Panasonic Announce New Lumix GX1

Panasonic have announced yet another addition to their ever growing family of G series system cameras.

The DMCGX1 will hit stores in the next few weeks and design wise it looks like a cross between the Lumix DMCGF1 and the DMCLX5.

In keeping with the retro styling of the camera, Panasonic seem to have gone back to the 1990's for the concept of this promotional video.

The camera looks cool though!

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.

Panasonic Lumix G Series Overview

I was recently invited to Panasonic UK headquarters in Bracknell to take a look at the company's range of G series multi lens cameras.

The innovative compact design delivers SLR quality photographs in a much more conveniently sized package.

Taken on a 25 second exposure in shutter priority mode.

In order to make the cameras smaller Panasonic have removed the conventional mirror box used in standard single lens reflex cameras. Seasoned photographers will know that the mirror box enables the user to see exactly what the lens is seeing. In order to keep this useful facility Panasonic have included a "Live View" button which gives the same end result using the camera's sensor.

Speaking of sensors, the G series cameras have a sensor 9 times bigger than that of standard compact cameras giving superlative picture quality.

For anyone contemplating buying an SLR camera, but are put off by the bulkiness, the G series range are the perfect solution. Also for compact camera users (such as myself) they offer the ability to achieve beautiful photographs without necessarily needing to know all of the techniques used by those with years of photography knowledge.

Intelligent Auto mode gives stunning results just by pointing and shooting. Also on offer are creative modes which enable users to create more artistic photos using simple icons to indicate the type of shots available.

And for those seeking more control over the camera there are program, aperture, shutter and full manual modes, as well as custom modes and scene modes.

There are four models in the current range; G2 (entry level offering 720p movies), GF2 (slimline), G3 (step up to 1080i movies) and GH2 (flagship model). Panasonic, at the time of writing offer 11 different micro four thirds lenses, ranging from a 14mm pancake lens, fish eye, wide angle, macro, 3D, to a range of telephoto lenses including a whopping  100mm - 300mm (200mm - 600mm 35mm equivalent) lens.

Taken at F2.5 in aperture priority mode

Other manufacturers including Leica and Olympus also offer a range of micro four thirds lenses, and there are also adaptors to enable other lenses to be used.

The G series cameras also offer the ability to record movies in HD quality with very impressive results.

The range of G series cameras are available here

I think I need to start saving some money!