Vitaly the hacker posted his thoughts about the [shoplink 22077]G3[/shoplink] on his website Personal-view.com (Click here). He doesn’t like the new G3 because….

“* Less buttons (you do not need AEL, right?).
* No eye sensor (You like play quest games enabling EVF via touch menu?)
* Noisier sensor compensated by math (read – more details blur).
* Intelligent resolution (read – more sharpness accentuating even minor flaws).
* And this magic button, ouch forget how it is called, something like Super-Druper-Auto-Everything-Intelligence-Not-From-This-Planet.
I think that it decides then you must take your pictures and prevents you to take any picture if it does not like this sour mugs ;-)
But I may misread something.”

And if you visit his website Personal-view.com (Click here) he also shows you the pink G3 :)

My two cent on that, I don’t think the G3 is a bad camera. Panasonic clearly targeted it for the amateurs. But along the G3 I would love to see a real Photo Camera too. A camera with less plastic, with more buttons and easier usability. What do you think?

P.S.: G3 preorders at Amazon (Click here), Adorama (Click here) and Amazon UK (Click here).

Let’s focus on the performance of the new sensor. Please take into consideration that all images and tests have been performed using the beta firmware and JPG engine.

1) Let’s start with the Studio comparison tool from DPreview (Click here). jpg do look very good and can compete very well against the other entry level DSLR’s like the Canon 600d (Rebel T3i). Look at that 3.200 ISO comparison (Click here). I think Panasonic managed to improve the sensor and the imaging processor.

2) Photographyblog (CLick here) shows us the usefulness of the “Intelligent Resolution” feature: “The Panasonic Lumix DMC-G3’s Intelligent Resolution feature identifies outlines, texture areas and soft gradation areas of the image and then automatically optimizes the edges and detailed texture areas while using noise reduction to make the soft gradation areas smoother. There are three available strengths – low, standard and high.” The image samples do prove that the feature seems to work fine.

3) Focus Numerique (Click here) posted a set of ISO samples. But take a look at SLRclub (Click here) where a forum user compared the Focus Numerique G3 results with those from other cameras. (Thanks Piscesen for sending us the link). UPDATE: You can find downloadable RAW files right below the image samples! (Thanks Jennekens)

4) You can find a Noise and Dynamic Range comparison at Techradar (Click here). A bit surprising to see that G3 is not so good a low ISO but much better at mid-high ISO! Look at the curve and you will be surprised!

5) Take a look at Imaging Resource (Click here). You will a couple of hours to analyze all those studio pictures! :)

Here is a list of real world (no studio) image samples: Flickr, Techradar, DPreview, Photographyblog.. So what do you think about the image quality of the new sensor?

Reminder:
Preorder the black,white, red or brown G3 at Amazon US (Click here)
Now preorders in Europe too! At Amazon UK (Click here).
Panasonic Lumix DMC-G3 14-42mm Lens Kit at Bhphoto (Click here)
Panasonic Lumix DMC-G3 Camera Body at Bhphoto (Click here)

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[/shoplink] Image on top shows the [shoplink 14826]GH1[/shoplink] which is discounted in US. The GH2 is still out of Stock.

Thom Hogan (Click here) posted a bunch of few “mini-reviews“:

1) Panasonic GH2
He doesn’t recommend the camera because of two reasosn:
– “what I’m getting out of it in images and video looks a lot like a GH1. (Of course, I hacked my GH1 to get better video out of it.)”
-“because Panasonic’s distribution and sales in the US is so screwed up you’re not going to find one on your dealer’s shelves anyway.”
That’s why you should a close look to the recent $50 to $200 instant rebate offers on the GH1 at Amazon (Click here) and Adorama (Click here). The GH2 is still ut of stock (or overpriced) at Amazon, Adorama, B&H, J&R, eBay.

2) Olympus XZ-1.
The camera gets a positive review and it’s recommended: “The lens on this camera is superb, and the image quality is very good in raw“. The only problem the camera has is that “controls get reset too easily while handling the camera”
Get the XZ-1 at [shopcountry 19904].

He also tested the Fuji X100 and Sony VG-10. Both are not recommended cameras! (Click here to read more at bythom.com).

P.S.: Fuji X100 links to [shopcountry 19929].

The Fuji X100 Very First Look (Steve Huff).

Let me make a quick roundup about the news of the most popular camera of the moment, the Fuji X100.

Reghardware (Click here) tested the X100: “In these days of interchangeable lens, electronic viewfinder cameras, what possible appeal can a fixed-lens camera like this hold? Surprisingly, the answer is: quite a lot.”..”Finding a compact that forces you to engage with manual photography is a novelty that doesn’t wear off, and the result is a camera that’s intensely satisfying to use. But at a thousand pounds it’s next to impossible to recommend.”

The Fuji X100 shipment has started in many US stores. I got reports that Amazon (Click here) and Adorama (Click here) were the first to ship. The next stock of X100 cameras will arrive in two weeks. If you are willing to pay more than the normal price than you can find it in Stock right now at Amazon (Click here) via third party resellers.

In Europe shipment hasn’t started yet (Amazon UK still says “temporarily out of stock”). Only one European reseller has two Fuji X100 on [shoplink 21826 ebay]eBay UK (Click here)[/shoplink].

P.S.: Fuji is a member of the Four Thirds coalition but has yet to release any 43 or m43 camera (let’s hope they will join us sooner or later).

If you want to learn more about the use of telescopes on the Panasonic GH2 read the review on Luminous Landscape (Click here). They used the $1600 [shoplink 21816 ebay]Vortex Razor HD[/shoplink] spotting scope.As you can see the image quality s very good. So if you need a lens to spy a bit around like Jeff did in “Rear Window” from Hitchcock you might get one of those lenses ;)

Links to the Vortex Razor lens at Amazon, BHphoto and [shoplink 21816 ebay]eBay[/shoplink] And the links to the GH2 at [shopcountry 16254].

Bob Atkins posted the Olympus E-5 review on Photo.net (Click here): “In this price class (under $1700) it goes up against cameras like the Canon EOS 7D, which has a larger sensor, more pixels, 1080HD video, a faster frame rate and ISO setting up to 12800. The E-5 is more expensive then either the EOS 60D or Nikon D7000, both of which also have larger sensors, more pixels and higher ISOsettings (with lower noise), along with a much wider range of available lenses (including extensive 3rd party support). Of course there’s much. much more to a camera than counting pixels or even sensor size, but those cameras would still have to be strong contenders in this price class (perhaps along with the Pentax K-5) for those who are not current Four-Thirds system users.”
Get the E-5 at [shopcountry 17163].

M43photo.blogspot (Click here) compared the Panasonic 14mm and 20mm bokeh performance: “The 20mm pancake lens shows the most non-circular highlights…the 14mm pancake has the most consistent appearance.”
Direct links to the 20mm lens at [shopcountry 14796].
Direct links to the 14mm lens at [shopcountry 16258].

Image courtesy: Photozone

How good is that tiny [shoplink 16258]Panasonic 14mm f/2.5[/shoplink] pancake lens? Combined witht the Panasonic GF2 it makes the smallest digital mirrorless package of the world (The NEX camera itself is smaller but the 24mm Sony lens is huge compared to the Panasonic lens).

Photozone tested the Panasonic pancake and the conclusion is: “Such tiny and light-weight pancake lenses like the Panasonic Lumix G 14mm f/2.5 ASPH turn micro-four-thirds cameras into almost pocketable combo. This is surely the primary appeal of the lens because performance-wise it does not stand out. The resolution capabilities are only decent but not stellar for a fixed focal wide angle lens. The center quality is very fine whereas the border and extreme corners are generally on a good level except at f/2.5 where the corners are somewhat soft. The amount of vignetting is a bit on the high side at f/2.5 and you need to stop down a few stops to resolve the issue. Distortions and Lateral CAs are very well controlled and not relevant in the field – that’s at least true for the auto-corrected image files. The build quality of the lens is excellent despite the low weight of merely 55g. The focus-by-wire approach (manual focusing) may be odd at first but you should be able to used to it in no time. The AF performance is very good and AF accuracy is nothing to worry about either. ”
Read the full review at Photozone (Click here)

Click on those links to see the lens at [shopcountry 16258].