Panasonic Announces G2 with Touch-screen, G10 and New Lens
Today, Panasonic announced their newest addition to the Micro Four Thirds line. The G2 stands out quite a bit as it has a touch-screen. The Panasonic G10 and G2 are the cameras that have been rumored about for some time. Unfortunately, photographers everywhere were wondering what was going to replace the amazing GH-1, which can arguably said to be the flagship of the system, will have to wait a while longer. It would be very interesting to see these with the new Noktor lens. Steve Huff has found problems with Micro Four Thirds sensors not being able to keep up with lenses like this as well problems equally so with the lens; let’s hope that these new cameras can perform well. Details, specs, images, press releases, etc after the jump. Click the images for a larger view.
G2
- Targeted towards enthusiasts and entry level crowd that want a touch-screen interchangeable lens cam.
- Movable Touch-screen operation LCD
- 12.1 MP Live MOS sensor (for those of you who don’t know, a Live MOS sensor is essential a low powered CCD.)
- 720p HD video AVCHD Lite
- 3 inch 460K dot resolution LCD
- Replaces the G1
- Venus Engine HD II (re-engineered)
- Includes the 14-42mm Kit lens mentioned below.
- Available in Black, Magenta (Red) and Blue.
- See press release here Panasonic LUMIX G2 Press Release FINAL NDA DOC FILE DOWNLOAD!
G10
- Targeted towards enthusiasts and entry level crowd that want a very light cam in this category
- 12.1 MP Live MOS sensor
- 720p HD video Motion JPEG
- AF tracking
- Viewfinder 202k dot equivalent
- 3 inch 460K dot resolution LCD
- Venus Engine HD II (re-engineered) for better noise reduction
- Includes the 14-42mm Kit lens mentioned below.
- From the Press Release DOC FILE DOWNLOAD (Panasonic LUMIX G10 Press Release FINAL NDA)
“* My Color mode with a total of seven preset effects – Expressive, Retro, Pure, Elegant, Monochrome, Dynamic Art, Silhouette. Also includes Custom mode, which lets users manually set the color, brightness and saturation levels. For beginners, the LUMIX G10’s full-time Live View function lets users see how these settings will affect the images before they shoot, making it easier to capture the exact mood or atmosphere desired.
* Scene modes total 26, including the Peripheral Defocus mode, which lets users take a photo where the foreground is in focus and background is blurred – or vice versa. This popular effect can be intimidating for a beginner, but in the Peripheral Defocus mode, by simply selecting the objects to be blurred and focused using the camera’s keypad, it is simple for photographers of any level.
* Exposure meter can be displayed in the P/A/S/M shooting modes. The correlation between shutter speed and aperture is shown, with a color-coded warning system that alerts users when the settings are not in the proper range. For those new to system camera digital photography, this makes it easy to learn proper settings both visually and logically, enhancing their photography skills.”
14-42mm F3.5-5.6
- Targeted towards the entry-level crowd.
- 28-84mm equivalent zoom range.
- Mega O.I.S.
- Minimum focusing distance of 30cm
- Press release here DOC FILE DOWNLOAD Panasonic LUMIX G VARIO 14-42mm Release FINAL NDA.
Chris Gampat
Gevon Servo
Will Greenwald
jcmodus
[...] release: The PhoBlographer Forum Four Thirds (german) Focus Numerique knows the price! 599 Euro for the G2 and 549 Euro for [...]
Olympus and Panasonic rumors » Blog Archive » Continually updated -> Panasonic G2 and Panasonic G10
March 7, 2010 at 5:04 AM
Interressting product, but for me I’m not very impressive about this news product. It’s just a little evolution .
André le Nôtre
March 7, 2010 at 7:06 AM
It would be interesting to find out whether the sensor is still identical with the (not too brilliant) one used in G1/GF1 or not. Hope it’s a bit re-enineered version for better ISO/DR performance.
kesztió
March 8, 2010 at 1:33 AM
The engine (processor) has been.
Chris Gampat
March 8, 2010 at 7:56 AM
Yes, obviously.
But what about the sensor? Are you 100% sure that the sensor is identical to the one used in G1/GF1?
kesztió
March 8, 2010 at 9:15 AM
Just talked to them. They said it is the same sensor as the G1. Only the processor is different, enhanced rather.
Chris Gampat
March 8, 2010 at 3:49 PM
Thanks for the info!
BTW nobody can explain to me why they still prefer this sensor over the sensible better GH1 sensor? Considering DXo labs measurements GH1 shows slightly better RAW performance than every MFT camera which uses G1 sensor, even including Olympus PEN series.
Would it be about the price? It may be understandable for G10, but G2 is not so “entry-level” anyway!
May you ask about this issue as well for me? Thanks again…
kesztió
March 9, 2010 at 2:21 AM
I’ve learned not to trust DXo labs as much as my own personal eyeballing of what I like best.
You have to consider the fact that there is a lot of good to that sensor. F2 zooms for one. 2x crop factor which is loved by enthusiasts and people just wanting a DSLR/EVIL cam with the kit and no upgrades. The G10 and G2 aren’t remotely close to the GH1 in my opinion. The standard is run by olympus really. As for the sensor in these cams, I’m not sure why they put the smaller one in vs the larger one. Maybe target audience. You also need to keep in mind that the standard is hugely popular all over the world but America. Us Americans aren’t the most tech savvy people.
Chris Gampat
March 9, 2010 at 8:34 AM
My English is obviously not the best.
Does “The G10 and G2 aren’t remotely close to the GH1” mean that GH1 is much better than the other two?
Do you speak here about JPEG/RAW quality and/or IQ (features and performance)?
kesztió
March 9, 2010 at 9:45 AM
My English is obviously not the best.
Does “The G10 and G2 aren’t remotely close to the GH1” mean that GH1 is much better than the other two?
Do you speak here about JPEG/RAW quality and/or IQ (features + performance)?
kesztió
March 9, 2010 at 9:46 AM
The GH1 is the best Micro 4/3rds cam out there in terms of image quality in my opinion. I mean RAWs.
Chris Gampat
March 9, 2010 at 3:33 PM