PETALING JAYA: Looking for a small lightweight camera with DSLR-like features? The Panasonic Lumix GF1 may just be the camera for you.

THE Micro Four Thirds system is a growing segment in the camera market and it is only getting bigger with the introduction of new models. The latest camera to carry the Micro Four Thirds flag is Panasonic’s DMC-GF1.

The 12.1-megapixel camera bears a striking resemblance to the smaller Lumix LX3 compacts as it shares the same design and aesthetics.

The GF1 ships with either a standard 14-45mm (28-90mm in 35mm equivalent) lens with Mega OIS or the new 20mm (40mm) f1.7 pancake lens.

We received a 20mm pancake lens with our review unit and we are impressed with the performance the new lens. The fast f1.7 aperture really helps in taking pictures in low-light situations as it produced relatively sharp and pleasing pictures.

Design

It is easy to forget that the GF1 has an interchangeable lens system because it’s so light. Portability is a major advantage the GF1 has over regular DSLRs, and the inclusion of a pancake lens makes it a highly versatile camera that’s perfect for travel.

The build quality is undoubtedly solid and it is a handsome camera in its own right. In fact it feels just like you’re handling a compact camera while getting DSLR features.

The camera does away with the traditional optical viewfinder in favour of a large high resolution 3in LCD screen that offers Live View shooting.

Using the LCD screen to view and frame shots is easy and the controls on the camera are really simple to use. Just like on a DSLR we could easily make many adjustments.

Amateur users may initially be overwhelmed by the complex looking layout but it won’t take long to get used to the camera’s interface.

As the GF1 has a dedicated video record button, it’s easy to begin recording videos on the fly while you’re shooting pictures. What’s even cooler is that you can still snap still images while the camera is recording video, so you can have the best of both worlds.

The rear control dial acts as your main tool for controlling many of the camera’s settings. It’s push-and-turn design may feel a little clunky at first but it is surprisingly responsive and highly usable.

Turning it lets you adjust settings such as aperture or shutter speed while clicking it allows you to change the exposure compensation.

There are also directional buttons that double up as shortcuts to essential functions such as ISO, white balance and focus modes (i.e. Face detection, Tracking, Area and Centre).

Changing modes using the mode dial is great for quick switches and there’s even a small lever for changing the camera’s drive mode to single, burst or self-timer modes.

Along the side of the camera is a small flip out door that opens up to show the output ports for HDMI, AV (digital out) and remote shutter release accessory.

Also, the designers at Panasonic actually managed to cram a pop-up flash into the GF1’s tiny frame, an amazing feat by itself. The flash basically pops up when called on and tucks neatly back into the camera body when not in use.

INTUITIVE: The GF1's controls and interface is easy to learn and use.

For its intended purpose, the flash is good enough to capture subjects who are a few feet away. While it is not a replacement for an external flash, it’s certainly useful when there isn’t enough natural lighting.

Features

Even if you are not an experienced photographer, the GF1 still has a number of shooting options that will be helpful. Modes such as iA (or Intelligent Auto) switches the camera to full automatic mode, letting the camera do all the work for you.

It’s not just a standard automatic mode, as the camera will make adjustments depending on the scene and even engage different capture modes like macro when taking close ups or use face detection when there are people in the picture.

Also, the camera lets seasoned photographers be creative with shooting modes such as Program, Aperture and Shutter Priority or by switching to fully manual.

The camera is really easy to handle and settings could be easily changed on-the-fly. Despite the lack of a second dial like on the Olympus E-Pen 1, the GF1’s interface does a remarkably good job in making it easy to adjust and review pictures.

Aside from the standard Scene modes there’s also other fun ones like the My Colour feature that lets you fool around with various colour modes that either enhance or desaturate the photo.

Performance

The GF1’s performance is undoubtedly much better than standard compact cameras. It snaps into action almost immediately upon pressing the power button and the lighting fast focus speed makes it a breeze to lock on to a subject.

Autofocus acquisition was quick and snappy, even when compared against the E-Pen 1. The GF1’s manual focusing feature also works great which shows a magnified image to allow you to accurately adjust the focus.

As snappy as the autofocus is, the camera doesn’t excel at shooting fast moving subjects because it’s limited to shooting three frames a second. To put it simply, it just is not as responsive as a DSLR.

We are happy with the GF1’s overall battery life. The battery lasted a good two to three days before needing to recharge when we mostly shot photos and recorded a few videos.

Of course, battery life fluctuates depending on usage — frequent use of the flash and video recording will drain the battery more.

Image quality was good as pictures were relatively sharp although details appeared soft and may require some tweaking with Photoshop. Still, the overall performance is good considering that it’s a compact camera with DSLR-like features.

The camera performed only so-so when it came to ISO levels. You get mostly noiseless images from ISO 100 to 400. However, there is too much noise and images because unusable at ISO 800 and above.

That’s not to say it isn’t good for night photography. The GF1 can hold its own when shooting scenes after the sun goes down as it has a long exposure time of four minutes, allowing us to get some pretty good looking night shots.

However, the camera needs time to process long exposure shots so you will have to wait quite a bit before you get to see the results.

SIDE VIEW: Mounted with a 20mm pancake lens, the GF1 makes for a very portable compact camera.

Aside form taking still images, the GF1 also does HD video capture. Users have a choice between recording in AVCHD Lite or regular Motion JPEG. Both formats produced crisp and sharp videos.

The GF1 has a mono microphone so don’t except fantastic audio quality from recordings. Even worse you can’t hook up an external microphone to the GH1. While it gets the job done, the audio quality could’ve been a lot better.

Sadly, you don’t have a lot of manual control when recording videos as you are limited to playing with the aperture and exposure compensation settings.

On the positive note, the GF1 actually supports continuous auto focusing while recording. Its a nice touch that definitely helps when you don’t have time to manually focus.

However, the focusing can get confused at times and may not focus on the subject you have in mind. Still, the camera is great for shooting casual videos.

Conclusion

In a nutshell, the Panasonic GF1 is a very good and capable camera. Its biggest advantage is its small and lightweight design that makes it extremely portable.

Plus, it has a quick auto focus, interchangeable lens system and HD video capture capability. Also, the addition of a pop up flash helps the camera snap photos where there is little light.

Panasonic walked a fine line between designing the GF1 to be an easy-to-use point-and-shoot camera and offering advanced shooting modes for experienced photographers.

On the downside, the GF1’s mono microphone for recording video hurts the overall video presentation. Also, the lack of built-in optical stabilisation means you are dependent on the lens to stabilise shots.

The camera’s ISO performance is also average at best, so you’re limited to shooting below ISO 800 for noise-free images.

Overall, the Panasonic GF1 offers mosf of the advantages of a DSLR in a compact form factor. It’s definitely a terrific camera for use in all situations.

Pros: Fast auto focus speeds; built-in pop up flash; records 720p HD video.

Cons: Mono audio recording; Colour modes not practical; average ISO performance; no built-in optical stabilisation.