Panasonic Lumix Micro Four Thirds DMC-G1 baby previewed

[catrike]

A quote from an Imaging Resource preview: "Body-only weight is just a scant 0.2 oz (5g) more than that of the (Olympus) E-410, which is the current record-holder for the crown of lightest digital SLR."

So we went from a "full" 4/3rds DSLR to a micro 4/3rds with no mirror and ONLY gained 5 grams. These folks are going full speed in reverse. The reason for going to "micro" was what again? To be successful these cameras will have to weigh less that 16 ounces with the kit lens (not the current 22 ounces) and rival the Canon G9/10's 13 ounces with a pancake or who needs them? Remember the Sigma DP1 for all its faults weighs in at 8.5 ounces with an even bigger sensor.

[deevee]

for those who cares about HD video on a still camera, wait till spring 2009, Pana will offer the G1 HD with video in live mode + AF , a first in the industry; see here http://www.networkworld.com/news/200...h.html?hpg1=bn ....cheers ;-))

[Ian]

Originally Posted by catrike

A quote from an Imaging Resource preview: "Body-only weight is just a scant 0.2 oz (5g) more than that of the (Olympus) E-410, which is the current record-holder for the crown of lightest digital SLR."

So we went from a "full" 4/3rds DSLR to a micro 4/3rds with no mirror and ONLY gained 5 grams. These folks are going full speed in reverse. The reason for going to "micro" was what again? To be successful these cameras will have to weigh less that 16 ounces with the kit lens (not the current 22 ounces) and rival the Canon G9/10's 13 ounces with a pancake or who needs them? Remember the Sigma DP1 for all its faults weighs in at 8.5 ounces with an even bigger sensor.

In defence of Panasonic, for them this is a high-end model and so it's got a metal body. The E-4xx has a plastic body and so it's bound to be lighter.

If Panasonic or Olympus wanted to make a substantially lighter Micro Four Thirds body, I'm sure they could.

Ian

[Ian]

Originally Posted by yyshiu

From this link, you will see the HD G body, 20, 7-14 and 14-140 prototype. I like the 14-140 and hope that it could acquire all Lecia's quality and adding more UD elements to improve long zoom quality.

http://www.digitalcamera.jp/

I think the grip is needed for these large lens and such a small body. It is useful from practial point and I buy this idea.

The 20 1.7 might be able to produce a much shadow and nice dof because of the reduced 21 mm lens plate distance and it is a lens focal length that needs not be a retrofocus design.

The G1 focusing mechanism will eliminate focus inaccuracy problem from previous SLR model like L10 and E-520. The 25mm 1.4 could be used wideopen without any fear of blurring from mis-focus.

Yes, your point is worth emphasising - although contrast detect AF is slower than phase detect on an SLR, it's inherently more reliable and accurate as the focus is determined at the imaging sensor, not an ancillary sensor that can becom mis-aligned.

Ian

[dazedgonebye]

Originally Posted by yyshiu

From this link, you will see the HD G body, 20, 7-14 and 14-140 prototype. I like the 14-140 and hope that it could acquire all Lecia's quality and adding more UD elements to improve long zoom quality.

http://www.digitalcamera.jp/

I think the grip is needed for these large lens and such a small body. It is useful from practial point and I buy this idea.

The 20 1.7 might be able to produce a much shadow and nice dof because of the reduced 21 mm lens plate distance and it is a lens focal length that needs not be a retrofocus design.

The G1 focusing mechanism will eliminate focus inaccuracy problem from previous SLR model like L10 and E-520. The 25mm 1.4 could be used wideopen without any fear of blurring from mis-focus.

I'm being selfish. It's unlikely I'd ever use a large zoom on this camera (or any other).
I can see this as good reason for a grip...I guess no one is making Dazedgonebye model cameras yet.

[jimindenver]

Wow, as much as a grand plus more for extra lenses. Pretty pricy for most P&S users. The pro-sumers couldn't compete with entry level dslr's, it will be interesting if this does.

[dogberry]

Originally Posted by Bear

It was inevitable that the first m4/3rds offerings would conservative in style as both Panasonic and Olympus have been burned in recent memory with new product lines that were introduced with products that were out of step of what the market expected to see.

The Gi is not exactly what I wanted to see from m4/3rds but I am not disappointed at all. The G1 looks almost exactly like a shrunken L10. As such it is not that interesting to me as a camera but the technology it embodies is and some of it will make its way to the 4/3rds line up in the future and some of it will be embodied in different m4/3rds products. The compact interchangeable lens digital rangfinder concept. Small, quiet unobtursive is still a real possiblility and this is enough to make me wait until I see more before buying another camera. The technological advances in EVF implementation appear, from first reading, to be remarkable and heralds a new way of looking at things ! I'm still excited about the m4/3rds idea.

I think you put it very well Bear. I'm very much aligned with your feeling about the G1 not being quite what I was looking for personally right now, but at the same time, it represents a very exciting new direction that I feel has a tremendous future and I'm very happy to see it.

From my own point of view, I was hoping for something even smaller, perhaps even a little more rangefinder-ish in concept. I love my Digilux 3 however and the small coterie of 4/3 lenses from PanaLeica and Olympus that I use with it, so for now I'll continue to watch with great interest.

I actually like the design of the G1 and I can't wait to see some actual images from one and read the reviews. I'm hoping that the kind of Moore's Law trajectory that sensors have been following will continue and that we'll see improvements in the sensitivity and image quality in spite of having more pixels on the sensor.

All in all though, I would say that the Four Thirds System and its new little brother - Micro Four Thirds, are the most exciting developments in photography in years and I feel sure that once more photographers are exposed (no pun intended) to the stellar image quality of the 4/3 lenses (and hopefully m4/3 as well), there will be much greater level of adoption of these systems.

Gordon

[Bear]

Yes - whilst I don't see myself buying a G1 I am more excited about what the future may hold for m4/3rds. I juast hope that most of my existing ZD glass can be upgraded to work with contrast detect AF.

[Ray Shotter]

Originally Posted by Ian

In defence of Panasonic, for them this is a high-end model and so it's got a metal body.

Ian

Ian, thanks for that important piece of information. Unless I missed it in the detailed press release by Panasonic, it was the one piece of information I was looking for. In my opinion Panasonic would have been foolish to produce a low specification as its first model of the micro four-thirds system and therefore the price will reflect the specifications. Many of the comments on this subject about price are valid I suppose if this model is aimed at point & shoot photographers. However, I venture to suggest that Panasonic are aiming at DSLR users who would like a small sophisticated camera which is capable of excellent quality photographs in the full range of light conditions which a DSLR can cope with. Hence the apparent full range of features and the quality build of the G1.

I, for one, will be watching the progress of the development of the micro four thirds system with great interest but will probably wait until Olympus produce their products before I begin to consider a purchase.

Ray.

[joachim]

Originally Posted by Ian

In defence of Panasonic, for them this is a high-end model and so it's got a metal body. The E-4xx has a plastic body and so it's bound to be lighter.

If Panasonic or Olympus wanted to make a substantially lighter Micro Four Thirds body, I'm sure they could.

Ian

Another thing to consider is the Panasonic has a tilting monitor, the one on the E-420 is fixed. That will add to size and weight. You need what is essentaill a separate housing for the monitor when you want that tilting.