Panasonic Updates Firmware of DMC-LX3 for Further Improvement in Functions and Performance

A new firmware update is released for Panasonic’s premium manual compact camera DMC-LX3. Firmware version 2.1* supports several new functions and improves various performances to elevate shooting convenience and fun. The firmware also rectifies several minor issues to enhance operation.

The adoption of new algorithm makes it possible to speed up the AF time by reducing it approx.20% to 0.50 sec at wide-end. Now the 1:1 aspect ratio recording mode is added as a shooting option in addition to the conventional 4:3, 3:2 and 16:9. The white balance bracket shot is available. The new scene mode High Dynamic is newly incorporated in the scene mode, which helps to capture a scene with moderate exposure even though the scene contains both bright and dark area together. You can select either of 3 options, Standard, Art, or B/W, depending on the desired effect and personal taste to make the photo look natural to artistic. The white balance adjustment performance is greatly improved especially under fluorescent lights, daytime sunlight and low light.

As well as those mentioned above, the new firmware incorporates attractive advancements for enthusiastic photographers. The exposure compensation range as well as its bracket setting is widened. The fixed composition guidelines are now movable to the intended position with the control of cursor or joystick for free framing. Over exposure part of the picture is shown not only in the preview but also in the...

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Panasonic's development of the four-thirds sensor format (17x13mm approx.) continues apace with the DMC -G1 and its HD video endowed sibling, the GH1. Both cameras are fitted with the latest LIVEMos sensor developed by Panasonic in partnership with Olympus Optical Co Ltd.


1. The new Olympus Micro Four Thirds camera E-P1. The company promises further developments for this format and one can hope there might be an all black version, preferably in Urushi lacquer.

Thus far, products from both companies deliver an extraordinary level of equipment and image sophistication for their sensor size, although it is apparent that both also arrive at visibly different levels of image aesthetic and technical quality.


2. This was made on the Panasonic G1 at approximately four times life size using an old Visoflex mirror box, a set of M bellows and the lens head from of an Elmarit f/2.8 90mm (first launched in 1959.). The image is exceptionally micro-detailed and sharp right in the centre of the full size image.

I have limited experience of exploring files from Olympus kit. It includes hands-on an OM e400 and subsequent screen use and printing from that model; handling and inspection of large scale prints (A2) out of an e3 and whenever possible, assessing mechanical print reproduction of OM digital files from the earliest days of the e10 through...

THE BEAUTY OF BIC

The best thing about the ubiquitous biro is its simplicity.

In France, Bic is the generic name of all such writing instruments. Flip the cap off a slender yellow plastic stalk and apply to paper. Usually, it works.

In 1959, the Olympus Optical Co Ltd., launched the Pen camera; a product designed for writing with light conceived around the principle of functional simplicity in a compact but elegant package. It worked and the company made and sold hundreds of thousands of the many different models of the Pen and Pen F half frame cameras produced over the next 20 odd years.

But half frame was nothing new. Other companies, in an effort to woo more customers to the miniature 35mm film format by marketing the advantage of economy to be gained from obtaining 72 frames from a single cassette instead of the normal 36, had launched similar products. Mostly, until Olympus launched the Pen series, half frame models were built around regular full frame cameras with the film gate and viewfinder masked off to the appropriate 18X24mm format.

Two factors point to reasons why the Pen series were so successful; the cameras were simple to operate and the D type Zuiko lenses were specially designed for the task of maximising image quality from such a small area of film.

Olympus had developed new D type objectives for its earlier medium format cameras and it continued to refine...

POTATOES, LAMPBLACK AND TWO TAXI - CABS.

I had hoped to come back to this subject long before now, but other projects and a slow down on the technology front connived to postpone attempts to tackle any remaining issues.

To sum up briefly, it is reasonably clear from reproductions seen in mechanical print to date that derivatives of the compact digital camera models discussed previously, i.e. Ricoh GRII, GX200 and Panasonic LX3 (aka Leica D-Lux 4) are all capable of producing excellent image file quality for repro to a moderate size.

In particular, the LX3 with built in firmware for the correction of lens distortion, chromatic and spherical aberration, does an excellent job, only let down by comparison with the other two, by its weaker ergonomic features. In that department, both Ricoh cameras stand head and shoulders above the rest as well as, the Sigma DP1 which I will come to shortly.

REPRO QUALITY

I have mentioned in a previous post that when my own history of reproductions is analysed, by far the highest number appear on the page at up to half page size - roughly A5 or, as is often the case these days, a lot smaller. The reasons for this are numerous but a general observation often points toward the page layout person having to grapple with the compromise of balancing headlines, standfirsts and text on the page. The latter has to go in, a picture doesn't and if...

span style="font-weight: bold;"/spanspan style="font-size:85%;"span style="font-style: italic;"Press release: Panasonic/span/spanbr / br /span style="font-weight: bold;"Panasonic is pleased to announce two new mount adaptors, the M Mount Adaptor DMW-MA2M and R Mount Adaptor DMW-MA3R, to further enhance the photographic experience with cameras from the Lumix G Micro System. /spanbr /br /The M Mount Adaptor and R Mount Adaptor are developed under support of Leica Camera AG, making it possible to attach a href="http://leicalenses.ajaxnetphoto.com/leica-m/"Leica M lenses/a (DMW-MA2M) or R lenses (DMW-MA3R) on DMC-G1 and DMC-GH1. Users can enjoy outstanding image rendering offered by the combination of high quality Leica lenses and Lumix G cameras that are full of Panasonic's cutting edge digital technologies. These adaptors also allow users to use the movable MF assist function, which enlarges the selected area when focusing manually.br /br /The compatibility information of Leica M/R lenses are on a href="http://panasonic.jp/support/global/cs/dsc/"http://panasonic.jp/support/global/cs/dsc//abr /br /span style="font-size:85%;"br /span style="font-style: italic;"Visitors, users and viewers of the foregoing content may copy and re-use it in other internet content sites on condition the source of all material so used is acknowledged with the attachment of the following.br /a href="http://www.ajaxnetphoto.blogspot.com/"www.ajaxnetphoto.blogspot.com/a 2009.br /a href="http://www.ajaxnetphoto.com/"www.ajaxnetphoto.com/a 2009.br /This content may NOT be used in any media made available for commercial resale.br /The products and companies named in this website content are trademarks , registered trademarks or servicemarks of their respective owners or licensed user./span/spandiv class="blogger-post-footer"img width='1' height='1' src='https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/tracker/22300009-2951522062551926177?l=ajaxnetphoto.blogspot.com'//div

Here’s what’s really been hot this year as far as digital cameras and photography books go. We start with DSLRs... Popular Digital SLRS Canon EOS 50D 15.1MP Digital SLR (pictured right) Nikon D90 DX 12.3MP Digital SLR Canon EOS 5D 12.8 MP Digital SLR Nikon D60 10.2MP Digital SLR Canon Digital Rebel XSi 12.2 MP Digital SLR Olympus Evolt E510 10MP Nikon D80 10.2MP Digital SLR Canon Digital Rebel XT 8MP Digital SLR Pentax K200D 10.2MP Digital SLR Nikon...

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bybr /span style="font-weight: bold;"Jonathan Eastland/spanbr /br /Photokina 2008 is almost upon us once more and there is much talk in the wings of how silly some manufacturers who have invested heavily in recent times into the production of special glass for the smaller APS-C type sensors are beginning to look now that a href="http://nikoncameras.ajaxnetphoto.com/"Nikon/a is ramping up its full frame programme.br /br /It hardly seems likely a company like Nikon is about to dump its DX line and focus all attention on FX. Enthusiasts and many pros are more than satisfied with the image quality the smaller sensor delivers and many also prefer the slightly less bulky hardware designs of the DX systems. With new models for this format being introduced now (D90), the speculative scenario seems way off track.br /br /What I find more curious is the recent announcement from a href="http://olympus.ajaxnetphoto.com/"Olympus/a and a href="http://lumixcameras.ajaxnetphoto.com/"Panasonic/a concerning their micro-four thirds system aimed, it seems, squarely at capturing a segment of the market that does not want to be encumbered by hardware that will not fit into a handbag. The companies involved are going down this road because they can and no doubt the tactic will, in the short to medium term, jack up additional and much needed sales.br /br /In the past, I have been sorely tempted on occasion by the innovative design of Panasonic's L1 camera (aka Leica Digilux 3) and although in the several tests I made of both models the 25mm f/1.4 Leica designed lens used produced...