Philip Bloom just posted a new Hands-on diary about the [shoplink 16841]Panasonic AG-AF100[/shoplink]. He used the [shoplink 14822]Panasonic 7-14mm[/shoplink] and the Nikon 80-200mm f/2.8 lens. Those are his most interesting critics:

– It was a real pleasure shooting with this camera, wide lenses and pre-production aside. The low light was really good, not full frame DSLR amazing but MILES better than my [shoplink 14826]GH1[/shoplink]. User friendly. Great exposure assistants like waveform and zebras. Two features to help you focus. Proper sound. Minimal rolling shutter but best of all. I could not see ANY moire or aliasing in things that would show up with my DSLRs normally…this is a big deal.
– I did a few rolling shutter tests with it. Yes, skew is still present but pretty minimal with this lens.
– The lowest ISO is 200, the highest is 3200 which of course has noise but is pretty damn good. Not 5Dmk2 good but better than the 7D for sure
– The waveform/ vectorscopes are fantastic, 100 times better than what the histogram on the Canon DSLRs.
– The thing that REALLY excited me was the overcrank mode. I could record 1080p 25p at 50FPS or 60FPS in 24p mode!! Being able to shoot full HD overcranked to 50FPS or 60 and the ability to record high quality audio in camera has totally sold me on this camera.
– Downsides, UK price…ugly, menus a bit fiddly (but this may improve with the production version), sensor size being micro four thirds means most of your 35mm lens are a bit telephoto.
– Ergonomics…it’s awkward handheld. More so than the other cameras of this size due to still lenses being used. It needs a handheld rig.
– Panasonic urgently need to bring out some fast wide lenses. it’s the single biggest issues with the camera
– Will I buy this camera the moment it comes out? Bloody right.

You can preorder the AG-AF100 at [shoplink 16841]BHphoto (Click here)[/shoplink]

P.S.: Did you listen Pana? We need some fast wide lenses ;)

Cameralabs posted a long Panasonic LX5 review: “So ultimately a great camera has become even better, but the biggest problem facing the Lumix LX5 is the availability of compacts boasting considerably larger sensors and the flexibility of interchangeable lenses.” And how does the LX5 compare with the Micro Four Thirds sensor? A dpreview forum user tried to find the answer by comparing the LX5 with the E-PL1.
Amateur Photograher says about the LX5: “Yet the new sensor design does go some way towards improving both the dynamic range and noise beyond what we have seen from the last generation of compact cameras. Overall, I am very impressed with the LX5.”
Also Digitalcamerareview and Infosync tested the LX5.

And as you know there is a Leica clone of the LX5 which of course is much more expensive. But ThePhoBlographer gives you 4 Reasons why You Should Get the Leica D-LUX 5 vs Panasonic LX-5.

Support 43rumors and use those affiliate links to purchase the LX5

US:
Amazon, Adorama and BHphoto.

Europe:
Pixmania Deutschland, Pixmania Belgium, Pixmania France, Pixmania Austria, Pixmania UK, Pixmania Nederland, Pixmania Poland, Pixmania España,Pixmania Italia

Advantages:

• Excellent resolution by stopping down to medium apertures
• Very low levels of chromatic aberration
• Quiet and quick AF Focus
• Effective optical stabilization system
• Good contrast
• Compact size and weight
• High zoom performance (200 to 600mm on 135 format)
• Good price
• Lens Hood for the price

Potential drawbacks:

• Plastic body (except the lens mount)
• Focal length markings are not painted entirely accurate (about 2mm difference at some focal lengths)
• No distance scale for manual focusing
• Initial aperture begins at the value of F4

Amazon UK says that: “This item is due to be released on November 8, 2010.”

Click ont store name to visit the product page and check price and availabilty or to preorder the lens:
Amazon US, Adorama, BHphoto, Amazon Deutschland, Amazon UK, Amazon Japan

Digitalcamerareview posted a 6 page long E-5 FULL! review. You can read their conclusion at page 5 (Click here): “E-3 owners and Olympus fans will be glad to know that the E-5 is a highly capable and rugged imaging tool. Others may be put off by some of the limits of the comparitively smaller and lower-resolution sensor.“.

First lucky user got the E-5 and posted some image samples inside the dpreview forum here here and here.

Olympus E-5 preorder links:
Amazon US, BHphoto, Adorama, Amazon Deutschland, Amazon Japan

It’s hard to find good, fast and cheap prime lenses and it is even harder to find zoom lenses! The [shoplink 17068]Canon 25-100mm f/1.8[/shoplink] is one of the few cheap and fast zoom lenses. You can find some image samples at 406club.dyndns.org. They used the Panasonic G1 to take the pictures.
Advent (DVXuser forum user) tested that lens on Micro Four Thirds cameras and said that it is “extremely fast zooming and very sharp”
A cameraporn pictures can be found here at getdpi (Canon 25-100mm on the GH1).

The lens is available at [shoplink 17068]eBay (Click here to see current auctions and price)[/shoplink].

P.S.: A high-quality alternative is the Olympus 35-100mm f/2.0 Zuiko Lens for E Series DSLR Cameras but it is 10 times more expensive.

Philippe posted some image sample of the new GH2 on Flickr

David Long made that nice GH1 vs GH2 comparison graph based on the latest Diwa-award test. DR= Dynamic range SNR= Signal to noise ratio. Click on pictures to enlarge!

Ananonymous source told us that “the 100-300 lens will be available in mid-November, and the GH2 is scheduled to arrive in the US on Nov. 28 or 29.“

PanasonicGH2 preorders:
You can preorder the GH2 at Amazon US but unlike BHphoto they don’t have the body only option :(
In Europe Amazon UK and Amazon France do accept preorders!

3200 ISO Panasonic AF100 from Philip Bloom on Vimeo.

Philip Bloom just posted a short impression about the 3 days spent with the new [shoplink 16841]Panasonic AG-AF100[/shoplink]: “I have shot a little footage at 3200 ISO and it looks pretty damn good! Great to have features on the camera that I miss SOOOOO much on my DSLRs. Great to have a 4 setting ND filter wheel. Great to have a really good quality waveform, XLR inputs, zebras, headphone jack (!), the list goes on and on…stuff I struggle with not having on my DSLRs. It seems to have less digital noise than my 5dmk2”

The video he posted above has been made using the M mount Voigtlander 50mm 1.1 ([shoplink 17015]click here to see the current lens auctions and price on eBay[/shoplink]) and a Fotodiox adapter.

Filippo Chiesa compared the Panasonic AG-AF100 with the Canon 5DmarkII and said: “The new Panny is terrific: no aliasing, no moiré, the rolling shutter is present but minimum, great resolution.
The release in my hands, is not the definitive one and there are some bugs in the menu (the variable frame rate doesn’t work, for example) but I’m in love with this baby.“. You can see the comparison video on vimeo (Click here).

Reminder: You can preorder the [shoplink 16841]Panasonic AG-AF100 at BHphoto (Click here)[/shoplink]. BHphoto ships to Europe too and they can calculate the taxes and shipment costs for you.