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A couple of days ago a trusted source told me that the new ultracompact Panasonic GM1 camera would have a new e-shutter without the mechanical shutter. The source always shared correct info in the past but this time it seems he got a partially incorrect info. Another source told me Panasonic has a new kind of shutter but I the info he got is that it’s still a hybrid electronic-mechanical shutter. It’s a new kind of shutter developed by Panasonic not seen in any other cameras yet.
I hope more sources can share some feedback about it. For example I would like to know if the electronic shutter works completely without mechanical shutter too.
P.S.: Both sources told me the Panasonic GM1 is a surprising fascinating camera. Incredibly compact, but still very handy. They bet the camera will be very popular among the 43rumors community 🙂
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49 Responses
Wow, my GX7 is on hold waiting for this GM1 specs… please hurry with the details!
it would be sweet if it could fold
I must have missed the news on this one. Is it an interchangeable lens (m4/3) body, or an advanced P&S?
Interchangeable
Thanks; good to hear. I would love to have something really small to put my 45mm or 14mm lenses on. The smallest body I have now is the OM-D.
I’m very surprised that Olympus and Panasonic have not used first curtain electronic shutters. Canon have been using for a while in some of their DSLRs and Sony are now using them. I’ve had a Canon 40D since it came out, I believe this was the first or one of the first with this type of shutter. It really is superb. The exposure starts with the shutter open, and there is no mechanical movement until the exposure is over. I use it for macrophotography and it is much better than mirror lock-up. In other words an electronic first curtain shutter would completely have eliminated shutter shock, because nothing mechanically moves until the exposure is over. Likewise the closure with an actual shutter means you get all the image quality advantages of a mechanical shutter, without the apparent downsides.
In fact it is this single thing which has most put me off moving to m4/3, which I very much want to do. I take a lot of my photographs in the shutter speed region where shutter shock mostly occurs. I have also worked for a long time on camera stabilization techniques, so most of the time if an image isn’t sharp its because of my error, or I knew it was likely. The idea of doing everything right, with a once in a lifetime opportunity, and then finding every image is blurred due to a variable outside my control, is a bit off-putting. To be frank I expected Olympus and Panasonic to move to electronic first curtain shutters a while back.
“I’m very surprised that Olympus and Panasonic have not used first curtain electronic shutters.”
+1
I had a Nikon D70 which has both mechanical & electronic shuttermodes, and i think the electronic shutter had a certain impact on the IQ, specificly the highlights clipping earlier then expected.
I think that’s why on electronic first curtain shutters the shutter closes at the end. This appears to overcome the problem of completely electronic shutters. I don’t notice any difference in image quality on my Canon’s when using them in live view, and using normal exposures. Whilst I haven’t measured this, it is based on processing 1000s of RAW files. I’ve not been able to notice any difference.
I can assume you neither the 40D, nor my current 50D, have electronic first curtain shutters. Neither even offer live view.
And Nikon’s old electronic first curtain systems suffered from severe blooming when used in that mode, which is why they dropped it on later models.
I can assure you that both cameras do have live view and electronic first curtain shutter in silent shooting mode. I’ve had a 40D for over 5 years and regularly use it for live view macro work. Either you don’t know how to use this camera or you are making it up.
Read the Imaging Resource review and it is quite clear you are wrong and that what I said was correct.
http://www.imaging-resource.com/PRODS/E40D/E40DA.HTM
I can assure you neither the 40D nor 50D have an electronic first curtain. Neither even offer live view. The shutter is never open before exposure.
Nikons D70 suffered from severe blooming when the electronic first curtain was used, which is why Nikon dropped it from subsequent DSLRs.
Totally wrong. Canon 40D DEBUT Live View. It is the 1st DSLR with a Live View. Canon 50D have both PDAF quick-view Live View as well as CDAF Live View. I had 40d, I know what i”m talking about.
The Olympus E-330 DSLR had live view a year earlier.
Once and for all, this is a m43 camera. Not a fixed lens camera. Anyway, I’d only be interested if it had a viewfinder.
It might be a mobile phone, GM1?
Good idea if it is.
Great IDEA, a camera phone with more lenses…M 4/3 standard
Hey that’s a cool nick and avatar dude!
Promising. Looking forward to more details 🙂
Admin, could you please try to establish whether the GM1 will be above or below the GF6 in Panasonic’s line up. Thanks.
Onlt yhing I heard is that it’s very cheap. Doens’t say a lot but could mean it’s priced below the GF range.
if that’s the case I’m out.
Great, thank you 🙂
hmm…. when is it going to be available exactly?
> the Panasonic GM1 is a surprising fascinating camera.
So it must be FF for sure !!! 🙂
Any idea if it has an EVF or not? If it has Im interested, if not Im out 🙂
They just released the GX7.. what do you want, Panasonic to stick a god damn EVF on their microwave ovens too?!
I want something much smaller than the gx7 but sitt an inbuilt EVF.
Two eyes are better than one. Yes, even at the beach on a sunny day. The VF’s need to go.
My microwave oven has a 1x 100% OVF !! A EVF would be a big step back!
So many cameras so little time, (or money).
THIS IS GREAT!
“Another source told me Panasonic has a new kind of shutter but I the info he got is that it’s still a hybrid electronic-mechanical shutter. It’s a new kind of shutter developed by Panasonic not seen in any other cameras yet.”
Let’s just hope it is not 100% e-shutter. With the GX7 I have discovered, in addition to the problems with moving objects, e-shutter has problems also with halogen lights @ 50Hz (Europe). Apparently, halogen bulbs maintain high temperature for consistent light level. But 50Hz is not frequency high enough for the temperature to stay constant and the light flickers slightly. E-shutter picks that up as dark horizontal bands in the final image (aka: ruined image).
Others have chimed in already about the e-shutter only for the first curtain, which seem to be a good compromise overall.
Admin, does it have EVF like LF1 ?
it’s nice to hear it’s still handy, maybe does mean there is a grip like GX1/GX7 ?
They just released the GX7..
I’m sorry, i don’t understand your reply. What do you mean? i know GX7 was released, i ‘m just asking if it does have en evf like LF1. why not an hotshoe also?
No way, it’s neither Olympus, nor FF. 😀
But you sir, are correct!
Good one!
I doubt I need a body smaller than the GX7, which is pretty similar to my GF1 with the very welcome improvement of grip. Lighter maybe, smaller – hardly, except for thickness unless it hampers ergonomics of the button placement and size.
OTOH what Panasonic could really do in the way of improving system compactness, but didn’t, would be to offer a true remake of the 20/1.7 lens. Lighter, thinner, with faster aperture and AF and sharper corners, i.e. offering improvements in terms of both size and usability which would help it maintain and expand its status as a universal choice for a pocketable setup. The 14/2.5 kind of serves this purpose better physically except its focal length and speed make it less universal in the optics department.
Guys, this is still a rumor! Anyone “chiming in” about what kind of e-shutter this has is only guessing.
No one here knows if it has an EVF or not (but if it’s designed to be very small and inexpensive, I’ll be very, very surprised if it does). OTOH, very cheap and the previously rumors magnesium construction with leather trim don’t match up. It’s either cheap and largely plastic, or it’s magnesium and leather and not cheap.
Finally, it’s a good bet that all of these rumors are coming from inside Panasonic, so statements like “Both sources told me the Panasonic GM1 is a surprising fascinating camera. Incredibly compact, but still very handy” should be taken with a large grain of salt.
Hope they release a tiny crepe pancake prime lens to go with it.
Crepe pancake sounds yummy! Mine’s with chocolate sauce.
Maple syrup!
It would be a dream camera for me if the pic quality matches the latest m43 sensors. I have been asking and waiting for a compact m43 for a long time. Bring it on 🙂
Agreed. Sony has minimised the NEX size, but I think MFT could be pushed further. Good to see a ground breaking cam that doesn’t just incrementally evolve.
It won’t work well with large zooms but should be perfect for the numerous small fast primes and small zooms. The EM1 and GN1 will nicely book end the MFT range. Cheap and simple is fine. I expect a shutter button and 1 control dial only with largely touch screen interface. Just don’t go cheap on the sensor.
I am still interested in learning more about the sensor, whether it has IBIS, and whether it has the 12-35 as a kit lens. No harm (or much weight) having another small body with a pancake sized lens in a pocket or in the bag. Hope the sensor is decent.
And I hope the 12-35 lens is decent too. It sounds like the new shutter might be an attempt to reduce shutter shock in a small light camera with a complex power zoom lens.
Will it be less expensive than a GX1 or a E-MP2?
Wish it would have headphone and mic jacks but I know it won’t.
So I keep imagining a Fuji XF1 with m43’s sensor and interchangeable lenses. Metal body, wrapped in leather? Check. Enough serious controls to not be too ‘dumbed down’? Check. Tiny mechanical zoom lens? Check.
It goes to show you can make a small camera (the XF1 is entirely pocketable) and still have a reasonable degree of control (2 control dials like E-P3 plus reasonable selection of buttons each with dual purpose via e-fn). It is also possible to build a small and lightweight camera with good build quality.