Panasonic Lumix GF1 firmware v1.1 enables manual focus assist with MF-only lenses are attached, accessed by pressing the camera's rear dial with the camera set through the custom menu to allow shooting without a lens. AF performance is also said to be improved during movie capture, and the camera's Auto white balance setting likewise gets a performance boost. Image quality is improved for high-sensitivity shooting, and several scene modes - Portrait, Soft Skin, Night Portrait, Baby, Scenery, and Architecture are also said to have been improved.
As for the lenses, the updates all improve autofocus performance for movie recording. The LUMIX G VARIO 14-45mm / F3.5-5.6 ASPH. / MEGA O.I.S., LUMIX G VARIO 45-200mm/F4.0-5.6/MEGA O.I.S. and LUMIX G VARIO 7-14mm/F4.0 ASPH. lenses also now support autofocus in FHD mode. The latter lens also has improved aperture control in movie mode.
Courtesy of Panasonic, the full list of changes in the new GF1 firmware is as follows:
Enabled the MF Assist operation by pressing the Rear dial, when the lens which supports only MF operation is attached, including the case any lens is mounted on M Mount Adaptor(DMW-MA2M) or R Mount Adaptor(DMW-MA3R).
Please make sure to set [SHOOT W/O LENS] to [ON] in [CUSTOM MENU].
Improved AF(Auto Focus) performance in Motion Picture recording.
Improved the picture quality for high sensitivity photo shooting.
Improved the performance of AWB (Auto White Balance).
Improved the representation in the human face related scene modes([PORTRAIT], [SOFT SKIN], [NIGHT PORTRAIT] and [BABY]).
Improved the AE program (combination of the aperture and the shutter speed) in the scenery related scene modes([SCENERY] and [ARCHITECTURE])
The Panasonic lenses with updated firmware today (and their new firmware version numbers) are as follows:
LUMIX G VARIO 7-14mm/F4.0 ASPH.: Firmware v1.1
LUMIX G VARIO 14-45mm/F3.5-5.6 ASPH./MEGA O.I.S.: Firmware v1.2
LUMIX G VARIO 45-200mm/F4.0-5.6/MEGA O.I.S.: Firmware v1.2
LUMIX G 20mm / F1.7 ASPH.: Firmware v1.1
LUMIX G VARIO HD 14-140mm/F4.0-5.8 ASPH./MEGA O.I.S.: Firmware v1.2
Panasonic camera users should follow the procedures on the company's website to update their camera bodies and lenses.
Olympus camera users can update their lens firmware through their Olympus Master or Olympus Studio applications, and can find further information on the Olympus website.
