Inspiring ways to improve your photos
Inspiring ways to improve your photos
Photo Review Reviews section
A long-zoom digicam with a slim, pocketable body and above-average imaging performance.Panasonic’s new 9.1-megapixel DMC-TZ15 digicam is the latest in its ‘Travellers’ Zoom’ series of cameras. Replacing the 7.2-megapixel TZ3, it introduces a swag of new features that will appeal to point-and-shoot photographers who want a slim camera with a long zoom lens. The TZ15’s body is marginally smaller and lighter than its predecessor but just as pocketable and equally well-built.
An ultra-compact HD camcorder for everyday snapshooters.Panasonic’s tiny HDC-SD9 camcorder represents the third generation of high-definition camcorders that record exclusively to an SD memory card. Designed for point-and-shoot video photographers, it is claimed as the world’s smallest and lightest Full-HD video camera. Featuring a 3CCD sensor system based on 1/6-inch (2.46 x 1.80 mm) CCDs, the SD9 also boasts a Leica Dicomar lens with 10x optical zoom.
A well-built Four Thirds system DSLR with a rangefinder camera control layout and dual-angle pop-up flash.Panasonic has described its new Lumix DMC-L1 as combining ‘analog operational concept and design’ and the new model looks and feels like a fusion of a rangefinder camera and the Olympus E-330 (on which much of the L1’s technology is based). With an RRP of $3,849, Panasonic is clearly capitalising on the prestige of the supplied Leica D Vario-Elmarit 14-50mm F2.8-3.5 lens and targeting Leica film camera users who have yet to move into digital capture.
An optically-stabilised extended-zoom lens for Micro Four Thirds System cameras.Initially the Lumix G Vario HD 14-140mm, f/4.0-5.8 ASPH./MEGA O.I.S. lens will be the main kit lens supplied with the GH1 body. However, it is also being sold as a stand-alone product, which is why we’ve reviewed it separately. Consisting of 17 elements in 13 groups, it includes four non-spherical elements and two ED (Extra-low dispersion) elements.
A lens with a peripherally distorted, ultra-wide angle of view for Micro Four Thirds System cameras.People are often intrigued by anything that changes the way they view subjects, which accounts for some of the popularity of fisheye lenses. Panasonic’s Lumix G Fisheye 8mm f/3.5 lens, which was announced in June, is the first (and, so far, only) fisheye lens for Micro Four Thirds System cameras. Offering a 180-degree diagonal field of view it provides a radically different perspective.
A fast, ultra-compact prime lens for Micro Four Thirds System cameras.Launched at the same time as the Lumix DMC-GF1 camera Panasonic’s Lumix G 20mm f/1.7 ASPH. lens will be offered with the camera body and makes an attractive kit option for serious photographers. Compact enough to make the GF1 a pocketable option, it also provides a fast f/1.7 maximum aperture that lets photographers shoot with a shallow depth-of-field.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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