New Panasonic GF2 review (+ BHphoto shows the GF2 price)

[shoplink 17361][/shoplink]

Digitalcamerareview tested the new Panasonic GF2. They wrote a five page long article and tested also the new [shoplink 16258]14mm f/2.5[/shoplink] lens. Conclusions are as usual on the last page. Interesting, the reviewer says that it will be a real challenge for Nikon to make a better mirrorless camera than the GF2.

P.S.: BHphoto (Click here) has pricing up for the GF2:
14mm kit -$699
14-45mm kit – $599
Body only – $499

Kowa 55mm f/1.0 review (suprise, it is a 90mm lens!)

[shoplink 16724 ebay][/shoplink]3Dkraft.de tested the [shoplink 16724 ebay]Kowa 55mm f/1.0[/shoplink] which has been modified to match the MicroFourThirds mount. The tester discovered that the modified version in reality has a 90mm focal length (180mm in Full Frame terms)!!! As you can imagine the lens is very soft wide open but pretty sharp at f/2.8 (and because of the tele characteristic it still offers a very shallow depth of field). You can buy the modified Kowa 55mm f/1.0 on [shoplink 16724 ebay]eBay (Click here)[/shoplink].

E-PL2 and XZ-1 news


Olympus PEN E-PL2 “It’s Love It’s PEN” 30s

There is a gallery of 24 shots made with a pre-production E-PL2 – firmware 0.9 (and the new 14-42 MSC or 40-150 MSC) at Forum Olympus France.

Olympus XZ-1 preview samples (Dpreview).

Olympus E-PL2 Hands-on review at Amateur Photographer.

GF2 vs E-PL2 vx NEX-5 at Pcpop.

Olympus E-PL2 test at Fotopolis.

You can now pre order the Olympus E-PL2 at Amazon, Adorama, Amazon France
And the Olympus XZ-1 at Amazon, Adorama, Amazon Deutschland, Amazon France and Amazon UK.

Double Panasonic GF2 and Olympus E-5 review!

[shoplink 17361][/shoplink]We have two new Panasonic GF2 and two new Olympus E-5 reviews!

1) Trustedreviews tested the GF2. The camera earns 8.5 out of 10 points. Verdict: “While the [shoplink 17361]Panasonic Lumix DMC-GF2[/shoplink] is a worthy successor to the existing and soon to be phased out GF1, it’s not the most direct, like-for-like replacement. This means that existing owners may well want to hang on to the camera they’ve already got – especially if they value the tactile nature of a chunky physical shooting mode dial over a virtual screen-based equivalent.

2) Photoreview Australia also tested the GF2. Also in that case the score is very good 8.5/10. Verdict: “Snapshooters looking for a pocketable camera with a large image sensor and support for raw file capture and Full HD video recording may find the [shoplink 17361]GF2[/shoplink] an attractive option. Serious photographers who want a compact camera as an adjunct or alternative to a DSLR will probably need to keep looking.”

3) SLRclub posted a very long and korean written only [shoplink 17163]E-5[/shoplink] review. As usual they do post everything as a jpg image so google translate can’t work. But there are plenty of test images, charts and videos you can analyze for yourself.

4) There is also an english written [shoplink 17163]E-5[/shoplink] review at Pixiq: “If you already own Zuiko Digital lenses the cost of trading up to this camera will pay off, providing the most effective Olympus technology and the greatest versatility.

Reminder: According to Amazon UK the Panasonic GF2 should be in Stock on January 24. And you get a free photography gift pack worth £150 when you preorder the camera now. If you are non-japanese the only way to get the GF2 now is through [shoplink 18595 ebay]ebay where they have a few items in Stock (Click here)[/shoplink].

5D and GH2 Rolling Shutter comparison (+Slrmagic and Panasonic lens test)


Canon 5D markII vs Panasonic GH2 rolling shutter ocmparison by Mike Kobal.

Steve Huff tested the new SLRmagic 26mm f/1.4 lens on the Olympus E-PL1. Reminder: You can buy them on [shoplink 18603]eBay only (Click here)[/shoplink].

Photographyblog reviewed the [shoplink 14822]Panasonic  7-14mm F4.0[/shoplink] Lens. The lens gets highly recommended and not highly recommended mainly because of the high price tag (the performance itself is very good!). But at least in US this is changing quickly. There has been a $150-$200 price drop at Amazon, Adorama and BHphoto.

First SLR Magic Toy Lens test (+ Panasonic 100-300mm and 14mm price drops)

Nikkorexf posted a first set of image sampels on flickr (Click here) taken with the new 26mm f/1.4 lens from SLRmagic. I would say that those samples are not so bad as I would have expectedform a lens with that price [shoplink 18603 ebay]Click here to see the lens on eBay[/shoplink].

But if you are looking for real good quality lenses you should take a look at the two new Panasonic lenses, They are getting the first price drops!
The Panasonic Lumix 100-300mm f/4.0-5.6 is now in Stock at Amazon (Click here) for $565.57 only. That’s -$35!
And also the Panasonic Lumix 14mm f/2.5 has a $22 discount and is now in Stock for $378 at Amazon (Click here).
Hot deal reminder: Panasonic GF1 body only is in Stock for $299 at Amazon (Click here)!

Panasonic GF2 review at Hardwarezone (GF1 discontinued at BHphoto!)

[shoplink 17361][/shoplink]

Hardwarezone tested the new Panasonic GF2: “There’s a lot to like about the Panasonic Lumix GF2. It’s amazing how Panasonic has squeezed more features like a touch-screen and full HD video recording into a smaller camera, no doubt helped by the removal of the Mode dial and the use of a smaller battery. With the GF2, Panasonic comes closer to the goal of a compact camera with a large sensor.

There is also a short GF2 test at DCfever.

In the meanwhile the Panasonic GF1+20mm kit is discontinued at BHphoto (Click here)! Amazon is still selling the same kit (Click here) but it is out of Stock right now. But you can find the GF1+20mm in Stock at Adorama (Click here)!