Engadget just got their hands on with the Panasonic GF3! It's official:

Panasonic Lumix DMC-GF3 official: 12.1 MP, 1080i video, no hot shoe in sight (hands-on) -- Engadget

I found shocking that the GF3 loses the hotshoe, and moves to mono stereo. It's smaller and lighter. Seems Panasonic is catering to a different crowd now??

The GF3 will be available in July for $699 with a 14mm lens, to be followed in late August by a $599 kit that comes with a 14-42mm lens.

Okay, I don't feel so bad now with my recent purchase of the GF2!

Thoughts??

I don't think that they're necessarily catering to a 'different' crowd, but rather attempting to make their product line more distinguishable.

My impression is that this is where they're going:

- Entry (small body) - GF3
- Entry (large body) - G3
- Enthusiast (small body) - ?
- Enthusiast (large body) - GH2

In this sense I expect that a GF1 replacement will be next on the cards, to fill the 'Enthusiast (small body)' category.

I dunno, people have been bitching about the loss of a hot-shoe and so on, but really, how many entry-level buyers actually use an off-camera flash? I think 99% of the people complaining would never consider buying it anyway...

interesting place for a flash...it does look like it can be tilted bckwards like the olympus pens epl1 or epl2?

i wonder(since the 14mm is such a small lens) that other lens will look and feel monstrous on it)


btw in response to those who lament the lack of a hotshoe, this is prob for those who want to use a evf attachement to it.

my question would be:
would the gf3 be a good body for legacy lens then? (prob not)

DPReview have got it too.

I think looks kind of cool - like an old fashioned Pen EE, Canonote or Demi.

With a pancake lens it puts an awful lot of power into a seriously compact package.

Probably a bit small for my hands though - I like the heft and feel of the older GF1/EPx series.

link to their japan site and available colors

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Attached Thumbnails

 

More from their site (used chrome translator)

1. Carry around every day! The world's smallest and lightest flash-memory- 1 ※
This product is devoted to carrying on a daily basis that you will easily advanced high-performance SLR cameras, pursued a more compact and lighter. The newly developed small pop-up mechanism, while a built-in flash at night and needed shooting backlit portraits or, shutter unit, image sensors, mounting and are equipped with newly developed BOX Dust, an electrical circuit block further that promote high-density and highly integrated, the conventional model "DMC-GF2" 17 percent of the volume ratio of about about 15% mass ratio to achieve smaller and lighter. Most SLR cameras smaller and lighter body 1 ※ achieved. The body adopts aluminum material. While maintaining the robustness is achieved High quality and stylish appearance.

◆ Commitment to Design
The entire body, emphasizing the sense of more rounds, finished with a soft rounded design.
Color development, in addition to traditional white spirit black shell, the pink fairy Senshuaruburaun adopt a new one.
Also included with the kit lens lenses, and aims to match Kamerabodikara, 2 colors available. Senshuaruburaun black lenses with black esprit, white fairy pink shell silver lens included. 14-42mm standard zoom lens Shirubaringudezain charity, a classy finish from the design.
Adopted a new grip design that small body size but holding firm. Competence and attention to those fingers hanging, a small woman's hand as well as a user, you can be taken to hold firmly to male users.
1 ※ date June 13, 2011. As the body of the interchangeable lens digital camera built-in flash.
2. Easy intuitive operation! System to choose the two operations
"Touch" and "control to dial the" New
This product aims to freely manipulating SLR quality photos easily with intuitive serious, GF2 you continue to employ the popular 3.0 high-resolution touch panel LCD monitor, 460,000-dot type. Like the popular "Touch Focus" feature, "Shutter" touch and also features can be easy to get SLR quality by simply expressive, intuitive touch operation.

- "Touch Focus"
By touching a position to focus on the LCD monitor can be freely set the position of the focus area.　

- "Shutter" touch
On the LCD monitor "Tatchishattabotan" press by touching position to focus, adjust the focus with the touch points, you can turn off the shutter before shooting.

- "Touch Q. MENU"
On the LCD monitor "Q. MENU" button is pressed, the call quickly and frequently used shooting functions, you can easily make configuration changes. Also, "Q customized" by using the change in drag settings, you can call your favorite settings.

In addition, GF3, in addition to the touch, with a new control dial. You can use in conjunction with the touch panel, more convenient and can be more intuitive, even those who use the SLR for the first time can be as easy to handle compact camera shooting functions.

3. SLR enjoy quality images as photos and videos
iA + (Interijentootopurasu) / Creative Control
With this product, taking advantage of the unique power of expression SLR, to enjoy photos, videos, images as easy operation, and will provide the functionality to manipulate the expression of two new power.

■ iA + (Interijentootopurasu)
Most customers want to take the SLR to be used first "bokeh photo with a feeling of depth," Your Pictures easy to adjust the "Feather Touch Control", in addition to tint, brightness can be taken to adjust the touch " Color Control, "" light-touch control "with new. Discrimination while performing automatic scene just a little tweak easy operation, you can enjoy shooting stick representation.

- "Feather Touch Control" (iA / iA + / creative control installed)
On the LCD monitor "controls bokeh" by pressing a blur so you can easily manipulate the control bar. Utilizing background blur foreground table photo, taken from food and flowers, a memorial to the shooting and shooting with the background you want to travel with people, you can use a variety of scenes.

- "Tatchikarakontororu"
A change in color, white balance can be manipulated easily control bar "Tatchikarakontororu" chip. Photos and give the impression of a warm reddish or bluish picture gives the impression of cool, enjoy a striking expression of that a little tweaking.

- "Brightness Control Touch"
Exposure compensation changes in the brightness can be easily manipulated in the control bar "Brightness Control Touch" with. You can shoot while viewing your favorite images and photos on the LCD monitor a bit dark, bright pictures and a profound feeling of clarity.

Creative control ■
Traditional "Maikaramodo" renewed. Six image processing effect, you can enjoy impressive picture expression to match the video image while the LCD monitor and the subject.
Pop: Pop-style image effects emphasized color
Retro: faded invented out of the atmosphere, soft image effect
High Key: bright overall effect of image clarity feeling of coolness
Sepia: The cornerstone of examination and monochrome, sepia image effect
High dynamic: The portrayal of the bright light from dark to moderate effects, emphasizing the colors, striking images
Diorama: blur the surroundings, like diorama depicting the image effect
4. Other advanced features
■ achieve more beautiful picture quality
Effective Pixels 12.1 million pixels Live MOS sensor, 3CPU of multitasking AVCHD ※ 2 full high definition video recording 3D noise reduction in addition to recording still evolving, new power saving is achieved, "Vinasuenjin FHD" chip. Low noise, high-definition picture quality achieved further.
Sensitive image enhancement
FHD Vinasuenjin sensitivity by optimizing the process by shooting even in low light and night photos, "preempts a resolution of the edge," "The strength plateau NR processing" to achieve both, seen from the left can now take pictures close.
Intelligent D range control
The dark side of the subject camera / light unit area with automatic recognition, by extending the dynamic range, blown / black Tsubure suppressed both close to the eye, and a beautiful gradation.
New Super-Resolution Technology
Edge images, details, the gradient is divided into parts, realism, creating a higher resolution and color reproduction and texture correction image processing.
■ focus on the evolution of performance functions
This product, focusing attention on the basic performance of the camera, AF (auto focus) evolved significantly. AF miss a moment look to achieve our performance.
World's Fastest 2 ※ AF 0.1 sec
Can improve a sensor-driven, AF provides faster speed. About 14-42mm kit lens is equipped with 0.18-second zoom lens, optional 14-140mm zoom lens is about 0.1 seconds, GH2 was popular in 0.1 seconds, faster AF and AF with similar speeds.
Pinpoint precision AF
1 AF point of focus can be a little more subtle points. After the Focus until the shutter, the image to enlarge it, fine focus position can be set.
Furueriatatchifokashingu
Traditional "Touch Focus" Shutter "touch" when you use the touch screen there is limited scope. This product has expanded the scope to the entire touch screen, the limit on freedom of composition, enabling focusing more intuitive and stress-free.
Assist MF / AF + MF Improve Operations
Traditionally, when using the focusing ring to the manual focus position for larger view, it was possible to focus in detail, this product is to further pursue the comfort of the focus operation, focusing and framing be achieved at the same time. Touch the place you want to expand, only to expand its place in a separate window, while providing a detailed focus, framing can adjust to use the entire screen at once.
AVCHD Full HD video with full-time ■ AF 3 ※
Full-time AF SLR cameras shooting video for the first time the LUMIX G Series, it is possible to shoot full HD video and beautiful for a long time by simply pressing a button easy video. In addition to the excellent auto focus performance, by using the touch panel, and adjust the degree of background blur while shooting a movie, or shifting the focus position can be achieved with advanced video production is easy.
Full-time AF function
Just turn the camera on the subject, do auto focus. Without a difficult, unique background bokeh can SLR camera video, filming can be highlighted from the subject.
Tatchipinto feed
Just do the easy change in the position to touch the focus while shooting video. You can also shoot video on sticking with easy operation.
Touch Focus chase
Simply touch the moving object, the focus continues to take the picture automatically by the camera to track the subject.
While shooting a movie, "Random iA ※ 4 "camera automatically determine the scene, you can be a beautiful movie with the best quality setting.
New colors and textures and can be selected according to subject or scene ■ "photo style" with
Modes: Standard / Vivid / Natural / Monochrome / Landscape / People / Custom

■ 3D optional lenses (lenses for Micro: H-FT012) can be installed, you can enjoy realistic 3D photography.

2 ※ 13 June 2011 date. As a digital camera with interchangeable lenses ,14-140mm lens when mounted.
※ 3 "AVCHD" and the "AVCHD" logo are trademarks of Sony Corporation and Panasonic Corporation.
4 ※ Random iA mode, the effect of the guarantee is not under all.
● This product launch campaign, "campaign for the first time SLR camera" will be performed.
Campaign period: July 8 - July 31, 2011
How to apply: Only from the WEB page, complete with product selection loyal ⇒
Gift items: GF3 Book · first SLR bag in bag
See the campaign site ( Http://Panasonic.jp/Dc/Campaign_G3_Gf3/Index.html )
● Thisパナソニックコンシューマーマーケティング(Ltd) shopping site run by LUMIX CLUB ( LUMIX??????GF3??DMC-GF3? ?????????| ?????? | LUMIX CLUB??????????| My MALL| CLUB Panasonic ) in, GF3W limit of each color monitor on until 1:00 pm on June 27, 2011 June 13, 2011 sale.

Re: EVF - quite possibly, but then once again, how many entry-level shooters coming up from a P&S are going to care? Likewise for use with legacy lenses.

Panasonic confirms plans to release advanced GF camera | News | PhotoRadar

Speaking to PhotoRadar’s Head of Testing, Angela Nicholson, Panasonic’s Director of DSC Business unit Ichiro Kitao said that although he was unable to confirm a date for such a camera, he said that Panasonic plans to split the GF series into two lines and release a GF camera aimed at experienced photographers.

Apparently they are working on an advanced GF body

for mf lenses, a viewfinder is a must. but there is accessories that you can use, to use the lcd as the viewfinder. i use lcdvf on my gf1 for doing macro photography using canon fd lens.

if this has hotshoe, ill be tempted to get one. i need external flash for my macrophotography.

__________________
GF1/G1 * 20mm/1.7 * 14mm/2.5 * Canon FD 50mm/3.5 * Canon FD 200mm/4 * OM Zuiko 50mm/1.8 * Nissin Di466 * LVF1/LCDVF
My Google+

i use my gf1 for street photography. most of the time, i shoot from the hip. gf3 will be even better for that as this is more compact and faster af!

__________________
GF1/G1 * 20mm/1.7 * 14mm/2.5 * Canon FD 50mm/3.5 * Canon FD 200mm/4 * OM Zuiko 50mm/1.8 * Nissin Di466 * LVF1/LCDVF
My Google+