Archives

Review: Panasonic Lumix GX1

2012-02-01 19:54
Short version: A return to form for Panasonic, and a M4/3 camera that photographers won 8217;t be suspicious of. Its weaknesses are largely the weaknesses of its class of camera, but beyond those it 8217;s solid, comfortable, and fairly powerful. Not recommended for fidgety and manual focusers, but most shooters will be able to have a lot of fun with it. Features: 16-megapixel micro four-thirds sensor 3 8243; 480Ч320 touchscreen Debuts with new 14-42mm 3.5-5.6 lens (power zoom or traditional) Stereo mic for HD video MSRP: $700 (body only) $950 (as reviewed, with 14-42mm power zoom) Pros: Compact and easy to handle Most settings quickly accessible, some customizable Quick autofocus, good image quality up until ISO 6400 Cons: Manual focus not much fun Touchscreen seems slightly vestigial Thumb dial could be a lot meatier Full review: The GX1 represents Panasonic listening to its fans, who have been slightly dismayed at the continual consumerification of the M4/3 line. The original G-series set them out to be the serious, enthusiast 8217;s M4/3 camera maker, but as the sensor and market advanced, we saw them focusing more on simplification and popularization. That trend is bucked with the GX1, the announcement of which many greeted with relief. It 8217;s clear from even a cursory examination that the GX1 is meant to be a serious camera. Its boxy but carefully designed shape, the thumb dial, the constellation of buttons. Although it will, in fact, take a picture when you press the shutter release button, it 8217;s not the kind of camera you just hand to mom and say take a few shots would you . The design of the camera is straightforward and not very aggressive. The only real topography is found on the right side, where a fairly subtle bump on the front, highly textured, allows you to grip tightly. On the back, a thumbgrip that feels bigger than it looks (that 8217;s a good thing) makes for easier one-handed operation, though you won 8217;t be changing any settings while doing that. There 8217;s a fun little popup flash that 8217;s elevated enough that you won 8217;t catch the shadow of your lens in the picture. It 8217;s not particularly powerful, but it 8217;s there, and it 8217;s fun to pop in and out. I 8217;d say my only real concern with the camera physically speaking is the thumb dial. It 8217;s recessed just enough that rotating it is an effort. And getting to the secondary settings by pushing it in Forget about it. I couldn 8217;t do it reliably, and I wouldn 8217;t want to have to rely on the push-and-turn mechanism at all. This dial could definitely stand to be bigger and have better feedback. Touchable-ish Its rear LCD is a touchscreen, though you wouldn 8217;t really guess it from the look of the menus. It seemed to me that the touch capability was more of an afterthought, and while it can be handy (the little drawer of settings you can pull out from the right is nice), it 8217;s not really useful for any kind of serious applications....
Read More...