New Cameras & Lenses by Panasonic & Olympus are announced a day ahead of Photokina. The Micro Four Thirds (MFT) world is on fire this morning with the announcement and pricing of some fabulous new products. My favorite website, 43 Rumors, is showing the the brand new Lumix GM5 and Lumix LX10o by Panasonic and the new Olympus 40-150mm F/2.8. There is so much interest in these news products the 43 Rumors site is sometimes not loading. Just hit your refresh button if it doesn’t pop up. Follow the link above to our friends at Hunt’s Photo & Video for preorder of the new gear listed in this post.
The new Panasonic Lumix LX100
The fact that you can barely get on the 43 Rumors site says it all. Photographers are excited about where the mirrorless industry and MFT in particular are headed. I hear it on every Invitational Photo Tour we take; the average photo enthusiast is absolutely fed up with carrying the huge glass and heavy full frame bodies we’ve all been happy to accept from Nikon and Canon. We all want lighter, faster, better, cheaper, and Panasonic and Olympus are making that happen.
The new Lumix LX100 is a gorgeous new all-in-one compact. It has a non-interchangeable lens of 24-75mm 1.7-2.8. That’s fast for a non-interchangeable lens. The sensor is 17 megapixels Micro Four Thirds which is huge compared to the typical all-in-one non-interchangeable lens camera. Bigger sensor equals better quality image in low light situations. It’s just under one pound at 14 ounces, so it’s not super small but with its fast lens it offers a great deal in such a tiny package.This is going to be a great camera for shooting photos of our Explorers in the field.
The new Lumix GM5 comes in different colors.
Smaller yet is the new Lumix GM5 at just under eight ounces. This camera gives you the ability to swap lenses and it replaces the GM1. The GM5 improves on the GM1 by adding a built-in viewfinder (EVF) which will be nice for those times the sun is too bright to see the rear LCD. The downside to adding the EVF is Panasonic had to remove the built-in flash to incorporate the built-in viewfinder. I use fill flash constantly for people pictures, so the built-in flash is something I will miss a great deal. Oh well, there are no free lunches. The GM5 has a 16 megapixel MFT sensor. Its controls have been dramatically updated making it easier to make changes and customize the camera.
A comparison shot of the new, very small Lumix 35-100mm F/4-5.6 lens with the original 35-100mm F/2.8 lens that’s been around for awhile. The older 35-100mm is a professional quality optic and much faster, thus the reason for it being considerably larger. Photo courtesy Photographyblog.com
For the GM5, Lumix has released a new 35-100mm F/4.0-5.6 lens. Remember you have to multiply all MFT lenses X2 so this lens is the equivalent to a 70-200mm full frame lens. Nice range in a super small package.
The new silver version of the Olympus E-M1 camera with the even newer 40-150mm F/2.8 Zoom. What a gorgeous looking lens.
Finally there is the new Olympus 40-150mm F/2.8 zoom for their MFT cameras. You can actually use this lens on the Panasonic Lumix MFT cameras as well but it doesn’t have built-in stabilization (IS), so it’s not a great option for Lumix shooters. If there was IS in this lens I would buy one in a heartbeat. I’m hopeful this lens will be as popular as I think it should be. The Micro Four Thirds world needs fast, professional lenses like this new 40-150 and if it’s popular it may encourage Panasonic to upgrade their 100-300mm F/4-5.6 zoom I’ve been whining about for so long.
Anybody planning to buy any of these new tools? Let me know what you think about this impressive new equipment.