Canon 5D MkIII Available for Pre-Order at Adorama!

The Canon Mk III, announced yesterday, is already available for pre-order for $3499 from Adorama.  Expected delivery is March 30th.  Replacing the full-frame 5D MkII, the Mk III responds to the Nikon D800 with many of the features that Canon hybrid still/video shooters have been clamoring for.

On the plus side, Canon seems to have:

• Dealt with their moire problem by eliminating line skipping with the powerful new Digic 5+ processor,

• Upped the ridiculous 12 minute continuous video recording time limit to 29 minutes,

• Included a headphone jack and full manual audio gain control - and the sample videos from Canon look pretty good (here, here and here)...

But on the minus side:

• It still has a fixed LCD, so you'll need to buy a loupe to shoot outdoors

• It has no EVF (because of the antiquated DSLR mirror box), so you'll need a monitor for high/low/around the corner shooting angles

• And it is not clear to me that it has the ability to autofocus in video mode - although Canon's forthcoming silent autofocus lenses indicate that it will.

I plan to rent this camera for a side-by-side with the $900 Panasonic GH2 as soon as it becomes available.  Stay tuned - I'll let you know how it goes!

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CNET "First Look" at Olympus OM-D EM-5

Good looking camera.  Pre-production model, so displays are off and no sample images.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ydznRIa7fbw

NOTE: CNET removed this video after I posted it. I guess they jumped the gun on the official announcement - doh!. I will repost it here as soon as they put it back up.

NOTE 2: It has not gone back up on YouTube, but here it is on CNET TV.

Sadly, looking at the specs on CNET (which is always dangerous), the camera seems to be limited to a single interlaced frame rate - 1080/60i. No 24p, no 30p - and certainly no 60p. They didn't even bother to put in a fake progressive frame rate with a pull down removal.

Without even getting into the question of the codec (QT vs AVCHD), I'd say that the OM-D is a video "fail".

Makes me wonder whether Olympus has some sort of "non-compete" agreement with Panasonic for video.

Looks like the GH3 watch will have to continue!

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Panasonic TM900 - First Impressions

As I've written in earlier posts, I've been looking at camcorders to complement the high quality shallow depth of field video capabilities of the GH2 for "run & gun" quick reaction shooting.  I wanted:

• bulletproof autofocus,
• 1080 24p and 60p,
• manual audio gain,
• mic and headphone jacks,
• 180 degree (forward facing) flip-out LCD,
• power zoom and
• high quality stills.

As the only large sensor, interchangeable lens 24p hybrid still/video camcorder, I thought the Sony NEX-VG20 might fit the bill - but after renting it, I concluded that I didn't want to pay a thousand dollars extra for what was essentially an NEX-5N in a camcorder form-factor.  And it didn't have a power zoom.

My wife's Panasonic FZ150 does almost everything I wanted a camcorder to do, and I really like the quality of its images, but it didn't have a headphone jack, manual audio gain or 24p - so I started looking for a standard small sensor camcorder that did.

I wasn't locked in to Panasonic, but, once again, a Panasonic camera was close to being the best in its category, met all of my requirements - and cost a lot less than the VG20.

Here are a couple of pictures of my new (refurbished) TM900 with the Azden SMX10 Stereo Mic (used with the GH2 before I went wireless), 46mm-58mm step-up ring, UV filter from an inexpensive 58mm 3-filter set, and Mennon DV-s 58mm lens hood that I already had.  12.1MP JPEGs taken with the FZ150:

And here is a 14.2 MP JPEG of the FZ150 taken with the TM900:

First impressions?  The camera produces great stills and video - like most other Panasonic hybrid cameras.  One challenge that I consider major (others may not) -- the still flash is inside the lens ring and creates blinding glare when there is a filter on the lens.  I had to remove my UV filter to take the picture above. Horrible design decision.  And a minor challenge -- the TM900 is my only Panasonic hybrid without the ability to shoot RAW.  But these are minor nits, given the overall performance of the camera.

I will compare video from the TM900 with the FZ150 in a future post.

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Panasonic DMC-FZ150 -- a GH2 "mini-me"?

My wife wanted something lightweight to replace her old 6MP Nikon D50, and she wanted to start recording video of our 5 year old son, so I got her a Panasonic FZ150 superzoom.

She has been an avid SLR/DSLR photographer for years, but never swaps lenses and uses full auto mode close to 100% of the time.  The FZ150 seems to be perfect for her needs.  The problem is, I just tried it out, and I'm shooting better pictures with it than with my fancy GHs and telephoto lenses - with a lot higher percentage of usable shots.

A few examples:

FZ150 and GH2 - taken with GH1/Nikon lens

FZ150 and GH2 - taken with GH1/Nikon lens

FZ150 and GH2 - taken with GH1/Nikon lens

Taken with GH2/Tamron lens at 300mm (ETC)

Taken with GH2/Tamron lens at 300mm (ETC)

GH cameras - taken with FZ150

GH cameras - taken with FZ150

GH cameras - taken with FZ150

Taken with FZ150

Taken with FZ150

Taken with FZ150

The light was better for the FZ150 shots, but the real story is how easy they were to take, and that every shot was in focus and perfectly exposed.  Too bad my wife is taking it on a trip in a few days. I'd like to take it out for a few more "tests" ;-)

Well worth it for $430 at Amazon as of 12/30/11.

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Mr. Bloom shoots side-by-side of hacked GH2 & $20K+ camcorders

Part one of the resulting video is here (resolution test):

He is still working on part two (a low light test).

Not to give anything away, but the GH2 with the Driftwood hack really runs with the big dogs.

I have not hacked either my GH1 or my GH2 (to be honest, I have been a little afraid of bricking them).  But the GH2 hack has now been around long enough, and there are enough stable versions, that I don't think even I can screw it up. I'll let you know how it goes :-)

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Sony NEX-VG20 and Panasonic DMC-GH2: Side-by-side Comparison

Finally!  Here is the hands-on with the VG20 that I've promised for two weeks.  Bottom line:  The GH2 is a great camera, but I liked the VG20 - a lot.  Yes, it lacks manual color, contrast and sharpness adjustments, but it has  a built-in headphone jack and full manual audio control, it is better than the unhacked GH2 in low light and the factory-set color profile is just fine.

The GH2 does handle moire better -- but just barely. You will see moire from both cameras on the venetian blinds in the final shots -- the VG20 has it on both blinds, the GH2 has it on one.

The only thing that keeps me from buying the Sony right now is the price. The body-only price twice as high as a GH2 with a kit lens (and higher than the A77 or the NEX7).  I think I'll wait until the price comes down (unless the GH3 turns out to be better ;-)).

I apologize for the focus and audio challenges, but I hope you find the comparison useful nevertheless

If you like the video, and it helps you decide to buy the VG20 and/or the GH2, please support this blog and future hands-on reviews by buying your camera(s), lenses and accessories through these links: Adorama, Amazon, Crutchfield, OneCall, and Unique Photo .  Thanks!

Sony NEX-VG20 and Panasonic DMC-GH2: Side-by-side Comparison from Bill Bruner on Vimeo.

Beaten to the punch! Canadian retailer posts first English language VG20 hands-on *w sample footage*!

The Camera Store in Calgary, Alberta, Canada beat me to it!

I don't really mind - they're great folks, I bought my GH2 from them last year, when I couldn't find one here in the States.

Chris from The Camera Store seems to have reached the same conclusion that I did about the camera - it produces great audio and video - but is missing a few basic manual image controls and options.

I will post my long-promised VG20 video samples soon, I promise!

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