The Panasonic DMC-GF2 is the Japanese gadget giant’s next play against Olympus in the battle for the best dinky Micro Four Thirds camera. A small size and interchangeable lenses are all good and well, but what about the results? Check out what the experts thought here in the Panasonic DMC-GF2 review roundup.
Trusted Review‘s Gavin Stoker was impressed with the Panasonic DMC-GF2 (Or Panasonic Lumix DMC-GF2 to give it its full name), but not as a direct successor to the GF1. Instead, it succeeds as a more downmarket model for beginners, along the lines of the Olympus E-PL1. If anything, it’s a “beefed up version of the high performance Panasonic Lumix DMC-LX5 compact”.
Buy the Panasonic DMC-GF2 now
Stoker wasn’t as pleased by the changes in the build of the Panasonic DMC-GF2 as with the price and results. “On initial handling it will still appear a bit of a brick to anyone trading up from a slender pocket snapshot…and although its manufacturer has claimed the GF2′s grip is an improvement over the GF1, we were a little disappointed to find that the gentle bulge it masquerades as is still rather small and insubstantial,” he said.
But between user friendly features like a “top mounted intelligent Auto (iA) button, as also found on Lumix compacts” and a £200 price drop on the GF1′s launch price, it was still enough to earn a Recommended badge from the site.
Read our Sony NEX-5 review now
Photography Blog meanwhile addressed the Panasonic DMC-GF2′s HD video: the 12.1 megapixel camera is capable of shooting at 60fps in 1080i resolution. Mark Goldstein was pleased with the video, bar the lack of an option to “fit an optional external stereo microphone which is a little disappointing”, and thought that it was “quite fast at re-focusing, and having this system is much better than not being able to auto-focus at all, as with most current DSLR cameras that offer video recording.”
As for image quality? Goldstein tested the Panasonic DMC-GF2 shooting at 12 megapixel resolution in Fine JPEG, and proclaimed it “excellent” on inspection. “It produces noise-free images at ISO 100 to 400, with limited noise starting to appear at ISO 800…The pop-up flash worked well indoors, with no red-eye and good overall exposure”. If there was a problem, it’s that the “images were a little soft straight out of the camera at the default sharpening level and ideally require further sharpening in an application like Adobe Photoshop”, but otherwise for the size and price point, it’s a performer. Click through on the sample shots below for the full images.
PhotoRadar‘s Gary Wolstenholme wasn’t so enamoured with the Panasonic DMC-GF2, and found it only took perfect shots in perfect conditions. “Images taken at higher ISOs aren’t terrible, but noise levels are higher than the competition, which may put off those looking for a camera like this for activities such as street photography in low light.” We tested out the similarly sized Sony NEX-5 last year and found it was an incredible low light performer for size and price, so you might want to look at that if that’s what you’re after.
On the plus side, Wolstenholme thought that the newly introduced touchscreen controls worked well, especially for beginners. “Once mastered, the touch screen interface is a joy to use. It’s responsive and easy to navigate during both shooting and playback. A decent anti-reflective coating has been added, which does a good job of reducing the mirror-like appearance often associated with touch screens. This makes using the display a pleasure, even in bright conditions.”
Verdict
While reviewers were split over the Panasonic DMC-GF2′s image quality in every scenario, all recognised that the camera isn’t truly a sequel to the GF1. As Trusted Reviews wrote: “it’s not the most direct, like-for-like replacement. This means that existing owners may well want to hang on to the camera they’ve already got”. PhotoRadar described the audience perfectly: “This camera’s strong points are the small size and excellent build quality, which make this camera a joy to use when travelling.” Does that fit your bill?
