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Panasonic G3 announced and previewed!

As first rumoured by 43rumors, G3 has been announced and previews. Summaries well aggregated again by 43rumors.com.

“1) Let’s start with the Studio comparison tool from DPreview (Click here). jpg do look very good and can compete very well against the other entry level DSLR’s like the Canon 600d (Rebel T3i). Look at that 3.200 ISO comparison (Click here). I think Panasonic managed to improve the sensor and the imaging processor.

2) Photographyblog (CLick here) shows us the usefulness of the “Intelligent Resolution” feature: “The Panasonic Lumix DMC-G3?s Intelligent Resolution feature identifies outlines, texture areas and soft gradation areas of the image and then automatically optimizes the edges and detailed texture areas while using noise reduction to make the soft gradation areas smoother. There are three available strengths – low, standard and high.” The image samples do prove that the feature seems to work fine.

3) Focus Numerique (Click here) posted a set of ISO samples. But take a look at SLRclub (Click here) where a forum user compared the Focus Numerique G3 results with those from other cameras. (Thanks Piscesen for sending us the link). UPDATE: You can find downloadable RAW files right below the image samples! (Thanks Jennekens)

4) You can find a Noise and Dynamic Range comparison at Techradar (Click here). A bit surprising to see that G3 is not so good a low ISO but much better at mid-high ISO! Look at the curve and you will be surprised!

5) Take a look at Imaging Resource (Click here). You will a couple of hours to analyze all those studio pictures! ”

New exciting M43 lens - Olympus 12mm f/2.0 coming in June

From 43rumors.com

“Our Japanese friends from Digicam-info (Click here) contacted us to share a rumor they received from a reliable source. According to that source Olympus is already producing the 12mm f/2.0 lens for Micro Four Thirds. Production began in April and the lens will be announced in June. The lens production is in Tatsuno (where Oly’s high level lenses are made) and you can expect a top of the notch image quality. This is the very first Pro lens for Micro Four Thirds! It’s also one of my favorite focal lengths! So how will this lens be compared to other lenses?

1) The closest lens we can compare with is the upcoming Olympus Zuiko is the Panasonic 14mm f/2.5. The Zuiko will very likely be more expensive, bigger in size, but also be a bit faster, have a better build-quality and hopefully deliver a huge step forward in image quality. See the review of the Panasonic lens at Photozone, and check price at Amazon.uk, Pixmania.uk, eBay.uk.

2) The two Micro Four Thirds lenses that do cover the 12mm focal length are the Panasonic 7-14mm f/4.0 and the Olympus 9-18mm lenses. But I expect the new Oly prime to be less big and to deliver a higher image quality. I do hope it will also be cheaper than the Panasonic zoom. See the review of the Panasonic lens at Photozone, and check price at Amazon.uk, Pixmania.uk, eBay.uk.

3) An extravagant comparison can be made with the Pentax 12mm f/1.4 C-mount lens. Unlike the Pentax lens the Zuiko lens has autofocus and much better image quality. The only advantage of the Pentax lens is the price. The Pentax sells for around $20 on eBay (Click here).

Our sources told us that this is not the only lens Olympus will announce in June. The second lens is a portrait lens and I hope to get the specs very very very soon! Also that lens is a high quality lens. Finally Olympus!!! June will be full of new Micro Four Thirds stuff announcements (because new products are coming from Panasonic too!).

P.S.: The video on top shows the Tatsuno plant and one of the lenses made there: The Olympus 300mm f/2.8. it’s the most expensive lens ever made by Olympus. Check the scary price at Amazon.uk,Pixmania.uk, eBay.uk (if you find them in Stock). There is an article about the Tatsuno plant here atOlympus Website.

One more thing: I am working on many new rumors, I am very busy with it. Sorry if in those days I missed to answer some of your emails. Please email me again if I forgot something ok? Thanks for your understanding.”

Olympus XZ-1 vs Canon S95 vs Panasonic LX5! Hands-on and reviews.

Olympus XZ-1 specification highlights:

High Sensitivity 10MP CCD sensor
28-112mm equivalent lens
F1.8-2.5 maximum aperture
CCD-shift image stabilization
Twin control dials, including one around the lens
ISO 100-6400
New TruPic V processor (as used in the company’s PEN series)
Large 3.0″ 621k (VGA equivalent) OLED display
720p movie mode (30 fps in Motion JPEG format)
Micro HDMI connector
6 Art Filters (As per the PEN series)
In-camera RAW conversion
Built-in flash, hotshoe and remote flash control
Built-in ND filter

	Canon PowerShot G12	Canon PowerShot S95	Nikon P7000	Olympus XZ-1	Panasonic Lumix DMC-LX5
Sensor (effective resolution)	10-megapixel CCD	10-megapixel CCD	10-megapixel CCD	10-megapixel CCD	10-megapixel CCD
Sensor (effective resolution)	1/1.7-inch	1/1.7-inch	1/1.63-inch	1/1.63-inch	1/1.63-inch
Sensitivity range	ISO 80 – ISO 3200	ISO 80 – ISO 3200	ISO 100 – ISO 3,200	ISO 100 – ISO 6,400	ISO 80 – ISO 3200
Lens	28-140mm f2.8-4.5 5x	28-105mm f2-4.9 3.8x	28-200mm f2.8-5.6 7.1x	28-112mm f1.8-2.5 4x	24-90mm f2-3.3 3.8x
Closest focus (inches)	0.4	2.0	3.2	0.4	0.4
Continuous shooting	1.1fps frames n/a	1.9fps frames n/a	1.3fps 44 JPEG/n/a raw	2fps 23 JPEG/8 raw	2.5fps 3 JPEG/n/a raw
Viewfinder	Optical	Optical	Optional OVF	Optional EVF	Optional OVF or EVF
Autofocus	n/a Contrast AF	n/a Contrast AF	9 area Contrast AF	11 area Contrast AF	23-area Contrast AF
Metering	n/a	n/a	256 segment	324 area	n/a
Shutter	15-1/4,000 sec	15-1/1,600 sec	60-1/4,000 sec	60-1/2,000 sec; bulb to 16 min	60-1/4,000 sec
Flash	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes
Hot shoe	Yes	No	Yes	Yes	Yes
LCD	2.8-inch articulated 461,000 dots	3-inch fixed 461,000 dots	3-inch fixed 921,000 dots	3-inch fixed OLED 610,000 dots	3-inch fixed 460,000 dots
Image stabilization	Optical	Optical	Optical	Sensor shift	Optical
Video (best quality)	720/24p H.264 QuickTime MOV	720/24p H.264 QuickTime MOV Stereo	720/24p H.264 QuickTime MOV	720/30p Motion JPEG AVI	720/30p AVCHD Lite Monaural
Manual iris and shutter in video	No	No	n/a	tk	Yes
Optical zoom while recording	Yes	No	n/a	tk	Yes
Mic input	No	No	Yes	Yes	No
Battery life (CIPA rating)	390 shots	220 shots	350 shots	320 shots	400 shots
Dimensions (WHD, inches)	4.4 x 3.0 x 2.0	3.9 x 2.3 x 1.2	4.5 x 3.1 x 1.8	4.4 x 2.6 x 1.7	4.3 x 2.6 x 1.7
Weight (ounces)	14.5 (est)	7 (est)	12.7 (est)	9.6	9.2
Mfr. Price	$499.99	$399.99	$499.95	$499.99	$450
Availability	September 2010	August 2010	October 2010	January 2011	August 2010

Hands-on and Previews by DPReview, CNET, Imaging Resource

Dell Inspiron Duo review released!

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Use this lock and never get your bike stolen.

Gizmodo

Apple: Something Big coming for iTunes. Beatles? Live Streaming?

Stay tuned.

From WSJ, NYTimes, Macrumors, Techcrunch

Panasonic releases GF2. Much smaller body, Sexy 1080p 60fps videos. Read the previews here!

From DPreview:

“Here’s a brief summary of the major changes between the GF2 and GF1:

Smaller and lighter body
LCD screen now touch-sensitive, with added anti-reflective coating
Fewer external controls (mode dial, drive mode lever, AEL and DOF preview buttons removed)
Completely revamped, fully-customizable Quick Menu designed

[ Continue reading Panasonic releases GF2. Much smaller body, Sexy 1080p 60fps videos. Read the previews here! ]