Tsawout Spit – Gh2 Test (driftwood 176mb gop1 hack) from mark wyatt on Vimeo.

Some news are sometimes even better than rumors! Who said you have to buy a new camera to increase the  video quality? With the latest settings from “Driftwood” (check here at personal-view) the GH2 can now record AVCHD Intra at 176Mbit. And plenty of users are now extremely happy with it. According to Perry Wilson (Click here to see his video on vimeo): “”I wish y’all could see the prores 422 HQ file, rivals RED all day long. Believe it or not this looks like crap compared to the prores“. And “This camera is changing my workflow and my company all in positive ways.” More videos have been posted on vimeo by John Justice and Orgie. And Hanadok posted an example video shot with the Olympus 45mm f/1.8 lens. Of course what you see on vimeo/youtube are compressed videos and do not reflect the real quality you can get with the new settings. All GH2 owners can hack the camera by using these instructions: http://www.personal-view.com/talks/discussion/332/ptool-3.60d-topic. And to see a list of all patches (including the driftwood) go here: http://www.personal-view.com/talks/discussion/953/gh2-patch-vault-most-popular-patches-in-one-place

P.S.: As I already told you the GH2 price is dropping slowly in US and Europe. Check at [shopcountry 16254] (Click on shop name to visit the GH2 search page).

Today let’s check how well (or bad) the new [shoplink 25396]NEX-7[/shoplink] and [shoplink 25767]Nikon V1[/shoplink] are competing against our m43 cameras:

Dpreview added the Nikon V1 comparison shots to the dpreview database. m43 still has a visible advantage over the Nikon sensor but I have to admit that the Nikon processor engine does really a good job in both JPEG and RAW. If they would have used a sensor as large as the m43 sensor than they would have probably beaten the current Oly-Panasonic quality.

There is also a new [shoplink 25396]NEX-7[/shoplink], [shoplink 23568]E-P3[/shoplink] and [shoplink 19929]X100[/shoplink] high ISO examples and crops comparison made by Steve Huff (Click here). The difference is easily visible. The Olympus E-P3 has more noise but also a higher per pixel sharpness.

So, what do you think about these tests? M43 has still a huge advantage when you take into consideration the full overall sensor quality + lens size + lens system quantity factors. But a new improved sensors would really bring us a step forward.

P.S.: The NEX-7 is the only non Canon/Nikon camera in Amazon’s top 20 (Click here to see the ranking). I guess I am not the only one waiting for a m43 camera with built-in viewfinder!

EosHD (Click here) tested the Noktor 12mm f/1.6 lens: “So far I love the lens but one area for improvement that I can see at this early point is to reduce the amount of distortion which can be quite noticeable on very straight horizontal lines right across the frame. But given how wide the lens is that is pretty much to be expected.”

Cnet (Click here / via noisycamera) reviewed the Olympus E-PL3: “The E-PL3 isn’t the best at anything in its class. The Panasonic Lumix DMC-GF3 is faster, smaller, and cheaper; the Sony Alpha NEX-5N has better photo and video quality. But I like the E-PL3 for its balance of features, performance, photo quality, and design that makes many of the tradeoffs worth it for the enthusiast.”

Monumentphoto (Click here) tested the new Olympus 45mm f/1.8 lens: “From my quick and dirty review, this lens is a must have for any M43 user.  In my opinion if you have M43 and you don’t have this lens, you are not maximizing the system’s potential.  I would have to agree with many who have reviewed this lens that indeed it is one of the best lenses in the M43 lineup at this time.”

Travis (dpreview forum) tested both new Leica 25mm f/1.4 and Olympus 45mm f/1.8 lenses: “I think they did just fine for both video and stills. However, I did have issues with getting the 45mm to focus for both stills and video at one point. Restarting the GH2 resolved those issues.”

Philip Bloom (Click here) shot a documentary with the Panasonic AG-AF100: “We also used the AF100 for all the handheld work? Why? Well because the handheld work was actuality following people around so a good zoom lens was needed with nice range. I didn’t have one for the F3 or the Epic so we used the AF100 as Kessler have the rather lovely Olympus 14-35 F2 lens. Perfect for handheld work. Using a Zacuto rig at first then a new Shape rig which I was just sent to try out Preston shot the actuality stuff beautifully with this camera.”

Shoplinks to mentioned cameras and lenses:
Olympus E-PL3 [shopcountry 23567].
Olympus 45mm f/1.8 [shopcountry 23577].
Olympus Zuiko 14-35mm [shopcountry 25118].
Panasonic AG-AF100 [shopcountry 16841].
Panasonic-Leica 25mm f/1.4 [shopcountry 23110].

Salton Sea shot with the hacked GH2 and Nokton 25mm and Olympus 12mm lens.

You can see the very first Nanoha macro lens unboxing and image samples at Mobile01. You can read more about the lens at Yasuhara.co.jp.

Panasonic Lumix DMC-LX5 Review at Neocamera.

Building the perfect Micro 4/3 Camera kit for under $2500 (Steve Huff).

Le salon de la photo de Paris 2011, c’est parti! (Openpn).

Sharpness comparisons @ 100mm and 200mm (m43photo).

Image on top: The iPhone E-P3 skin (Don’t know where you can buy that)

Amy Medina (Click here) reviewed the Olympus E-PM1: “I’m excited about where the m4/3 format is going to go, and mirrorless designs in general, as I truly believe it’s the future of photography. I can imagine that not too long in the distant future the industry will go mirrorless completely, and DSLRs will become a thing of the past. Currently, in my opinion, the m4/3 format — and specifically Olympus for me — has struck the best balance between portability, functionality and image-quality, if you want the smallest kit possible.“.

Photofocus (Click here) tested the Olympus Zuiko 12mm f/2.0 Lens: “I hope that the trend of high-quality, fast primes for micro 4/3 cameras continues. I used to think this was a gimmicky format – not any more. Now that the glass has arrived in conjunction with well-designed and executed camera bodies like the EP3 I am a believer.“.

TheDigitalPhotography (Click here) tested the Olympus E-P3: “In terms of noise and artefacts the camera is useable all the way to ISO 3200, with ISO 6400 just falling over the edge. By ISO 12,800 … sayonara!”

And today all(!) these new refurbished PEN auctions are ending at [shoplink 22691 ebay]Olympusmarket[/shoplink]. There are so many cameras that you can easily find a good price. Click on the camera name to see the ongoing auction:
[shoplink 26019 ebay]Olympus E-PL1 double kit lens[/shoplink] [shoplink 26020 ebay]Olympus E-PL1 with 14-150mm lens[/shoplink] [shoplink 26021 ebay]Olympus E-PL1 with kit lens[/shoplink] [shoplink 26022 ebay]Olympus E-PL1 double kit lens[/shoplink] [shoplink 26023 ebay]Olympus E-P2 with kit lens[/shoplink] [shoplink 26024 ebay]Olympus E-PL2 double kit lens[/shoplink] [shoplink 26026 ebay]Olympus E-PL2 double kit lens[/shoplink] [shoplink 26027 ebay]Olympus E-PL1 with 14-150mm lens[/shoplink] [shoplink 26029 ebay]Olympus E-PL1 with kit lens[/shoplink] [shoplink 26030 ebay]Olympus E-PL1 with 14-150mm lens[/shoplink] [shoplink 26031 ebay]Olympus E-PL1 double kit lens[/shoplink] [shoplink 26032 ebay]Olympus E-PL1 double kit lens[/shoplink] [shoplink 26033 ebay]Olympus E-PL1 with 14-150mm lens[/shoplink] [shoplink 26034 ebay]Olympus E-PL1 with kit lens[/shoplink] [shoplink 26035 ebay]Olympus E-PL1 double kit lens[/shoplink] [shoplink 26036 ebay]Olympus E-PL2 double kit lens[/shoplink] [shoplink 26037 ebay]Olympus E-PL1 with 14-150mm lens[/shoplink] [shoplink 26038 ebay]Olympus E-PL1 with kit lens[/shoplink] [shoplink 26039 ebay]Olympus E-PL1 with 14-150mm lens[/shoplink] [shoplink 26040 ebay]Olympus E-PL1 double kit lens[/shoplink]

Panasonic 20mm f/1.7 Lumix G Micro Four Thirds Lens Review at ePhotozine (Click here): “Those looking for standard lens with a fast maximum aperture cant go far wrong with this lens. It delivers sharp, contrasty images, focuses fast and is compact enough to make a pocketable combination with your Micro Four Thirds camera.“. Check price of the lens at [shopcountry 14796].

Panasonic 14mm f/2.5 Lumix G Lens Review at ePhotozine (Click here): “Although it can be quite prone to flare with a strong light source in the frame, this is a small negative when the excellent sharpness, low CA and good build quality are taken into account“. You can check the price of the lens at [shopcountry 16258].

Panasonic 14-42mm f/3.5-5.6 Micro Four Thirds Zoom Lens Review at ePhotozine (Click here): “Overall the this optic perform well for one that is bundled as a kit lens and as it it priced lower than other alternatives when bought separately, it offers good value for money as a result“.