Pocket Lint is the first website to post a (short) review of the new [shoplink 17361]Panasonic GF2[/shoplink]! Let’s start with the good news: “For those cautious of the touchscreen control, however, there’s really no need to fear – it works a treat should you want to get thoroughly involved.” Nice to hear that! Autofocus is fast “though it’s not as impressive as the forthcoming GH2“. And what about the image quality? “Images are clear and colourful, and the 14mm renders sharp results. There was the odd bit of overexposure in some circumstances, though not frequently or worryingly so.”

There are only a few issues. One of them has to do with the new 14mm pancake which is the official GF2 kit lens: “One of the 14mm’s issues is that minimum focus distance during autofocus is nowhere near as impressive as we’d expect – and this is usually a requirement for wideangle lenses.”

Click here to read the review at Pocket Lint!

Although Amazon US and BHphoto do list the camera they do not unveil the price. The only exception here is Amazon UK which shows the price of the different kits (in pounds of course!). But I suggest our US readers to take a close look at the older GF1 which now sells for $599 only at Amazon (Click here) and BHphoto (Click here). The GF1 shares the same GF2 sensor but is probably a better choice if you like to use buttons more than touchscreens!

The new 14mm lens is NOT in Stock in US but available almost everywhere in Europe: Amazon DE, Amazon UK, Amazon FR

M43photo.blogspot compared the [shoplink 16254]GH2[/shoplink] vs [shoplink 14828]GH1[/shoplink] video quality: “First of all, it is easy to conclude that the colour balance is different. I have the same saturation settings in both cameras (+1), and the lightning was the same. So the difference must be due to different implementation of auto white balance. Overall, I feel that the GH2 colours look more natural. When it comes to the sharpness, I think the conclusion is that the GH2 has better image quality. Even though the bandwidth is a bit smaller than in the hacked GH1.”

That’s the second comparison test I see and it looks like the 24Mbit AVCHD codec does an impressive job. Reminder, the new GH1 cameras that are for sale in stores are not hackeable because they feature the newest firmware which has not been hacked yet! But if you are still interested in getting the cheaper hackeable GH1 there are few of them for sale on [shoplink 18422 ebay]eBay (Click here)[/shoplink].

Travis sent me the following text to explain the GH2 vs GF1 comparison:
“So I had a chance to film a competition this weekend with my GH2. I had filmed the exact same competition last year with my [shoplink 14828]GF1[/shoplink] and the [shoplink 14796]20mm[/shoplink] in true manual focus mode.
GH2 Rise Up comp: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6ahT2JHsYZo
GF1 Rise Up comp: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=d5ePxmdu0k8
This year I felt lazy and stuck it in continuous autofocus for most of the comp and single point auto focus for a few shots where the focus didn’t need to change. There are a few spots where you can see the focus change but not too bad for indoors in horrible lighting.
The biggest advantage to the GH2 is the teleconversion feature. Last year I had to use the 2x digital zoom when I wanted to film with the 20mm pancake. This year I just shot in 1080p with the 2.6x converter on. It gives me extremely detailed 1080p video as if I was using a 52mm lens. The two links below point to similar samples. The first link uses the 2x digital zoom and the second on shows the 2.6x lossless teleconversion. The difference is pretty amazing and both were filmed with the same lens in the same location.
GF1 2x Digital Zoom: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=d5ePxmdu0k8&t=0m50s
GH2 teleconversion: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6ahT2JHsYZo&t=1m36s
The first two clips at the link below were shot at a fixed ISO 3200 with the 45-200mm indoors. I never thought that would be possible until the GH2 came around: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6ahT2JHsYZo&t=3m55s
I did have some trouble with the camera turning off periodically because it couldn’t recognize the battery. That made me very mad but I have two spare batteries being delivered that should resolve the issue.
Overall I couldn’t be happier with the GH2. And now that I have the [shoplink 16258]14mm F2.5 lens[/shoplink] I really don’t think I need anything more.”

And here short in Stock status update:
For US: The GH2 is in Stock at Amazon or [shoplink 17664 ebay]eBay[/shoplink].
For Europe: The GH2 is in Stock in almost every online or local stores: Amazon DE, Amazon UK, Amazon FR, Pixmania.fr, Pixmania.it, Pixmania.pl, Pixmania.es.

Photographyblog tested the new [shoplink 16261]Panasonic 100-300mm lens[/shoplink]. The lens scores 4 of 5 stars: “While this lens is obviously not in the same class as the primes and high-grade zooms that we have reviewed so far, it is actually pretty amazing for a superzoom….For starters, it’s surprisingly small and lightweight…Optically, the lens isn’t a top performer, but it’s perfectly acceptable and actually better than we expected. At most focal lengths, you can safely use it wide open…The lens also earns our admiration for fast focusing on the equally new [shoplink 16254]DMC-GH2[/shoplink], even at the 600mm equivalent end of the zoom range in low-light conditions. This is equally true for moving subjects too, making this lens well-suited to sports and wildlife photography…”
Read the full review at Photographyblog.

The lens itself is in Stock at Amazon or [shoplink 17618 ebay]eBay[/shoplink].