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Maximum ISO sensitivity is up one stop, from 3200 to 6400, though to be honest, that must be just for the spec sheet. As it isn't something I would shout about. However, noise up to ISO 800 is very good with 1600 being acceptable at a push. SD cards, including the newer SDHC and SDXC types can be used. I used a class-6 card and had no problems in writing and reading.
Responsive, with excellent autofocus
The battery, which is apparently chipped to stop third-party battery packs, lasts a very intensive day and a half when out and about. With casual use you might even get it to last a couple of weekends. However, you do tend to show more pictures off to people if you are happy with the composition and I found myself doing this so the screen ends up being on for long periods, which will sap the power.
That said, the screen can be in preview/live feed for long periods quite happily, so maybe that is why I only managed a day and half’s use out of it. The screen was on for large slabs of the afternoons, although there is Eco mode option, which is a timed sleep that you can set for the DMC-G2 to remain activate for only limited periods of time. Yet having it ready to go straight away seemed more important than another charge cycle, every time.
Wanting to test how much of a lag to the screen there was (compared to instantaneous mirrored devices) I walked whilst looking through the viewfinder and taking a wide shot of my own legs. The delay was certainly acceptable enough for me to be not overly concerned. However, this is one of the remaining reasons why I’m still inclined towards using optical viewfinders for critical events. With the lag, in live view, you just might miss something special. Sure, it’s just fractions of a second here, but still worth keeping in mind.
Verdict
The Panasonic DMC-G2 is one of the best all-rounders I have tried lately. The kit lens has no macro, yet I was still able to get in good and close. While the tele-photo end didn't get me too near, it’s certainly sufficient for non-wildlife photographers amongst us, and for small groups of people, it is perfect.
On holiday, it was the only camera I picked up all week, and I had a compact Lumix and a camcorder that I could have taken (both can do 720p and stills). Despite the comparative bulk of this camera, it warranted carrying it around to get the best looking footage and perfect stills, whatever I threw at it. In use, the quick controls and layout are excellent for taking some control back from the program modes. The autofocus just works, and the touchscreen is the icing on the cake. ®
James Cumpsty is a professional photographer and videographer working in the music industry.
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Panasonic Lumix DMC-G2
COMMENTS
Yes
Yes, it does all those things.
Look at the top view of the camera. The dial on the left controls the focus -- full continuous auto, auto, and manual (for manual you can get a handy zoomed in view via the electronic view finder for pin sharp photos). You focus by twisting the lens barrel.
The PASM wheel to the right allows both aperture and shutter priority, both adjustable via the jog dial on the back (it's on the front -- much better -- on the GH1).
I suggest you head over to DP Review for a full (very full) photographers perspective. I guess El Reg is catering to the general gadgetista's interest here.
re: "Blinkers"
No they haven't. They've made APS-C and fullframe 35mm shaped sensor cameras.
Christian Erhardt of Leica had this to say about micro 4/3:
“Our lenses our designed to work best with full format, the light can hit different pixels of the sensor at a very extreme angle–once you have that, the image may be slightly out of focus, or not as bright around the edges.”.
But he also explained why Leica choosed to not join the MicroFourThirds alliance: “One reason why we’ve decided not to move into Micro Four Thirds is that we have looked at the sensor size and realized that it cannot produce the image quality that we need. Therefore we decided to stick with the full format in addition to APS-C. It’s all about the ratios“.
The K-x
The major reason that I never bought a K-x as a cheap backup camera (I'm a Nikon and Leica user otherwise) is that the f'king thing only takes AA cell batteries, not proper solid camera batteries. Even feeding the thing 2900mAh rechargables, the run time is pans,a nd spares are bulky.
Sure, give it the capability to take consumer batteries too- but let it run on proper camera batts. My Ricoh GR Digital 3 runs on the usual lithium camera battery- but can also take AAA cells in the same compartment if you remove the normal battery.. due to clever engineering.
Otherwise the K-x is a fine little camera, nice image quality, snappy focus (certainly compared to cheap Canons) and available in a load of cheerfully loud colours.
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