Panasonic Lumix DMC-G1 SLR-Style Digital Camera (Red) with 14-45mm Lens

Comments about Panasonic Lumix DMC-G1 SLR-Style Digital Camera (Red) with 14-45mm Lens:

I have the G1, GF1, 20mm and 14-45mm. I find these two much more fun to carry around than the 5D2 or 5D1 that I usually use.

Comments about Panasonic Lumix DMC-G1 SLR-Style Digital Camera (Red) with 14-45mm Lens:

I have been using Lumix cameras for a few years now, but this is my first step up to an interchangeable lens camera and Lumix has not disappointed. The controls are well arranged and very intuitive. The raw images have beautiful detail right out of the camera with little or no tweaking needed in Silkypix. I have not messed around with the higher ISO settings yet, but everything from 100 to 400 ISO has been stunning. I am very happy with this camera.

Comments about Panasonic Lumix DMC-G1 SLR-Style Digital Camera (Red) with 14-45mm Lens:

As an avid photographer, I was excited to find a fully digital SLR. Yes, I know technically it isn't considered a SLR because it is fully digital, but for lack of a better description that is what it is. I was interested in the fully digital concept because of it's size. I have small hands, and some of the bigger SLR's like the Rebel were big and bulky for me, and heavy to handle after awhile. This camera is 1/3 smaller than a traditional SLR and lighter too, even with the 200 mm zoom lens attatched. Not to mention it is easier to travel with!

The pros are: The battery life is awesome, I can get more than 300 HQ photos taken before the battery starts to run low. It also has several burst modes available for those action shots, which is nice. The swivel lcd is awesome, and I love the realtime view finder as you don't need to push a button to switch between the lcd and the view finder. Your scene choices are plenty, plus you can design up to 2 custom settings for yourself too. There are so many options to choose from, it is fun to try them, but also can be overwhelming to learn (which is a con), but I suggest learning a little at a time, and carrying the 200 page instruction book with you for awhile!

The cons: Not having more than 2 lenses to choose from at this time. Sure you can use other SLR lens, but you need an adapter to use them, and your auto mode will not work with some of those lenses. As listed above, the amount of options and setting you have available can be overwhelming to learn and the instruction book is not laid out well in my opinion. I also wish it has video capability, but it doesn't. Panasonic does have another camera out now that does, but it costs more, and does not have some of the features this one offers. So you have to make a choice. My choice would be to have it all in one!

Overall impression: I am glad I bought the camera, and am looking forward to Panasonic coming out with more lense choices. If you already own a Panasonic digital camera you will have an easier time learning all the options because the menu screen is laid out similiar to their other cameras, which is nice. I also highly recommend you splurge and purchase the 200 mm zoom lense, especially if you like to take photos of landscape, wildlife or sport shots.

Comments about Panasonic Lumix DMC-G1 SLR-Style Digital Camera (Red) with 14-45mm Lens:

I'm just breaking into the world of DSLR and spent weeks researching the best camera for me. I finally settled on the G1 based on excellent reviews and smaller size. I haven't been disappointed. The smaller size is super nice, it's light weight enough to take places I don't think I'd take larger/heavier cameras. For instance, I'm a rock climber and I climbed the nose of El Cap in Yosemite last week with it (in a case of course), and took it up multiple other climbs (multi-pitch, not single, so a long ways and several hours). A larger camera would have been too bulky and heavy. This camera seems fairly durable and has withstood a few accidental bumps, short drops in case, etc without any problems. I have small, woman hands and find this easy to handle, but my husband also has no problem with his man hands- I don't think it's too small for big hands.

So far I've used it mostly to take scenery and climbing pics, but also used it for a friend's new baby. It has not disappointed. I mostly use the manual settings and have gotten amazing photos. It's easy to change settings, even with using just the view finder. The baby pics were impressive (I used the special baby mode for these), with nice soft skin tones and nice close ups. My friends were super impressed, my pics were by far the best they've had taken of their baby. My husband uses the auto settings. The intelligent auto setting lets him get great looking pictures as well and is impressive.

The LCD is nice, though sometimes glare can make it difficult to use in bright light with sun at my back or side, but this isn't a big issue for me since I prefer the view finder anyway. Except for very bright sun, the LCD is very nice, and I like that it can rotate and fold away to protect it.

The focus is very fast and good with either single or multiple objects, near or far, and it's easy to get fast action shots.

One con is the lack of lenses currently available for the micro four thirds cameras, which I hope will change soon. Of course you can use an adapter and then use regular four thirds lenses, but that seems to defeat the purpose of it being light and small. I'm particularly hoping for a wide angle lens in the near future.

Comments about Panasonic Lumix DMC-G1 SLR-Style Digital Camera (Red) with 14-45mm Lens:

I am an advanced amateur photographer with more than 50 years experience with all kinds of cameras staring with an Agfa box, an Agfa Ambi Silete then Exacta (the prototype of the SLRs) transitioned to Canon and Nikon, the latest being the Canon D50. I also intensively used medium format cameras such as a 2.8 Planar Rolleiflex (a great camera) and single lens reflex medium format. I do mainly street portraits as I travel around the globe as well as macrophotography, mainly flowers (a la Georgia O'Keefe)and butterflies. I got this camera because I am feed up of lugging heavy bags (there was a time when I carried 5 cameras with diverse lenses). I have two identical Lumix G1s,one with the 14-45 and the other with the 45 to 200 mm lenses; one for me and one for my dear wife. We carry the cameras in a very small backpack together with our VAIO as a portable darkroom and travel very comfortably and very light. Three days ago we came back with 20 GB of pictures taken during an extensive trip in Cinque Terra. We used the short lens with the polarizer and the warming filter, the pristine sea water there is shown beautifully as well as the wonderful reflections of the boats in the sea. We took portraits often using the digitals zoom up to x4, all hand held. Last night I had the joy to review the shots (after downsizing the files to 72 dpi) in a 42" diagonal Sony TV screen JUST MAGNIFICENT. We never took better pictures, I would match the results to pictures taken with medium and large format cameras. I look forward to more lenses coming for this great camera. The D50? Very well thank you, with a macro ring, in the car to be used when we are in and around home. If we have to fly, the G1 is the one to take.[...]

Comments about Panasonic Lumix DMC-G1 SLR-Style Digital Camera (Red) with 14-45mm Lens:

The Micro 4/3 system so far (mid-August) includes only two cameras, Panasonic Lumix G-1 and Olympus E-P1. The Lumix incorporates a pseudo-SLR viewfinder system in which you see the image of a viewing screen identical to that shown on the back of the camera; the E-P1 has no viewfinder except the screen on the back, using which is almost impossible in sunlight and leads to image shakiness despite the E-P1's internal shake-dampening, since the camera isn't braced against the photographer's head. In the Lumix, shake-dampening is entirely contained within the manufacturer's lenses, so that it, too, has no dampening if you mount lenses from another manufacturer.
Nevertheless, Novoflex and a Japanese company both have made adapters to use Leica rangefinder M-Mount lenses on Macro 4/3 cameras. This is possible because of the very short back focus of the Macro 4/3 design, which lacks a mirror and is considerably shorter than the Leica M-cameras' back focus. Leica Thread-Mount (and Canon, Nikon, and so on through everyone who used to make them) lenses can also be fitted to 4/3 cameras by using a thread-to-M-Mount adapter ring, if you can find one. Of course, in the 4/3 system, each lens covers the equivalent of a 35mm camera's lens that is twice as long.
For example, my Canon 100mm f/2.0 lens becomes the equivalent of a 200mm f/2.0 when I put it onto the G-1, and this is a possibility not to be sneezed at. It's a combo that on the E-P1 held at arm's length would probably be too unsteady, but the G-1 rests against the user's head. A 50mm Summilux f/1.4 becomes a 100mm, 35mm lenses stretch to 70mm, and so on; you can't make a really wideangle combination here. But what you can do works: my 135mm f/3.5 Canon is essentially a 270mm f/3.5. Not bad!
Of course, there's no autofocus; you have to focus manually on the G-1's screen, which isn't really made quite right for this use. Nor is there any hope of an auto-diaphram; you must close the lens down manually before making each exposure. On the other hand, once you've found the proper setting lurking at the very end of one of the G-1's menus to tell it to work with no lens mounted, you actually do get auto-exposure at whatever f-stop you have set the lens to.
As a proper camera using the two Panasonic lenses made for it, the G-1 may be difficult to use, largely because the control wheel just below the shutter release tends to wander away from where you've set it, but also because if you set the camera to give you a 5-second (for example) review of whatever shot you've just made, the same review also happens in the camera finder until you press the shutter release halfway: if you're trying to shoot a quick sequence, the best solution is to set the G-1 for zero review.
As a fun family camera, the G-1 probably makes the grade. As reflex (sort of) camera on which you can use Leica rangefinder-mount lenses, it's really all we have at the moment. For any other serious purpose, though, a knowledgeable user can do better. A professional camera, it's not.
As for recommending it to a friend: that would depend on what the friend wants to accomplish!

Comments about Panasonic Lumix DMC-G1 SLR-Style Digital Camera (Red) with 14-45mm Lens:

This camera has been wonderful. Easy to use, has an auto button to do the work for you. Takes awesome pictures and is very lightweight for travel. Best to get high speed SD card for rapid fire shooting. Worth every penny for what the camera does!

Comments about Panasonic Lumix DMC-G1 SLR-Style Digital Camera (Red) with 14-45mm Lens:

I normally shoot with a Canon EOS 5D, a full sized DSLR. I was looking for a P&S that I could carry with me. Purchased one and soon discovered that the lack of an optical viewfinder was a major issue for me (when using the camera outdoors). Had heard about the G1 and the new technology got my interest. No, it's NOT a small point and shoot. But, it's smaller than my DSLR and the EVIF viewfinder is wonderful!!! I have the two kit lenses and this camera has become my go-to camera for travel, especially daytime use. If Panasonic were to ever offer some fast glass, I'd be thrilled. Lots of users are buying adapters and using old legacy lenses and they seem to be having lots of fun. By the way, the red is too cute!!!!

Comments about Panasonic Lumix DMC-G1 SLR-Style Digital Camera (Red) with 14-45mm Lens:

I would carry it always with me (can't wait for the pancake 20mm f/1.7 lens).See also the review on my blog [...]

Comments about Panasonic Lumix DMC-G1 SLR-Style Digital Camera (Red) with 14-45mm Lens:

I purchased this camera for natural abstract photos. The LCD panel makes it easy to get the right angle for my compositions. It's ease of use, responsiveness, and image quality makes it a great take anywhere camera.

Pros: Well built, good looking body design, well laid out controls and excellent features. Great lens. Surface of the body has a wonderful tactile quality. While the shooting in JPEG gives great results, I would still recommend RAW format for critical work.
Manual focussing is a joy to use.

Cons: Typical of all 4:3 format cameras, high ISO images tend to be a bit noisier. Good Raw > Tiff conversion software can eliminate this issue.