New Camera

A lot of people have a point-and-shoot in addition to their DSLR. A really popular camera among pros I know is the Panasonic Lumix LX-3 because it gives you full manual control in addition to an easy automatic setting. You can also shoot Raw or jpeg with the camera, which is an added bonus with a point-and-shoot. Now Panasonic Lumix has updated the line and introduced the LX-5. Here's the press release and a link to an initial review from DP Review. There are also some previews from DP Now (my favorite of the previews) and the Imaging Resource. 

By Andrew Alexander, SLRgear Review, June 11, 2010

Announced in November 2009, the Olympus 14-150mm ƒ/4-5.6 ED M.Zuiko Digital is the all-in-one ''vacation lens'' for the PEN digital camera. Because of the small size of the four-thirds camera sensor, the lens has an effective field of view of 28-300mm. 

The lens is designed specifically for the micro-four-thirds camera format. It isn't a "constant"lens, in that as you increase the focal length, the largest aperture rating increases. The following table reflects the changes:

These figures just correspond to the focal lengths marked on the lens; in actual usage, the widest aperture adjusts quite precisely in conjunction with the focal length setting. As you zoom in and out at the widest aperture, you can see the aperture changing in one-tenth increments.

A lens hood is available separately, the LH-61C Lens Hood. The lens takes 58mm filters and will be available shortly for around $700.

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Here's another review of the new Sony Camera. This is a little more comprehensive than the DP preview as the Imaging Resource reviewers have been out shooting and have images and more complete impressions available. 

Reviewed by Dave Etchells, Shawn Barnett, Zig Weidelich, and Mike Tomkins

As the fourth major manufacturer to enter the market for small, mirrorless digital cameras with interchangeable lenses, Sony had to make a big impression. We think they'll do just that with the new Sony NEX-5 and NEX-3, two cameras they're calling "alpha compact interchangeable lens digital cameras."

The promise of mirrorless digital cameras has been high image quality without all the bulk, and the photographic versatility of interchangeable lenses. The Sony NEX-5 delivers that better than any model so far, and does it with style and a sturdy build.

There are so many interesting innovations in the Sony NEX-5 and NEX-3, that it's difficult to know where to start. Easily the biggest news, though, is that the Sony NEX series are the first interchangeable lens digital cameras designed to tackle continuous autofocus and exposure adjustment while recording video, something few other cameras have handled as well as the average camcorder can achieve. Video is indeed the one major area, aside from size, where the two new cameras differ: The NEX-5 supports 1080i AVCHD video recording, while the NEX-3 is limited to 720p video capture.

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Well, the micro four-thirds standard introduced by Olympus with the EP-1 PEN camera and followed up by Panasonic Lumix GF-1 now has a competitor, the Sony NEX-3 and NEX-5. Neither of these new Sony cameras use the micro four-thirds standard, instead taking advantage of amazing Sony engineering and an APSC chip for much bigger image quality. DP Review has a preview of both cameras. If you are interested in getting a smaller camera to compliment your DSLR, then you really should have a look at these previews and consider these two incredibly small but feature-packed cameras. 

As expected, Sony has unveiled the NEX-3 and NEX-5 mirrorless interchangeable lens cameras. The two cameras are both built around the 14.6 megapixel Exmor APS HD CMOS sensor announced at the PMA 2010 exhibition in February and the new, mirrorless E-mount. Both offer high-resolution tilt/flip screens, fast continuous shooting and HD video capture, with 720p from the NEX-3 and 1080i, AVCHD from the NEX-5. Also announced are three E-mount lenses: a 16mm F2.8 pancake, offering a 24mm equivalent field-of-view, a standard 18-55mm F3.5-5.6 stabilized kit zoom, with a 18-200mm F3.5-6.3 stabilized superzoom to follow. We've been using both NEXs for a while and have delved beyond the raw specifications to prepare hands-on previews of both models.

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SECAUCUS, N.J., April 19 - Panasonic today announces pricing for the Panasonic LUMIX G2 and LUMIX G10 – the latest additions to the company's award-winning LUMIX G Series Digital Singles Lens (DSL) Micro Four Thirds cameras. Both available in late-May 2010, the LUMIX G2, which will come in red, blue and black models, will have a suggested retail price (SRP) of $799.95, while the LUMIX G10 will have an SRP of $599.95.

The Panasonic LUMIX DMC-G2 is the world's first* digital interchangeable lens system camera with a movable LCD that allows for touch-control, and the successor to the award-winning and revolutionary LUMIX G1, which was the world's first DSL Micro Four Thirds digital camera. The intuitive touch-control shooting elevates the camera's operability, letting the user adjust auto focus (AF) simply by touching the subject on the large 3.0-inch 460,000-dot high-resolution LCD. The LUMIX G2 also shoots 720p High Definition video using the AVCHD Lite format.

With the touch-screen operation, users can even snap a photo by touching the LUMIX G2's screen. Additionally, the touch-screen operation excels not only for shooting but also during playback. Users can touch one thumbnail viewed among many to quickly and easily see the full size of the desired photo. Also, to view images one-by-one, photos can be dragged across the screen to browse as though flipping the pages of a book. Once a user locks onto a subject, the LUMIX G2 enables AF Tracking and will track the subject as it moves within the frame. Then, with a touch on the screen, users can select the part and the size of AF area with the 1-area AF. The Multi-area AF sets a group of AF points according to the composition. With touch operation, menu settings can be changed quickly; cutting the time it takes to navigate using standard cursors. However, all setting changes can still be made using the control pad, if preferred.

The LUMIX G2 records 1280 x 720 HD videos in the AVCHD Lite format, which increases recording capacity and is highly compatible with audio-visual equipment. With a dedicated video record button, users can easily start recording a video. To complement its high-quality video capabilities, the LUMIX G2 features advanced audio options, as sound is recorded with Dolby Digital Creator and an optional accessory stereo microphone can be attached. A Wind Cut function further enhances the sound as it helps reduce noise caused from background wind.

Samsung has gotten into the small camera market with their new NX10 which rivals the Panasonic Lumix G10 in price and the G2 in features. The main difference between the G10 and the NX10 is the NX10 is actually an APS-C sensored camera, not a micro four-thirds which means the sensor recording the light is actually twice as big as in the smaller chipped cameras. How Samsung does with the camera though, well, that's another story. Here's the review from DP Review:

Samsung NX10 Review March 2010 
by Richard Butler and Simon Joinson (lens section by Andy Westlake)
Review based on a production Samsung NX10 with firmware v1.05

The idea of a mirrorless interchangeable lens camera had been circulating for many years before Panasonic and Olympus announced the Micro Four Thirds camera system in August 2008, so it's not surprising that they didn't have the market to themselves for very long. Back when there was still only one Micro Four Thirds camera on the market, electronics giant Samsung showed a prototype of what was to be the first mirrorless interchangeable camera with an APS-C sized sensor. Ten months later that prototype has evolved into a finished product in the form of the NX10.

While other large manufacturers are starting to talk about launching mirrorless systems, Samsung has become the third manufacturer to actually to turn talk into tangible product. However, while Samsung is only the third party to enter the fray, enough time has passed for the other mirrorless makers to have moved on to their second-generation of cameras, including the newly-launched Panasonic G2 and G10. Between them these two cameras (which like the NX take many of their styling ideas from DSLR designs) are likely to make life pretty difficult for the Samsung. The G10 doesn't match the NX's spec but is aggressively priced while the G2 offers smarter video compression and touch-screen cleverness, which will be attractive to some. And they have the advantage of being second-generation products, with the enhanced level of refinement that this tends to bring.

The big distinction is that Samsung has decided to use the larger APS-C sensor of the type that is the de facto standard size in DSLRs. This offers the potential of good low-light performance (its sensor has a 50% greater surface area than those used in Micro Four Thirds and that means more light for any given exposure) but the lenses are not likely to be smaller than those used on DSLRs.

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Finally the new Canon Rebel has reached the hands of the reviewers and instead of previews we now have full reviews of the camera. This is the review from the highly reputable DP Review: 

Canon EOS 550D (Rebel T2i / Kiss X4 Digital) In-depth review April 2010,
Barnaby Britton and Simon Joinson

The Canon EOS 550D is a difficult product to categorize. Ostensibly designed to appeal to first-time DSLR buyers and enthusiasts, it offers a lot more technology, and at a higher price, than we might expect for a camera aimed squarely at this sector. Although it might seem logical for the 550D to replace the EOS 500D, the older camera is set to continue in Canon's lineup, which leaves the 550D pinched between its entry-level (represented by the still-current EOS 1000D and the 500D) and nominally enthusiast (the EOS 50D) peers. Confusingly however, apart from build quality (which is all but identical to the EOS 500D), the 550D has more in common with the prosumer EOS 7D, and - perhaps even more confusingly - it out-specifies the EOS 50D in many areas.

Central to the impressive specification of the EOS 550D is a high-spec movie mode which offers full HD capture at up to 30 fps, manual control over exposure, and the option to use an external stereo microphone. The new camera also inherits the EOS 7D's sophisticated metering system (which brings it a lot closer to similarly positioned Nikon SLRs).

The Panasonic Lumix LX3 synchs at 1/2000th of a second, which is an awesome synch if you consider that when Nikon introduced the FM in 1977 it introduced a 1/125th synch. We've come a long way in 33 years. However that begs the question, what does the GF1 or the G1, G2 or G10 synch at? Any users of these cameras out there have any idea? Edification would be awesome. 

Ricoh has posted the first firmware update for its GXR system, covering the A12 50mm equiv. macro and S10 24-72mm equiv. zoom lens units. Version 1.07 fixes minor bugs and brings in a few improvements, including additional AF modes for the A12 module that offer faster autofocus. The single firmware file will make appropriate changes for each unit and is available for immediate download from Ricoh's website (from DP Review.com).

by Lars Rehm and Simon Joinson

This is the second of two reviews of the GXR; as each module is effectively a completely different camera we've decided to treat them as such and produce separate reviews. This review covers the GXR with the S10 24-72mm equiv (10Mp 1/1.7" sensor) module, the previous one had a look at the GXR/A12 50mm f2.5 equiv (12MP APS-C sensor) combo. The first half of both reviews is the same, covering the GXR camera body and system.

In the short, frenetic history of the digital camera it has often been the smaller, less high profile manufacturers who have taken all the risks and experimented with more unconventional designs and solutions. For despite all the technological advances in the last decade the majority of digital cameras have designs that follow the same basic blueprint as their analog predecessors: they're essentially the same cameras with a sensor in the place of film.