PhotoPlus Expo in NYC today... GH3, 35-100, EPL5, EPM2, 60mm macro, and more...

first of all, the expo was awesome. this was my first time attending something of this sort and the imagery and displays was breathtaking... nikon, and canon in particular really spent a lot of time (and apparently money) in putting it all together... great job by all, but especially by canikon.

the panasonic display was relatively boring, although they had a pretty model in all white straddling an all black motorcycle which was pretty cool... they had every current camera, but most importantly, they had two gh3's to try out.  it feels great in the hand, and its not uncomfortably large in my hands as some have complained about.  however it is beefier than the em5 with grip.   the last panny cam that i used was the g3, and it is overall better than that cam in every aspect from my few minutes using it.  the only negative i can say is, that the af doesnt feel as snappy as my em5 with the same 12-35 lens... it also "felt" a bit sluggish with the 35-100 lens... well, not really sluggish, just not as swift as the em5.

the 35-100 is highly impressive.  it feels very solid, and both the zoom and focus rings are very smooth.  the jpg i took with the gh3 had nice color and even zoomed to 100mm, and magnifiedstill retained sharpness.  i didnt get a chance to put the 35-100 on my em5, they wouldnt allow me to at the booth.  i could have put my card into the gh3, but i didnt feel like unscrewing the grip to get to it.. for the sake of a few shots.

the olympus booth was lots of fun with lots of colorful and innovative displays.. among them were:  a solid block of ice shaped like am em5 with some of their "tough" cameras frozen into it, a fish tank with their waterproof cameras submerged in the water (and still working!!), a girl that juggled cameras and whatever other objects that she had, and finally, a contortionist.  olympus had plenty to see there!

i *very quickly* tried out both the epl5, and the epm2.  i have to say i wasnt really impressed by either, although i am sure they are good cameras from the reviews.  i just am not really interested in them at all so i didnt spend any time on them... however i was really surprised by the weight of the epm2 though, wow that thing is so light! i took the 12-42 lens off of it and it felt like it could float away! that cam and the 15mm cap lens should make a great pocketable pair. the highly adjustable screen on the epl5 is a very cool addition too.

finally, i tried out the 60mm macro lens. i only messed around with the stuff near me which was some of the point and shoots on display.. i used only the macro mode, and wow that thing gets close, and sharp! and its so tiny and light! i am surprised that it is splashproof in such a small package. i am totally in love with it.