Photographyhappenings reviewed the new [shoplink 19904]Olympus XZ-1[/shoplink]: “If you are comparing to the [shoplink 16886]Panasonic LX-5[/shoplink] or Canon S95, the Olympus XZ-1 will be a good choice if lens specification is your key consideration. The Olympus delivers strong performance over the competitors in good light and moderate distance, but fails to shine in poorer light condition and closer to infinity.”

But there are more testes: First look at Neutralday. Olympus XZ-1 Camera Studio Sample Photos (Photographyreview). Olympus XZ-1 Photo Gallery at letsgodigital.

A 43rumors reader sent has his first hand impression with the Olympus XZ-1 (Image samples at Picasaweb):

“I’ve had my XZ-1 for a few days now and I thought I would summarise my thoughts.

Plus points.
1) The image quality is excellent. Sharp everywhere. Certainly better than I need. Portraits look very nice at 112mm equiv with very good DOF for a compact.
This is a major point for me. Nice portraits from a compact. Who knew?
2) The menu is a lot simpler than an [shoplink 14832]E-PL1[/shoplink]. Less is more.
3) The controls work well and are quick to learn. I had it 3 days before I even bothered to look at the manual and that was only curiosity.
4) The performance is good. Focusing seems faster and better in practice than the E-PL1. Especially in poor light.
Thank heavens for the AF lamp.
5) The image stabilisation works very well. But then I don’t drink much coffee. :)

Minus
1) Auto ISO is plain STUPID. It will happily let you take shots at 1/10 second and ISO 200 rather than raise the ISO. Result? On Auto ISO you get a LOT of motion blurred subjects.
This would be the first thing I would fix if it were my design. It’s such a dumb mistake.
2) When you change mode with the dial, a message comes on screen to tell you what new mode you are in and stays there FAR TOO LONG. Irritating.
3) The lens cap is a bit of a bore.
4) YOU MUST use the strap. The front is slippery with no grip. I’ve put little grippy pads on mine.
5) Be nice to be able to assign AEL to the Movie button, or a LONG press of OK. But you can work around it.

I don’t think I’ll be using the E-PL1 much now I have the XZ-1.
Maybe I should sell it and save the money for a new toy when it FINALLY happens.

RR”

Direct product XZ-1 preorder pages at [shopcountry 19904].

There is a new article about the GH2 written by Luminous Landscape (Click here). I am going to post only a few key points of his review but I higly recomment to read the full text!

Video: “Let it be enough to say that with a fast lens (for shallow DOF) it is to my mind the best video capable DSLR type camera on the market. ”
Viewfinder: “In fact, I would say that it is an many instances preferable to the dismal (meant literally) and small optical viewfinders found on the smaller and usually inexpensive DSLRs.”
Ergonomics: “It doesn’t have the elegance and stark simplicity of a [shoplink 17844 ebay]Leica M9[/shoplink]; in fact quite the opposite. But, given that it is a small form factor DSLR style camera with full features, not only for still photography but for video as well, it does a remarkable job of satisfy sometimes contradictory needs.”
Reliability: “I’ve owned the [shoplink 14826]GH1[/shoplink] for a couple of years and now the GH2. Both have been totally reliable, as have all the Panssonic lenses that I own, with the exception of the new 100-300mm. It failed just a few days after I got to Mexico, with a locked-closed aperture”
Focusing: “Though the [shoplink 16254]GH2[/shoplink] uses contrast detection AF, you wouldn’t know it from its speed.”
Mirror Vibration: “There is no Mirror Vibration”
Image Quality: “The difference between APS-C and MFT is de minimis.”
Battery: “poor battery performance”
The biggest issue? “The biggest issue with the Panasonic GH2 is that a great many people that want to buy one, can’t, because these cameras seem to constantly be in short supply” (P.S.: Amazon US (Click here) says “Usually ships in 1 to 2 months”)

Do you agree with the LL analysis?

And you can check if the GH2 is in Stock by visiting the direct product pages at [shopcountry 16254].