Panasonic GH3 test at EosHD (Global shutter GHx in two years?)

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Example of moire on the Panasonic GH3 from Andrew Reid on Vimeo.

Our friend Andrew from EosHD had the chance to test a pre-production GH3 camera. He met Panasonic manager Uematsu-san and the first interetsing news is that he “hinted at a weaker anti-aliasing filter in our conversations. This results in sharper stills but more aliasing in video mode“. On the other side the weaker AA filter allows to have a “better overall image because of improvements to colour, gradation and the codec“. And the GH3 “resolves as much detail as the $15,000 Canon C300 and at a higher bitrate in 24p.”

A look into the future: Uematsu-san said that Panasonic could bring global shutter to the GH line in 2 years.

If you want to read more about the GH3 I invite you to read the article at Luminous Landscape.

Special GH3 page at Amazon (Click here) and a full Olympus presentation page at Amazon (Click here).
GH3 at Amazon (Click here), Adorama (Click here), Bhphoto (Click here), Panasonic US and in Europe at Wexphotographic UK and Technikdirekt.

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UPDATE: 60mm macro lens in Stock at BHphoto (Click here).

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(FT3) Digicaminfo: Panasonic GX2 to arrive in Fall 2013 only? GF6 and G6 in Spring.

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Yesterday Panasonic announced the new MFT videocamera. So while the rumor about an early November Panasonic announcement were correct we are still missing the release of the new GX2. There is a weird silence around that product. Back in Spring Panasonic itself said that: “We will define more clearly what GH and GX means this year, so consumers have a better idea of what their characteristics are.” (Source: Amateur Photographer). And the GX1 price fell down at the same level of the GF5 (GX1 $460 Amazon and GF5 $449 again at Amazon).

But that weird silence may be a sign that something has changed within the Panasonic roadmap. And indeed Digicaminfo (translation here) got the info that Panasonic decided to release the GX2 in Fall 2013 only! This is not a rumor from their best sources, so it may be not correct. But according to the rumor the Panasonic decided to take time to develop the new GX2 so that it will have some features that “do not exist on current Panasonic MFT cameras“.

What these features could be we don’t know but I already spotted some patents about 1) rangefinder styled GX camera and 2) Built-in sensor stabilization. But we know, patent do not really disclose what’s coming in the near future.

The other info is that the GF6 and G6 will be released in Spring. That is definitely not a surprise. Panasonic is known for releasing the G and GF successors in Spring :)

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The Sony NEX-6/7 (Click here) and the Fuji X cameras (Click here) are for now the only mirrorless cameras with such a rangefinder styled design.
The [shoplink 23692 ebay]DMC-L1 eBay (Click here)[/shoplink].
The [shoplink 26385 ebay]DMC-LC1 on eBay (Click here)[/shoplink].

Rumors classification explained (FT= FourThirds):
FT1=1-20% chance the rumor is correct
FT2=21-40% chance the rumor is correct
FT3=41-60% chance the rumor is correct
FT4=61-80% chance the rumor is correct
FT5=81-99% chance the rumor is correct

 

 

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A new 35-100mm X lens video user review…

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First off….there are now eight(!) refurbished E-M5 auctions on Olympusmarket eBay (Click here to see the list on Slidoo eBay). If you are going to bet on it…Good Luck! :)

Panasonic 35-100mm X: Our reader Twills got his new X lens and posted the video on top. Here is his short review text: “The lens is exceptionally sharp even wide open at F2.8. The 35-100mm has in lens image stabilization that as you can see in the video works extremely well in both stills and video modes. This lens is not that much longer and actually narrower than the 14-140mm. I have not seen in CA(Chromatic Aberrations) or other distortions with this lens. The image quality of it is unmatched by any other m4/3s I have tested. This is expected with a lens this expensive though.
The 35-100mm lens emits very faint whirring and whining noises from the continuous auto focus motors. They are faint but you can hear them if you put your ear up next to the lens. I couldn’t hear the noises in any of the videos I took.
The auto focus with the GH2 + 35-100mm is extremely accurate and it does not hunt at all. However, it can be slow to refocus in very dark situations where the focus point changes very quickly.
I have uploaded the still images from the video at the link below.
http://www.dpreview.com/galleries/4222674355/albums/35-100mm-f2-8-samples
http://forums.dpreview.com/forums/thread/3293287”

One more review: 60mm macro test at Camerastuffreview.

 

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GF5 gets a $70 discount. LX5 and XZ-1 deal reminders.

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The last two months Panasonic was impressively active with deals on the US market. Here is the next one. The GF5 with 14-42mm kit lens now sells for $449 at Amazon (Click here). That’s about $70 less than you pay at BHphoto.

And if you are going to grab the deal than don’t forget that you can save even more when you buy it along another MFT lens:

 

UPDATE: The LX5 is available discounted at $249 at BHphoto (Click here). The XZ-1 sells for $199 at Amazon.

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A new MFT lens is in Stock for the first time. The Mitakon 35mm f/0.95.

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[shoplink 34694 ebay]

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I don’t know if you knew it but there is a new Mitakon 35mm f/0.95 Micro Four Thirds lens that is now for sale for the very first time on [shoplink 34694 ebay]eBay (Click here)[/shoplink]. Actually this lens has been designed to cover even larger APS-C sensors and is available in X and E mount too (Full list of Mitakon lenses on Slidoo eBay).

The only image samples I found where made on the Sony NEX and posted at Xitek Forum (Translation here) and MFlenses. Let me know if you have some image samples ot share!

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Panasonic announces the new AG-AF100A!

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AV.Watch (translation here) reports that Panasonic will release the new AG-AF100A on November 15th. New features include 10-bit HD output via SDI port, 18Mps data rate, Full 1080/60p recording, new focus assist and 16bit LPCM audio. This sounds more like a nicely upgraded AG-AF100 rather than a complete new camera. Here is the press release:

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Panasonic Introduces The AG-AF100A Series Micro Four Thirds Camera Recorder Featuring Full HD Progressive Recording And 10 Bit 4:2:2 Camera Live Output Via SDI Terminal

Osaka, Japan (November 5th, 2012) — Panasonic Corporation will release the new AG-AF100A Series Memory Card Camera Recorder in November 2012.

The AG-AF100A Series is the professional HD camera recorder with a Micro Four Thirds mount. As with the conventional model AG-AF100 Series, AG-AF100A Series can use a wide range of lenses* including Micro Four Thirds compatible DSLR (Digital Single Lens Reflex) lenses and Cinema lenses with a mount adapter. AG-AF100A Series also features two-channel XLR audio input terminals and more functions to meet the professional needs.

In addition to the professional high quality PH mode (average approx. 21Mbps, maximum 24Mbps), AG-AF100A Series complies with the AVCHD ver. 2.0 (AVCHD Progressive) standard in its new PS mode (average approx. 25Mbps, maximum 28Mbps) for recording, playing and outputting (via HDMI only) Full-HD progressive (1080/59.94p, 1080/50p) images. The PS/PH modes support uncompressed 16 bit LPCM 2-channel audio recording.

The AG-AF100A Series can newly output HD signals with 10 bit 4:2:2 quality via the camera’s live output function and record onto the external devices, such as P2 Recorder, compatible with 10 bit high quality recording through SDI. P2 Recorder also syncs Rec Start/Stop with the AG-AF100A series trigger.

The AG-AF100A Series is newly equipped with the expand focus assist function, which enlarges the center of the displayed image, and 2.39:1 (cinema scope size) safety zone marker.

The AG-AF100A Series will be available in November 2012 at an open price in Japan.

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Full Olympus 75mm f/1.8 review at ePhotozine.

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On left the Olympus lens, on right the [shoplink 31293 ebay]Zeiss Biotar 75mm f/1.5[/shoplink].

ePhotozine posted the full Olympus 75mm f/1.8 review. And it’s not a surprise that this lens gets another big appraisal: “It’s amongst the sharpest lenses currently available for any camera system, it’s well built and a pleasure to use. The price is actually quite good value when such high optical performance is delivered. It can certainly give the Zeiss’ and Leica’s a run for their money.”

The only real downside for them is that it is not weather sealed and that you have to pay extra for the original hood. At least some third party hoods are already made on sold in US ($7 on amazon), US ($32 better quality), [shoplink 34663 ebay]Germany (ebay)[/shoplink] and [shoplink 34664 ebay]Hong Kong (ebay)[/shoplink].

The lens itself can be found at [shopcountry 31284].

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Olympus Lens alternatives (if you don’t care about the missing autofocus and electronic contacts):
1) [shoplink 31292 ebay]Dallmeyer 75mm f/1.9 (Here on eBay)[/shoplink]. This is an extremely expensive lens and I don’t know why it is so. Only crazy guys would buy that :)
2) [shoplink 31293 ebay]Leica Summilux 75mm f/1.4 (Here on eBay)[/shoplink]. Extraordinary high quality lens for an extraordinary price (although it’s still less expensive than the mysterious Dallmeyer). It’s the fastest of all 75mm lenses
3) [shoplink 31293 ebay]Zeiss Biotar 75mm f/1.5 (Here on eBay)[/shoplink]. Fast and also a bit exotic lens made for the Exacta series.
4) [shoplink 31294 ebay]Leica Summarit 75mm f/2.5 (Here on eBay)[/shoplink]. High quality and relatively compact lens. A bit slow compared to the Olympus (f/2.5).
5) [shoplink 31295 ebay]Voigtlander Heliar 75mm f/1.8 (Here on eBay)[/shoplink]. Probably the best alternative of the new Olympus 75mm f/1.8 lens. Same aperture, superb high quality and cheaper.
6) [shoplink 31324 ebay]Fujinon 75mm f/1.8 (Here on eBay)[/shoplink]. This is a very cheap TV lens and I don’t expect the quality to be very good. I wouldn’t buy that unlike your really need that focal length and you have a very low budget.

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