Home > Consumer Reviews > Panasonic Lumix GF1 12.1MP Digital System Camera 14-45mm Lens Kit - Black

Purchased the GF-1 to replace my much loved LX3 , Main reason is because i like taking a lot of pics of people esp my young fast moving son ! The GF-1 focus is as fast as my Nikon Dslr and shutter lag is as fast as my Nikon.
The longer zoom is also better for people and throws out the background better then the LX3 due to the larger senser and despite the slower GF-1 lens.
The IQ has really really impressed me more then anything , if you look close the GF-1 blows away the LX3 and matches a DSLR basically, Awesome IQ in a small package this is the dream ticket.
The build of the camera is fantastic feels very metal and solid and all the quick buttons are there for the most common stuff ie ISO, White Balance etc.
Screen is Brilliant and easy to compose even in bright sunlight.
Iso performance is about 1 stop behind my Nikon D50 which in my book is damm good as The D50 gives excellent 1600 ISO,, The GF-1 Is def usable at 1600 ISO though but 800 ISO is great, Raw development will yield even better results.
Talking of Raw and Jpeg some reviews have said the Jpeg processing is lacking a bit compared to some while this may be true i have found the camera gives Fantastic Jpeg results when i use Dynamic mode with the Contrast turned down and NR turned off and I personally do manual white Balance, This setting gives much better Blues and Greens and almost produces those famous Olympus colours on this setting.
Black and white Dynamic mode is Fantastic just like The LX3.
The Movie seems like a very nice extra but was,nt the reason for me to buy in any case.
While the GF-1 is larger then the LX3 which can be pocketed the loss of this is worth the sacrifice for me as the extras like faster focusing, better DOF control, speed of use and superior IQ put the GF-1 in the DSLR bracket.
The slightly larger size makes for good handling as well and although the Zoom lens is not as portable and fast as the pancake lens is it still very good and has IS and also adds to the handling as more to grab hold of.
Basically I Love this Panasonic and has made me want to take Photos more then ever B4.

It really is too early to tell yet - but first impressions are very favourable. It was a choice between the G11 and this - and this won out - probably because I always found my G9 difficult to do close up work with and the additional lenses never quite worked well.

It was immaculately packaged, arrived on time and is a high quality object. I seldom read a manual - so it's good that the controls are intuitive. Working out what some of the settings do can be a little challenging, so the manual is a godsend. Pity it's not really written in English. It's a good approximation - but some of the explanations do take some fathoming out. This affects understanding quite a lot really and for a camera of this price is inexcusable. I am hoping that someone somewhere now writes up a real handbook that explains all the functions in a way that makes more sense.

Initial images are crisp and sharp - better than my G9 - but it will take a while before I can tell how much better it is. One snag so far - and it may be solvable somewhere - is that the control for bracketed exposures (I am playing with HDR) is also the control that sets the timer. This appears to mean that you cannot set the timer to control bracketed shots and thus have to keep your finger on the big shiny button! I hope I can solve this one without going to the expense of buying a remote release, otherwise camera shake is going to be an issue.

Nothing that I read in pre-release reviews picked this up.

More anon perhaps.