Panasonic Lumix DMC-GF1 Ratings and Reviews
October 27th, 2009 • Filed Under•37 views
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.
Index of Panasonic Lumix DMC-GF1 Expert Reviews
- Imaging Resource—“Overall, the Panasonic GF1 is an extremely good camera for such a small package, recording impressive detail thanks to its quality sensor, image processor, and fine optics. While we’d never say it’s for everyone, the Panasonic GF1 will be irresistible for many of our readers; and it’s a sure Dave’s Pick.”
- DigitalCameraReview—“The camera focuses quickly, has good shutter response and a decent continuous shooting rate. Image and video quality are very good, ISO performance leaves true compact digitals far behind, and there’s a bunch of lenses that will mount on the camera with proper adaptors, and, depending on their age, provide partial to full compatibility.”
- GoodGearGuide—“We like the build quality and the look of the GF1 very much, and its picture quality is great as well. It has a fast burst mode (up to three frames per second), a useful HD video mode (albeit without stereo audio recording), and it’s very easy to use. What we don’t like is its noisy performance at high ISO speeds, its sometimes unreliable autofocusing in dimly lit scenes, and the fact that the screen often misrepresents the shot about to be taken.”
- PhotographyBlog—“The Panasonic Lumix DMC-GF1 takes most of the good points of its bigger brothers, the G1 and GH1, and literally squeezes them inside a smaller, more compact-camera-like body. The fantastically well-implemented Live View, lightning fast auto-focus, excellent image quality and added bonus of 720p video make the GF1 a great camera for beginners and more serious photographers alike.”
- CNET.uk—“The Panasonic Lumix DMC-GF1 is part of a new breed of camera that aims to combine the features and image quality of a digital SLR with the convenience of a compact camera. But it’s the sheer physical and mechanical quality of the DMC-GF1 that impresses the most.”
- TrustedReviews—”In the Lumix GF1 Panasonic has created a camera that I’m sure will come to be regarded as a classic. It really does offer comparable flexibility and image quality to a good digital SLR in a form that can slip into a jacket pocket. Build quality, performance and most importantly image quality are all of the highest order. If the price drops to the level that the G1 is at now then I would seriously buy one.”
- Pocket-lint—”So does the GF1 beat the Pen as the best, most affordable DSLR/compact hybrid to date? Of course the answer depends on your personal requirements, but used as a tool for general purpose photography, the clearer, smoother LCD for shot composition and review, plus built-in flash inevitably take the Panasonic up a notch.”
- What Digital Camera—”The GF1 makes best sense of the Micro Four Thirds format by kicking all the unnecessary DSLR-styling to the kerb. What remains is a compact-sized camera with a deceptive amount of oomph tucked away on the inside, plus the 20mm f/1.7 pancake lens is highly effective. It’ll appeal to a wide ranging audience that want a small bit of kit to produce excellent pictures, though more traditional photographers will still find a DSLR provides better use. There’s certainly some room for improvement (especially the price), but it’s generally good news all round. Picture quality is excellent, it’s easy to pick up and use from the getgo and performance is a fair marriage of compact-meets-DSLR.”
- TechRadar—”We really like this camera, mainly because of the lens, superior sensor, intelligent design and handy exposure widgets. Low light performance is good too. It might not be as chunky as the PowerShot G11 or as chic as the Olympus Pen, but it’s definitely got the X factor. At the end of the day, this is quite a specialist camera considering the unique lens and relatively high price, so we recognise it’s not going to appeal to everyone.”
- DigitalCameraInfo—“This camera shines when it comes to capturing clear sharp images, in fact, when it comes to resolution it was better than the full size SLRs that cost the same. Its onboard noise reduction really impressed us when we cranked it up because most of the time small image sensors yield noisy photos, not this one. White balance was accurate in both auto and custom. Another thing, this cameras auto focus system is fast, real fast. Lets be honest, it won’t keep up with a full on pro camera but hey, take this to your kids next soccer game and you will love how it performs.”
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(4.50 out of 5)
Fantastic and superbly versatile compact digital camera. The lens is really great (although it has easily noticeable barrel distortion at ...
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Comment by
Andrew Erlichson "phanfare" (Princeton, NJ) on 28 October 2009:
This camera is one pound with the 20mm lens. 1 lb. My canon 5D with the 24-70 attached is 4.5 lbs. My powershot S90 (new addition to the family) is 6.8oz. The question is, does the camera take photos closer to the powershot or the 5D. Well, the answer is that it is closer to the 5D, and at this weight, a fine camera.
First, let me admit that I pretty much only buy Canon cameras. Canon makes excellent cameras and once you are invested in the glass and the user interface of one manufacturer, switching is hard. When we go on vacations, if a stranger asks me to take a photo with any canon camera, I can quickly make adjustments to take an optimal photo in the time it takes for the subject to get back to their position in front of the waterfall. They are usually not even aware I adjusted anything.
I bought this camera because I want a camera that is 25% of the weight of my 5D and has decent low light performance. Have I found it? Pretty much. It’s not perfect, but it is lovable. And what more can one ask from a piece of camera equipment?
The Panasonic camera is not so familiar to me and hence I am a bit slower adjusting the controls. There are certain things I don’t like about the user interface: hard to format the card, something I like to do when starting a new day; not great auto-iso adjustment. I would rather go to ISO 800, especially on the camera, versus use a tripod.
Auto white balance under tungsten light is poor. Everyone comes out red. I have been using custom white balance, but that’s a pain.
I don’t love the JPEG output of this camera compared to my Canon cameras. Canon cameras have punchy JPEG output. I know it’s not the most realistic looking output, but I grew up on kodachrome and consumer Kodak papers and the real world just looks dull to me now.
I have been shooting RAW with the GF-1 and trying to learn how to use Lightroom well enough to enjoy that process. My normal workflow is with Aperture but in typical Apple fashion, they don’t yet support the RAW files of the GF-1.
Video mode looks excellent. I have only tried it briefly. I have owned the camera for all of 1 day.
Noise at high ISO is very good. ISO 800 completely usable. 1600 usually ok too. Above that, not so much. My Canon 5D can take a decent photo at ISO 6400. But hey, its 3x the price and weighs 4x as much with glass.
The contrast detect autofocus should not be confused with what you will find on a DSLR. It’s ok. It’s not fast enough for sports. This is a camera meant for street photography, travel, etc.
I gave this camera 4 stars because it is a bit of a compromise. I can’t help but wish that Canon made it. If they made it, I know the software would be better, the JPEGS would be better and the noise reduction would be better. But kudos for Panasonic for coming out with this thing. We all know that Canon and Nikon have no interest in leading here. They are happy owning the market and don’t need to take risks creating a camera for the niche low light prosumer rangefinder leica-nostalgic nuts searching for the perfect 1 lb camera.
Should you buy this camera? It depends on what the weight means to you. you can get a digital Rebel and throw on a fixed focal length 28mm f/1.8 lens. That package will weigh about 1.8 lbs and give you just about the same field of view as the GF-1. But I guarantee it will outperform the GF-1 in every way. The price of that package is comparable to this camera. So what compromises are you willing to make in image quality, focus speed and handling for 8 tenths of a pound? yeah, it’s a hard decision.
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Comment by
Anonymous "Anonymous" (CA, USA) on 28 October 2009:
This camera lives up to the promise of delivering SLR-like results with a (somewhat large) digital camera size and form factor. I would give this baby four and a half stars if I could, but amazon makes me choose either 4 or 5. The lens is superior, especially for its small size. The pictures and movies the camera produces are of fine quality, no real complaints. For an SLR user, the lack of a viewfinder may require some getting used to, but it is a necessary sacrifice to achieve the small size. IMO the main downside of this camera is the interface. The menu system is rather convoluted, features like flash exposure compensation require scrolling through a 5-page menu to find the right option. The ‘MY Menu’ function is not user-configurable, only storing the several most recent menu accesses. If you are used to using a Canon or Nikon DSLR, this (other than the lack of a viewfinder) is probably the one big feature you will miss: being able to access any function you would like to in an instant. Most of the common features are accessible with a button on the panel, and the Fn button is assignable to one of several features depending on your liking. But they really need to make the ‘My Menu’ user-configurable or give you some other way to get at the important features that are otherwise buried deep within a 4 or 5 page menu. The AE/AF button is also somewhat configurable, but this, one assignable button, and a useless ‘My Menu’ feature just wouldn’t cut it if this were a modern DSLR. Maybe a firmware update can fix this? I hope, either way, it’s a great camera and I can certainly live with it, no other significant complaints.
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Comment by
A. Reader (SF, Ca United States) on 28 October 2009:
This will not be a critical review from a pro photographer.
I don’t have the experience with DSLR’s to be able to rate this comparatively.
My goal was simple: I wanted a compact camera that my artsy friend could use to capture digitally, what she was looking at organically.
So often with her high end point and clicks, even with photographers helping her adjust the settings as much as possible, she would see a shot, whether that be a moon on a dark night, a portrait of friends, or a beautiful natural scene in front of her and no matter how much tweaking she did later with Adobe Creative Suite, couldn’t get it to rival what she saw with her own eyes.
After using this camera for one short day, she loves it. I expect as she learns to adjust the settings, and adjusts to some of the other complications, her shots will get even better.
This review is specifically for kit with pancake lens.
Her favorite features are the ‘magic’ flash and the compact size for a ‘professional camera.’
She wishes she didn’t have to buy the viewfinder separately, and/or that it was a more reasonable price.
For someone looking for a compromise camera this is it I think. Its a nice combination of easy to use out of the box/plus customizable settings and features for those who want to get the most out of it. And a lot of camera for such a compact size.
Its certainly not: ‘put in your clutch for a night out on the town where you may want a few pics of friends-size’, but its size makes it a no brainer for when size is an issue, but you know you will be someplace with lots of opportunities for excellent once in a life time pictures you don’t want to trust to a point and shoot.
It’s well worth the money and is certainly 3 or 4 times better than the point and clicks I’ve paid half as much for.
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