Finally! The Panasonic Lumix DMC-GX7 is Announced and Looks Great!

 

Image Source:

http://www.dpreview.com/news/2013/08/01/panasonic-reveals-lumix-dmc-gx7-enthusiast-mirrorless-camera

 

I have not been using my Micro 4/3 camera system much at all this year. Focusing more on Leica and film cameras, I just have not had the time to use it all. I did invest in a DMC-GX1 for a pittance earlier in the year, and took it along on a trip to Key West, Florida.

 

(Click Here) to see some shots I made with the GX1 on that trip.

 

The GX1 works very, very well in my hands. But, we Panasonic fans have been waiting for a next generation of GX cameras, bringing the sensors up to date with the state of the art, especially as it concerns high iso performance. Well, it's finally here, or at least announced.

 

(Click Here) to read about it on dpreview.com

 

What are the great features? Well, first, the GX7 reportedly has an all-new sensor with improved signal-to-noise performance. This means that it will indeed perform better at high iso settings (low light), with less noise. The maximum iso setting is now 25,600, though I would bet that the maximum useable setting is somewhat lower than that, if you don't want to deal with a lot of sensor noise. We'll see.

 

It also has in-body stabilization, which has been in Olympus cameras for some time, but never in a Lumix Micro 4/3 body. I hope this will work well with my older Micro 4/3 lenses that have stabilization built into the lens.

 

The next GX7 also has a built-in electronic viewfinder (EVF), rather than the accessory finders required for previous GX cameras.

 

Finally, the GX7 provides "focus peaking," which allows you to know when you're in focus when you're using manual focus.

 

These cameras will be in high demand for some time. They'll sell lots of them. I can't wait to see just how good the new sensor is.

 

There's more news from Panasonic as well. They have announced a new Pana-Leica "Nocticron" 42.5mm f1.2 super fast lens. This will be a wonderful portrait lens, taking advantage of the compact Micro 4/3 design, yet with a sufficiently fast maximum aperture to produce shallow depth of field, a common desire in portraiture. More on that later.

 

DMC-365.blogspot.com

 

Well, It's No Surprise, But the New Zeiss Lenses for Mirrorless Are Not For Micro 4/3 - Yet?

 

Image Source: http://forum.getdpi.com/forum/sony/40472-awesome-zeiss-lenses-news.html

 

Carl Zeiss has introduced a new line of autofocus prime lenses for mirrorless camera systems. Unfortunately for Lumix users, formats don't include Micro 4/3, at least not at this point. I guess this is no surprise, given Zeiss' relationship with Sony. Of course the NEX mount is the main platform.

(Click Here) to read more details on the Zeiss site.

At this point, they've announced the following lenses: 12mm f2.8, 32mm f1.8, and 50mm f2.8 macro.

What is a little surprising to me is that they did include the Fujifilm XPro mount. Great news for Fuji and users!

These three lenses all have autofocus capability, with complete system compatibility. None of them offer image stabilization.

Zeiss reports that they will be around the 1,000 Euro mark in price, and should be available in spring/summer 2013.

In the article, Dr. Michael Pollman, Consumer Lenses Product and Program Manager, leaves the door open for future Micro 4/3 lenses. He states that Zeiss wanted to focus on the larger APS-C sensor market first. He also makes it clear that the focal length and size of lenses designed for APS-C would not be optimal for Micro 4/3. I can go along with that. The 12mm focal length is well-covered by an excellent Olympus product, and the macro is covered by the Pana-Leica Macro-Elmarit 45mm f2.8.

Well, Dr. Pollman, us Micro 4/3 users will keep our fingers crossed! We'd love to welcome Zeiss lenses to our cameras.

DMC-365.blogspot.com