Panasonic took the wraps off the true successor to their 2009 Lumix GF1 today. The Lumix GX1 is their latest compact interchangeable lens camera which sits a little higher up from the market position that the Lumix GF3 currently occupies.
- 16 megapixel Live MOS image sensor (2X crop factor)
- Micro Four Thirds lens mount
- 3 inch touchscreen LCD (460k pixels)
Optional EVF with tilt function has 1.44 million pixels, 1.4X magnification
- Improved autofocus performance
- Full manual controls with RAW image mode
- Customizable physical buttons, touch buttons and custom menu
Automatic and scene modes available; Creative Control mode offers simplified changing of settings to achieve certain photo effects
- 4 FPS continuous shooting mode
- 1080p 60i Full HD (1920 x 1080) movie mode with stereo sound
- Takes SD/SDHC/SDXC memory cards
- Uses a lithium-ion battery
- Available in December for $699 (body only), $799 (with 14-42mm standard kit lens) or $949 (with 14-42mm compact X series lens)
Panasonic announced their first dedicated 3D camera last week and it will become available soon just in time for Christmas. The camera sports two sensors and lenses to capture native 3D photos and video.
- Dual 12 megapixel MOS image sensors
- Dual 25 – 100 mm (f3.9 – f5.7) 4X optical zoom lenses
- Optical image stabilization
- 3.5 inch wide touchscreen LCD (460k pixels)
- Automatic shooting operation
- Captures 2D photos at 12 megapixels; 3D photos at 8 megapixels
Camera can take two 2D photos at both ends of the zoom range at the same time
- 8 FPS continuous shooting mode
- 1080p 60i Full HD (1920 x 1080) movie mode with stereo sound
Choice of 2D or 3D video recording
- Takes SD/SDHC/SDXC memory cards
- Uses a lithium-ion battery
- Available in December for $499
Cameras in today’s market are becoming increasingly versatile as technology improves. Cameras are getting more compact with larger zoom lenses and better image quality. A good example of this would be usable ISO speeds for acceptable image quality; a few years back, ISO 200 on a compact camera would be as high as one would dare to go if they wanted a decent photo quality, but nowadays, pushing things to ISO 800 or beyond is possible and with more megapixels too, thanks to improvements in the field. This allows for a higher percentage of shots to make it for use in display and photo poster printing. Image quality of cameras has also improved in other ways outside of better and more sophisticated imaging sensors. With the advent of zoom lenses spanning huge ranges but miniaturized to fit cameras usually as small as a deck of cards, in-camera processing has also seen an improvement in leaps and bounds over the early models in the digital camera era. Current camera processors typically handle noise reduction plus corner sharpness enhancement, lens distortion correction, color fringing reduction, digital redeye removal, face detection and recognition as well as overall contrast optimization. Combined with a large amount of megapixels, photos from modern cameras can be easily sent in for poster printing and images will come up looking great. Current compact cameras top out at 16 megapixels and using backlit CMOS sensors, while smartphones are hitting 8 megapixels; I’m sure this won’t be the end of the megapixel race but as long as image quality gets better and more usable, why not let manufacturers continue the trend, right? And then the task of downsizing photos to more manageable sizes, with the added benefit of less visible noise at lower resolutions, come later with the change of a setting in the camera.
I’ve just posted my in-depth review of the Canon PowerShot SX40 HS, a super-zoom digital camera which packs a whopping 35X optical zoom, flipout and rotate 2.7 inch screen, Full HD movie mode, high-speed shooting abilities and full manual controls. Head on to the Canon PowerShot SX40 HS photo gallery to see full-sized photos taken using the camera.
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I’ve just posted the Canon PowerShot SX40 HS Photo Gallery which contains photos from the camera. Read our Canon PowerShot SX40 HS in-depth review to read about the camera!
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I’ve just posted my in-depth review of the Nikon Coolpix S9100, a very capable compact travel-zoom camera from Nikon. The camera has the largest zoom lens for a camera around its size; a whopping 18X optical zoom along with impressive qualities that makes this camera worth a look. Be sure to also visit the Nikon Coolpix S9100 photo gallery to view sample photos.
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I’ve just posted the in-depth review of the Canon PowerShot ELPH 510 HS A.K.A. Canon IXUS 1100 HS A.K.A. Canon IXY 51S. The camera is a small and stylish camera, the thinnest one at the moment to feature a 12X optical zoom lens, along with Full HD movie mode, big touchscreen and high-speed shooting abilities Check out the Canon PowerShot ELPH 510 HS photo gallery to take a look at sample photos taken using the camera.
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I’ve just posted the Nikon Coolpix S9100 Photo Gallery which contains photos taken using the camera. Read our Nikon Coolpix S9100 full review for more details about this camera!
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