The Panasonic GF1 offers a near-DSLR size sensor and quality in a very compact body, making it a popular choice both for people wanting to move up from a compact, and to DSLR owners who want something smaller and lighter to carry about with them without a big compromise in quality.
The Panasonic Lumix GF1 is available from Amazon.com in the following configurations:-
The official four-thirds website.
Wikipedia’s article on the four-thirds system.
There is a GF1 Flickr group.
Craig Mod’s GF1 Field Test is an illustrated travelogue of his 16 day trip climbing the valleys of central Nepal up to the Annapurna Base Camp. Not only does it include some beautiful photographs and videos taken with his GF1, Craig explains why he considers it “a near perfect travel camera”.
Jim Radcliffe’s Panasonic GF1 photograph page not only includes his thoughts on his GF1 (the good and the less good), but shows a wide range of photographic material Jim has shot with it. Jim’s breadth of work shows that the GF1 is a versatile camera, and he gives some insight into how a variety of lenses perform on the GF1. Particularly surprising are how well some low light concert photography with the 45-200 lens turned out.
If you’ve ever wondered whether the Panasonic Lumix DMC-GF1 could be used to take serious landscapes, then wonder no more. David Clapp, a talented landscape photographer, took his GF1 on a trip to Skye (a beautiful Scottish island on the west coast), and writes
“Do you want a compact 12mp system that almost rivals a 5D, fits in your pocket and produces knockout results? A landscape camera capable of truly remarkable images, with RAW output that will literally make you double take? A hiking companion without compromise? Bridging the gap at last, the GF-1 has me spellbound.”
Read about his experience in his article Panasonic GF-1 Review in the Landscape.
If you are interested in how David manages to achieve such an impressive depth of focus on this camera, read the comments below the article, where he explains how to focus the lens hyperfocally when you have no lens markings.
Reviews
Click links for full reviews.
DPReview – Highly Recommended
“with the excellent low-profile 20mm F1.7 lens attached the GF1 becomes a sublime thing that (if you can live without a zoom) genuinely fills the yawning gap twixt the worlds of compact cameras and SLRs. It’s fast, fun, capable of stunning results in raw mode (and competitive results in JPEG mode), offers decent HD movie capture, and has enough features to satisfy even the most enthusiastic tweaker.”
“In the final analysis what we come down to is that the GF1 is likely the best of breed at the moment, but not a panacea for someone looking for a semi-pocketable large sensor camera.”
Camera Labs – 85%
“So our review of the fourth Micro Four Thirds body is another glowing one, and in many respects the GF1 is the best model yet. It’s a lot less physically compelling when fitted with the 14-45mm zoom, but mount the 20mm and you’ll have one of the most satisfying combinations we’ve used for a long time – and one which easily comes Highly Recommended. Of course, fit this lens on the E-P1 instead and you’ll enjoy the benefit of stabilisation too – but as we said a moment ago, regardless of how many times we cover the pros and cons, you’ll already have your favourite body and are unlikely to be swayed.”
“Overall, the Panasonic GF1 is an extremely good camera for such a small package, recording impressive detail thanks to its quality sensor, image processor, and fine optics.”
MacWorld – 4 out of 5
“The DMC-GF1 provides a very satisfying shooting experience. Responsive and easy to work with, the camera has a sound and feel that is very similar to a 35mm rangefinder camera.”
ByThom compares the GF1 to the Olympus E-P1, particularly with respect to jpeg quality, and scores it 3/5.
Software Support
The GF1 RAW file format is recognised by Adobe Camera Raw and Apple’s Aperture version 3.
Eye-Fi Support
I was interested in whether the Eye-Fi range of cards would work on the GF1, as it could provide an easy way to geotag. I asked the following in the Eye-Fi forums:-
Panasonic Lumix GF1 + EyeFi Geo + Aperture 3?
I’m wondering if this combination would work?
I think the tricky thing would be that I use RAW format instead of jpeg. What would happen to the geotagging information?
Maybe if the GF1 can shoot RAW+jpeg, the geo data would be embedded in the jpeg, and I could marry the info up with the RAW in Aperture?
The Eye-Fi guys replied:-
The Geo card does not transfer RAW images only the Pro Cards can do that, and only JPGs can be geo-tagged by the Eye-Fi Cards.
So to answer your question if you used a Pro Card with your Lumix and shoot in RAW+Jpeg you can then use the geo-data from the Jpegs to add it into the RAW files using Aperture. Also please keep in mind that the Eye-Fi Cards do not import directly into Aperture, only to a folder on the Mac (or into iPhoto) so you will have to import them yourself.
Since I have an iPhone, I decided to use that to geoteg my photos within Aperture 3.
Do you have a Panasonic GF1? Let us know what you think of it below.
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