Panasonic equips high-end Lumix LX7 camera with bright lens

By admin On Jul 18, 2012

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Panasonic has introduced four Lumix cameras. The Lumix LX7 has a bright lens and aperture ring, while the grip of the Lumix G5-m4/3 camera has mainly been changed. The Lumix FZ200 bridge camera has also been announced.

Like the recently announced Samsung EX2 camera, the new Lumix LX7 has a very bright zoom lens with a maximum aperture of f/1.4 in the wide-angle position. After zooming in completely, f/2.3 remains. With an equivalent of 24-90mm, the zoom range is the same as that of its predecessor.

Like the Fujifilm FinePix X100 camera, the Lumix LX7 has an aperture ring around the lens, a built-in nd filter and the video resolution has been increased from 720/30p on the Lumix LX5 to 1080/50p on the new model. The Lumix LX7 now uses a so-called ‘high sensitivity’ MOS sensor instead of a CCD. Also, the Lumix LX7 can now record sound in stereo. The LX7 has a suggested retail price of 499 euros.

In addition, at the press conference in Budapest, Panasonic introduced the Lumix G5-m4/3 camera. This successor to the Lumix G3 has a modified grip, which is more like the grip of a dslr. Panasonic claims that the ‘Live MOS’ image sensor with 16.05 megapixels is a new, more light-sensitive design, which, in combination with the Venus Engine VII FHD image processor, can be used to set the ISO value up to 12,800. The sensor of the Lumix G5 has an electronic shutter, so that printing can be done without making any noise.

With the camera it is possible, among other things, to select the af-point in the electronic viewfinder using the touchscreen, which can also be rotated just like with the Lumix G3. Panasonic has also equipped the camera with a so-called Function Lever just behind the shutter button, which can be used to zoom in if a lens with ‘Powered Zoom’ is attached. The image can also be enlarged with this in the playback mode. The camera will be available in different versions for prices ranging from 649 to 899 euros.

In addition, Panasonic announced a new m4/3 lens. The Lumix G Vario 45-150mm is a compact telephoto zoom lens with a metal housing. The lens is equipped with image stabilization and has a brightness of f/4 for the wide-angle position, increasing to f/5.6 in the telephoto range. The lens is made up of 12 lens elements, two of which are aspherically ground and a uhr lens element, divided over 9 lens groups. The shortest focusing distance is 90cm and the lens has seven diaphragm blades.

With the new 45-150mm lens, Panasonic now has three lenses with a similar range in its range. At 73mm in length and 62mm in diameter, the new lens is nearly two centimeters shorter than the current 45-175mm X lens and both shorter and thinner than the 45-200mm lens that has been used since the m4/3’s inception. system is available. Panasonic ranks the new lens in the list of the 12-35mm f/2.8 and 35-100mm f/2.8 lenses.

The new Lumix FZ200 is the successor of the FZ150. The 24x zoom range has not been increased compared to its predecessor, but Panasonic has mainly improved the brightness of the lens. With the Lumix FZ200, this is f/2.8 over the entire zoom range, while with its predecessor this varied from f/2.8 in wide-angle mode to f/5.2 zoomed in.

A major improvement is the electronic viewfinder. Instead of the 201k sub-pixels of the FZ150, the FZ200 has one with 1440k sub-pixels. Furthermore, Panasonic claims to have renewed the image sensor. Like the FZ150, it has 12.1 megapixels, but the ISO ceiling has been raised from 3200 to 6400. The suggested retail price is 599 euros.