Panasonic announces Touch Screen Go G2 and G10 Micro Four Thirds interchangeable lens compact cameras

Though the photos slipped out earlier, Panasonic has now officially announced its two newest Micro Four Thirds interchangeable lens compact cameras, the Panasonic Lumix DMC-G2 and DMC-G10.


Panasonic Lumix DMC-G2

This successor to the G1 offers two firsts among Micro Four Thirds cameras: Not only is the 12.1-megapixel G2 the first to sport an articulating LCD, but it’s also the first to incorporate a touchscreen (unless you count the G10 also announced today). The flip-out screen rotates 180 degrees laterally and tilts up and down 270 degrees, giving you great flexibility when framing your shot. The big 3-inch (460,000-dot) LCD touchscreen allows you to perform functions such as autofocusing by touching your subject on the screen, and makes playback options more intuitive (just touch a thumbnail image to display it full screen, for instance). Other stand-out features include its 1,440,000-dot 1.4x (0.7x) Live View Finder, the ability to record 720p HD video in AVCHD Lite format (there’s a dedicated video record button), an HDMI output, and the ability to add an optional external stereo microphone. The G2 will ship with a new 28-84mm (equivalent), f/3.5-5.6 lens also announced today.

Panasonic Lumix DMC-G10

Though Panasonic is touting the G10 as the “world’s lightest digital interchangeable lens system camera with a viewfinder” at just under 12-ounces, with dimensions of 4.88×3.29×2.91-inches, it’s still bulkier than other Micro Four Thirds cameras such as the Olympus E-PL1 and E-P2, which don’t offer built-in viewfinders (though they can be added as optional accessories). Since I prefer to frame shots using the LCD, I’m willing to sacrifice a viewfinder to get a more compact body.

Like the G2, the G10 sports a 12.1-megapixel Live MOS sensor and a 3-inch 460,000-dot touchscreen, though the G10’s is fixed rather than articulating. The G10’s built-in viewfinder doesn’t match the G2’s in resolution, but does provide a field of view of about 100 percent like the G2. The G10 also records 720p HD video, but in Motion JPEG, QVGA, VGA and WVGA formats rather than AVCHD Lite format.
Like the G2, the G10 will ship with Panasonic’s new 28-84mm (equivalent), f/3.5-5.6 lens.

Availability and pricing for both cameras has not yet been announced.