Panasonic G3 Hands-On
A hands-on preview of the new Panasonic G3 compact system camera, with a gallery of 28 photos.
The Panasonic G3 is the world’s smallest compact system camera with an electronic viewfinder, roughly being the same size as the first-generation Panasonic GF1 fitted with the optional EVF accessory. The G3 has a smooth, sculpted look, very shallow housing for the pop-up flash, and quite a chunky handgrip considering its small dimensions.
The front of the Panasonic G3 with its Micro Four Thirds sensor.
The rear of the Panasonic G3 is very similar to the previous G2 model, with the large 3-inch vari-angle LCD screen, high-resolution EVF and the bulk of the controls over on the right. Note that the G3 doesn’t have the useful eye-level sensor of the G2 which seamlessly switches between the LVF and LCD as you hold the camera up to your eye, and the AF/AE lock button has been replaced by the Movie Record button.
The rear of the Panasonic G3.
The G3’s touch-screen is very similar to that found on the company’s recent compact system cameras, amongst other things allowing you to set the focus point, interact with menus and even fire the shutter by simply touching the large, high-resolution screen.
The Panasonic G3 has a large 3-inch touch-screen LCD which you can interact with in various ways - here we’re setting the focus points.
The Panasonic G3 inherits the same 3-inch, 460K dot vari-angle LCD as the G2, which can be folded-out to the left and twisted around to face to the front.
The Panasonic G3’s LCD screen.
The top of the Panasonic G3 is much simpler and less cluttered than the G2, with fewer direct controls to accomodate the smaller body. The combined focus / metering mode and the burst mode controls have disappeared completely, and the shooting mode dial has fewer options. The G3 gains a stereo microphone to go with its full 1080i AVCHD movies.
The top of the Panasonic G3.
Below is a full hands-on gallery of Panasonic G3 photos showing it off from every angle.
Image Gallery
Click on a thumbnail to see the full version.
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