Hasta La Gadget!

Look, the Olympus PEN E-PL3 is cute. Adorable, even. In fact, those swayed by looks alone may be sold after whisking through our hands-on gallery below. But for those interested in more than a highly-capable fashion accessory, it’s worth taking a deeper look into the latest member of the PEN Lite family. We’d strongly recommend reading over our PEN E-P3 review before continuing on, as a lot of what we found true there also applies here. ‘Course, that’s not at all unexpected given the wealth of shared resources: a new 12.3-megapixel Live MOS Image Sensor, TruePic VI Image Processor, an ISO range peaking at 12,800, a reengineered autofocus system, full 1080i HD video with Dolby Digital sound recording, newly designed user interfaces and a variety of Art Filters / built-in creative features. Now that you’re in the know, let’s continue.

Continue reading Olympus PEN E-PL3 Micro Four Thirds camera review

Olympus PEN E-PL3 Micro Four Thirds camera review originally appeared on Engadget on Mon, 29 Aug 2011 18:00:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Permalink   |   | Email this | Comments

We know some of you have been a little disappointed in Panasonic’s GF line of Micro Four Thirds cams as they’ve shed advanced features and become more “consumer friendly” — terrifying words for any serious user to hear. But, we’ve got some good news, at some point in the future the GF line will split with a more professionally-minded model sold alongside the more simplistic GF3. That’s straight from the mouth of Ichiro Kitao, the head of Panasonic’s camera division, who spoke to PhotoRadar about the company’s plans. When the GF1 will finally get a spiritual successor isn’t exactly clear, but we’re glad to hear the pocketable Micro Four Thirds series will finally get another serious shooter.

Panasonic plans to expand GF line, return to serious shooter roots originally appeared on Engadget on Mon, 13 Jun 2011 20:33:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Permalink Electronista  |  PhotoRadar  | Email this | Comments

Photokina 2010 was the launching pad for a relatively new class of point-and-shoot, and Fujifilm’s FinePix X100 was just one of the many high-end, zoomless compacts designed to put DSLR-level image quality into your right (or left, for southpaws) rear pocket. Of course, the compromise is the inability to swap lenses and the omission of an optical zoom, but evidently the market research has shown that there’s a market for this thing, yet. The X100 oozes beauty, but it most definitely comes at a cost — over $1,000 at last check. For those with plenty of disposable income and a hankering for anything new, we’re as curious as can be to hear how your experience with this guy has been. Have you been overly impressed with the design? Would you have tweaked the lens at all? Thrown together a less rigid chassis for the sake of weight / cost? Added an option for an interchangeable lens mount? Go on and get creative in comments below — you’ve earned it.

How would you change Fujifilm’s FinePix X100? originally appeared on Engadget on Sun, 05 Jun 2011 23:00:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Permalink   |   | Email this | Comments

Sigma knows that $9,700 is a lot of money to pay for, well, anything, so it’s couching the hefty price tag on its new flagship DSLR, the SD1, in the context of it competing against medium format digital cameras — whose prices don’t generally fall below five figures. Trouble is, as professionally inclined, well designed, and durably built as the SD1 may be, it still only packs a 15.3 megapixel CMOS sensor that spans 24mm x 16mm (or APS-C size). That means it’ll have to earn its stripes on the battlefield of image quality, which it’ll be ready to march onto in less than a month’s time. Sigma promises to start shipping units in early June, so if you have the cash to spare (plus a little extra to fund a suitably awesome lens), you can start building up your anticipation today. Full PR and camera specs can be found after the break.

Continue reading Sigma SD1 starts shipping in June for $9,700, has its sights set on medium format lovers

Sigma SD1 starts shipping in June for $9,700, has its sights set on medium format lovers originally appeared on Engadget on Fri, 20 May 2011 09:05:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Permalink   |  Sigma  | Email this | Comments

Panasonic is rumored to be launching the Lumix DMC-G3 tomorrow, the update to its Micro Four Thirds G2. According to 43 Rumors, the new cam will be 25 percent smaller than its predecessor, and will include a 15.8 megapixel sensor and a 3-inch articulating LCD. Overall, the camera appears to have a very similar form factor to the G2, but scraps the left dial, presumably shifting those controls to the touch-enabled display. The site lists the launch rumor at its highest accuracy level (think DHS threat levels, but for camera rumors), so they’re pretty sure we’ll have all the details come tomorrow morning.

Panasonic Lumix DMC-G3 leaked, expected to launch tomorrow originally appeared on Engadget on Wed, 11 May 2011 15:41:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Permalink   |  43 Rumors  | Email this | Comments