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Panasonic announces new Lumix GM5 mirrorless camera and a new premium compact camera, the Lumix DMC-LX100

By Marcus Wong - on 16 Sep 2014, 8:28am

Panasonic announces new Lumix GM5 mirrorless camera and a new premium compact camera, the Lumix DMC-LX100

Lumix DMC-GM5

The new Lumix DMC-GM5 is Panasonic’s latest Digital Single Lens Mirrorless (DSLM) GM camera, and features a sleek magnesium alloy body with a 1,166K-dot equivalent LVF (Live View Finder) with approximately 0.46x magnification (35mm sensor equivalent) and a 100% field of view. As with the DMC-GX7, the LVF boasts approximately 100% color reproduction, ensuring that what you see in the viewfinder is exactly what you get.

Thanks to its 16 megapixel Digital Live MOS sensor and Venus Engine, the DMC-GM5 produces sharp images even in poorly lit situations. The camera goes up to a max ISO sensitivity of 25,600, while the Contrast Detect Autofocus system now has new AF functions like Face/Eye Detection AF, Low Light AF, Pinpoint AF, and One –shot AF. A touch-control integrated into the 3-inch 921K-dot high-resolution monitor allows you to set focus and also release the shutter by touch, and both full-time and tracking autofocus modes are available for video recording too.

The DMC-GM5 features a 3-inch 921K-dot high-resolution monitor in the rear.

The DMC-GM5 does full HD 1920 x 1080, 60p (60 Hz) / 50p (50 Hz) high quality video recording in AVCHD progressive and MP4 with stereo sound, and 24p cinema-like video at a max bit rate of 24Mbps in all modes. Meanwhile, a new recording mode called “Snap Movie Mode” where short intervals of movies are recorded (in 2/4/6/8 secs intervals) to be merged with fade effects and music using the Panasonic Image App. New filter effects have been added to Creative Control mode, bringing the total number up to 22, amongst which Time (long exposure) photography is notable in letting photographers set exposure time up to a max of 60 seconds.

A fast 1/16000 shutter allows for greater action-stopping capabilities, and Wi-Fi connectivity allows you to control the camera via your smart device. Send images from your camera straight to your desktop via your home router, or send them to your smart device for immediate viewing.

The DMC-GM5 ships with an external flash unit.

To round off the package, the DMC-GM5 ships with an external flash unit (GN7/ISO100・m, GN10/ ISO200・m) that goes on the newly added hotshoe.

The DMC-GM5 comes in premium synthetic leather in black/red/green and will be available in Q4 of this year, but pricing has yet to be announced.

All three colors for the DMC-GM5.

DMC-LX100

Classic black or classy silver?

Meanwhile, the DMC-LX100 is premium compact camera that features a 12.8 megapixel Four-Thirds sensor with 4K video recording capabilities and a new f/1.7-2.8 Leica DC Vario-Summilux Lens for the ultimate in image quality from a compact camera.

Touted as being more than just a successor to the DMC-LX7, the DMC-LX100 features superior high ISO performance, thanks to its larger sensor and the multiple noise reduction systems employed by the Venus Engine, which now comes with a quad-core processor to enable the high-speed processing required for capturing 4K video. Thanks to the advanced Multi-process NR (Noise reduction) function and the Random Filter function, chromatic noise is blended into the image more naturally, allowing for pleasing images all the way up to ISO 25600 (extended). Also, the metering zone for white balance has been increased by 12 times, allowing for more precise white balance adjustments.

The Leica DC Vario-Summilux Lens has a 35mm equivalent range of 24-75mm, making the DMC-LX100 perfect for daily walkabout shooting. The 9 aperture diaphragm design makes for beautiful smooth, round bokeh, and the multi-aspect sensor allows you to capture landscapes at 24mm in 4:3, 3:2, or 16:9 format. Comprising of 11 elements in 8 groups, with 2 ED lenses and 5 aspherical lenses with 8 aspherical surfaces, the lens unit is optimized for the Four-Thirds sensor, and will do macro with a minimum focusing distance of 3cm on the wide end.

The LCD monitor comes with an AR Coating to minimize reflections for easier viewing.

Plenty of dedicated controls for a compact camera.

The bright LVF (Live View Finder) boasts 2764K-dot resolution and approximately 100% color reproduction in a 16:9 Wide Screen format, and unlike most compact cameras out there, a bevy of dedicated control rings and dials make for intuitive, direct control. An eye sensor automatically activates Eye Sensor AF when you look into the LVF and you now have the option of setting the degree of sensitivity of the sensor (high,low and off) to prevent it from activating accidentally in use. If you prefer the LCD, the DMC-LX100's 3.0-inch 921k-dot LCD monitor comes with an AR Coating that minimizes reflections, making it easier to view outdoors.

The DMC-LX100 is capable of capturing 4K video (3840x2160 QFHD) at 30fps (NTSC)/ 25 fps (PAL) in MP4 format in up to 29min and 59sec clips, and has a 4K photo mode that allows you to cut a frame out of a 4K sequence for use later, giving you the equivalent of a 3840x2160, 8 megapixel JPEG. Full-HD 1920x1080 recording is supported at 60p and 50p in both AVCHD Progressive (MPEG-4/H.264 format) and MP4, and the camera supports Dolby Digital sound, thanks to a stereo zoom microphone that comes with Auto Wind Cut function and a zoom noise reduction system.

A look at the bundled flash unit.

Finally, Light Speed AF with DFD (Depth From Defocus) technology is used in the DMC-LX100, allowing it to achieve focus in approximately 0.09 secs at the wide end, and 0.17 secs at the tele-end. Burst shooting is increased compared to the DMC-FZ200, as the DMC-LX100 goes up to 12fps.Meanwhile, a total of 22 filter options have been included under the Creative Control filter, and there's also a Creative Panorama function which lets you shoot either a horizontal or a vertical panoramic image and apply one of 18 filter effects to it. Wireless connectivity is supported, so you can use the Panasonic Image App for remote shooting, and the camera comes with an external flash unit (rated to GN6) bundled.

As above, pricing has yet to be announced, but it will be available by Q4 this year, and we'll be sure to update you once we get the pricing information.

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