You can use your lenses right now-- just get the Panasonic micro-4/3 to 4/3 adapter, and then one of the 4/3 to Nikon adapters.

Essentially, this camera can use any lens ever made that has sufficient coverage and is in a reasonably popular mount. There are new monts coming from panasonic that go directly from mFT to Leica M and R, there are third party lenses that go to Laica M, Canon FD, C-mount, PL mount, etc. And there's F/T adapters that go to all the popular 35mm lens mounts (which you can use with the mFT to FT adapter.)

First off, if you want a still camera, get the G1, and put whatever lens on it you want. The 14-140 is a lens for the prosumer video market, and the GH1's sole purpose for existence is video.

Still, its a pretty serious still camera and your discounting it for the kit lens is kinda silly-- you don't have a lens as capable on any other SLR type camera-- in terms of shooting video, that is, which is its intended purpose.

Get an M adapter, and buy all the Leica glass you want.

This hands-on preview includes photos from the preproduction GH1.
Panasonic Lumix GH1 Hands-On Review Photography Bay | Digital Camera Reviews, News and Resources

The best source for lenses that will work well with this camera is Four Thirds

There is a simulator that shows you how each lens will look on any given camera body, kind of like Thule have for checking out how a roof box will look on your car. Some of the four thirds lenses currently out will be compatible with this camera, but without the auto focus in video capture, the 14-140 is the first to do this. Most four thirds lenses will work, but with manual focus only, which for any serious film/video work is standard practice. You will need a 4/3 to micro 4/3 adapter though.

Some of the Olympus/Leica lenses in this format are really high performers and certainly professional grade.
Can't wait to see some real footage from this camera.

Adrian

I respectfully disagree Paulo. This Panasonic is 50/60p. This is now ready for production. 30p on the D90 is the worst of many options - i would have preferred interlaced rather than the 25/30p it offers.

Also the Panasonic has full manual controls and an audio input jack (for those that want to get an XLR adapter).

For me, I'm torn: wait for Nikon to release a camera similar and thus i can use all my Nikon lenses? or get this little beauty and shoot shoot shoot?

Frank , what's your source on the Olympus specs ?

G1 Still Image Quality...
 

I have owned a G1 (non HD video) since it was available. I have shot 5000 plus frames with it. At ISO 400 or below, the image quality is excellent. The first generation of the camera is certainly capable of producing usable professional images. There are many reviews available on the Internet with sample images. Certainly this would not be the camera of choice for serious landscape or studio photography. However, with its compact size, and unique features, this camera has great potential for the photojournalist or similar type assignments. I'll be on the waiting list for the GH-1 and am really looking forward to the HD video capability.

I never thought I would shoot any digital SLR other than Canon. I have an extensive collection of Canon Digital SLRs and many lenses. I will keep and use these cameras for serious landscape and studio work but I have added the G1 to my arsenal and I am extremely happy with it.

Finally, lens speed in not related to sharpness. A Leica 50mm Sumicron was always as sharp or sharper than Leica's faster 50mm lenses (Sumilux and Noctilux) when stopped down to F4 or F5.6. If you needed the speed these faster lenses were great but sharper at the same F stop, I would say no. There are may other historical examples of slower lenses with excellent sharpness such as most SLR macro lenses.

By the way, I have been lurking here for years and rarely post. I really do enjoy the refreshing design and features of the G1 and the Micro 4/3s system. I hope Olympus is not far behind in releasing a Micro 4/3s camera.

Panasonic premieres DMC-GH1 with HD video recording: Digital Photography Review

http://a.img-dpreview.com/news/0903/...na_gh1_mic.jpg

Panasonic DMC-GH1 brief hands-on: Digital Photography Review

Panasonic Lumix GH1 preview

...there's a couple of other good ones i cannot find.

enjoy!


I just realised I've been saying Olympus instead of Panasonic.

yeah - that's confusing - we all know the gh1 specs but I haven't seen any hard specs out of Olympus yet - although they say they're releasing this summer

So anyone knows when will the pana be released?

They plan to release it in June.
Cameratown Live from PMA 2009 - Panasonic Lumix DMC-GH1 Demonstration on Vimeo
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=beHVnyvF0fI

somewhere between 1k and 1500

On his blog Prolost, Stu Maschwitz has written a post with a video analyzing skew from the GH1 live mos sensor, from footage originally from SlashGear.

Prolost - GH1 Live MOS Skew

SlashGear - GH1 Hands On Blog Post

SlashGear 720p mp4 hands on zoom focus footage/adjusting shutter speed/aperture

Not sure if anyone posted these links to footage. Looks nie for the Web:

“®‰æ�FˆêŠá‰æŽ¿�bDMC-GH1�bƒfƒWƒ^ƒ‹ƒJƒ�ƒ‰ LUMIX�iƒ‹ƒ~ƒbƒNƒX�j�bPanasonic

“®‰æ�F‚©‚ñ‚½‚ñ�bDMC-GH1�bƒfƒWƒ^ƒ‹ƒJƒ�ƒ‰ LUMIX�iƒ‹ƒ~ƒbƒNƒX�j�bPanasonic

]

Just another video of it:
YouTube - Panasonic LUMIX DMC-GH1 : DigInfo

A thorough review and extensive test of G1 as stills camera can be seen here:
Panasonic Lumix G1 Review Diary

I hadn't seen this yet. More video clips, cleaner compression...

�u‚*‚Ì”ü‚µ‚¢ŽÊ�^�AŽv‚¢�o‚ª�A“®‚«�o‚·�B�vGH1ƒXƒyƒVƒƒƒ‹ƒTƒCƒg | ƒfƒWƒ^ƒ‹ƒJƒ�ƒ‰(lumix.jp) | Panasonic

I am going to see a prototype GH1 tomorrow. Don't think they will let me shoot with it though yet

Do it anyway ;)

How was it?
 

Well, how was it? We're dying to know here:p

I've already been selling of part of my Pentax DSLR gear to finance the GH1. Now it better be good!

well...

i used it. Did a bit of shooting, tried to steal it...but they wouldn't let me take it until they have a full production model as the lens wasn't ready. Hopefully will get that in early May...

Loved the manual control and the electronic viewfinder means you can shoot with the camera up to your eye socket which makes things so much more natural and stable.

Tell us more, Phil! Make it up, if you have to.

There's been a lack of GH1 news lately, I think a few of us are dying for any crumbs of information.

erm....

i have an adaptor for it for nikon lenses. bit of a magnification factor

i liked the ability to use the autofocus before recording and watching the little red crosshair move around to show you what it is focusing on...

Manual controls GH1
 

Hi Phil,
Are the manual controls easy to access or do they require multiple button pokes and submenus? Also is the manual mode fully manual not just you pick the aperture and shutter speed and then the camera automatically adjust the gain. Thanks.

man phil, control your excitement about this camera! haha, im not as filled with confidence by your reaction as i was hoping. so i guess my question is, after playing with it, would you buy one personally?

Odd that they don't have a full production model yet... it is scheduled to be released in Japan next Friday (April 24), right?

Agreed, this is some pretty uninspired commentary on the camera. Why not just wait until you can give it a full review, instead of little scraps that make it seem like just another cute gadget.

-steev

Or a harsh NDA though you would think a "I love it" would be okay, so it does sound like he did not like the camera for some reason.

well it apparently comes out friday in japan so maybe we'll see more soon. it does seem oddly quiet on the gh1 front. im hoping they didnt hit a snag.

I just got back from NAB, where the GH1 was conspicuously absent. I asked the Panasonic reps about it and they said "Oh, it's just a consumer camera, it wouldn't be here at NAB." And nobody had footage from it to see either. We did, however, talk to someone there who said that they were just the night before talking internally about making a pro version of the GH1. We emphatically told him this was a good idea an explained why. He seemed excited and said he would pass it up the chain.

On a related note, the Canon booth DID have their DSLR's, even including the new Digital Rebel. I asked them what the heck is up with no 24p and he said essentially that they threw it in last minute, and had heard from photojournalists that 30p is what was wanted. He couldn't say whether a firmware upgrade could give it 24p or not.

I also asked what the crap is 20fps and how is that useful to anyone and he said that the model before could do 15fps, and this was more than that, so Canon figured "Good Enough!" and threw it in there.

Talk about heads in the sand.

The GH1 is only there in prototype form with a couple of people. It's not in a form show-able yet. But I am hoping to get a production version sent to me later this week direct from Japan to try out for a couple of weeks...fingers crossed.

that's surprising. I was told beginning of June...

It's been all over the web that it's going to be on sale in Japan on April 24th.

japan panasonic GH1 April 24 - Google Search

why they taking so long to release it anywhere else?

I can only speculate that:

A) It could fuel the feeding frenzy with press releases, reviews, footage that hits first from out of Japan. (If true, I think this is a pretty retarded marketing tactic. Just do a global launch and sell more, faster.)

B) There have been many economic supply chain bottle necks in technology this year. And perhaps they are wanting to get it out, but can't supply a global demand.

It could be april 24th was just a projected date. Beginning of june does seem more realistic and in line with the lack of info announced. I'm very curious to see what you can do with it, Phil. Been watching your video blogs as soon as they come out and was hoping for a little gh1 mention. Keep them coming, they're great!

Adam, this post:
Japanese announcement of Panasonic GH1 and lenses - 1001 Noisy Cameras
seems to imply that they're already producing 5000 GH1 kits per month, and it links to a Panasonic Japan press release that specifies April 24th as the release date.

Nice find! I just try to be a little pessimistic so I can be pleasantly surprised.

So that means that with the next iteration of the Digital Rebel, Canon will add 1080p at 25fps, making the PAL crowd happy. The following version will have 1080p at 30fps, and then the version after that will be 1080p at 35fps, and once again, no one will be happy.

I still have my eyes set on this. I grew impatient for a small camcorder, so I purchased the Canon HF S100 for now. I wanted something super small, something I can hand off to other people to shoot, easier to focus with greater depth of field (I know, ya never hear of that being a preference), better low light with built-in faster f-stop (1.8), and I believe the rolling shutter is better than the GH1.

So I started to feel like the GH1 will be my new "precious", photography/cinema rig base that I am intimate and serious with. While the Canon HF S100 is more carefree/party/low-light/user-friendly vibe.

I may find myself with a bunch of cameras here - HVX200 (with RedRock M2), Canon HF S100, Sony DSC-R1, Panasonic GH1, and a bunch of Nikon glass - can one have too many cameras?

-steev

Don't you just keep'em with your Ultimate 35mm Adapter? ;-)