Pixiq

Panasonic presented the new GF2 camera recently, a camera that shows the actual tendency of the market: more gadget thing, less of a keen photographer’s tool. Like a compact…

It’s smaller (by 17%, the press-release says), it’s lighter (by 7% says the same press-release) and seems to be a cross between the Micro Four Thirds GF1 and the compact LX5. Keeping the same Micro Four Thirds sensor as the GF1, with 12 MP, the GF2 is in fact moving away from being the camera creative photographers want, to be more of a potential upgrade for compact owners.

In fact, the follower of the GF1 trend setting camera is less likely to appeal to enthusiast photographers that marvelled at the external controls of the DMC-GF1: Panasonic as decided to use a touch screen instead. Either because the camera is smaller and could not bear so many buttons and dials or by design, the final result is a camera that has lost essential buttons, like the Auto Exposure Lock and the top dial. The user has the option to define an external Function button/QuickMenu as the access to a specific command, but then he loses the Quick menu access. It’s very confusing.

After testing it on the Lumix DMC-G2, Panasonic seems to have decided that a touch screen is the way to go, so the GF1 has one, revamped… but still a touch screen that becomes the center of operations if you want to use this camera. Having tested the  Lumix G2 touch screen, the best thing I like about it is the option to… not use it.

Well, with the GF1 that is not an option, it seems, because you end with a basic compact; after all, Panasonic has inscribed in this camera their iA mode, an “Intellligent Auto” mode from compacts… so maybe that’s the idea.

While the GF1 was labelled a Micro Four Thirds camera, this GF2 is a DSL. Panasonic refers to it as a Digital Single Lens. It’s a derivative from DSLReflex… It seems no one wants to call their camera Electronic Viewfinder Interchangeable Lens or EVIL.

Looking inside, the GF1 also shows some more missing things, like exposure compensation for flash and the second curtain sync. Less creative options for GF1 users, I guess.

There are some new interesting things, like Full HD video and a stereo microphone, but there’s also another thing that is less positive: because this camera is smaller, the battery is different. That means that if you own a GF1 and intend to buy the GF2, you will always have to carry batteries and chargers for both models.