Panasonic Lumix DMC-GF1

A solid camera that can be carried around all day long – I purchased this camera back in 2010 right before the Lumix GF2 was released. This is a micro four-third DSLR camera and in my opinion is the best of all the GF series released. My kit came with a standard 20mm prime 'pancake' lens which is great for all-purpose photo shooting scenarios. I recommend this cameraa highly primarily due to: - Excellent build quality - the mechanical parts and buttons all feel solid

- The sound of the shutter is strong and precise - does not sound tinny or of cheap build

- The weight although light at the same time, feels nice and sturdy

- Controls are button based, which I prefer over the laggy touch screen interfaces.

- The standard supplied 20mm lens in particular has a fixed aperture of f1.7 so it works really well in low lighting areas.

- Interchangeable lens are a plus, giving you control of your photos and shooting techniques.

I spoke with DigitalCameraWarehouse while I was researching this camera and they said that the Olympus micro 4/3 lens are compatible with the Lumix, which is great in terms of lens choice.

The main reason for purchasing this camera was primarily to use as a substitute from my Canon 60D DSLR, which becomes quite heavy when carried around during the day.

There are a few downsides to the GF1, specifically to do with the video mode...

- Maximum resolution that videos will record in is 720p

- Video sound is only recorded in mono, not stereo.

There are articles available on the Internet that provides you with details on how you can firmware flash this camera to unlock 1080p recording capabilities, but doing so will be at your own risk and will most likely void your warranty.

Overall, I highly recommend this camera for travelling, or if you can get your hands on a 2nd hand one for cheap, go for it. You will not be disappointed at all. Lightweight, solid build, f1.7 20mm lens 720p vide shooting, mono video recording sound

Great product, definitely a market leader during its time – - Noise performance isn't as great as SLR cameras on the market, but noticeably better than compact cameras. - Slightly awkward to hold, not exactly ergonomic. - Some of the battery and card slot covers are plastic and could've used used metal. - Flash is a nice plus. - No image stabilisation, and I only owned non-stabilised lenses. - Nice that the firmware was upgradable via third party programmers. It really extended the video capabilities of the camera.

- Definitely expensive, but that's what you get for market leading products.

- Still slightly bulky, and still wouldn't carry it around on a daily basis. Reliable, funky. Expensive.

Good – This is a fantastic camera which uses the newly developed four thirds system. The system packs an almost DSLR size sensor (17% smaller than APS-C) into more compact body. This makes it a great camera for general consumers who want better quality photos, or for DSLR users who want something more compact for everyday, but don't want to loose too much image quality. The camera is user friendly and allows for manual or automatic control over functions. There is a hotshoe for the addition of an electronic viewfinder or flash. The biggest drawback is that the body doesn't have built in image stabilization, rather Panasonic build it into (most of) their lenses. This means that many of the non-Panasonic lenses compatible with four-thirds cameras will not have image stabilization. Also their is no built in viewfinder, but Panasonic make an electronic one which attaches to the hotshoe. image quality, compact size, inbuilt flash, hotshoe, 4/3 lens system no inbuilt IS, no inbuilt viewfinder

Panasonic's first Micro Four Thirds system camera is a good alternative to an SLR – Panasonic is a "digital convergence" company that has leveraged digital photography off its many years involvement in consumer electronics and video. It first got my attention for its still cameras with its Lumix pocket camera range, featuring a specially designed Leica zoom lens. The 12.1 megapixel Lumix DMC-TZ10, with a tack-sharp 12x ultra-wide-angle zoom lens, remains the best point-and-shoot camera in the pocket digital class, in my opinion.

There were times when I wanted a system camera with comparable flexibility to my old SLRs, but without the weight, bulk and cost of high-end full frame digitals.

Along came the Micro Four Thirds system, established jointly by Panasonic and Olympus. The attractive aspect of Micro Four Thirds is compactness compared to full-frame digital SLRs, and lighter, smaller, cheaper high-quality lenses. The standard is a digital equivalent of the old 35mm half-frame cameras in which Olympus was a major player. Lens focal length in Micro Four Thirds is half the equivalent in full frame digital and 35mm cameras.

I bought Panasonic's Micro Four Thirds entry, the GF1, with the optional clip-on DMW-LVF1 viewfinder, and five Lumix G lenses: the 20mm/F1.7, 7-14mm/F4.0, 14-45mm/F3.5-5.6, 14-140mm/F4.0-5.8, and 100-300mm/F4.0-5.6. It is a magnificent system for the serious amateur, and I highly recommend it. Most of the time I just use the 14-140mm lens, but all of the lenses are useful and cover a 35mm equivalent range from 14mm to 600mm focal length, with remarkable freedom from distortion. Switchable optical image stabilisation built into the lenses works well. My choice of camera bag is the Lowepro Stealth Reporter, which holds everything securely and accessibly.

Panasonic has replaced the GF1 with the GF2, which is slightly even smaller but appears to have similar technical specifications, and takes the same lenses.

The GF1 is a delight to handle, with an excellent range of programmable and manual settings, and image quality approaching entry level professional digital SLRs. I recommend acquiring the clip-on viewfinder, which is electronic, not optical, and can be toggled with the large rear panel display just by pressing a conveniently located button and (unlike fixed eye-level viewing in a standard SLR) can be tilted through 90 degrees. I also acquired Voigtlander's excellent Micro Four Thirds adapter for Nikon lenses, enabling me to mount my old Nikon lenses (manual exposure only) on the GF1. The 500mm/F8 Reflex Nikkor, for instance, becomes equivalent to a 1000mm/F8 on the GF1: tripod territory.

The only characteristic I can identify of the GF1 and Micro Four Thirds which might be a shortcoming for some photographers is that the tradeoff in compactness of the sensor means digital noise will appear sooner than in full frame digital cameras. Photographers who want to do a lot of extreme low light work may wish to look at full frame digital SLRs. Well-built, nice-handling, compact system camera and lenses - versatile alternative to digital SLR for many users If extreme low light photography is a priority, compact sensor may be noisy - and full frame digital SLR may be better.