Nauticam to produce housing for Panasonic GX1

[Patrick_J]

Got an e-mail today from Nauticam regarding the new Panasonic GX1 camera which is being released in Nov/Dec this year. It seems Nauticam will release a housing for the GX1:

"Actually we just decided to housing the camera, but as the camera will be available after new year, the soonest shipment we are looking at is possibly after Feb. 2012. "

Could be an interesting choice for anyone wanting a compact solution with good control. From what I understand the GX1 will use the same sensor as G3, which produces IQ very close/the same as GH2. For video GH2 will still be hard to beat though. Some specifications from dpreview:


16MP Micro Four Thirds sensor
ISO 160-12,800
Orientation sensor (providing information with non-OIS lenses)
3.0", 460k dot LCD
Full AVCHD 1080/60i video (from 30fps sensor output)
Continuous shooting up to 20fps (at reduced resolution)
Electronic level gauge
Four available Fn buttons (two onscreen)
Differences between the GX1 and the GF1

Looking forward to see what this little camera can do!

 

[scipionems]

This is a very good news.
Actually I use a Panasonic Lx5 + Nauticam housing and I am very happy with it, but in future I would like to upgrade to a micro 4/3 system.
This Gx1 is very interesting.
I wonder if Nauticam will create even a dome for the Panasonic G X Vario Pz 14-42mm F 3,5-5,6 ASPH OIS lens.
Panasonic Lumix G X Vario PZ 14-42mm F3.5-5.6 ASPH OIS: Digital Photography Review
This compact lens with the Gx1 could be a perfect solution for underwater use.
If Nauticam will create a compact standard port for this lens, possibly with an M67 thread in front of it, it will be possible to attach in front of it a macro or a wide wet lens.
Probably I dream but.....
Scipionems

 

[Patrick_J]

I don't know the dimensions of the new X 14-42 lens, but isn't there a chance the normal 14-42 port might work? Remember the X lenses are all of collapsible design, so when the camera is turned on they will actually expand.

Patrick

 

[scipionems]

Hi Patrick,
May be that the standard flat port 56 of Nauticam will work with this lens, but at the moment I really don't know.
I was looking to other lens like 7-14 mm Panasonic for wide and the 45 mm Pana-Leica for macro, but every lens need another specific dome port, and all the set become very expensive , probably more than a DSLR
Probably i will stay with my compact Lx5 for the moment.
Scipionems

 

[RetroBlader]

I was looking to other lens like 7-14 mm Panasonic for wide and the 45 mm Pana-Leica for macro, but every lens need another specific dome port, and all the set become very expensive , probably more than a DSLR

Not to mention, the "change lens on the inside, not the outside" approach will introduce the same restrictions as DSLRs -- one must choose WA/FE or macro beforehand, and there is no way to change underwater. (The proverbial "what if a whale shark were to swim by" scenario)

Anyway, with the GX1/PZ14-42 combo due any day now, hopefully we'll find out soon....

 

[scipionems]

I found these pictures on Facebook of the new Nauticam housing for the Pana Gx1 Nauticam NA-GX1 for Panasonic GX1 | Facebook
I hope to see the housing to the next Eudishow here in Milan, Italy (16-19 february 2012)
Scipionems

 

[bullshark]

I have my eye on this camera. I want it for above ground. There are so many lenses I would like. I don't know if I like it better than E-P3 though. I want to know if any housing maker will accomodate the EVF. That would be dope.

All the fine lenses and fast focus in the world won't get this shot, unless you can see it, and thats not happenin' without an EVF.

 

[swee sin]

actually i'm quite puzzle abt why ppl keep wanting EVF??
don't you have LCD on the camera?
why bother going back to small EVF?
don't it more easy to see thing with big screen rather than looking thru the small window of the EVF while wearing your mask?

 

[scipionems]

I agree with Swee sin.
The viewfinder probably have a sense using a 4/3 reflex, like my old Oly E-520, with a very very slow Contrast Detection Autofocus.
Using the viewfinder you can avoid the Contrast Detection Autofocus and use the Reflex like a Reflex, with a better autofocus.
The problem is that the viewfinder of a 4/3 reflex like my Olympus E520 is very very small and it is quite impossible to use (i need a magnifier to use it, like the 45° magnifier of Inon).
The advantage of the Micro4/3 cameras, like the new Panasonic Gx1, is the fast autofocus system.
This let you to use the LCD like a compact camera, avoiding the tiny viewfinder.
This is only my personal opinion , don't kill me
Ciao.
Scipionems

 

[bullshark]

actually i'm quite puzzle abt why ppl keep wanting EVF??
don't you have LCD on the camera?
why bother going back to small EVF?
don't it more easy to see thing with big screen rather than looking thru the small window of the EVF while wearing your mask?

You obviously have never used one. I thought the same thing as you until a friend of mine let me look through her DSLR with EVF at the safety stop. It took about 8 microseconds to adjust, and then fall in to the image projected in my eye.

Have you ever used binoculars or telescope?

Which do you think is better?

• Looking at a camera LCD attached to the Telescope
• Putting your eye to the telescope

.
Which one do you think has more details?

• The LCD on the camera is less that 460,000 pixels.
• The image on the DMW-LVF2 with 1,440,000 pixels.

.
The EVF provides a 100% field of the live image and projects it on your retina, just like the telescope or binoculars. Near or far sighted is doesn't matter; you don't have to focus and everything is perfectly sharp. It isn't large or small. Shut one eye and just like the telescope, it fills your whole mind. The LCD is puny, dim and washed out by comparison.

I have shot thousands of photos using LCD not knowing if the details were there or not until later examining on the computer. It's not my eyesight, it's the LCD. They get washed out in bright light. The colors will turn to muted B&W when the light is intensely blue. There isn't enough contrast to see the ribs in a transparent fin. There aren't enough pixels to show the details.

Having the small space between your eye and the face plate of the mask is not perfect, but low-volume black-skirted masks like the Atomic frameless gets your eye close enough for optics on the housing to take care of the rest. It still projects on the back of your eye like binoculars or telescopes filling your whole world.

The difference is night and day.