Panasonic DMC-G2

So, not having any apparent consideration for us 9-5 types, Panasonic announced its new products this past Sunday. Now, don’t get me wrong, I’m something of a tech junkie, so while I was still clearing the sleep from my eyes I read about them in my feed reader. But, then, see, I slept again after that. So, I just remembered them again this morning, just in time for them to be old news, but better late than never, I suppose.

So, first up let’s tackle the G2. The G2 is clearly positioned as the replacement to Panasonic’s first m4/3 shooter, the G1. The nitty-gritty? Well, it’s mostly the same, same form factor (mini-DSLR-style with an electronic viewfinder of some repute), 12 megapixels, 3″ swivel LCD. New? Well, that swiveling LCD screen is now a 3″ swiveling LCD touchscreen. So, that pushes this to the first interchangeable lens device I’ve ever heard of with a touch interface (and for all you nay-sayers, there’re still buttons too), so it’ll be interesting to see what that adds to the experience.

Oh, and they added video, in the form of 720p MPEG. Not their fanciest showing for HD recording, but I reckon they don’t want to step on their GH1’s toes, especially since it’s so well-designed for video anyway.

Panasonic DMC-G10

Up second is the G10, which maybe we should call by it’s full name of DMC-G10 to help decrease confusion between it and Canon’s infamous PowerShot G10. The DMC-G10 is kinda like the G2, but without the swively touchy screen. It instead opts for the more pedestrian fixed LCD. It will also be available in red, black, and blue, making it the new go-to kid at the bottom of Panasonic’s m4/3 line-up.

Panasonic 14 - 42 mm f3.5-5.6 Lumix G Vario

What? Not enough news you say? OK, fine. How about an update to the standard kit lens? Will that do? Good, ’cause Panasonic also announced a new 14-42mm f3.5-5.6 lens with Mega OIS, which is pictured on both of the new bodies. Previously Panasonic had debuted a 14-45mm, and 14-42mm is a classic focal length for Olympus, who’s offering shares the same mount, so I will admit to a little confusion as to this lens ‘existence, but, when it comes to lens line-ups the more the merrier, I say.

Lensbaby Soft-Focus Optic

So, Charlie Sorrel, Gadget Lab’s resident camera nut, has finished his casual hands-on review of Lensbaby’s two newest optics, the soft-focus and fisheye swappable optics for all of the current generation Lensbaby lenses. And, he tries them on a D700 and a Panasonic GF1, so you get both ends of the sensor-size spectrum.

Now, maybe it’s just my love of everything Dave McKean has ever done, but I do think the soft-focus lens is more useful and desirable than Charlie does, but I agree whole-heartedly with his assessment of the fisheye optic as a cheap route for those who want that and already have a Lensbaby.

Also, I never found the optics to be all so finicky to swap around, but your mileage may vary, of course.

Anyway, not much to say otherwise, if you want to know his thoughts you should really just hit the external link below.

E-P1 Firmware Ver1.3 has incorporated the following upgrade.

[Modification]

• Resolved issue in firmware version 1.2 where LEVEL GAUGE display did not move when using MF (manual focus).

If you’ve never updated an Olympus before, you’ll need to dig up the USB cable that shipped with your camera, plug it into your computer, then fire up either Olympus Studio or Master. The firmware updates will be in the menus of either of those programs, be sure to follow all the on-screen instructions and leave your camera turned on and plugged in until clearly told it’s OK to do otherwise.

Anyway, Canon yesterday mentioned it’s going to grace your 5D Mark II’s with even better controls for video, such as adding 24fps (well, 23.976 fps) and 25fps options, changing the 30fps to the NTSC-standard 29.97fps, adding levels on the screen, sound sampling is being bumped from 44.1KHz to 48KHz, new histograms, and more.

So, “mid-March” seems to be the drop-date, nice and specific. I don’t own a 5D Mark II, nor do I shoot video, but I still think this is a very solid set of promises, and well worth spending the next couple weeks eagerly awaiting.

More as it comes…

These 11 short videos are aimed to help you all through the various highlights of the E-PL1, and to help explain what it offers over regular compacts (‘point and shoots”), or the full-blown DSLR boat anchors like I carry. So, if you’ve got a few minutes and an interest in one of the hottest new camera types in decades, why not hop over and watch a few?

Most prime fans I know counter with cost, primes are (typically) cheaper than zooms. My counter is that a mid-grade zoom (take my Oly 14-54mm f2.8-3.5 for example), I have marked on the barrel 14, 18, 25, 35, and 54 (that’s 28mm, 36mm, 50mm, 70mm, and 108mm for those of you not used to Oly’s system). That’s five good prime lengths there, and while 2.8 – 3,5 is a bit slow for some of them, it isn’t out of line for others even in primes. So, was it worth 400 bucks for 5 known focal lengths, and the 36 others in between? I think so, which is why always tell friends to get the best zooms they can afford for most of their work and fill in special needs with primes as needed. But, that’s me.

Check out the full post through the link. If you’re reading this on Facebook, jump over to our blog to see said link.

AF-S NIKKOR 70-200mm f/2.8G ED VR II

So, Nikon’s new top-pro standard telephoto zoom, the AF-S Nikkor 70-200mm 1:2.8G ED VR II, has been reviewed by the venerable review staff over at DPReview. The conclusions are so unsurprisingly positive as to be pedestrian, but they’ve got their really useful sliding charts for sharpness at all focal lengths and apertures, so that’s worth checking it out alone.

If ya wanna read it yourself, your hyperlink chariot awaits: http://www.dpreview.com/lensreviews/nikon_70-200_2p8_vrii_n15/

The following improvements have been made in A and B firmware Ver. 1.01

• Movie recording specifications have been modified as follows and an issue that, in some rare cases, caused movie playback to appear to have stopped has been resolved.
• When exposure preview is enabled in live view tripod mode, information + histogram display is possible, but the histogram is no longer displayed while movies are recorded.
• When the live view button is pressed with the Audio Video Cable EG-D2 connected, the image is displayed in both the television and camera monitor, but the camera monitor now turns off during movie recording. The camera monitor turns on again when the Audio Video Cable EG-D2 is disconnected from the camera.
• Some simplified Chinese menus and help displays have been revised.
• When some memory cards were inserted in the camera, “CHA” was displayed in the top control panel and images could not be captured. This issue has been resolved.

Woo hoo. As always, check your current firmware version prior to downloading and installing the update because if it ain’t broke…

OK, now we’ll talk about their interchangeable lens compact/EVIL concepts. Or, we would, except that’s really all there is to say. Sony joins the Panasonic-Olympus tag-team and Samsung in the fray for compact digital rangefinders. And, Sony’s mouthpiece at PMA mentioned an Exmor-R sensor being the highlight here. So, there you go, in case you missed it everywhere else, you now know to expect more and more competition in the so-called “Micro Four Thirds” arena.