By Leonard Goh
23/10/2008
URL: http://asia.cnet.com/reviews/digitalcameras/0,39001469,62047579,00.htm

The world's first camera to utilize the Micro Four Thirds standard, Panasonic's Lumix DMC-G1, will be on shelves from November. We had a quick session with a pre-production unit and here are our thoughts.

We've seen just how small the shooter is in pictures, but in reality it is a bit more petite than the Olympus E-420, which is currently the world's smallest dSLR. However, since Panasonic and Olympus have commented that cameras using the Micro Four Thirds system are not considered dSLRs, this makes the G1 the smallest camera with an interchangeable lens system. It will be available in three shades--black, blue and red. Personally, we liked the red color version better and it appears the ladies were drawn to it, too.

As the camera body is really small, some of us with larger hands had our pinkie dangling off the shooter when holding it. We asked Panasonic if there would be a vertical grip attachment available but was told there wouldn't be any for the G1. However, the company is considering this option for future models, such as the HD movie recording-enabled unit planned for 2009.

Handling the camera was relatively easy, especially if you've used a dSLR before. But that shouldn't deter point-and-shoot owners because Panasonic has included its intelligent Auto mode (iA) which makes operating the unit almost as simple as a point-and-shoot. Although there isn't a mirror in the G1, the shooter still produces a shutter sound when taking pictures. The firm explained that when the shutter is pressed, the lens mechanism moves and that creates the faux mirror flapping sound.

Framing pictures is done via the widescreen 3-inch LCD which can be swiveled to facilitate taking high-angle or low-angle shots. However, we were more interested in the Live View Finder, which is an improved version of the conventional electronic viewfinder (EVF). In the past, EVFs could not display colors accurately and had limited resolution. The Live View Finder on the G1 has a resolution of 1,440k dots and we were taken aback by the incredibly fast refresh rate (60 frames per second) and detailed representation of the scene.

As we had only a pre-production unit, we will go more in-depth into the image quality department when we get a review unit. Meanwhile, here are some sample shots taken with the shooter.

Lens-wise, currently there are the 14-45mm F3.5-5.6 kit lens and the 45-200mm F4-5.6 telephoto optics available from Panasonic. It has three more lenses lined up next year. They are the wide-angle 7-14mm F4 and the standard focal length 20mm F1.7. To accommodate its HD movie recording-enabled model slated for release in 2009, the company is also planning a 14-140mm F4-5.6 O.I.S. HD lens. Shutterbugs who have Four Thirds lenses can also attach these optics to the G1 via an adapter.

The Lumix DMC-G1 and the kit lens will set you back S$1,199. The price range is similar to budget dSLRs, but we'll know whether or not it will give the bigger guns a tough fight when the G1 goes on sale.