Micro 4/3 GX1 Launch

olli

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olli
Amateur Photographer has a piece on the launch of the GX-1. Looks interesting. There's also a preview at DPReview. You can also read all about it at the shiny Panasonic product pages.

For those who are into the high ISO thing Panasonic claims " In shooting at high ISO setting, S/N (Signal-to-Noise) value is improved by approx. 200% compared with the conventional 12.1-megapixel sensor. The sensor performance improves by 6db at ISO3200 and max. 9db at ISO6400." No idea what that means from a technical point of view but they do seem confident that it is a lot better in low light than the 12MP cameras. AP's article mentions that the sensor is the same one from the G3 so I assume it would offer a similar level of performance.
 
I think this does look good. Certainly my excitement for the Panasonic half of the m4/3 system has been re-awakened by both the design, the improvements and the continuity (finally!) from the GF1. This is presumably the 10th. anniversary camera that they talked about earlier this year. (10 years since the first LUMIX digital camera) and the styling reference back to the L1 is a nice touch.

The G3 sensor is a decent one, and it will be interesting to see just what improvements they have come with with regard to high ISO performance. There's a few nice touches. Level guage, mp4 video (very useful for the kinds of video many will shoot on this) and its good to see that they have retained the aluminium body from the GF1, which I always liked the feel of.

It does show, I think, that there is a commitment from Panasonic towards the "retro fanboy" "serious enthusiast" section of the market that the X100 and NEX-7 are aimed at. I was beginning to wonder whether Panasonic had forgotten about us!!

From being on the verge of giving up on m4/3, this has encouraged me to remain with the system. I've used it extensively and enthused about it, but was beginning to think that it was stalling somewhat and that Panasonic in particular had ideas about their target markets that didn't include me. However it does seem that they have taken note of the reaction to the X100 and NEX-7 and have come up with a camera that will appeal to the people who are interested in those cameras while still continuing along their own evolution path.

It won't satisfy everybody of course. While the new EVF can't fail to be an improvement on the previous one, many would have liked it to be in-body. However I think it carries on the design theme of the GF1 and personally I don't mind the modular approach, particularly if it means it retains that "rangefinder look" that I find very appealing.

I'm actually surprised at how much I like it, and the early leaks didn't really do it justice. I very much wanted to stay with m4/3 and this has given me a good reason to do so. I'll be waiting impatiently to see when I can get my hands on a silver one + viewfinder.

It is somewhat ironic that this will probably be available before the NEX-7. Tragic though the reasons for that are, maybe that particular "Ill wind" will blow Panasonic some good.

(The above is from my blog post at:- Soundimageplus: Panasonic GX1 - More thoughts)
 
It's nice to see a compact rangefinder-styled body with the G3 sensor. Its image quality should be really good. I hope Panasonic will discontinue the old 12MP sensor and leave Olympus no choice but to use the 16MP one in their future designs. This is very long overdue because the old 12MP LiveMOS sensor was never great to begin with, but 3 years later it looks god-awful compared to the competition.
 
The Panasonic UK site states availability is mid-December. Nothing on availability of the viewfinder that I could see. Amazon UK have it available for pre-order at the very precise sum of 584.68 for the body only.
 
Well, Panasonic is not the only sensor manufacturer in the world. If Olympus really wanted, they could go to Kodak, Aptina or even Samsung. A 4/3-sized crop of the 20 MP sensor from Samsung will still be 12 MP, but with much better pixel-level quality.
 
Maybe Panasonic want to leave Olympus no choice but to use the 12MP sensor?

I suspect Olympus have other things on their mind currently! When (and if) they ever get back to thinking about releasing a camera again, or if they turn up in a somewhat different form, they do have a choice, as they have always done, to choose their sensor and/or to get someone to make one for them.

There are rumours about liasons with Fuji and Samsung, and it may well be that the vultures are circling to pick up the bones. The camera divison was not doing well anyway according to many sources and with the current nosedive in share value plus the real possibility of litigation and financial penalties, I'm not holding out much hope for a push from Olympus on the camera front for some time to come, if at all.

I'm not that bothered by the 12MP sensor, I think it does what it does very well. Within its limits it produces pretty impressive results. Yes it would be nice if the next Pen could incorporate the 16MP sensor, but in the current situation, any new camera would be nice!

Callous though it may be, I'm just wondering what the Panasonic reaction to Olympus's troubles and the implications of the Thailand tragedy are. Though the GX1 was scheduled to be released as the Lumix 10th. anniversary camera, circumstance seems to have given its chances in the pre-xmas period an advantage. Am I being far too cynical when I note that the announcement has happened ahead of schedule and the weekends "leak", which Panasonic themselves instigated is very "convenient" in terms of getting them a lot of attention in the busiest period for sales.
 
I'm not sure that Olympus do have a lot of options. Any manufacturer producing a 43 sensor for Olympus isn't going to be churning our huge volumes and won't have any other potential customers. That's a lot of cost spread over a relatively limitied production run.

Regarding Panasonic's release strategy I also can't help wondering if deliveries of the NEX-5N had been in full swing right now would the pricing on the GX-1 have been $100 lower?
 
I'm not sure that Olympus do have a lot of options. Any manufacturer producing a 43 sensor for Olympus isn't going to be churning our huge volumes and won't have any other potential customers. That's a lot of cost spread over a relatively limitied production run.

Regarding Panasonic's release strategy I also can't help wondering if deliveries of the NEX-5N had been in full swing right now would the pricing on the GX-1 have been $100 lower?

I think Olympus would probably have to be involved in some kind of long term partnership for a new sensor to work, and of course there's no knowing what the "deal" is between Panasonic and Olympus. For all we know Olympus may have had the choice of what size sensor to use, and chose to stick with the "tried and tested one"

You may well be right about the Panasonic pricing, but then Panasonic aren't cheap anyway. In this short term period Panasonic may benefit from Sonys misfortune, though long term it will probably even out. I would be very surprised if the GX1 isn't a successful camera for Panasonic. It will get lots of attention, just because of its looks, and because of the popularity of the GF1. I hope that it does really well, and it gives Panasonic the incentive to go with a similar line in the future.

I've written constantly about my feeling that they need to keep the "enthusiast/hobbyist/serious/pro/aspiring pro" photographer lobby on board, for reasons of more money to spend on cameras, ownership of more cameras, more liable to upgrade sooner, make more noise on the forums etc. etc. And also to realise that design and look is important. I'm honest enough to admit that the look of the thing is one of the reasons I'm planning to get one. In a market where cameras are really pretty similar in terms of output, things like handling, look and feel become ever more important and the current Panasonic "functional" look probably doesn't create a hell of lot of "camera envy".

In terms of selling cameras (or anything really) I'm convinced this is important, and its something I think Panasonic have to a large extent ignored. Would the X100 have got anywhere near the attention it got if it didn't look like it does? This retro lookalike fashion may well be short-lived, though I suspect there is a lot more mileage in it yet, but its nice to see Panasonic giving it a go. Even Sony with the NEX-7, have gone towards that almost brutal industrial look, which has proved so successful for Leica.

Its encouraging as I was beginning to despair that they were just going to concentrate on miniature gadgetry. No its not everything I and lots of others may want in an ideal world, but it'll certainly do to be getting on with. One thing is for sure, it will take a fine picture. Every other m4/3 Panasonic camera has done that so far and I'm sure this won't be any different.
 
Could you imagine an EP3 with the 16MP sensor and built in EVF (wipes drool from mouth).

There is a design price to pay for a viewfinder. Either the raised centre lump in the G3 or GH2 or the protuding out viewfinder eyepiece of the NEX-7. I would also guess that the Fuji X100 is higher than it would be if there was no viewfinder.

Both the GX1 and E-P3 would look different if there was an internal viewfinder. Personally I'm happy with an add-on. I use one for my E-P3 and NEX-5n. For certain circumstances, I wouldn't want a viewfinder, tripod work or video being the obvious examples.

Again its a personal thing but I like the extra size and height from the add on viewfinder. Takes it away from that compact camera look and feel, which I dislike. Gives my E-P3 a bit more "gravitas".

Also not everybody wants a viewfinder, so the cameras would be even more expensive, if it was included.

Absolutely 100% with you on the 16MP sensor though.
 
Recently, I had a chance to use the Nikon V1 and I took it around with my Olympus E-P3. First, the Nikon EVF is better. Second, the two cameras are about the same height even with the Nikon's built-in EVF. True, the Nikon sensor is smaller, but still, it is telling. And I was becoming a fan of the built-in EVF and the automatic sswitching between LCD and EVF. It is making me begin to wish Olympus had a camera with built-in EVF. Still, I like the ability to swing up the current EVF. Tradeoffs.
 
I agree on the trade-off and the fact that it's not for everyone, but I'm hoping the NEX7 will force Oly's hand on an in-built EVF.

I love the EVF, and use it about 70% of the time, but I am always afraid of losing that $200 attachment. Having an in-built EVF doesn't preclude framing with the LCD. So you can have both. Looking at the Oly VF2, at the top part (because the bottom part is mainly just a hinge), it seems it wouldn't drive TOO much of a height change, if it replace the pop-up flash (which physically takes some room), but you are right on thing I hadn't considered - it would require some depth. The current EVF2 is about as deep as the grip area on my EPL2, so that would certainly be a challenge. Good catch on that one.
 
Recently, I had a chance to use the Nikon V1 and I took it around with my Olympus E-P3. First, the Nikon EVF is better. Second, the two cameras are about the same height even with the Nikon's built-in EVF. True, the Nikon sensor is smaller, but still, it is telling.

There was lots of comment about the fact that the Nikon is the same size as m4/3 cameras with a much smaller sensor. I'm assuming that the built in viewfinder makes that so.
 
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