Thanks to a french 43rumors reader we can show you the very first picture of the Panasonic GF2!!! The picture shows the advertising at “Salon de la Photo” in Paris (the event starts tomorrow). The GF2 looks like the [shoplink 17288]Panasonic LX5[/shoplink]! And with the new [shoplink 16258]Panasonic 14mm f/2.5 lens[/shoplink] lens it is the smallest mirrorless kit on earth! It has 12 megapixel (The same [shoplink 14834]G2[/shoplink] sensor), records FullHD, a complete new imaging processor, touchscreen and announcement is expected at 6am London time (November 4th). Follow 43rumors! We will keep you updated with all news and previews!
We don’t know the price of the GF2 but we expect it to be close to the current Panasonic GF1 ([shoplink 14828]Click here to check the price[/shoplink]!)
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110 Responses
No mode dial. Grip looks like from LX5.Looks smaller than GF1.
Sliiim
This Keira Knightley with a lens jammed into her face. Still, I guess she’s used to that…
Any built-in flash?
Yes!
Thats very important feature! also nex dosnt have one
did
did you realize that the lens stuck to the gF-2 to be an 18mm prime?? Is that a new lens???
oops no its a 14mm my mistake
UMMM, that’s the 14mm F2.5 pancake. With a close focus of 0.18m…..
A rough scaling measurement gives it only 10mm longer than the LX5, doesn’t look much thicker either (but I bet the touch screen bulges out the back a bit).
Really intrigued to see which lens package it comes with, they may feel it needs to compete with NEX there? Hope so….
If it is smaller than NEX-5, it has to be as wide as LX5, around 110mm.
Hmm, now it’s a real consumer model, so the GF family is gone for me…
looks like a “i will buy this camera for my wife” model….
sorry pana… so what next? i am waiting and waiting.. it’s time to translate the GF1 to a pro line..
like HF1? DMC L2, with a rangefinder style EVF and GH2 sensor with a external mic connection…
That’s just as good – not that you’re going, that it’s a consumer model. What it tells us is that m43 standard is here to stay, which means that, yes, every so often, there will be consumer models… as well as super duper pro stuff…
As for me I’m happy I’m not putting money into lenses that won’t have anything to fit on in a few years (who mentioned Samsung NX?) ?
Long live m43! 😉
Hmm, in 2 years, Oly/Panny have produced G1, G2, GF-1, GF-2, E-P1, E-P2, E-PL1 all aimed at P&S up-graders without a single serious body. The EP2 may be expensive, but its far from pro-grade ruggedness, and only came with two cheap plastic lens options. The GF1 was a good first attempt, but with no decent EVF option it missed the mark as well; plus, anything over ISO800 was a bit rough. One could argue the GH1/GH2 are for more advanced users, but those cameras still made of plastic, have smiley faces and silly ass scene modes on the mode dial; so a Nikon D300 they are not. My point is I think they have entry-mid level covered just fine. It’s well past time for a serious, rugged, magnesium, weather sealed body…right? At this point I bet the Sony NEX7 beats whatever Oly/Panny have planned to the market.
E-5 is there to battle D300. How it’ll manage we’ll see. And Sony NEX7 is not mentioned even on SonyAlphaRumors any more, so don’t bet on it.
If you want to earn money by taking photographs, m4/3 is not for you, NEX even less so. There are many excellent 4/3 lenses and from what I’ve read, E-5 will be able to use their full potential. If video is your thing, than GH2 is a powerful tool.
GF2 will add more users to m4/3 and for that it should be praised.
Not everyone wants to earn money, some of us just want a nice rugged street shooter and hiking camera than can stand up to bad weather and take an occasional drop. The E-5 is 4x too large for a camera that serves that purpose.
to wei
It is a 14mm pancake 🙂
0.18m – that is a minimal focusing distance.
it doesn’t look that much smaller than the GF1, maybe slimmer. also the new pancake is small by itsself, would rather need an image with the 20mm pancake attached.
anyone tried to do a side by side image with GF1 yet?
@G1234 Looks like LX5 type flash on the left.
Hopefully mode dial is at the back. Standard hotshoe is good news, as well as fullHD and touchscreen.
Full HD! Does that imply a new sensor? As I understood, the current 12MP sensor is only capable of 1280×720 video output (and hence no FullHD in E-5). That would be interesting…
Looks very very interesting to me!
Good point – it really says FullHD, every sensor with more than 2megapixels is fullHD capable. but it means new CPU 🙂
No, hacked GF1 is capable of FullHD, they just applied the hack in the GF2 :). But since Olympus E-5 output is vastly improved over E-30 output using the same sensor, hold your criticism of the GF2 12MPx unit until you see final firmware image samples.
A good anti-aliasing filter doesn’t change the fact that it is completely DR limited or that it suffers painfully at high ISOs.
If Panasonic and Olympus devoted some time to well implement HDR and some stacking modes ( called “gimmicks” here couple of days ago ), they could overcome that. I don’t think the 12MPx sensor is exactly the same as two years ago, I believe it’s been gradually improved.
There’s a video that suggest that 1080p on the GF13 is in fact 720p upscaled: http://vimeo.com/13135705. I’m pretty sure that Olympus would have implemented 1080p in the E-5 if it were technically possible.
I believe that the vast majority of digital cameras, both P&S and ILC upscale video to get video with 1080 lines. If every third line of sensor is used, then at least 14 MPx sensor is needed. But if GF2 uses every third line for video, it doesn’t upscale 720p, rather 1000p to 1080p.
No flash? I need a flash Panasonic! 😉
And 1 thing more…. No assist beam???
From the picture I see an AF assist light directly below the GF2 nametag, and a pop-up flash left side of the hotshoe (slight recess and interrupted lines)…
Under the LX2 sign I think.
Under the GF2 sign 🙂 is the assist lamp.
I saw that 2 now! tnks!
looks good, 14/2.5, with 20/1.7 in a slim form and my needs are truly satisfied. However I’m curious about the price, if it hits GF1’s introduction price, well… I’ll pass.
does this mean a different battery size to gf1. that would be annoying.
surely it does. GH2 also has a different battery now
Ok I get it for the GF2, it’s slimmer. Makes sense. But for the GH2, c’mon…
I am not that impressed with this. It looks like a consumer model and presumable will be priced as such. I was hoping for a more comprehensive ‘upgrade’ on the GF1. This looks like a watered down version to me and I think the G/GH range would be more my thing next – unless a more significant D range finder style comes out.
Wake me when (if?) the EP3 comes out
Start hibernating then… 🙁
I think folks need to understand that evolution goes where the money goes. NEX has been gaining ground significantly on the GF/EP series, partly attributed to its tiny size.
This move, commercially, is probably the soundest they could make, and will probably be the design for many generations to come. Now they can start thinking about an improved sensor for the next release, and possible an upgrade of the attachable EVF.
I bought a NEX because of the sensor, not the size. Now, every soccer mom I show the camera to, I say “this is just like that XTi (or D3000) around your neck, but smaller” — couldn’t say that with m43, because it wasn’t just like the XTi/D3000. And then the sweep pano mode and other “toys” seals the deal.
I have my EP1 + 14-150 and 20/1.7 because it’s a great travel kit, and I’d get an EP3 if it has better LCD, DR, etc. but Panny/Oly better come out with better products than a smaller GF1.
12MP? Surely they jest … not interested. Nor will I be interested in any Oly offerings if they only offer 12MP. Read Michael Reichman’s GH2 partial review–a larger pixel count has vastly improved the camera and not hurt high ISO or any other parameter of imaging that so many feared going above 12MP. Maybe Pentax will come out with something better.
12 MP is more than enough for me. OTOH 10EV of DR is not. Nor is it beeing limited to ~ISO1000.
I like it. I wouldn’t buy it of course, but I think it’s going to take away a lot of the attention of the NEX which is a good thing for everybody with a MFT camera.
The design is good. It’s not a photographer’s tool of course. But for people who would otherwise have bought a NEX, it’s great.
“It’s not a photographer’s tool of course.”
Of course not. It’s a camera. photographers never use those…
i would buy it. it is perfect as companion to the GH(1)2
@oluv
EXACTLY!
Agreed, its a good idea, this GF2, but it should be GS1 (g,slim) and it should have AT LEAST GH1 sensor (ok, it dosnt have to be multi-aspect)
Of course you wouldn’t buy because, errrr, you are a photographer? Can’t follow the reasoning.
Looks great. Couple it with the 20mm 1.7 and I may have found my perfect street cam.
i’m very excited! i’ve hung on to my panasonic lumix dmc-tz5 for a long time, have shot many, many pics and wanted to move up to something better.
was heavily considering the gf1 with 20mm pancake the last few weeks over the olympus epl because of fast autofocus, but the size of the gf2 looks to be a bonus. can’t wait for the spec sheet and price. 🙂
Adm? Is Oly showing anything new at the “Salon de la Photo” ??? Ep3???
No.
This might work for “the best camera is the one you have with you” use. Looks like I can retire my water-damaged TZ5 for street photography.
I can’t see a mode control knob on the top.
I’m so disappointed 🙁 I was hope that GF2 will be similar to Fuji X100. Interchangeable lens + retro body like X100. My dreams. Eh, I’m so sad. Now waiting for rumors about EP3 from Oly. Last hope 🙂
X100 has a fixed prime lens.
I know. But I wanna x100 like “manual” body + mix of lenses to be happy 🙂 No next mini “monkey” camera like NEX. So Oly, last hope
Have there been any serious rumors (i.e. ones that are more than speculation and wishful thinking) to get your hopes up for such a camera?
And how would such a “manual” setup work with m43 anyway? The lack of aperture ring on every single lens kinda spoils that party.
Though I understand you could implement other bits of that dream, I doubt m43 is going to deliver much of interest to you.
We’ll probably get a more “serious” somewhat compact, somewhat retro-styled m43 at some point, as long as “retro” means “LC1/L1”. Personally I doubt it will ever go as far into nostalgia-land as the x100.
Hm, is the 20/1.7 pancake from panny has a aperture ring? I hate changing photo options (like aperture or shutter speed)from menu.
For now my dreams are just a wishful thinking
None of the AF m43 lenses has an aperture ring, and I’d be really surprised to see this in the future.
While it can certainly be done, the problem I see is that if it’s a mechanical aperture ring, you lose the ability to control the aperture with the body, which so many people are used to doing now. If it’s “aperture by wire” as on some of Panasonic’s regular Four Thirds lenses, then most of the bodies won’t be equipped to deal with that and will have to revert to on-body control anyway. That makes the aperture ring an additional cost that’s useless to most people.
The Voigtländer 25/0.95 has one, because it’s a 100% manual lens. The same will probably be true of any future Voigtländer m43 lenses. And of course almost all adapted lenses use manual aperture ring. But Olympus or Panasonic lenses with aperture rings… unlikely.
It could have an aperture dial on top like the Leica X1.
How would a top aperture dial handle different lenses with different aperture ranges? Wouldn’t it have to be variable and continuous, making it like the standard control wheel only with a single function?
So… could be a neat idea for a fixed lens camera (though personally prefer the X100 approach), but not so obvious for interchangeable lenses.
Exactly what I was thinking. If this had a good built-in VF, it would have completely displaced the X100 as the “camera I am currently lusting after”.
Oh well, back to the X100.
I love my GF1 because of the easy layout of the buttons and wheel. I don`t want no touch screen which means lots of fiddling about.
Keep it simple! That`s why people loved the GF1
Doesn’t look that much smaller than the GF1 and will still be bigger than an NEX, yet with a smaller and noisier sensor if the rumours are correct. M43 currently has an advantage with lenses but I reckon M43 will get squashed between Nikon mirrorless and Sony NEX sooner or later. Panasonic are paying too much attention to their product hierarchy and not enough to the rapidly expanding and improving competition.
panny must appeal to the mainstream. small body form is the biggest selling point. m43 lenses are smaller than sony e lenses. but the success of NEX is mainly due to the aggressive pricing. if panny keeps the price high, they will lose.
No VF…damn.
I’m going to have to handle one of these before I can decide whether it’s of interest.
The apparent lack of a mode dial is my biggest concern. It suggests the interface is going to be heavily touchscreen oriented.
That in itself is not necessarily a deal breaker. I hate the G1 mode dial: in addition to PASM and Cust, it also wastes a bunch of positions on no fewer than seven useless scene modes. Talk about grasping for ways to fill up that dial! The LX3 actually has a much better dial: PASM, CUST (2), iA, SCN, movie. Nine positions, nothing wasted. Wish I could put it on my G1.
Ideally, the GF2 has a mode dial, only it’s recessed under the top plate, where you can’t see it from the front.
If not, I really hope they’ve found a way to improve on the old mode dial setup. If the interface increases rather than decreases the amount of menu-digging that must be done, that will be my deal breaker.
still no body IS? 🙁
No, and I think it’s pretty safe not to hold your breath waiting for this in a Panasonic body.
“Noisier than NEX…squashed by Sony and the [yet not even planned beyond rampant speculation] Nikon mirrorless,” eh?
http://www.dxomark.com/index.php/en/Camera-Sensor/Compare-sensors/(appareil1)/630|0/(appareil2)/614|0/(appareil3)/652|0/(onglet)/0/(brand)/Panasonic/(brand2)/Nikon/(brand3)/Sony
Check out the SNR graph there, and think before you type. Just because Pop Photo says it, does not make it so.
Article reports GF2 rumoured to be using the G2 sensor, not the GH1:
http://www.dxomark.com/index.php/en/Camera-Sensor/Compare-sensors/%28appareil1%29/630|0/%28appareil2%29/450|0/%28appareil3%29/652|0/%28onglet%29/0/%28brand%29/Panasonic/%28brand2%29/Panasonic/%28brand3%29/Sony
“Rampant speculation” not allowed on a rumours site? Whatever next.
going down… im not chasing Panny’s tech anymore it’s the end
Weren’t there rumors of a GF3 awhile back that was supposed to be more along the lines of an LC1? I wouldn’t give up hope just yet for a model like that. I’m sure Panasonic just felt the need to compete more directly with the NEX and EPL-1.
I bought a GF1 a month ago and was stressing about it’s replacement being a superior beast, instead it seems to be a different beast all together. I agree with those suggesting it should be called the GS, there’s small and there’s too-small.
Pues la veo muy delgada. Y demasiado compacta. Hubiera preferido algo más parecido a la gf1 pero con visor a nivel de ojo (de telemetro a poder ser) y con la pantalla movible. En fin. Estoy pensando en un segundo cuerpo para mi G2 y si esta nueva gf2 lo único que aporta son mas pixeles y un cuerpo mas fino, entonces gana muchos puntos la GF1. Por cierto, estoy pensando en venderme la Olympus E3, hace meses que no hago una foto con ella. ¿Alguien hace una oferta?
In English:
“As I see it very thin. And too compact. I would have preferred something closer to the gf1 but eye-level viewfinder (the rangefinder if possible) and the movable screen. Anyway. I’m considering a second body for my G2 and if this new GF2 all that brings are more pixels and a thinner body, then he wins many points the GF1. By the way, I’m thinking about selling the Olympus E3, for months I do a picture with her. Does anyone make an offer?”
The GF2 body looks to be almost same size height and width of GF1 only the body thickness is thinner and uses a smaller kit lens at least to my eyes. Yes is smaller maybe than NEX with kit lens attached as claimed? One overseas sheet reportedly showed only 1mm difference from GF1. What makes the camera look smaller is placing the top dial control functions to the back and grip style. Also in the photo I cannot see the flash and focus assist but assume from the previous comments that they are there. Different flash may make it possible to mount a larger higher definition EVF on hot shoe in the future. New processor means very fast AF likely to accompany the full HD capability.
The GF2 advantage over NEXs is primarily the smaller lens sizes, inbody flash and hot shoe included and still faster AF. The 28mm effective focal length is much more practical than the effective 24mm bundled with the NEX as in 16:9 format becomes 25mm or alternatively in 4:3 35mm with minor cropping. The GF2 also likely to be stiff competition to EPL1 its other intended target especially if it comes with smaller metal body. Pany is being conservative with this design to make use of the innard parts of the GF1 as much as possible to reduce manufacturing cost and enable a lower entry price level to match competition. If Pany wants to rapidly grow consumer market all they would have to do is price this GF2 at $600 level.
I’m still waiting for the advanced GF pro model with EVF and new sensor soon to come.
Shaving a few millimeters off here and there can make a big difference.
LX5: 110 x 65 x 25 mm (which I am pretty sure does not include the lens protrusion, so these are “body only” measurements)
GF1: 119 x 71 x 36 mm
Doesn’t look like such a big difference — less than half an inch difference in width and height. And yet in the hand, the GF1 really feels substantially bigger than an LX, or at least it does to me.
So if the GF2 can bring the dimensions even just a few millimeters closer to the LX5, it will probably feel quite a bit smaller to most people.
Not a good design for Panasonic M4/3, because the body will be too compact and lightweight to couple with their lenses, especially those Mega OIS lenses which will be way too heavy compared to its body, like the poor design of Sony.
i think the GF2 is not meant to be used with the 14-140 or 100-300 lenses, but rather the 20mm and 14mm pancake, and hopefully the announced 25mm 1.4 lens (maybe that’s a pancake too).
it should work well with the 14-45 or oly’s 14-42 too, but the key feature is that it can be so small with a pancake attached, so why use it with some super zoom lenses?
The Oly 9-18 is another lens that should be quite usable with the GF2, although in that case I might find myself really missing the articulating LCD…
yeah true, the 9-18 is really very light and compact. the GF1 also looks quite pretty with the oly 14-42 attached, a pity that especially this lens has such a bad built quality and slow AF.
Why Panny always want some silver on the grip? That’s totally unclassic.
@Floyd, while I don’t mind the chrome, I do worry about the ergonomics. In the case, if the GF2 gets slimmer, using those bulky zoom lenses would be just as odd as the Sony NEX.
Having read this, I might be switching to Lumix Phone.. hahaha!
The GF2 looks like a nice camera, which I’m sure it is. It’s certainly a more attractive option for me as an upgrade from my LX3 compared with the LX5, particularly since I already own a full Pentax DSLR kit and a Panasonic G1 with the 14-45mm and 20mm lenses. But unless that rear LCD does a LOT better in bright sunlight, I’ll wait around for a rangefinder-type MFT camera with a built-in viewfinder. Whether it comes from pansonic or Olympus is unimportant.
looks same size as gf1..
@chris, it’s slimmer than GF1. Other dimensions are limited by the m4/3 mount.
So all you guys (girls) who have had to hide your M43 collection from your wives (husbands) can now get her (him) one and you will have done something good. Panasonic are making some really smart moves and if this sweet camera can be on the shelves for Christmas they are going to clean up!
So if a GF2 + 14mm lens is about a LX5 in size . . . why would one pick the GF2?
The high ISO results of a G2 sensor are not that outstanding, compared to the already decent LX5. The LX5 has a faster lens and a wider lens, and of course has zoom.
Sure you can pop a 20mm 1.7 on it and get some nice shallow depth of field, but with a tiny tiny GF2 body, any larger lens would me awkward and unbalanced. (i.e., I try to imagine the upcoming Voightlander 0.95 25mm – not a pretty sight).
So, really, without a clear advantage over the LX5 what’s the point?
LX5 sucks. iso80 is as noisy as iso400 on GF1. the jpegs don’t tell the whole story, they are pretty washed out due to NR. but have a look at RAWs from both and you will see how much better the mFT sensor is (even at lowest iso).
magic number rumors from someone he said 3 days ago
112.867.832.8
after several hours we will know..@@
@Otis, I share the same thoughts. The ergonomics concern me the most with the relative bulky zoom lenses. Looks like I’ll take the advantage of the decent price of GF1 unless Panasonic will surprise us with a totally different camera (i.e. built-in EVF)
it’s reasonable that panasonic make it smaller than the previous GF-1
but where is the PASM dial?????
PASM dial is not just something “professional looking”
hope GF-2 won’t screw up in terms of handling like NEX3/5
Please post the picture again. I cannot see it, though all other photoes are visible. Thanks.
It kinda looks like it has the EVF but it’s hard to really see because of the reflection of the glass covering the poster. I do hope it has the EVF. Maybe it’s time to send out feelers for my GF1 😀 I can’t wait for GF2!
I know the picture shows “FULL HD” for the GF2. However, I hate to disappoint you. Full HD only requires that it be 1080i or greater.
There is no chance they put 1080p @ 24 FPS on a lower end camera for support reasons.
The GF2 will offer 1080i and 720p @ 30 FPS resolutions. This is not an improvement over the GF1 and definitely no where near what a hacked GF13 can do.
Another example of miniaturizing a product into uselessness. Already too small to have real controls. Just how small do these need to be? The Sony is already ridiculous enough now Panasonic has to beat them? I love the ugly ring on the body that surrounds the lens so that normal lenses still can fit.
Wow you looked at a fuzzy shot of a yet to be reveal camera and already sentenced it too small useless. I assume you have the palms and the brain the size of our prehistoric primates?
I need a good VF
Get a GH2 then! 😉
Basing this completely on the image and information made available, I don’t see this as an upgrade to a GF1. Are people actually complaining about the size of a GF1? It seems that this is more geared to compete with EPL1 and NEX3. I’m hoping that panasonic is coming with a GF camera that with the next EP model.
What a disappointment! Looks like just another well heeled designer “beginners” camera – will wait to see what Olympus do with Pen update but if I don’t see more grown-up releases from 4/3rds compacts then it’s give up and get the SLR out again – these cameras could be ideal for the street but they are going nowhere fast for the enthusiast or professional user :-/ Pity – what a shame the Fuji FX100 didn’t have an interchangeable lens!!!
I’s only looks thinner and I expect to more.
The fixed lens in the Fuji is a bit of a letdown.
Personally, I can’t WAIT to see the Leica version of this beauty. 🙂 It is REALLY gonna be something!!! 😀 😀
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