Panasonic so happy with their Lumix G1 when it came to market last year, they decided to plaster it all over British telly. But was such faith and hype misplaced?
You’ll see from our section on 2009′s top digital cameras piece that latterly, social networking and the fact that most people are photographers on some level now, has seen a shift in the way the big players focus on camera design. As is often the case, gadgets tend to diminish in size and with cameras this change has been marked.
Even pedigree chums Panasonic are with the programme – and so ensues a smaller design on their Lumix G1, which has indeed become more advanced.
With Micro Four Thirds technology, the mirror and prism system is no longer necessary and the traditional viewfinder has also been dispensed with in favour of an electronic one, allowing for a far more compact design.
You can choose from black, red or blue for the main body of the camera. It is coated in an unusual futuristic rubbery fascia which gives good grip and allows for one-handed photography shenanigans.
The rotating three inch LCD screen adds to the flexibility of the G1.You can adopt some very strange positions and use extreme angles to find the best shot while able to keep one eye on the screen at all times.
It is also extremely clear with 460,000-dot resolution and a 100% viewing angle, which will come as a relief to those who have battled with poor quality EVF’s in the past.
Although not strictly a digital SLR due to the lack of a mirror, the features of the G1 are similarly impressive. The Intelligent Auto mode means that you don’t have to be photographic whiz to adapt to the light conditions, because the camera will do the work for you. The interchangeable lenses are truly tiny compared to conventional ones, especially the 14-45mm kit standard.
Other nice features include: motion and shake detection, face detection, subject detection and scene detection. Detection all round then.
The Lumix G1 is primarily aimed at leisure-orientated but more senior togs, people who want the features of a DSLR without the hassle of lugging around a beast of a camera.
If this sums you up, this may be the camera for you.