Panasonic Panasonic GF3 and 25mm f/1.4 announced officially.

I was surprised about no viewfinder, too. The biggest drum roll is definitely that long awaited lens! Where the heck is Armando???!!!:D

I must have the 25 Lux!!! :D

As for the GF3 ... boohoo. Cute looking camera, but I can almost bet that the IQ won't be in the same league as the GH2. The EP2 is still a better looking camera.

Going back to the 25 Lux, it sure is very tempting. My only beef (other than the high price) is its overlapping use with the much cheaper 20/1.7 (if one can find it in the market). Is a lens that is conceivably 10% better worth 3x the price and 2.5x the size and weight?
 
I suspect Panasonic has done their homework and knows that they far more casual photographers out there than people like me that want to spin the dials. I just happen to be one of those that likes having full control and twisting dials. I have a GF1 and love it but the GF2 and now the GF3 do not interest me. At this point no other Panasonic holds my interest. So tough, they loose sale with me and pick up hundreds selling to others who want a good to point and shoot. I suspect the path they are going down will be economically very good for them.
 
Was it here or elsewhere that I read a post on gadgets vs cameras. The GF3 looks more gadget than camera. I agree with many others that the GF3 is not aimed at us. It is not really a serious compact.
 
Was it here or elsewhere that I read a post on gadgets vs cameras. The GF3 looks more gadget than camera. I agree with many others that the GF3 is not aimed at us. It is not really a serious compact.


It was my piece and it was about how in terms of camera design and functionality the direction that Panasonic in particular seem to be moving towards, is loosing me. In some ways todays announcements are a mixed message, with a serious and presumably top quality lens, and a camera obviously designed for a completely different market than that which the lens is intended for.

I did put in the original post of this thread the link about Panasonic saying that they are coming out with an "enthusiast" GF model and their next priority is the GH3. There were also noises about how important that section of the market is for them. So possibly reassuring then. But what if the GH3 follows the G3? More trimmed off the body, more touchscreen, more software control?

I'm having trouble with the electronics anyway, and the less time I have to look at a screen or an EVF the better, but thats not the same for everybody. I would however like to think that I would be using a m4/3 camera again. In order to avoid the eye problems I get from the flickering screens, I've started using a Nikon D5100. Many of the things that made the initial m4/3 cameras so attractive are filtering through there. Smaller, lighter, articulated screen are all present in the D5100. Its only just over 100 grams heavier than the GH2 and Nikons 35mm f/1.8 lens is only 5 grms heavier than the new 25mm f/1.4 announced today. Add in things like a solid "pro" body and top notch performance in a camera like the K-5, and imagine what Sony have planned for their A33/A55 series.

In a way all of this could be seen to be pushing Panasonic in one direction, which is smaller. How else do they be different from small DSLR's? I suspect that I'm not alone here in thinking that the GF1, E-P1/2 and X100 are pretty close to an ideal camera size and design. There is also a continuing demand, and I suspect there always will be, for viewfinders and more manual controls. Not for everyone, but given the choice there's a substantial proportion of the market that would opt for them. Again Panasonic are making encouraging noises about working to make their EVF's better, so they obviously haven't abandoned viewfinders.

Surely the market is diverse and large enough to keep companies like Panasonic interested in the "souped-up GF1" section of the market? A clumsy phrase but you probably get what I mean. It seems to be what many here are saying. Is it just a very small vocal minority, or is there a substantial number of people looking for that serious "serious compact"? My fear is that Panasonic think the former. I hope I'm wrong, as I for one thought they were on to a really good thing. It would be a shame if they disappeared into being just another company making lookalike plastic boxes with a screen and a big red button.

As a company that seems to me to get so many things right inside the camera, I hope Panasonic don't abandon whats on the outside and go for the gadget rather than the camera. Camera design hasn't really changed that much in a long, long time. I hope that they realise why.
 
It was my piece and it was about how in terms of camera design and functionality the direction that Panasonic in particular seem to be moving towards, is loosing me. In some ways todays announcements are a mixed message, with a serious and presumably top quality lens, and a camera obviously designed for a completely different market than that which the lens is intended for.

I did put in the original post of this thread the link about Panasonic saying that they are coming out with an "enthusiast" GF model and their next priority is the GH3. There were also noises about how important that section of the market is for them. So possibly reassuring then. But what if the GH3 follows the G3? More trimmed off the body, more touchscreen, more software control?

I'm having trouble with the electronics anyway, and the less time I have to look at a screen or an EVF the better, but thats not the same for everybody. I would however like to think that I would be using a m4/3 camera again. In order to avoid the eye problems I get from the flickering screens, I've started using a Nikon D5100. Many of the things that made the initial m4/3 cameras so attractive are filtering through there. Smaller, lighter, articulated screen are all present in the D5100. Its only just over 100 grams heavier than the GH2 and Nikons 35mm f/1.8 lens is only 5 grms heavier than the new 25mm f/1.4 announced today. Add in things like a solid "pro" body and top notch performance in a camera like the K-5, and imagine what Sony have planned for their A33/A55 series.

In a way all of this could be seen to be pushing Panasonic in one direction, which is smaller. How else do they be different from small DSLR's? I suspect that I'm not alone here in thinking that the GF1, E-P1/2 and X100 are pretty close to an ideal camera size and design. There is also a continuing demand, and I suspect there always will be, for viewfinders and more manual controls. Not for everyone, but given the choice there's a substantial proportion of the market that would opt for them. Again Panasonic are making encouraging noises about working to make their EVF's better, so they obviously haven't abandoned viewfinders.

Surely the market is diverse and large enough to keep companies like Panasonic interested in the "souped-up GF1" section of the market? A clumsy phrase but you probably get what I mean. It seems to be what many here are saying. Is it just a very small vocal minority, or is there a substantial number of people looking for that serious "serious compact"? My fear is that Panasonic think the former. I hope I'm wrong, as I for one thought they were on to a really good thing. It would be a shame if they disappeared into being just another company making lookalike plastic boxes with a screen and a big red button.

As a company that seems to me to get so many things right inside the camera, I hope Panasonic don't abandon whats on the outside and go for the gadget rather than the camera. Camera design hasn't really changed that much in a long, long time. I hope that they realise why.

I would find a renewed GF1 style very attractive.

My reading is that Panasonic were very deliberate in mentioning the enthusiast market. Their recent output of bodies has largely been aimed at up-graders, not so much at enthusiasts. If this is part of a a larger strategy, it could make significant sense. They need to attract and retain a larger pool of the market, a portion of which will upgrade, and if they have bought into and like Lumix, that is likely where they will stay. Panasonic also need to keep volumes high for sensors and processors. If they can establish a solid base, they can re-invest in the enthusiast market. This is a more demanding market, and innovations at this end filter back down the line.

With the GF3, G3 and GH2 they have a nice range for those who want small, interchangeable lens cameras. There is a hole there for the former GF1 crowd: on paper the G3 meets many of the demands, except for the cut in some of the direct controls. Their statement about future developments brings hope. The lens range brings hope too: let's face it, most P&S upgraders are likely to want a zoom, and to find primes frustrating. Panasonic (and Olympus) continue to deliver primes, which are for the more serious photographer. They would not do so without bodies to match. It seems Sony have the same thing in mind for both the A and Nex series.

Afterthought: if Panasonic wanted to build market interest (and cast a shadow over the competition) around a GF1 style camera, a marketing campaign that teased the way the one for the X100 did would work wonders.
 
With the economy it may be that Panasonic is focusing on cameras that will sell in large numbers. Then they eventually invest in the new "GF1". Although I thought the GF1 sold really well.
 
Thats what suprised me too. I believe was a very good seller and got almost unanimously good reveiews.
With the economy it may be that Panasonic is focusing on cameras that will sell in large numbers. Then they eventually invest in the new "GF1". Although I thought the GF1 sold really well.
 
I have to assume that the simultaneous launch of the lens and camera was coincidental given that they sit at the top and bottom of the range respectively. I think that both will sell well. The GF3 doesn't seem to be aimed at existing customers, but to attract new buyers at the lower end. At the listed price I wouldn't even consider the lens, but it has the right name to sell for that much.

Well, I'd like a smaller GF-series camera to haul around for every day. For example: I don't have a camera with me today. I know, I know! But that's the point: I probably would if it fit in the bag I had with me today, and I think the GF3 would.

I'd also like the lens. Mmmmm.
 
Over at mu-43 somebody found and posted this.
Very funny.

The Online Photographer: Panasonic GF Series to Continue to Get Smaller

Screen shot 2011-06-15 at 08.37.29.png


From the same piece:-
Featured Comment by Jim McDermott: "Stop knocking Panasonic and Sony. We all realize the benefits of the truly pocketable camera, or as Mike calls it, the DMD. That magical moment arrives, you plunge your hand into your pocket, whip out the DMD, pause only to blow off the tissue fluff, take a second look, blow off that last, stubborn bit of fluff, switch on the camera, deftly descend through three menus on the touch screen, set the action program, touch back to shoot mode, raise the camera at arm's length to peer into the rear screen (your only option), whack celebrity in face accidentally as you do so, get knocked to the ground by said celebrity's boyfriend, land heavily on DMD, make mental note as you lose consciousness to bring along Gandolfi next time."
 
:D Very entertaining! I was just thinking about my little tiny Olympus film camera. I can't remember the model right now but I still have it. It has that little sliding door that covers the lens and viewfinder. Now that was/is a great pocket camera - but it is film.

With regard to pocket lint, etc., I designate one pocket for either cell phone or a miraculously small camera (depends which pants I have on...) and the other to dog biscuits. I'd hate to try to blow off dog biscuit crumbs.;)
 
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