Q&A with Panasonic over the G1
We had the opportunity to ask Panasonic a few questions about the new G1, to give out all the info possible, as well as to help clear up some misunderstandings. Nearly every question here has come from the forum -
tspore: With the lack of Leica on the lenses, fuels the belief that Leica and Panasonic have had a break in partnership over the last 6 months or so. IS that true and/or why are the new lenses missing the Leica badge?
Panasonic: Not at all. We are continuing our very fruitful relationship with Leica. Leica lenses for the Micro Four Thirds standard will be coming in the future. The reason for using LUMIX G lenses is because the G concept targets a very wide range of users, particularly the entry level users.
tspore: The new 14-140 is labeled HD what does that signify?
Panasonic: The new lens will be for our HD Movie lineup for the G Micro System which we will launch in 2009. Formal announcement coming soon. Stay tuned.
tspore: The new G1 - has the Mirror hump of a traditional SLR, any reason to keep that on the camera?
Panasonic: Not sure what you mean by mirror hump, but if you mean the mount and the flange back - those are necessary for any camera to have interchangeable lens.
-Note: they misunderstood the question. So I dropped it.
tspore: By far the G1 is much smaller than the L-10, but some users are commenting that it isn't smaller than the E-420, doesn't this remove the apparent benefits of Micro 4/3 ?
Panasonic: First thing, this camera features a free angle LCD, and another reason is because we wanted to ensure that the camera can still be easily handled by anyone, even people with large hands.
I am sure you will find the grip to be substantial enough for single handed operations with ease on this new camera.
The lenses will be smaller despite of a performance gain for contrast AF.
An even smaller alternative to the G series would be our LX3 which we just announced this fall.
tspore: Any word on why movie mode isn't part of this camera?
Panasonic: We wanted to make sure the performance on our movie mode for the G series would work like a true camcorder when we launch it. Which is why we will announce the World's first AF-enabled interchangeable lens camera next year.
tspore: Any word on when the G-1 will be available?
Panasonic: In the United States, mid-November.
tspore:Any hint on the pricing of the G1? Will it be cheaper or more expensive than the E-420 kit?
Panasonic: We will be announcing pricing in early October.
-Note: though it was reported elsewhere that USA pricing would be at $800.
tspore: Why is their a movement towards 12MP? Wont that lead to more noise, less dynamic range, and a much lower defracation limit than the 10MP sensor?
Panasonic: Theoretically yes. But the new Live MOS sensor developed by Panasonic has a larger photodiode per cell, therefore giving wider dynamic range and resulting in less noise in comparison with a 12MP sensor with the original cell:photodiode size ratio.
tspore: Do you believe that the Electrical Viewfinder will be able to replace the Optical viewfinder in quality, size and response times.
Panasonic: Of course, not likely in response time, because the OVF works as fast light travels. However, with our 60fps Live View, we are definitely coming close to it. Frankly speaking, it is very difficult for the average human to react faster than the response speed of our Live View finder.
Size-wise, we can make the EVF as big as we like, but we chose 1.4x (*0.7x in 35mm) because that it the optimal size without having to actually look around to get a full view of the frame.
In terms of quality, the Live Viewfinder is of excellent quality. The high resolution, the bright view, the accurate color reproduction.
What's more is that you can now display much more on your viewfinder including moveable guidelines, histograms and etc.
tspore: With the L-10 it seemed that it never fully made it into the market. The camera stores that I frequent, didn't even carry the camera, some see this as a lack of commitment by Panasonic toward the 4/3 system. With the G1 will it be a easy camera to find and buy?
Panasonic: We are targeting national accounts to hold this camera.
Panasonic is very committed to ensure the success of our G Micro System.
tspore: What is the target audience for this camera?
Panasonic: First time users, reporters, existing Four Thirds users.
Basically anyone who wants to take high-quality pictures, therefore would like to carry a good camera around with them, but do not wish their bags/purses to weigh 20lbs.
tspore:If its towards drawing new users from the point and shoot market, do you think that all the modes will be to much for the average user?
Panasonic: The iA mode is there to help new users from the point and shoot market.
We also kept much of the menu interface similar to our point and shoots.
There are extra features that help the user to understand each mode, such as the shutter speed preview and aperture preview.
This is a camera in which the user can learn and build their digital photography skills.
tspore: Will Panasonic continue to manufacture the 4/3rds lenses it already makes (particularly the 25mm and the 14-150mm OIS lenses), or are these lenses going to become unavailable except on the used market?
Panasonic: We will continue to observe the market after the introduction of the G Micro System. In the mean time, 4/3rds lenses from Panasonic will continue.
tspore: There is a new flash (DMW-FL220) with a guide number of 22. What are the specs for this flash (i.e. does it tilt or swivel, what batteries does it use, does it support Olympus' wireless TTL flash mode, what is the recycle time)?
Panasonic: No tilt or swivel. No wireless TTL flash mode. AAA x2. More details will be announced later.
tspore: Does the DMG-G1 support the Olympus wireless TTL flash mode?
Panasonic: G1 doesn’t support the Olympus’s wireless TTL flash mode.
tspore: Given the camera does not have a traditional mirror/shutter, what is the practical flash sync speed for the camera (i.e. can we do 1/500 or 1/1000 and not have to use FP-TTL mode)? If the flash sync speed is still 1/160, why?
Panasonic: The sync speed is not limited by the mirror movement, but the curtain speed of focal plane shutter, which is limited up to 1/160 on the G1. Since for any higher shutter speed than 1/160, the 2nd curtain starts before the 1st curtain fully open-up, the flash light can not expose the full area of sensor at a time.
tspore: What are the other limitations in using traditional 4/3rds lenses that are alluded to in the pr materials besides not having auto focus?
Panasonic: Only on autofocus capability.
tspore: Why doesn't the 4/3rds adapter support the EC-14, EC-20, and EX-25?
Panasonic: As all compatibilities are under tests at our labs, allow us to come back to this issue later.
tspore: What is the retail strategy for the camera (i.e. is going to big box stores, or just high end camera stores)? Is Panasonic going to start actually trying to sell to the mass market, or will this remain a niche item?
Panasonic: Mass retailers and photo specialty.
tspore: It looks like the battery is a new battery, which will force uses to play hunt for the battery in the retail marketplace. Why can't manufacturers use common batteries?
Panasonic:The battery is a new battery with higher performance. We do not use AA batteries because its power will run out too fast.
tspore: One report listed the G1 as selling for around $750 in Japan. Given the Olympus E-420 + 14-42mm is selling for around $530, is the G1 over-priced and probably not sell well in the mass market?
Panasonic: It costs more, but according to our research, is still within the reach of our target market. Essentially its also a different product, and we intend to market it as a different product.
tspore: I saw earlier another prototype that had a 12 MP square sensor that allowed a choice of landscape or portrait mode by a switch, which allowed keeping the camera in landscape mode all the time.Will this camera have this feature, and does this method actually crop out the unused portions of the sensor depending on orientation and effectively still only get 10MP resolution in the image itself?
Panasonic: Landscape and Portrait photography can be changed via the mode dial.
Changing aspect ratios is another feature which can be done in the menus.
Doing so reduces the resolution if you go from 4:3 to 3:2 or 16:9.
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