Tuesday, September 8, 2009

A New Leica, part 2


Panasonic has recently revealed the Lumix GF-1, which is pictured above. It's a camera in the same vein as the recently announced Olympus E-P1, which I discussed earlier this summer. Both of these cameras seem to be aimed at actual photographers, rather than P&S hobbiests. The lens paired with the GF-1 is a 20mm f/1.8 pancake lens, which will be equivalent to a 40mm semi-normal lens. The body and lens makes a compact set that won't be much bigger than most P&S cameras, but will provide much higher quality images. It has a 12.1 MP sensor and interchangeable lenses, and an enticing one for the near future is the 45mm f/2.8 Leica DG MACRO-ELMARIT with O.I.S. (Optical Image Stabilizer). The GF-1 and 20mm f/1.8 lens should sell for around $900.00, which isn't too bad for such a potentially high quality camera. Like the E-P1, this cameras looks to be one that will neatly fill the niche of the old Leica rangefinders, and should be near about perfect for photojournalists and street shooters. It certainly looks tempting.

Speaking of Leica, tomorrow they will announce several new cameras. Supposedly one of those will be the new M9 digital rangefinder camera. After the announcements, we'll post what they will have to offer.

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