On Saturday we posted two new big MFT info. And as on weekends most of the people don’t visit this site I am going to sum up the two news:
Voigtlander Nokton 42,5mm f/0.95 lens:
The lens will ship in July for 1199 Euro. And according to the poll results it looks like only 10% of our readers are going to buy that lens.
The bigger news is the Panasonic super tiny MFT rumors:
The camera could be announced in late 2013. It’s a new G camera that is smaller than any MFT camera we have seen so far. There is no info about price and specs yet. But the new Panasonic strategy will be: Go ultra small on the one side and go with built-in EVF with the GX series. Sounds good or not?
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40 Responses
Isn’t this a recycle of the las two posts together:)
Yeah, how lazy can one be not to scroll down to the weekend news?
More interesting is MXcamera announcing the Lens turbo roadmap, i.e. which mounts they’ll make: http://www.mxcamera.com/blog/?p=788 . At first, there’ll be NEX versions, but I’ve no doubt m4/3 are coming soon.
…and another post that goes into moderation because of benign link…
Duhh, well yes. That’s what the admin said in the first paragraph. Does that mean that anonymous people have poor reading skills?
For an interchangeable lens G camera, smaller than GF3 only makes sense to me in conjunction with new tiny zoom lenses – smaller than the 14-42 but not slower. I’m thinking manual twist-to-open and manual zoom.
Otherwise, perhaps something really innovative to make the body unfold or slide to expand it for shooting but tiny for carrying.
I, personally, don’t care for a smaller MFT camera. I really hope that this is just a side project for Panasonic, and they won’t ditch the GX series camera. The current GX1 is really outdated compared to the competition…
Have you been living in the mountains for the last two weeks? The GX is getting a potentially awesome successor, with built-in tiltable viewfinder and IBIS!
You are kidding right. So far we’ve seen only rumors about the GX1 camera, which is pretty impressive… but still just a rumor.
Olympus has done a great job with their camera line (OMD, EP5, etc.). Panasonic has a lot of catching up to do, so lets hope that they are not wasting their talent on a super compact MFT camera. I really hope that Panasonic will get their act together.
Then why am I shooting with it???
*Throws GX1 of Highlander cliff*
lol!
sport camera ala gopro hero,with mft mount can be very nice
That is exactly what I am doing with Olympus cameras: to associate the E-M5 with a PMx. There are situations where a P&S is better even, than a full fledged camera.
Such a combination will allow Panny to introduce a bigger camera with better controls, with no guilt complex.
The only trouble for us customers is to buy two cameras instead of one đ
Thats why three distinctive size-lines should exist:
medium size for the ones who need more real estate for the controls.
extra small size for the ones who to go as compact as possible with a pancake.
small(standard mft)size for the ones who want to get the best compromise in dimensions of both sizes prev. mentioned.
maybe Panasonic should concentrate on Medium and Extra Small, while Olympus could stick with Small(standard mft)Size?
I am so addicted to this site that I visit it all they day!
I love to see how it LIVES here!
Miniaturization makes sense up to a point. The GF3 and GF5 are already too small for secure handling when shooting. Besides, lenses can’t be made much smaller than they already are without seriously compromising their optical quality.
Panasonic seems easily swept by market idiosyncrasy. This is why their m4/3 lineup has been so erratic. Well, trial and error is not a very efficient way to go forward. They won’t succeed without a solid strategy rooted in comprehensive vision.
AS far as the CV 42.5/0.95 goes, I’m sure Cosina will be happy with a 200 lens initial rush! They are a boutique manufacturer to some extent. Personally, I wonder if they have a hand in the Fuji X series of cameras and lenses, as they an OEM manufacturer for Fujifilm among others:
http://www.japanexposures.com/2009/05/04/cosina-lens-and-camera-factory-tour-report/
OK, but small body needs small lenses. Current 14-42mm make camera bigger. Such camera needs set of small pancakes (10mm f/2.8, 14mm f/2.5, new version of 20/1.7 with faster AF) and pancake or collapsible zoom. Panckacke 14-42mm is too expensive.
I would firstly like to see Panasonic release lenses with focal length markings with a roadmap alongside the GX release.
Lenses I’d like ro see are:
17.5mm f1.2
14-25mm f2.0
And agree with having a 10mm pancake lense đ
+ 1 on the 10mm
It appears my previous comment did not get posted so again…
I would like to see Panasonic release lenses with focal length markings and roadmap on the GX launch.
Would like to see:
17.5 f1.2
14-25 f2.2
This is a great strategy. Thankyou Panasonic!
GF,GX, G, GH and new G now… GX line will be more interesting (according new GX7), and people will looking for small MFT as seconds bodies, it will killing GF series i think.
About 10% getting this lens 42.5, i think it’s too much! not even 5%..
because new lens Pana 42.5 will coming and i think cheaper, i remember Pana said news lens will be more attractive.
Kiki, I think Panasonic 42.5mm will cost at least 1000âŹ. Ok, 999âŹ. That’s cheaper than Voigty, but still not that cheap. And it’s coming 1st quater 2014. Maybe.
so: smaller or better than a GF3 (smallest body) with a 15mm f8 (smallest lens) = … what, exactly?
we haven’t seen an m4/3 with a fixed (built-in) lens yet. if we did, it’d be small, right? might it look like …?
– a tiny RF-style camera
(olympus would be my preference)
– with a 16-18 megapixel 4/3 sensor
– the size of panasonic ÂŁF~1
– with a fixed 24-50mm equiv (12-25mm) f2.8 zuiko lens (with detents around a ridged lens ring at 24, 28, 35, and 50mm equiv. focal lengths)
– the lens folds into the body like a compact camera
– no display screen on the back
(remember it’s the size of an LF1 or S110 or XZ2 or x100 or nikon A or new ricoh GR … somewhere in there)
– instead, you get a huge VF4 type viewfinder built in
– as well as the wifi and NFC connectivity
– excellent battery life
– and a serviceably grippy grip and solid metal build
in sum, a fast (startup must be fast too) little m4/3 camera (a new line? or new ways of thinking about the GF and EPM lines) with a pretty fast built in wide zoom lens (at all classic wideangle focal lengths, to compete with LF1 as well as GR as well as X100… + ‘fast fifty’ at 25mm, and competent digital zoom/crops for beyond 50mm equiv. since it’s a got a sensor bigger than a sony rx100, for example) but no ability to swap interchangeable lenses, but it has an awesome viewfinder, and you can fit it in your pocket.
that’s what i’d make, anyway.
jose_e,
They certainly can’t fit a 12-25mm f2.8 lens, retractable(!), in a body the size of the LF1, for a 4/3 sensor. Just look at 12-35mm f2.8 to get an idea. Or LX7 with 1/1.7″ sensor and 24-90mm equivalent lens at f1.4-2.3 (m4/3 equivalent = f3.6-5.9), already bigger than LF1 and not even close to what you are proposing.
jose_e: “thatâs what iâd make, anyway”
No, I don’t think so!
Of course, that still would be great if you could.
ok ok maybe not LF1. but what about x100? i just need it to be flat (no protruding lens). and, the 12-35mm f2.8 zoom is interchangeable. what i’m proposing is not — built in and more compact. no?
RX100 is 28-100mm equivalent (10.4-37.1mm), at f1.8-f4.9
Your 4/3 sensor will require larger lens aperture at telephoto, but not much.
25mm f2.8 with 4/3 sensor: lens aperture = 9 mm
37mm f4.9 with 1″ sensor: lens aperture = 7.6 mm
I think that would mean a bigger camera, but I it just an opinion. Perhaps Ricoh GR size.
I don’t think it is useful to make it “constant” f2.8. If it was for instance 2.0-f2.8 of something like that, it would be even better in my opinion, and a better match for the APS-C competition.
I just thought about something. Not easy to figure out, but I think I’m right. You could buy the Ricoh, which is APS-C 28mm equivalent, at f2.8. If you want to “zoom” to 50mm equivalent, you just crop to keep the FOV you like. Since 4/3 sensor area is about 70% smaller than APS-C, you would be close to equivalent performance for low light shooting/shallow DOF at that FOV, compared to your 12-25mm f2.8 4/3 lens at the tele end. You would loose IQ in comparison with your projected camera in good light, tough, because by cropping you’re throwing away pixels that carry some details – keep in mind that this is not the case in low light, at high ISO. At the wide end (sadly not 24mm equivalent), you would get close to f2.0 low light performance 4/3 equivalent, by using all the bigger sensor area. Hence, you projected camera almost already exists.
Still, we don’t see it anywhere, but I would like a 24-50mm equivalent zoom on a big sensor pocket camera, if it helps keeping the size down and f value high.
Panasonic: sounds very well & became now an option to me!
I can not wait to see the new 100 Euro Panasonic battery! đ
So I wonder how many lenses are available with MFT mounts for this young system???
We need more pancakes for the GX series as well as the GF and whatever this smaller camera is called. Posted about this yesterday.
Good.
GF: smaller
GX: like range finder camera
GH: for video
G: no thanks, should be quoted
GX next-next should be chased for weather sealed. no compromise because of existence of GH.
Olypus has 4/3 lenses, so there need to have a “tough” body to hold big 4/3 tele lenses, BUT Panasonic doesn’t have such.
So, Olympus always treat PEN as the seconde class because of not bear big 4/3 lenses, BUT panasonic doens’t. So Panasonic should make GX series Ultimate.
There are limits to how small MFT cameras can go, even if you make the bodies tiny. The GF3 body isn’t much different than something like the Fuji XF1 or Sony RX100. The big difference is that their lenses retract into the body when not in use, while MFT cameras don’t.
If Panasonic really wants to make a tiny pocketable MFT camera, they need to figure out a way to make the mount retract the lens into the body when the camera is not in use. đ
They may create something like m43 version of Sony RX1. If you compare it with GF3 http://camerasize.com/compare/#167,376 it’s almost of the same size. RX1 is FF, so there may be some space in decrease in size. The question is whether they go for prime or zoom.
I am wondering how many RX1s Sony has sold since its introduction.
It might be a nice camera, but it is way too expensive IMHO.
Thanks for the size comparison link.
Just substitute LF1 for the RX100 and compare with the GF5 and you will see where Pany is going with this new micro model. If measure only the body the GF3 without flash hump is already the same width and body height of the LF1 and the 4/3rds lens mount will fit with metal body. So Pany would be able to fit everything the GF5 has and then some into such a body and could include a small grip or not. The only question is whether or not Pany will use a small fixed inbody zoom lens like a 28-70 or go with interchangeable lens mount for small primes? In the case of a fixed lens they still would have option of including a small EVF as the LF1 does with small flash or put flash where the EVF is. In the case of interchangeable lens mount they would probably do the latter with flash to cover various size lenses, my guess.
+1
A small MFT camera, with lens bigger than the camera’s body would just be ridiculous.
Sounds not good.
I always preferred Panasonic over Olympus in terms of design and usability. But did not like the size of neither OM-D (with bulky VF on top) nor GF3 (which is too tiny to hold).
Now seems I do not have a choice anymore as GF1 / GX1 / E-P5 size and form-factor is the best for me and Panasonic does not want to continue this mid-range (in terms of size) lineup.
VoigtlÀnder is very good for vidéo.
I use 17,4mm and 25mm VoigtlÀnder.
I use the Noktor 12mm.
And I use too the Canon FD 50mm f1.4
Nothing is better than the Canon FD 50mm : sweet, colors fantastic, bokeh incredible, definition clear.
And it cost me 80 euros.
So ok VoigtlÀnder is good for video but you can have better for 100 euros on ebay.
Canon FD lenses / Nikkor lenses (more cinematic again).