Panasonic Lumix DMC-GF1 Camera Review

I've spent years working with big, bulky dSLRs such as the Canon 1D and 1DmkIIn and the 20D and 40D. Add on L series lenses such as the 70-200 2.8L and you've got a superb camera outfit capable of fantastic images and proven reliability. You've also got a camera bag that promises a bad back and sore shoulder. So when a new imaging standard came about, I noticed. And while the time wasn't right for me to switch systems (I'd been working mainly as a sports and event photographer where blazing fast autofocus and rugged equipment was mandatory) I did wish I could take advantage of the smaller, lighter options the Four Thirds system offered.

Then, about a year ago, Olympus announced the Pen EP-1 camera. This was an homage to the old Pen F series, a camera I once used back in the late 80s and found to be a lot of fun. I started thinking this might be a good time to look at a Micro Four Thirds camera and its interchangeable lenses. One thing led to another and I ended up working on user guides for both the Pen EP-2 and the Panasonic Lumix DMC-GF1 along with my co-author, David Busch. I've already reviewed the Olympus E-P2 for Bright Hub, now I'm going to share my thoughts on the Panasonic Lumix DMC-GF1.

The Panasonic Lumix DMC-GF1 is a Micro Four Thirds, interchangeable lens mirrorless camera. It includes a 12.1 megapixel sensor, which can operate at an ISO range from 100 to 3200. Among its many features is a sophisticated facial recognition capability which can even be trained to recognize faces you photograph often.

The camera features a spartan, but attractive design and fits comfortably in the hand. While small and lightweight, it is capable of excellent images and for most uses, excels.

The basic Panasonic Lumix DMC-GF1 kit comes with a battery, charger and image processing software. Two kit versions of the camera are available, one comes with the 20mm 1.7 lens, the other with the 14-45mm zoom lens. Both versions run somewhere around $800 at this point. I bought mine used off of eBay since I didn't want to buy the kit. I have to buy the cameras I write about for these user guides I mentioned previously, so I have to shop as carefully as Bright Hub readers do for this gear.

Since I already had the Olympus E-P2 and several lenses for it, I wanted to take some time before buying a Panasonic lens or two. Once of the really nice features of the whole Micro Four Thirds approach is that lenses are interchangeable between systems (with varying degrees of compatibility depending on whether you're using a Four Thirds system lens or Micro Four Thirds system lens). I did eventually end up buying the 20mm 1.7 and 14-140 Panasonic lenses. I also purchased lens adapters so I could use Nikon and Canon EOS mount lenses on my Micro Four Thirds cameras.