Panasonic GH1 with directional mic

Panasonic's little Lumix GH1 stills and HD video hybrid promises to whet the appetite of a lot of imaging creatives when it's launched at the end of May. Although we reported the GH1 had a mic socket for an optional directional mic when the new Lumix was announced, Panasonic has kindly forwarded a photo clearly showing the complete setup.

(UPDATE: We'll have more details, including sample shots and video clips after the press event in May).

Further details can be found here.

Cosina announce Voigtlander VM Micro FourThirds lens adaptor

It's not the first I've seen, but welcome nonetheless, Cosina has announced a Micro FourThirds lens adaptor for the Panasonic Lumix G1 and recently introduced GH1.

That means you can marry those gorgeous VM series lenses, as well those superb Leica M and Zeiss ZM lenses with those little Lumix hybrids. L series require a converter, but with one or two exceptions can be used.

More information, albeit in Japanese (though you'll get the gist) can be found here.

The price is 19,800 Yen or around $200 (£140 + VAT), using a straight currency conversion.

For a list and link of the official worldwide distributors, please take a look here.