Panasonic Announce New X Series Micro 4/3 Lenses

Panasonic have announced two new additions in their expanding range of micro four thirds lenses.

The unique aspect of the new X Series lenses is that they are the worlds first interchangeable lenses to feature a power zoom.

While micro four thirds lenses are renowned for being small in size, because of the power zoom the lenses are significantly smaller than those currently available.

Comparison:

Standard 14-42mm Kit Lens

X Series 14-42mm Power Zoom Lens

The two lenses are a 14-42mm general purpose lens, and a 45-175mm tele photo lens, both lenses feature Panasonic's Power O.I.S. image stabilisation system to prevent image blur, even on maximum zoom.

X Series 45-175mm Power Zoom Tele Photo Lens

Having purchased my Lumix DMCG3 with the standard 14-42mm lens, I doubt very much if I wil invest in the X series equivalent, however the option of a compact tele photo lens would prove a very welcome addition to my micro four thirds collection.

Giving The Panasonic 20mm Pancake Lens A Workout

In a few rare moments of spare time I have been trying out my new Panasonic HH020 pancake lens.

First Few DMCG3 Test Shots

As a follow up to my review of the Panasonic DMCG3, I thought I would post some early efforts.

ISO 160, F7.1, 1/500

This first shot was taken using the Creative Control feature, in the Expressive setting, which offers a pop art style colour effect.

I chose to get in close to the bark to capture the detail, and push the background into soft focus.

ISO 160, F5.6, 1/250

The next shot was taken using Intelligent Auto mode.

I nearly squished this little dude, as I rushed to get home as it had started to rain. But I couldn't resist having a go at capturing a shot.

The camera selected all the settings for me.

ISO 160, F8.0, 1/400

This was also taken in Intelligent Auto mode, and I thought I would put the camera in to monochrome mode to ad a touch of atmosphere.

Grumpy Old Man

This last shot was taken in Grumpy Bugger mode :)

Panasonic Lumix DMCG3 Review

After having seen a pre-production version at Panasonic UK last month, the waiting is over...... and it was worth the wait!

This latest addition to Panasonic's G series range is the successor to the phenomenally successful DMCG2.

The camera body is significantly smaller than the G2, but still has a good ergonomic feel, in size it sits between the G2 and the slightly slimmer GF2. Unlike the GF2, The G3 retains the 3 inch free angle touch screen and an improved electronic viewfinder.

New improvements include an amazing Light Speed 0.1 second auto focus, pin point focus mode for super accurate focusing, an incredible 20 frames per second burst shooting mode (resolution is reduced from 16 megapixels to 4 megapixels), full screen touch focusing, 1920 x 1080i resolution HD video, a new stereo microphone, and intelligent auto plus, which allows for fine tuning of colour preferences, but retaining the point and shoot simplicity of the standard intelligent auto mode.

The camera is available in a kit with a lumix 14-42mm lens or body only. The body is available in choice of black, red or white finishes.

There are eleven micro four thirds lenses currently available from Panasonic at the time of writing, with adaptors available to enable use of Leica R mount and M mount lenses, and an adaptor to allow the use of full size four thirds lenses

I have only had it a day, so I haven't had too much time to play with it, but the experience so far is great. There are some really neat touches, like the peripheral de-focus feature, which allows you to pick out an area on the touch screen to focus on, and the camera does the job of blurring the surrounding area for you, creating artistic looking shots within seconds.

I love this camera, it's small enough to be practical to carry around, but with all the creative control and quality of a bigger SLR camera.