Review Date: June 28, 2010
Category: Beginner to Serious Amateur
Photoxels Editor’s Choice 2010 – Compact DIL/DSLR
HANDLING & FEEL
The Panasonic Lumix DMC-G2 is compact and light, with a molded and comfortable non-slip handgrip. The body feels solid and well constructed. There are lots of controls and they make the G2 very intuitive to use if you are an advanced DSLR user, and can be just a bit overwhelming if you are coming from the point-and-shoot world.
The first thing you notice when you remove the lens is the image sensor. Remember, the G2 does not need a mirror, so the sensor is exposed. The G2 has the Supersonic wave filter that removes dust off the sensor everytime the camera is turned on. The G2 uses a mechanical shutter, which means that it is not totally quiet, though it is quieter than DSLRs that have a mirror.
The little red circular lamp at top right is the AF Assist Lamp (and Self-timer indicator) with an effective range of about 1m (3.3 ft) – 3m (9.9 ft) with the 14-42mm lens attached and at wide angle. You should not use the lens hood if you intend to use the AF Assist Lamp since the lens hood (or large filter) will obscure the lamp. Note that your left hand may also inadvertently obscure the lamp.
The G2 is, by design, features, and positioning, solidly in the DSLR camp. Panasonic refers to it as a [micro] “system camera.” It carries over many of the features that have made its consumer point-and-shoot cameras very popular, such as the Intelligent Auto (iA) mode, but to obtain the best results from the G2, it helps to understand what all the features are and how to use them.
Since the G2 is designed to work as closely as possible like a traditional DSLR, DSLR users will have absolutely no problem with all the controls and features. They work pretty much as expected.
Startup time is less than 1 sec., i.e. near instant, from power on to LCD turning on (and, remarkably, including the dust reduction). Shot to shot time is about 1 sec. (I was able to take 6 pics in 6 sec. when the internal buffer fills up), and there is no practical shutter lag. Autofocus is fast and precise in good light (though you may need to adjust the AF Frame size to obtain focus lock in low light).
The G2 uses the Secure Digital (SD) memory card (8MB to 2GB), SDHC memory card (4GB to 32GB) and SDXC memory card (48GB to 64GB). SD card with a speed class of Class 4 or higher is recommended when recording video in AVCHD Lite and Class 6 or higher when recording video in Motion JPEG.
Here’s how the entry-level DSLRs measure up against one another, without lens attached and without battery and card:
| Camera | W (mm) |
H (mm) |
D (mm) |
Weight (g) |
| Nikon D5000 (DSLR) | 127 | 104 | 80 | 560 |
| Pentax K200D (DSLR) | 133.5 | 95 | 74 | 630 |
| Canon T2i/550D (DSLR) | 128.8 | 97.5 | 75.3 | 530 |
| Sony A-230 (DSLR) | 128 | 97 | 67.5 | 452 |
| Olympus E-620 (DSLR) | 130 | 94 | 60 | 475 |
| Nikon D60 (DSLR) | 126 | 94 | 64 | 475 |
| Olympus E-450 (DSLR) | 129.5 | 91 | 53 | 380 |
| Panasonic G2 (DIL) | 124 | 83.6 | 74 (includes protrusions) | 371 |
| Samsung NX10 (DIL) | 123 | 87 | 39.8 | 353 |
| Olympus E-P1 (DIL) | 120.5 | 70 | 35 | 335 |
| Panasonic GF1 (DIL) | 119 | 71 | 36.3 | 285 |
| Panasonic FZ28 (Ultra Zoom) | 117.6 | 75.3 | 88.9 (incl. 18x optical zoom lens) |
370 |
As you can see, the G2 is about the same size as the Samsung NX10 but smaller than the Olympus E-450. Just for fun, we have also thrown in a non-DSLR, the Panasonic FZ28, an 18x optical ultra zoom digital camera, for comparison.
Included in the box is a rechargeable Li-ion battery DMW-BLB13PP that can take about 360 shots with LCD on (CIPA standard) on a fresh charge and a Battery Charger DE-A49 that will recharge a new battery in approx. 155 min.
The controls have been moved around on the G2 for the better. The top of the camera has, on the right side: the Shutter Release Button, the Motion Picture Button, iA button, Mode Dial, Drive mode lever (around the front base of the Mode Dial), and the Power ON/OFF switch (around the back base of the Mode Dial); on the left side are the Flash open lever, the Auto Focus mode dial, and the Focus Mode lever around the latter.
Note that there is no stereo microphones like on the GH1. An optional stereo mic can be purchased and used.
I am not a big fan of the Power switch with two separate ON and OFF positions but that’s a strictly personal preference. I do find that I tend to forget to switch off the camera because I naturally push with my thumb instead of pulling it back with my forefinger to turn the camera OFF. I would have much preferred a toggle switch here: push [with thumb] to turn ON; push again to turn OFF.
Press the Motion Picture Button to start and stop recording movies. Press the iA (Intelligent Auto) button to switch directly to that mode. This is an interesting design and mean that you could set the Mode Dial to, say, Aperture-Priority (A) mode and use the iA button to quickly toggle between Auto and A mode instantly.
In fact, there is no Auto setting on the Mode Dial. The Mode Dial freely rotates 360° clockwise and anti-clockwise. It has 13 shooting modes on it: besides the PASM modes, there is CUSTom mode, Motion Picture, SCN (scene modes: Sunset, Party, Baby1, Baby2, Pet, Peripheral Defocus) and five Advanced Scene modes (with customizations: Night Portrait, Close-up, Sports, Scenery, and Portrait), and My Color mode (Expressive, Retro, Pure, Elegant, Monochrome, Dynamic Art, Silhouette, Custom).
The Drive Mode lever allows you to select Burst (High, Medium or Low Speed), Auto Bracket (3, 5 or 7 frames at 1/3 EV or 2/3EV stops) and Self-timer. The inclusion of Self-timer here means that it is conveniently possible to leave the camera on self-timer mode for a number of consecutive pictures. Beats having to set the self-timer mode for each picture.
The Focus Mode Lever has 3 options: AFS (Auto Focus Single), AFC (Auto Focus Continuous) and MF (Manual Focus). The Auto Focus Dial has Face Detection, AF Tracking, 23-area focusing, 1-area focusing. Focus tracking on the G2 is easy. Set the Auto Focus Dial to Focus Tracking and whether in AFS or AFC, all you have to do is touch the screen where you want the camera to focus to engage focus tracking. From then on, whether you move the camera or your subject moves, the camera keeps focus squarely locked on your subject. To disengage focus tracking, press the MENU/SET button and then you can select another subject to focus track. Very intuitively implemented.
The Auto Focus mode dial and the Focus Mode lever can be confusing to set when in a hurry. It’s because it’s easy to confuse the white dot used to set the Auto Focus mode and the one to set the Focus Mode. Improvemnt suggestion is to get rid of the white dot for the Focus Mode and use the lever itself to point at the selected Focus Mode.
I am usually not a fan of touchscreen interfaces [especially those that do not respond immediately] but I have to admit being completely taken by that on the G2. It simply works, and that’s the best praise you can probably give it. I find it is really most useful when selecting focus. You touch the screen where you want the camera to focus. You slide your finger up and down to increase and decrease the AF Area frame. You can even set the camera to focus and take the picture as soon as you touch the screen [MENU – CUSTOM – TOUCH SHUTTER – ON – then touch the icon on the screen to toggle this feature on and off].
I rarely use multiple-points-area-focusing because I want to control where the camera focuses. But with the touchscreen interface, it is child’s play to ask the camera to favor a certain part of the scene.
The MF mode is fly-by-wire. If you have turned MF ASSIST ON in CUSTOM MENU, touch the screen where you want the camera to focus and hold your finger there for about 1 second and MF Assist kicks in: the screen is magnified 5x. If this level of magnification is not enough, you can touch the magnifying glass icon on the screen [or rotate the Rear Dial] to increase the screen magnification up to 10x.
MF works very well in good light. But in good light, AF also works fine so there is really no need to switch to MF. It is in low light, when the AF does not lock on a subject that is not contrasty enough (remember, the G2 uses Contrast-Detect AF instead of Phase-Detect AF), that you would then find the need to switch to MF. However, in low light, the image is grainy and, even at 10x magnification, it can be quite difficult to know when focus is achieved. The screen display is very good but an improvement suggestion is for an even higher LCD screen resolution (say, 925,000 dots) which would certainly help here.
The Image Stabilization is optical, i.e. the image stabilization technology is located in the lens itself. To use the optical Image Stabilizer on the 14-42mm lens, you need to go into MENU [REC – STABILIZER – OFF / MODE 1 / MODE 2 / MODE 3] to select one of 3 possible modes: set it to MODE1, if you want to see the effect of image stabilization at all times; MODE2, for the most effective stabilization, which takes place just before the image is taken; and MODE3, for panning horizontally. To switch image stabilization OFF, you now must go to the MENU to do so, which is a step backward from what the previous 14-45mm lens offered (where there was a switch right on the lens to do that).
| FUNCTIONS ACCESSIBLE BY CONTROL BUTTONS (clockwise starting from the LVF/LCD button) |
|
||||||||||||||||||||||
| EXPOSURE COMPENSATION |
|
||||||||||||||||||||||
| SHUTTER SPEED RANGES |
|
The back of the Panasonic G2 is dominated by the extra large 3.0-inch LCD screen. Many DSLRs also offer a Live View LCD but they are all basically very slow and ineffectual for regular shooting, thus relegating Live View to “Tripod mode” shooting. But the Panasonic G2 Live View works just like on a P&S digicam: it is bright, clear, and fast. An eye sensor allows you to switch seamlessly between the high resolution electronic LVF (Live View Finder) and LCD. The Eye Sensor is not too sensitive that the image fluctuates erratically between the two. It just works beautifully. You can turn it off you don’t want this feature [MENU – CUSTOM – LVF/LCD AUTO – OFF].
The LCD is beautiful with high resolution (460,000 dots) and fast refresh rate for a smooth Live View. Because the G2 uses an electronic viewfinder, it is possible to display a Live Histogram on both the LCD and the LVF, which is not possible on a DSLR using an OVF. But there is much more: you can actually move the histogram to anywhere on the screen! For me, bottom left seems to be a good spot. The LVF/LCD gains up very well in low-light situations. As I mentioned earlier, those who like to use manual focus would certainly desire an even higher resolution LCD.
The LCD is fully articulated and you have almost total freedom of movement. For those who like to take self-portraits, you’ll be happy to know that the LCD can even face forward. This wide freedom of movement allows you to shoot from almost any angle you like.
Because the LCD is hinged to the left, there is no room for the traditional buttons placement down the left side. The buttons are therefore on the right side of the camera. They are small and even inset into the body, probably so you do not inadvertently press them, but this also means you may need to hunt for some of them a bit. There’s just enough space for a small, but adequate, thumb rest area.
The Diopter Adjustment Dial is one of the best I’ve used. It’s a small matter but if you wear glasses like I do, you need to adjust the viewfinder for a clear view. On too many DSLRs, this diopter adjustment dial is “hell on wheel.” Granted, you may need to do this only once, but it all adds up to a feeling of quality and well-thought out design.
Just like on a DSLR, the Rear Dial is rotated using your thumb [used to be a Front Dial on the G1] and allows you to change the aperture in Aperture-Priority mode, the shutter speed in Shutter-Priority mode and both in Manual mode (press the Rear Dial in to toggle between shutter speed and aperture). In P mode, it serves two purposes: Program Shift and Exposure Compensation (press the Rear Dial in to toggle between the two). It’s all very intuitive, convenient and fast.
The Rear Dial on the G2 is much better than the Front Dial on the G1. The Front Dial on the G1 was too easily pressed in inadvertently so that you often ended up in Exposure Compensation mode without knowing it.
The Quick Menu (Q.MENU) button has moved from the top to the back. Press it and the Quick Menu is activated with the currently selected setting highlighted in yellow. Use the Rear Dial to select the setting you want to change. In Normal Display mode, Q.MENU does not display a row of settings, but conveniently use the settings as they are arranged on screen. The setting turns yellow to indicate you selected it and a “drop down” submenu displays either below or above the setting. Use the Cursor Keys (or Rear Dial) to make a choice, then press MENU/SET (or just click the Rear Dial) to set your choice. It’s quicker and easier than it reads, and very intuitive. If you like to use an INFO screen, press the DISPLAY button repeatedly to bring it up, then just touch to select and change settings. Very nice!
Note that the Exposure Compensation does not always display depending on the LCD Display Type you have chosen. Also, when you first turn on the camera, the current time and date displays for about 5 very very very very very long seconds. Result is that you may not be able to tell right away if you had previously dialed in an exposure compensation and risk taking all subsequent pictures either over- or under-exposed. Improvement suggestion is to always display the exposure compensation in all LCD Display Types and shorten the time/date display [really, do we need to tell time on the camera].
The Film Mode button gives you 12 predefined “film” modes:
1. Standard
2. Dynamic (higher saturation and contrast)
3. Smooth (lower contrast)
4. Nature (bright red, green and blue)
5. Nostalgic (lower saturation and contrast)
6. Vibrant (even higher saturation and contrast than Dynamic)
7. Standard B&W
8. Dynamic B&W (higher contrast)
9. Smooth B&W (smooth gradation and rich skin texture)
10. My Film 1 (original film)
11. My Film 2 (original film B&W)
12. Multi Film (on a single press of shutter button, 3 images are recorded with max. 3 film modes set in advance)
You can further refine the modes as to Contrast, Sharpness, Saturation (not available for the B&W modes) and Noise Reduction. Press DISPLAY to get a short description of what each of the film mode does.
Note that you cannot access some of the Cursor functions if you have Direct Focus [AF Area] set to ON because the cursor buttons are then used to move the AF Area frame around the screen. This can cause a degree of confusion. You can use the Q.MENU to select those functions on screen. Improvement suggestion is that, since the AF Area frame can now be easily set using the touchscreen, the Cursor functions should be reinstated.
Preview is possible by pressing the Delete/Preview/Flicker Reduction button. Once you have pressed Preview, you can then adjust shutter speed and/or aperture to have continuous DOF Preview. While in Preview mode, you can also press the DISPLAY button to have an idea of how the shutter speed you have chosen will affect the final picture.
Note that this button also does triple duty as a Flicker Reduction button during movie recording. If you notice a marked striping or flicker during movie recording, press this button to set the shutter speed to 1/100 sec. If necessary, rotate the Rear Dial to adjust the shutter speed.
You can display guide lines on the LCD, including custom guide lines where you can move the horizintal and vertical lines to almost anywhere on screen. The latter feature is useful when you want to ascertain that some objects in your scene (no matter where they are located on screen) match perfectly horizontally and/or vertically.
The battery and card go into the bottom of the camera and the battery has a latch to keep it from accidentally falling. You will not be able to change battery or memory card when the camera is on a tripod. The tripod socket is metal and inline with the lens.
The Digital Interchangeable Lens category is becoming established as an attractive alternative to DSLRs and those tired of lugging heavy and chunky DSLRs will want to consider the Panasonic Lumix DMC-G2 as a well-crafted and well-designed DIL camera with lots of control buttons and an intuitive interface that should easily meet the stringent handling requirements of beginner and serious DSLR amateur photographers.
Next: Panasonic G2 User’s Experience
