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Meeting Girl Friend No. 1

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We take a breather from the hefty serving of Nevin's GRD III review.  A job well done it is for sure.
 
I am rather amused by the newfound nickname of Pany's new camera, the Girl Friend No.1.  It is more sexy than the official short form, and can actually lure more business because probably of its overtone.  This Girl Friend finally made an appearance in Hong Kong on the official launch two days ago.  The dealer is receiving pre-orders whereby the buyers will receive one of the two Pany camera case for free.  The case is priced at HK$ 1,180, or US$160 or UK£100.  Pricey stuff.
 
Pre-ordering is found in other official Panasonic websites too.
pre-order
 
The following information is borrowed from Panansonic USA.  The photos are from the Hong Kong, er, Girl Friend No. 1 launch

Versatile Functions and Superb Images. Uncompromising Performance in the World's Smallest, Lightest System Camera*

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The GF1 adopts the Micro Four Thirds System standard, which was developed as an extended version of the Four Thirds System standard for digital camera systems. By using this standard and developing a camera body that eliminates the mirror box and optical viewfinder unit, LUMIX® was able to achieve a dramatic reduction in both size and weight compared with conventional digital SLR cameras, to create a new-generation system camera that features Full-time Live View, high-speed, high-precision Contrast AF, HD movie recording, and more. The GF1 is small enough to take anywhere yet sophisticated enough to take you as far into photography and movies as you want to go.
*For a system camera with a built-in flash as of September 2, 2009 

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12.1-Megapixel Live MOS Sensor: Higher Image Quality, Lower Power Consumption

The 4/3-type 12.1-megapixel Live MOS sensor featured in the GF1 offers the best of both worlds the superior image quality of a CCD sensor, and the lower power consumption of a CMOS sensor. This sensor is also advantageous for photo and movie recording with its high S/N, thanks to a new circuit structure that is unaffected by the noise generated in each of the circuits. It results in clear images even when taken at high ISO sensitivity.

 
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Ultra-Portable Pancake Lens: LUMIX  G 20mm/F1.7 ASPH.

This bright F1.7/20mm (35mm camera equivalent: 40mm) fixed focus lens makes it easier to take bright photos with soft focus in dimly lit conditions without a flash. Its compact, easy-to-carry size is also ideal for capturing everyday scenes and snapshots. *This lens uses a lens drive system to enable a compact and bright F1.7. As a result of this, operating sounds are recorded when auto-focusing during motion picture recording.

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Extended HD Movie Recording with SLR Quality

The hybrid GF1 lets you take both high-quality photos and HD movies. You can shoot breathtaking HD (1280 720) movies in AVCHD Lite format (MPEG-4/H.264) backed by the high sound quality of Dolby Digital Creator. And you can record for a longer time without running out of memory because AVCHD Lite stores data more efficiently than Motion JPEG while maintaining stunning image clarity and detail. A dedicated "movie record" button on the top lets you instantly start recording movies while shooting photos, so you don't miss a second of the action.
•"AVCHD Lite" and "AVCHD Lite" logos are trademarks of Panasonic Corporation and Sony Corporation. •Dolby and the double-D symbol are trademarks of Dolby Laboratories.

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A Built-In Flash in a Stylish Body

Some compact size cameras reduce weight by not including a built-in flash. With the GF1, the built-in flash is concealed inside the body and out of sight. A single touch pops the flash up for easy shooting anytime you want. You can also adjust the light intensity in the range of 2 EV at 1/3 EV steps to match your subject.

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My Colour Mode Puts You in Control of Your Colours

Naturally you want your photos to be unique. My Colour mode on the GF1 lets you control each and every photo with eight unique preset modes in all, including a colourful Expressive mode, a soft and moody Pure mode, and a Custom mode that lets you adjust the colour, brightness, and saturation just the way you want them. You can dramatically change the images of even familiar subjects to express your own creativity. 

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The Soft Focus of Peripheral Defocus Mode Lets You Achieve Professional Results

The GF1 automatically adjusts the focus to match the AF area you positioned while gently defocusing the foreground and background to emphasize the subject. You don't have to change the aperture yourself to take photos with the highly attractive soft focus effect of an SLR camera.

iA Mode Helps Prevent Shooting Mistakes in a Variety of Situations

Select iA mode, and the GF1 automatically activates a host of advanced functions and technologies described below that make it easy to capture beautiful, clear shots.

  Face Recognition
This function recognizes the faces of subjects that have been registered in the camera and displays the names of up to three people. The GF1 then optimizes the focus and brightness of the registered faces. *Turn Face Recognition item ON and register the person with a full-face portrait on the shooting menu in advance.
  AF Tracking
Once you've focused on a subject, AF Tracking keeps the subject in focus even if it moves until you press the shutter release.
  Intelligent Exposure
The camera can correct the brightness in parts of the image that are too dark due to insufficient lighting, backlighting or use of the flash.
  Intelligent Scene Selector
The camera automatically selects whichever of five Scene modes – Portrait, Night Portrait, Scenery, Night Scenery, and Macro best suits the situation.
  Face Detection AF/AE
The camera detects when there are faces in the frame and adjusts the focus and exposure to capture them properly. This allows you to shoot beautiful portraits without any hassle.
  Intelligent ISO Control
If the subject moves as you snap the shot, the camera automatically adjusts the ISO sensitivity and shutter speed to help prevent subject blur.
  MEGA O.I.S. (Optical Image Stabilizer)
Gyrosensors built into the lens detect hand-shake and an O.I.S. shifts to compensate. Assisting you in getting those clear, beautiful, blur-free photos.

*Some functions in iA mode will not be available depending on the lens that is mounted.


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Produce Original HD Movies

Unlike most other cameras, the GF1 allows the use of My Colour mode and Scene mode to record HD movies. And Motion Picture P mode lets you change the aperture for more creative HD movie recording.


iA Mode: Beautiful HD Movies with Point-and-Shoot Ease

Select iA mode, and the GF1 automatically activates a host of advanced functions and technologies listed below that make it easy to capture beautiful HD movies.

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Full-time Live View: See How the Image Will Turn Out Before You Shoot

The GF1's Full-time Live View lets you see in the LCD how adjusting the exposure, white balance, aperture and even the shutter speed will affect the shot. This makes it easier to capture a special shot or particular kind of image without shooting again and again.

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Let the Exposure Meter Guide You

The on-screen meter display indicates the degree of aperture and shutter speed that can be changed within a suitable exposure range. The range in which appropriate exposure is not possible is shown in red, so you can intuitively grasp the corresponding aperture and shutter speed combinations.

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Take Advantage of Leica and Four Thirds Lenses

More than 20 available Leica M/R lenses or 30 Four Thirds lenses can be used with the Micro Four Thirds System standard GF1, simply by mounting a separately purchased lens adaptor.

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An Optional Live View Finder Mounts to the Hot Shoe

You can equip the GF1 with an optional 202,000-dot equivalent Live View Finder (LVF) featuring a magnification of approximately 1.04x (0.52x*) and 100% field of view. Because it displays the same information as the LCD, it is effectively used in situations where the LCD is difficult to see, such as under bright sunlight. The LVF is also handy for low-angle shots because it can be tilted vertically from 0 to 90 degrees. *35 mm camera equivalent.

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The High-Speed, High-Performance Venus Engine HD

The Venus Engine HD incorporates two CPUs. This not only boosts image processing speed, it also helps achieve an exceptional noise-reduction performance. Also, the two CPUs of the Venus Engine HD allow long-time movie recording in AVCHD Lite format while maintaining low power consumption. And the Venus Engine HD features HDMI output too.


Dust Reduction System Protects the Image Sensor

If dust or other foreign matter gets inside the camera when you're changing lenses, it could cling to the image sensor and show up as a spot in photos. The GF1 helps eliminate this possibility by placing a Supersonic Wave Filter in front of the Live MOS sensor. Vibrating around 50,000 times per second, the filter repels dust and other particles. This keeps the image sensor clean at all times and eliminates the need for cumbersome maintenance procedures.


HD Photos and HD Movies with VIERA Link Networking

The GF1 is equipped with an HDMI output terminal for direct transmission of digital image and sound signals. Just connect the camera to an HDTV using a single HDMI mini cable (optional). It's also easy to enjoy slideshows in which both photos and movies are played according to the recorded timeline. If you have a VIERA TV, you can control the camera's playback functions with VIERA's remote control unit.
•HDMI, the HDMI logo and High-Definition Multimedia Interface are trademarks or registered trademarks of HDMI Licensing LLC.

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Easy HD Image Viewing with the SD Card Slot

Simply take the SDHC/SD Memory Card from the GF1 and slip it into the card slot of a Panasonic VIERA or Blu-ray Disc™ player, and you're ready to view HD images. For even greater impact and entertainment fun, you can add background music and image effects to your image slideshows. *To play movies recorded in the Motion JPEG format, you need the included AV cable.


PHOTOfunSTUDIO 4.0 HD Edition Makes Photo and Movie Editing Easy

AVCHD Lite movies can be transferred to a PC from an SDHC/SD Memory Card or via the USB cable to view or edit them. You can also make a DVD disc from AVCHD Lite files by converting them to MPEG-2. The software makes it easy and fun to edit or organize a collection of photos. It features a Face Recognition function that recognizes the faces in the photos stored in your PC and lets you sort them by face. Also, photos shot with My Colour mode can be categorized and viewed by style. The sophisticated interface allows you to enjoy emotion-packed slideshows with a variety of effects and music. And motion images can be directly uploaded to YouTube. •YouTube is a trademark of Google Inc


SILKYPIX® Developer Studio 3.0 SE Adjusts RAW Images Any Way You Want Them

The GF1 records original image data in RAW file format, which allows images to be developed according to your intention. A number of highly advanced functions can be applied to these RAW images by using the SILKYPIX® Developer Studio 3.0 SE software utility, with its unique combination of high resolution and extraordinary colour separation.

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