HomeDigital CamerasPanasonic G1 Blue Digital Camera w/ Lumix G Vario 14-45mm Lens |
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0 of 2 found the following review helpful:
 Lumix G1 1st impressions Oct 31, 2009
All in all I'm very pleased with the G1's performance. I've still got to get to grips with the focusing systems and a better feel how the iA program works and reacts.
4 of 4 found the following review helpful:
 A near perfect mix of portability and image quality Oct 13, 2009
I've had my G1 for three months, and there isn't much I can add to the other 5-star reviews. It's a very solid camera that is easy to carry and easy to use. It takes great pictures. It has three excellent kit lenses to choose from, and it can use hundreds of great lenses from the days of film that are now very inexpensive and easily available.
I have both kit zooms and 3 legacy primes. I'm particularly impressed by the performance of the zooms, which are both exceptionally good for such moderately priced lenses.
All in all, I highly recommend this camera (or its sibling, the GH1, if you need video) to anyone who is moving up from a fixed lens camera and to anyone who is tired of lugging the weight of a full frame dSLR around.
One note: I've noticed that several reviewers cited poor high-ISO performance as a drawback. While literally true - a less than full frame sensor is at a technical disadvantage with respect to noise - I've found that this is much less of a problem than I expected. Part of the reason is that Panasonic took a deliberately conservative approach to setting ISO levels, unlike Canon, Olympus, and others who have exaggerated their ISO numbers. For this reason, a G1 image shot at what Panny calls "ISO 800" is essentially identical in exposure to what many dSLRs produce when set at what those other companies call "ISO 1600." The amount of light hitting the sensor is the same in both cases, and therefore the amount of noise is quite similar.
Thus it is important to compare the noise in an ISO 800 shot from the G1 with the noise from most other popular cameras set at 1600, and so on at every other ISO increment. (Certain Nikons are an exception, as they are closer to the Panasonic definitions of ISO than the inflated Canon/Olympus definition.)
After all, it's the actual exposure settings that matter, not the labels the camera makers put on the ISO. If two cameras shoot the same scene with the same aperture and the same shutter speed, the two exposures will be the same. It doesn't matter that one camera is set at ISO 200 and the other is set at ISO 400, the amount of light reaching both sensors is the same.
What this means in practical terms is that the G-1's TRUE low light performance is one full stop better than most people expect if they just go by the ISO settings.
4 of 4 found the following review helpful:
Great travel camera Oct 12, 2009
Before I go on I should mention I also have a Nikon d700 which is a pretty fancy camera costing about five times as much as the G1 if you include appropriate lenses. When compared to the d700 you can see the G1 doesnt have the same sort of brick like construction quality, it is much more plasticy and doesnt have as many controls to hand. The upside of this is that its about 1/2 of the weight of the d700 with lens and in fact a large part of my decision to buy the G1 was because of its small size.
When I compared it to cameras at the more compact end such as the "super zooms" I found the G1 had a physically larger sensor and better picture quality. There was also a real lens up front with ability to change lenses. Also, superior access to deeper parameters like ISO, white balance, focus and exposure modes easily. The downside here is the G1 costs a bit more than similar "super zoom", though I am amazed at the differences in prices sellers are asking for it. I paid about 20% more than my girlfriends top of the range compact which I felt was worth it.
So I wanted something much lighter than my d700 but still with lots of ability to fiddle with parameters. I have not been disappointed in this camera, its great fun to use. Setting of most functions require only one or two button presses and scroll of the wheel. I love the small size and reduced weight. Although the electronic viewfinder sacrifices some naturalness you get used to it pretty quick and it has the ability to do things you cant with a SLR viewfinder. These include ability to preview the effects of changes to aperture and shutter speed which is great for lower light shooting. You can also see how much image blurring will occur with slower shutter speeds, and also preview depth of field. When travelling in dodgy places I also feel less self conscious pulling this camera out in public, and feel less likely to get mugged!
Ive noticed some reviewers have marked this camera down as being too complex and I feel this is not a fault of the camera. It would be different if the camera were poorly laid out but its not, one button press will give you access to a whole range of parameters, its hard to fault. Little things are annoying like when you want to delete a photo you have to press the delete button then press a scroll right button to choose 'yes" and then press a "menu set" button to confirm. So thats 3 different buttons. On my d700 you just press the delete button, get asked OK? and then press again. Much less finger moving around. These little details are what distinguish higher end cameras but this is a minor quibble.
More obscure parameters need more button pressing but this camera is no worse than even the d700. If you are not interested in learning about what goes into a photograph then I would agree the ability to tweak settings will be unnecessary and intimidating and you would be better off with a more preset oriented camera. Then again, the G1 has about 8 scene presets, so at minimum you can just point and shoot. This is good when you want to hand your camera over to a non-camera friendly stranger or friend to use without baffling them.
To sum up, this camera was a compromise for me between the high end picture quality of my d700 and the need for something more lightweight, compact and less obtrusive, but still with enough sophistication to allow tweaking and user input into the photo.
0 of 4 found the following review helpful:
excellent camera Sep 11, 2009
Ijust can't stop loving it. The functionalities and the look are just so facinating. If I were to buy a camera again, I will surely go for it.
4 of 5 found the following review helpful:
Lumix G1 a great camera for dads Sep 08, 2009
I am a photography novice, my experience with cameras is mostly confined to chasing my two kids around with a point and shoot. I was accustomed to getting blurry, noisy, and dark pictures of my family with my Canon PowerShot. I made a list of the things I wanted in a new family camera.
1. Great image quality! Not good, not fair, but great image quality indoors as well as outdoors.
2. Relatively compact size. I was looking very seriously at the Canon PowerShot SX1IS, and the PowerShot G10
3. Ease of use. I don't have time to fiddle with settings and take six exposures of the same scene to get a good shot.
4. Speed. My kids can't hold still, its like an invisible gnome is following them around with a cattle prod.
5. Price. I can't afford the moon. I needed to keep this purchase well under $1000.
I have had the Lumix G1 for about a month now, and I LOVE it. It fits all 5 of my requirements nicely.
1. The G1 takes great pictures. I have tried it outdoors and indoors, I am very happy with the results.
2. I was a little worried about its size at first, but in comparison with a full size SLR, the G1 is tiny.
3. I can hand this camera to my wife, leave the camera on iauto and she is fine using it.
4. I can actually focus on my kids now. I take this camera to the park all the time and get great shots.
5. The street price is about $650 for this camera. Well within my budget.
Particular features I like:
1. Grip. This camera is easy to hold for me and my giant hands. Its small for an SLR, but not so small that I might accidentally swallow it or something either. Its very easy to carry around. It also has a rubbery coating on the body which gives it a nice sheen, as well as added grip.
2. The swing-out LCD viewfinder. Makes taking shots from low angles really easy. I also like that the camera knows when I am looking through the eye piece and turns the LCD off.
3. The intelligent auto feature detects when a face is present, or when a subject is moving and adjusts settings for you--fast.
4. The interface is easy to get around in. I can actually switch settings on this camera without a degree in engineering.
5. My wife isn't put off by it. She feels very comfortable picking it up and taking pictures with it.
In the end, this camera takes great shots. It is easy to learn, and very easy to carry around. I would recommend it to any dad who is looking for SLR quality pictures without the bulk and complication of use those kinds of cameras generally offer.
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