20.01.10

Glass Four Thirds Full

Every time a new camera is launched, photography magazines fight to be the first to review it. We all like to be the first with the news. However, as with all new products, a quick review swiftly delivered may not always be the most thorough. This is definitely the case with Lumix’s latest entry into the mini DSLR market.

From the first moment I picked up the GF1, it screamed quality. It feels well built, with excellent construction detailing and a weight and shape that feels good in the hand. So far so good. The look of the GF1 is of a contemporary take on the more retro Olympus E-P2 (its main rival), which, to me, makes it fall between the E-P2 and a Leica on the style front. The concept of these Micro Four Thirds cameras is simple: high-end quality with compact convenience and a choice of lenses. The perfect camera, then, for enthusiastic photographers who wants to keep a camera in their pocket. That’s me! And with that brief, the GF1 fits the bill. Wanting to only take hand luggage on a short trip to Palma, Majorca, it slipped perfectly into my jacket pocket. Despite its value, I didn’t worry about a camera bag of any kind. It’s built well, it felt safe.

The GF1 is essentially a G1 with a few of the GH1 features included, and the loss of a handful of pre-programmed scene modes. When the E-P2 was launched it faced three main criticisms: lack of a built-in flash and viewfinder (there's an optional EVF) and the poor focus speed. The GF1 resolves these with impressive confidence. The GF1 is fitted with the same impressive system as the other G models in the Lumix range.

The GF1 also answers the biggest criticism of the G1, as it is fitted with the previously missing HD movie mode. Movie capture is increasingly important on any quality DSLR, and the lack of it on the G1 was all the more mystifying when you consider that it was built from scratch as a live view camera. The GF1's 720p (AVCHD Lite or M-JPEG) movies can't match the GH1's 1080p capabilities and you don’t get stereo sound, but for the casual user they're more than adequate.

So what is this Micro Four Thirds revolution all about? Well, the system allows slimmer, lighter, smaller cameras by removing the mirror box and optical viewfinder, but without losing a large sensor. Removing the mirror mechanism means lenses for the new size lens mounts can be considerably smaller than current Four Thirds designs. Jointly developed by Olympus and Panasonic, the format requires image framing to be carried out using Live View on either the LCD monitor or an EVF, while existing Four Thirds lenses can be used on Micro Four Thirds cameras using an adapter. The appeal of the format is therefore obvious.

So that’s the science, but what’s the reality? The smallest lens option for the GF1 is Panasonic’s new 20mm pancake, a fixed f1.7 prime, adding 100g to the weight and 25mm to its thickness, while the standard 14-45mm 3x zoom adds 195g to the weight and 60mm to its thickness. So, like the E-P2 before it, the GF1 is clearly thicker and heavier than most compacts when fitted with a lens, but both are still impressively small considering their interchangeable lens capability and DSLR-sized sensors.

The sensor in the the GF1 is the same 12.1 Megapixel Live MOS sensor as the G1 before it. The maximum resolution is 4,000x3,000 pixels in the 4:3 aspect ratio, and if you switch to wider 3:2 or 16:9 modes, the image will be vertically cropped; this is unlike the GH1, which employed a slightly larger sensor, allowing it to maintain the same angle of view across multiple aspect ratios. The sensitivity is in the same 100-3200 ISO range and you can record images as both JPEG or RAW formats. As a standard Four Thirds sensor, it measures 17.3x13mm, which may be smaller than the APS-C sized chips in most DSLRs, but is huge compared with a typical compact.
Both the GF1 and E-P2 are fitted with 3in colour screens as their only means of composition in their standard packages, although the GF1 doubles the resolution of its competitor, 460k pixels compared with the E-P2’s 230k. The GF1’s screen may not have VGA resolution, but it’s still much more detailed than the Olympus, even in the strong Mallorcean sunlight. The GF1 offers a wealth of specifications and shooting modes, from Intelligent Auto to full manual control, and an HDMI port that also allows slideshows to be remote controlled when connected to a compatible Panasonic TV set. A neat idea, but one that’s limited in reality unless you are a fully paid-up member of the Panasonic fan club.

Walking the streets of Palma I find myself holding the GF1 in my hand (I never use a camera strap) for two solid days. I never put it down, and find myself shooting images I would usually miss by the time I’ve grabbed my Canon 5D from my bag. I liked its lack of presence, which allowed me to get images without intimidating the subject with a pro camera. In all modes it performs exactly as it should, but for me the idea of such a camera is to be able to manipulate it within the manual mode, to achieve what I want to, not what a programme tells me. It is in manual mode that I completely fall in love with this camera. I recently fell in love with the Ricoh GRIII with the wide angle attachment as a great high-end pocket camera. Suddenly, I am facing the decision of whether or not to take a mistress in the shape of the GF1 or divorce the GRIII completely!

Having decided on the attractive former option, it seems like a good idea to run the GF1 up against the E-P2, just to make sure I’ve made the right decision. Well, they both sport 12 megapixel sensors, 3fps continuous shooting, 3in screens with optional viewfinders, flash hotshoes, 720p HD video recording capabilities, HDMI ports, and as Micro Four Thirds cameras, they can also use the same lenses. At first glance then, you could be mistaken for thinking the choice boils down to preferences in looks and price, but if you look a little deeper, significant differences emerge.

The GF1’s screen has double the resolution of the E-P2. It features a pop-up flash, faster autofocusing, a more sophisticated auto mode, the choice of Motion JPEG or AVCHD for movie encoding, and it’s 39g lighter. The GF1’s optional viewfinder is electronic, as opposed to the E-P2’s optional model, which is optical and fixed at one focal length. Some may prefer the E-P2’s optical solution, but others will prefer the GF1 viewfinder’s delivery of 100% coverage with any lens, along with showing the same graphics as the screen and offering the ability to tilt vertically.
The GFI is looking good, but the E-P2 has some key advantages of its own, most notably its built-in image stabilisation which works with any lens. This is a major advantage of the E-P2 since the Panasonic relies on lenses with optical stabilisation. The E-P2 also has easy-to-use twin control dials, an electronic levelling gauge and boasts greater compatibility. It’s also slightly cheaper. Despite all of this, the GF1 is the one for me.

So I return from Majorca eager to download two days of happy snapping, more excited than I have been for quite some time by a camera, let alone one I can fit into my pocket. I slip my high speed card into my high speed reader...and nothing! I’ve hit the problem with the GF1 hard: I can’t read the files. I contact Panasonic and spend hours trying to find out where to download drivers or software. Finally, I’m told I need to use a PC with Windows Vista (in the week Windows 7 is launched), Photoshop CS4 or Lightbox. I have none of these, so I tap ‘Converting RW2 files’ into Google and all becomes clear. The forums and blogs are full  of people asking: “What do I do now?”. Well, my solution is to find a friend with Lightroom.

So, it’s a great camera that I love, but in trying to stay at the forefront of software technology, Panasonic has forgotten that many of us are still running systems that are not constantly updated. It’s not yet user friendly to assume we are going to invest in a camera and update all our systems to use it. So before you invest in a GF1 (which I highly recommend) make sure your software is up to the challenge.

Lumix GF1 Spec
Megapixels 12.1
Sensor type Live MOS
Sensor Autofocus points 23
Crop factor 2.0x
Lens mount Micro Four Thirds
Metering system 144-zone multi-pattern sensing system
Frames per second Three
ISO min 100ISO max 3200
Screen size 3in
Card format SD/SDHC/MMC
Battery model 1250 mAh 7.2v lithium-ion rechargeable
Weight (g) 285
Size 119x71x36.3mm
Resolution 4,000x3,000
Aspect ratio 4:3
Sensor size Four Thirds Hi-Speed Live MOS sensor
Exposure modes Program AE, Aperture Priority AE,
Shutter Priority AE, Manual, iAuto, SCN, Movie, Custom (2)
Screen resolution 460,000
File formats RAW, JPEG connectivity USB 2.0 high speed, video out (NTSC/PAL) wired remote control DMW-RSL1 (optional), HDMI
Flash type Manual pop-up, flash guide number 6, flash metering TTL auto/manual
Flash sync speed 1/160 sec
Image stabilisation No
Integrated cleaning Yes
Live view Yes

 

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