David Pogue from the New York Times (Click here) wrote an article about the new Micro Four Thirds revolution: “for years, there were two kinds of cameras: pocket models, with tiny sensors that produce blurry or grainy photos in low light and S.L.R. cameras, those big-sensor, big-body, heavy black beasts used by professionals. In the last couple of years, though, things have changed. There’s a new class of camera whose size (both body and sensor) falls in between those two time-honored extremes. They represent a rethinking of every single design element, a jettisoning of every nonessential component, in pursuit of a tiny, big-sensor camera. Because that, after all, is what the world really wants.”

Inside the article he focuses on two m43 cameras  the [shoplink 17361]Panasonic GF2[/shoplink] and the [shoplink 18844]Olympus E-PL2[/shoplink]: “In the end, you can’t really cheat physics. Getting cameras this small means sacrifices. For example, both of these cameras have a pop-up flash — and it pops way up high, a trick that minimizes red eye in your subjects — but it’s weak, with only about a six-foot range.” and “The bigger loss is the optical viewfinder. Both cameras have bright, beautiful three-inch screens that do O.K. in sunlight. But they’re nowhere near as good as the eyepiece of a regular S.L.R., especially in low light. The difference in clarity and feeling is especially evident when you compare one of these Micro Four-Thirds cameras with an S.L.R. side-by-side.”

But despite the sacrifices you have to make:  “These miniature Micro Four-Thirds cameras cost as much as a real S.L.R., and they teem with compromises. Still, if the world craves a solution to the small camera/big sensor challenge, these models offer some novel solutions to the puzzle.”

Like David I do believe the need for “mirrorless” (or I should say the need for compact cameras with image high quality) will increase and the competition will become bigger and bigger. Let’s see how Panasonic and Olympus will exploit the momentum to gain more market shares.

Check the current Panasonic GF2 price at [shopcountry 17361].
Check the current Olympus E-PL2 price at [shopcountry 18844].

Steve Digicam’s (Click here) posted a new Panasonic GH2 review: “Panasonic’s Lumix GH2 is a compact and powerful alternative to an entry-level or even some lower end mid-range dSLR cameras. Its outstanding image quality, powerful image processor, wonderfully easy automatic shooting modes and some of the best HD video recording on a digicam make this a powerful and versatile tool.”
Check GH2 price and availability at [shopcountry 16254].

The Olympus XZ-1 has been reviewed by Buy-N-Shoot (Click here): “What Olympus has produced with the XZ-1 is a camera worth very strong consideration. Not just to be weighed up against its direct competitors ([shoplink 21015]S95[/shoplink], G12, [shoplink 21136]LX5[/shoplink], EX-1, P7000) but as an alternative to its own mirror-less PEN range.”
Also our friends of Quesabesde (Click here) tested the XZ-1:””Despite these minor faults the XZ-1 one of the most desirable compact the moment, totally recommended for those advanced photographers who are looking for a pocket model with manual controls, RAW format and outstanding optics.”
Check X-Z1 price and availability at [shopcountry 19904].

One more thing for german Fuji X100 lovers. Heise.de tested the camera!

The video on top shows a funny and not so technical comparison between the [shoplink 17361]Panasonic GF2[/shoplink] vs [shoplink 21330]Canon 600D[/shoplink] .

M43photo.blogspot (Click here) posted a more detailed [shoplink 16254]GH2[/shoplink] vs [shoplink 14826]GH1[/shoplink] video quality comparison: “One could be tempted to think that the GH1 gives better video quality, due to the twice as high video bitrate. But the GH2 has other advances…it is reasonable to guess that it samples more pixels as a basis for the video output…the GH2 gives somewhat better contrast and sharpness. The GH1 has slightly washed out colours and that the compression algorithm is better. My conclusion so far is that the GH2, even with lower bitrate, gives slightly better video quality.”
GH2 direct links at [shopcountry 16254].

One more thing…two lens reviews:
Zeiss (Rollei) 50mm F1.4 tested on the GH2 at EosHD (Click here). The Zeiss is only available on [shoplink 21329 ebay]eBay (Click here)[/shoplink].
Panasonic 8mm Fisheye Review at E-P1.net (Click here). Check price and availability of that lens at [shopcountry 14820].