Panasonic Lumix DMC-G1 review

What you need to know

Reviewed by: Lori Grunin

Reviewed on: 25 November 2008

Tags: Panasonic, Panasonic Lumix DMC-G1, shutter speed, lag, adaptor

We like:

Interchangeable lenses; fast performance; excellent photo quality; flip-and-twist LCD

We don't like:

Accident-prone jog dial; some restrictive feature implementations; no movie capture

CNET UK judgement:

The Panasonic Lumix DMC-G1 is a camera that people will either love for its speed, photo quality, and interchangeable-lens flexibility or hate for its large-ish size, electronic viewfinder and occasionally frustrating design

Full review:

Every so often a camera comes along that gets (and deserves) high marks, but which we don't necessarily like as much as the rating would suggest. The latest object of such ambivalence is the Panasonic Lumix DMC-G1. On one hand, it's a surprisingly fast 12-megapixel shooter that's capable of producing some first-rate photos, with a great feature set that includes interchangeable-lens support and a large flip-and-twist LCD. It's solidly constructed and has some clever and well-designed controls. On the other hand, there's the electronic viewfinder. Many people are fine with them; we find EVFs annoying and frustrating. And since most of the shooting experience is about the viewfinder, it feels like a make-or-break issue on this camera. Continue Reading...