Panasonic Lumix G 14mm f/2.5 ASPH Lens (H-H014E)

A fast, lightweight ‘pancake’ prime lens for Micro Four Thirds System cameras.Panasonic’s Lumix G 14mm f/2.5 ASPH lens was released roughly a year ago with the GF2 camera body. A fast and compact, ‘pancake-styled’ prime lens, it is also offered with the new GF3 camera and bundled in the single-lens kit, which has an RRP of $899, where it represents great value for money. If you buy this lens on its own, however, the RRP is $649, which will probably deter potential buyers.

Panasonic Lumix DMC-TZ10

8.5 Rating

A lightweight, 12x zoom camera for travellers who want advanced shooting controls plus 720p HD video recording.Offering 12.1-megapixel resolution plus a 12x optical zoom lens that covers the equivalent of 25-300mm focal length range, Panasonic’s Lumix DMC-TZ10 extends the appealing features of previous ‘Travellers’ Zoom’ models with a built-in GPS (Global Positioning System) receiver and P, A, S and M shooting modes. Its image stabiliser has been upgraded to a new POWER O.I.S. (Optical Image Stabiliser) with twice the steadiness of previous systems.

Panasonic Lumix DMC-LX2

8 Rating

Plenty of user-adjustable controls in a high-resolution camera that fits into a jacket pocket.Released just over a year after the DMC-LX1, Panasonic’s Lumix DMC-LX2 model retains many of the admirable features of its innovative predecessor but boasts a higher resolution sensor (10.2 megapixels, vs 8.4). The main advantage of the new model lies in its ‘widescreen’ LCD monitor, which no longer letterboxes shots taken with the camera’s 16:9 setting. There’s also a new widescreen movie mode that records video clips at 1280 x 720 pixels, creating movies for playing back on widescreen TV sets. However, there’s still no optical viewfinder.

Panasonic Lumix DMC-GH1

8 Rating

A sophisticated ‘hybrid’ camera that combines SLR-like controls for still capture with HD video plus stereo sound recording.Like some of the most recent DSLRs, Panasonic’s new DMC-GH1 offers the added benefit of high-definition video capture – but also provides stereo sound recording. First shown at Photokina 2008, the GH1 is based on Panasonic’s first Micro Four Thirds System (MFT) camera, the DMC-G1, and offers most of the same features for still capture. Unlike the G1, which came in black, red and blue, the GH1 will only be sold locally with a black body. In line with their MFT design, both cameras lack reflex mirror viewfinders but they provide the interchangeable lenses and sophisticated controls of the DSLR format in smaller, lighter bodies and are offered with MFT lenses.