After much speculation and a self-leak last week, Panasonic have now officially announced a bunch of new cameras, among which the most eagerly awaited is probably the LX5, successor to the popular LX3 prosumer compact. But also Fujifilm have just annonced some new cameras, and the one which caught my interest among those is the F300EXR, which is not a successor to Fujifilm’s first EXR-camera, the F200, but rather a model of its own.

Panasonic Lumix LX5

Picture courtesy of Panasonic

The Lumix LX5, as written earlier, sports the same 1/6.3″ 10.1 megapixel sensor, although Panasonic claim it has been redesigned to offer about 1/3 better performance. The camera’s been granted a step-up in lens specs, now offering 24-90mm equivalent reach, at maximum apertures ranging from f/2 to f/3.3 (LX3: 24-60mm f/2-2.8). The display has the same resolution of about 400k pixels, although now being LED backlit, which probably saves a great deal of energy. A new feature is an accessory port like the one on the GF1, into which can be plugged an electronic viewfinder that looks conspicuously similar to the one that can be used on the GF1.

For further reading: http://www.dpreview.com/news/1007/10072110panasonicdmclx5.asp
UPDATE: DPReview have just posted an LX5 sample gallery: http://dpreview.com/news/1007/10072112lx5gallery.asp
First sample pictures: http://www.photographyblog.com/previews/panasonic_lumix_dmc_lx5_photos/
Preview in German: http://photoscala.de/Artikel/Mit-der-Lumix-LX5-unterwegs

Fujifilm FinePix F300EXR

Picture courtesy of Fujifilm

The FinePix F300 isn’t a successor to the F200, but rather a distinct model in Fujifilm’s EXR product range. The sensor is 1/2″ in size, sporting 12 megapixels, which are exactly the specs of the F80EXR’s sensor. What’s new (and unique) about the F300 is its lens, which offers 15x zoom from 24mm wideangle to 360mm telephoto equivalent. The other big invention that comes with the F300 is the autofocus, which is a combination of phase-detection via the sensor (can somebody please explain to me how that works?) and the classical contrast-detection AF. Fuji promise that focusing in good light will be significantly faster through PDAF.

For further reading: http://www.dpreview.com/news/1007/10072109fujifilmf300exr.asp

Two very interesting new cameras, and I’m looking forward to reading the first reviews!