRGB), the parameter of white balance, exposure compensation, contrast, highlight/shadow, saturation, noise reduction or sharpness can be flexibly adjusted while LUMIX’s Photo Style, Intelligent D-range Control, Intelligent Resolution can also be applied.

The camera’s two control rings for focus and aperture make it even easier for enthusiasts to manually select the ideal settings to create the perfect picture.

The LUMIX LX15 also integrates the popular Creative Control function, which features a total of 22 filter options that add fun to digital photography – exceeding the expectations of a compact camera. It is now possible to apply one of these filters even in P/A/S/M mode. Users can combine precisely the setting and filter they desire to create the optimal image.

A host of other exciting features

•    5-Axis Hybrid O.I.S. +
The 5-Axis Hybrid O.I.S. + (Five Axis Optical Image Stabilizer Plus) effectively compensates for handshakes occurring in virtually any direction, enabling smooth photo and video recording.
•    120fps high speed video recording
High speed video recording at 120fps (NTSC / FHD) or 100fps (PAL / FHD) enables enthusiasts to create beautiful slow-motion videos capturing spur-of-the-moment action in great detail.
•    Easy Wireless Connectivity via Wi-Fi with Smartphones
The LUMIX LX15 integrates Wi-Fi connectivity (IEEE 802.11 b/g/n) to offer a more flexible shooting experience and instant image sharing with easy operation.

via Photographyblog

Panasonic announced the development of the GH5 and three new lenses:

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Marco Sartori‎
Natalie Portman. Olympus Em1 + MZuiko75mm f1.8 + grain in SilverEfex.

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Metz announced the new Mecablitz M400 flash which is compatible with all Olympus/Panasonic cameras.

The full specs can be found at Metz-mecatech.de. And this is the press text:

Perfectly equipped, attractively packaged.

The mecablitz M400 represents a new generation of compact flash systems. It is especially suited to mirrorless system cameras and is ideal for any photographers or film-makers looking for a convenient flash unit. The mecablitz M400 is also highly equipped and leaves nothing to be desired. The maximum guide number of 40 forISO 100 is capable of handling almost all shooting situations. Versatile lighting options are provided by the motor zoom function (24-105 mm), the fully pivotable reflector with removable reflector card and the integrated wide-angle diffuser (12 mm). The M400 is also ideal for wireless operation, be it TTL or servo. As for usability, the M400 also sets new standards with its innovative OLED display and its impressively tidy, simplified user interface.

The AUTO TTL operating mode enables the camera to fully automatically control the flash unit (turning on and flashing) and ensures the subject of your picture is put in the best light possible – perfect to those new to flash. The mecablitz can be synchronised with the first or second shutter curtain (irrespective of camera model) and it supports high-speed sync (HSS or FP). The new design of the mecablitz M400 not only looks timeless – the flash unit is always kept up-to-date via a USB interface for receiving firmware updates.

The Chinese company Venus Optics announced a new Laowa 7,5mm f/2.0 MFT lens. Press text:

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Anhui China, Sept 14, 2016 – Venus Optics, the camera lenses manufacturer who had previously launched a number of quality lenses with ‘World’s First’ specifications, is proud to unveil two premium lenses with extreme specifications and impressive performance, the Laowa 15mm f/2 FE Zero-D & the Laowa 7.5mm f/2 MFT.

Laowa 7.5mm f/2 MFT
The Laowa 7.5mm f/2 MFT is the Widest f/2 rectilinear lens ever designed for Micro Four Thirds Cameras. Despite the extreme specifications, Venus Optics has successfully minimized the weight of the lens to a merely 0.37 pounds (170g) and 55mm long. The extreme 110 angle of view, ultra- fast f/2 aperture and featherweight make this lens an ideal option to pair up with drones for aerial photography. It also gives photographers a fast and wide-angle option for low-light shooting as well as landscape photography.

Availability
The Laowa 15mm f/2 FE Zero-D and the Laowa 7.5mm f/2 MFT will be available to the market in early 2017. Engineering prototype will be available to test in Venus Optics’ Photokina debut. Venus Optics’ booth is in Hall 2.1, Booth A-045.
Together with the new lenses, Venus Optics will also display a number of unique lenses with first class quality and unique specifications in Photokina 2016.

Panasonic Announces VariCam Pure With Uncompressed 4K 120 FPS from cinema5D on Vimeo.

What a marvel! Cinema5D writes:

The VariCam Pure outputs RAW files to the Codex Capture Drives, which are solid state recording media of up to 2TB of storage and with a bandwith of 20Gb/s. The 4K recording is offered in uncompressed RAW, at up to 120 FPS. With its 14+ stops of dynamic range in HDR and with V-LOG, the VariCam Pure is used for leading television drama and cinematography capture, offering a modular configuration at a smaller size than the original VariCam setup even when the Codex is attached. The dual base ISO remains at 800/5000.