Review Date: June 28, 2010
Category: Beginner to Serious Amateur
Photoxels Editor’s Choice 2010 – Compact DIL/DSLR
USER’S EXPERIENCE
Wednesday, June 3, 2010 – Here’s what I receive in the box:
- Lumix DMC-G2 with body cap
- Kit lens Lumix G Vario 14-42/F3.5-5.6 ASPH MEGA O.I.S. Ø52mm with Lens cap, Lens Rear Cap, Lens Storage Bag and Lens Hood
- No memory card [Panasonic sent me a 2GB SD memory card for the review]
- Li-ion Battery DMW-BLB13PP 7.2V 1250mAh 9.0Wh
- DE-A49 Battery Charger with Power Cord
- Shoulder Strap
- USB Cable and A/V Cable
- Documentation: Operating Instructions
- Software CDs: PHOTOfunSTUDIO 5.0 HD Edition (Win only), SILKYPIX Developer Studio 3.1 SE (Win & Mac)
The Panasonic Lumix DMC-G2 improves on the G1 with HD 720p movie and a touchscreen interface that works really well. I am not a big fan of touchscreen interfaces and really prefer buttons to half-baked and unresponsive implementations but the G2’s touchscreen works very well and is a pleasure to use. Plus, the buttons are still there for the die-hards who would rather avoid touching the screen.
[Note: The touchscreen is not active for all functions. For example, MENU items are still selected using the Cursor buttons.]There is not much to say about the G2 except that, if you liked the G1 and GH1, you’ll certainly like the G2. Like the GH1’s movie mode, the G2 allows continuous focus during movie recording so that you can move from a far away subject to a close subject, and the camera will refocus appropriately. Note that this continuous focus is not instant. For example, if the camera is focused on a subject at infinity and you pan the camera to point to a subject in the near foreground, the camera will not refocus until you stop long enough on the subject for it to do so.
Tip: Pair that continuous refocusing with the touchscreen interface and you can suddenly get fancy focus transitions like the big film directors demand:
[Note that the GH1 features true HD 1080i movie (1920 x 1080 pixels) while the G2 records in HD 720p (1280 x 720 pixels).]The dedicated Movie button is now on the top of the body and makes switching to movie mode a one button press affair. Tip: Half-press the shutter release button first to get your subject in focus before starting your movie recording.
As far as the video is concerned, we did not experience any slow video activation time with our review camera but did notice that there is a very slight cut off at the end, so recommendation is to hold it for an extra second or so at the end before you stop filming.
The Contrast-Detect AF on other DSLRs is so slow that Live View is relegated to “tripod mode” where your subject does not move and you can take your time to lock focus. On the G2, Live View works exactly as you are used to having it work on your compact digicam. You don’t have to turn Live View ON because it is Full-Time — always ON.
With the mirror gone, the G2 features a high resolution electronic viewfinder that has nothing to be ashamed of compared with the traditional optical viewfinder on DSLRs. You’d be hard pressed to differentiate the two, especially when comparing it against the small viewfinders on entry-level DSLRs.
Now that I have purchased a MacBook Pro, I am aware of what’s “missing” for the Mac users. PHOTOfunSTUDIO is only for Windows. SilkyPix is for both Windows and Mac. I won’t say much about PHOTOfunSTUDIO (you can read what I wrote in the GF1 review) except that it certainly diminishes the level of enjoyment when you go to view the images you’ve captured with this excellent camera.
An Operating Instructions manual (“user manual”) is provided in print, is well written, illustrated and indexed. I find that the best way to use the manual is to find the page(s) attached to a control button. It usually takes me right to where I need to go. Failing this, I then resort to the Index. The only improvement suggestion I have for the manual is to beef up the index with industry standard terminologies. For example, referring to continuous shooting mode as ‘Burst’ is fine (is in the index), but so is ‘Continuous Shooting’ (is not in the index). Another example is ‘Image Stabilization’ (is not in the index) which you’ll find in the index only if you look for ‘Optical Image Stabilizer’. There are a number of other similar examples which make it take just a bit longer than necessary to find what you are looking for in the index. Take the time to read the user manual from cover to cover and you’ll quickly discover all the many great features of the G2.
What I like about the G2:
- A really enjoyable camera with user-friendly and intuitive controls.
- Very good to excellent image quality with low noise up to ISO 400.
- Very good handling and feel.
- Very well implemented Touchscreen interface.
- Fast and precise AF, even in low light.
- Best Live View experience on a ‘DSLR’: works just like on a high-end compact digicam, beats DSLR “tripod” implementation.
- Very fast start up, even including dust reduction.
- HD 720p Movie.
- Love the AF Area (‘Direct Focus Area’) with adustable AF frame size and Spot AF.
- High resolution fully articulated LCD.
- Well implemented Eye Sensor
- Best Electronic Viewfinder on a digital camera
- Viewfinder extends far behind LCD screen avoiding ‘oily nose’ syndrome
- Rear Dial is an improvement over Front Dial
- Diopter Adjustment Dial that works very well
No review is complete without a couple of improvement suggestions:
- Multi-Pattern metering needs to take sky more into consideration.
- Bigger internal buffer for better Continuous Shooting.
- LCD resolution: Provide an even higher resolution LCD for precise manual focusing.
- Better image editing software and don’t forget the Mac.
The Panasonic Lumix DMC-G2 provides a real alternative to the traditional entry-level DSLR. From the excellent electronic viewfinder to the fast Live View, you’ll find a camera that is easy to use and easily rivals the DSLR experience without it being too overwhelming, especially if you’re coming from the point-and-shoot world. But if you do want to explore all its features, there are lots to keep you occupied for a long time. The touchscreen LCD may or may not appeal to you but, if you give it a try, especially for telling the camera where to focus, you’ll find it’s not a gimmick but works very accurately and intuitively. I am still impressed by it and Highly Recommend it as an excellent smaller and lighter camera for beginner and serious amateur photographers.
Next: Panasonic G2 QuickFact Sheet / Buy
