amazon Panasonic Lumix GF1 reviews
The first impression with the GF1 was a relatively small but solid machine. The volume after the memory card, battery and 20 mm tube is only about 350 grams, considerably less than the Olympus E-P1 (454 grams with 17 mm tube). The three dimensions of GF1 are 119 x 71 x 36.3 mm, equivalent to a midrange compact. Panasonic also carefully prepares its “product” built-in flash hidden at the right corner, above the GF1 logo. The top-of-the-line Hotshoe can be used to attach a headlamp or electronic viewfinder. The capture key responds very quickly and offers a soft feel when moving from focus to capture. The GF1’s rotary select button is designed quite simply with some familiar options like on DSLRs. The dedicated movie key is intended to help users get started quickly without having to go through the system menu.
The GF1’s 3-inch LCD panel is sharp and beautiful than most travel cameras today with a resolution of up to 460,000 pixels. The display icons are small but fairly neatly placed in an intuitive user interface. The large screen size forced Panasonic to cut out the optical viewfinder and replace it with the DMW-LVF1 electronic viewfinder mounted on the hotshoe. LVF1 can rotate 90 degrees on its axis, which is very useful when shooting subjects that are too low as flowers, grasses. However, the viewfinder is disappointing because it only has a magnification of 0.52x and the brightness is average even when attaching a tube as fast as 20mm / 1.7. In contrast, the LCD screen can be used quite well in all lighting conditions because it is equipped with anti-glare coating and high refresh rate.
The GF1 sensor is based on the Micro Four Thirds standard – 17.3 x 13 mm. It can capture up to 4,000 x 3,000 pixels (equivalent to 12.1 Megapixels). In particular, GF1 is equipped with ultrasonic dust protection mechanism as on the high-end DSLR products of Canon and Nikon.
where can you get a Panasonic Lumix GF1 online
Panasonic Lumix DMC-GF1 12.1MP Micro Four-Thirds Interchangeable Lens Digital Camera with LUMIX G 20mm f/1.7 Aspherical Lens: Buy it now
Panasonic Lumix DMC-GF1 12.1MP Micro Four-Thirds Interchangeable Lens Digital Camera with 14-45mm Lens: Buy it now
According to the review, GF1 gives better image quality than many travel machines, including the most advanced. Contrast and color represent neutrality on JPEG image files. When converted to RAW format, the contrast range extends significantly with the ability to reproduce missing or overexposed areas. At low ISO options, the image is sharp with high detail. When lifting ISO up to 800, noise is still acceptable. Intelligent ISO not only fine-tune brightness but also instantly identify and freeze motion in the image. GF1 performance is also noticeably faster than the Olympus E-P1. The wait time between two JPEGs is 0.7 seconds, decreasing to 0.69 seconds if the file is saved as raw. Continuous shooting speed is also about 2.8 frames per second. The 23-point autofocus system is based on a highly contrasting and extremely fast contrast mechanism. The machine can switch back and forth between single focus, continuous focus or manual focus. When face detection is enabled, the camera automatically detects the subject in the frame and adjusts the focus and exposure accordingly. You can also manually add faces to the database to speed up the machine in case the frame has too many objects detected.
GF1 is capable of 720p or 1080i HD video recording with clear stereo sound. Compression format AVCHD for relatively small capacity but still ensure the highest peak quality. The camera also supports autofocus during the rotation, however, this function is slow and less accurate.