Image Quality

All of the sample images in this Review were taken using the 12M Fine JPEG image size option, which gives an average image size of around 5Mb.

The Panasonic Lumix DMC-GF1 produced images of excellent quality during the review period. It produces noise-free images at ISO 100 to 400, with limited noise starting to appear at ISO 800. ISO 1600 exhibits quite visible noise and loss of fine detail, and the fastest setting of ISO 3200 is even noisier but still usable. The images were a little soft straight out of the camera at the default sharpening level and ideally require further sharpening in an application like Adobe Photoshop, or you can change the in-camera setting if you don't like the default results. The various Film Modes allow you to quickly and easily customise the look of the camera's JPEG images. The pop-up flash worked well indoors, with no red-eye and good overall exposure. The night photograph was excellent, with the maximum shutter speed of 60 seconds allowing you to capture plenty of light.

Noise

There are 6 ISO settings available on the Panasonic Lumix DMC-GF1 which you can select at any time if the camera is in one of the creative shooting modes. There is no discernible noise at the slowest settings of ISO 100 and 200, and ISO 400 also looks excellent. There's a little noise and slight loss of detail at ISO 800, particularly in the shadow areas, but you have to look hard to find it. Image quality does start to deteriate at the fastest settings of ISO 1600 and particularly ISO 3200, but both settings are still perfectly useable. Here are some 100% crops which show the noise levels for each ISO setting:

JPEG	RAW
ISO 100 (100% Crop)	ISO 100 (100% Crop)
ISO 200 (100% Crop)	ISO 200 (100% Crop)
ISO 400 (100% Crop)	ISO 400 (100% Crop)
ISO 800 (100% Crop)	ISO 800 (100% Crop)
ISO 1600 (100% Crop)	ISO 1600 (100% Crop)
ISO 3200 (100% Crop)	ISO 3200 (100% Crop)

File Quality

The Panasonic Lumix DMC-GF1 has 2 different JPEG image quality settings available, with Fine being the highest quality option. Here are some 100% crops which show the quality of the various options, with the file size shown in brackets.

Fine (6.77b) (100% Crop)	Normal (3.15Mb) (100% Crop)
RAW (14.0Mb) (100% Crop)

Sharpening

Here are two 100% crops which have been Saved as Web - Quality 50 in Photoshop. The right-hand image has had some sharpening applied in Photoshop. The out-of-the camera images are a little soft at the default sharpening setting, and benefit from further sharpening in a program like Adobe Photoshop. You can also change the in-camera sharpening level by tweaking the Film Mode, with five different settings available.

Original (100% Crop)	Sharpened (100% Crop)

Flash

The flash settings on the Panasonic Lumix DMC-GF1 are Auto, Auto/Red-eye Reduction, Forced Flash On, Slow Sync./Red-eye Reduction and Forced Flash Off. These shots of a white coloured wall were taken at a distance of 1.5m.

Flash Off (40mm)	Flash On (40mm)

And here are some portrait shots. As you can see, neither the Flash On setting or the Red-Eye Reduction option caused any amount of red-eye.

Flash On	Flash On (100% Crop)
Red-eye Reduction	Red-eye Reduction (100% Crop)

Night

The Panasonic Lumix DMC-GF1 maximum shutter speed is 60 seconds and there's also a Bulb option for exposures up to 4 minutes long, which is excellent news if you're seriously interested in night photography. The shot below was taken using a shutter speed of 15 seconds at f/8 at ISO 100. I've included a 100% crop of the image to show what the quality is like. The camera takes the same amount of time again to apply noise reduction, so for example at the 15 second setting the actual exposure takes 30 seconds.

Night Shot	Night Shot (100% Crop)

Film Modes

Panasonic's Film Modes, similarly to Nikon's Picture Styles, Canon's Picture Controls and Olympus' Picture Modes, are preset combinations of different sharpness, contrast, saturation and noise reduction settings. The nine available Film Modes are shown below in the following series, which demonstrates the differences. There are also two My Film options so that you can create your own look.

Standard	Dynamic
Nature	Smooth
Nostalgic	Vibrant
Standard B&W	Dynamic B&W
Smooth B&W

Sample Images

This is a selection of sample images from the Panasonic Lumix DMC-GF1 camera, which were all taken using the 12 megapixel Fine JPEG setting. The thumbnails below link to the full-sized versions, which have not been altered in any way.

Sample RAW Images

The Panasonic Lumix DMC-GF1 enables users to capture RAW and JPEG format files. We've provided some Panasonic RAW (RW2) samples for you to download (thumbnail images shown below are not 100% representative).

Sample Movie & Video

Product Images

Front of the Camera / Lens Removed

Front of the Camera

Front of the Camera

Front of the Camera / Pop-up Flash

Front of the Camera / Live View Finder

Isometric View

Isometric View

Rear of the Camera

Rear of the Camera / Turned On

Rear of the Camera / Q.Menu

Rear of the Camera / Main Menu

Rear of the Camera / Image Displayed

Rear of the Camera / Pop-up Flash

Top of the Camera

Bottom of the Camera

Side of the Camera

Side of the Camera

Front of the Camera

Front of the Camera

Memory Card Slot

Battery Compartment

G1 v GF1

G1 v GF1

G1 v GF1

G1 v GF1

G1 v GF1

G1 v GF1

GF1 + 14-45mm Lens

GF1 + 45-200mm Lens

Conclusion

The Panasonic DMC-GF1 is a natural evolution of the Micro Four Thirds format, offering similar functionality to the G1 and GH1 models in a smaller and lighter body. The GF1 isn't perfect, but it is one of my favourite cameras of 2009.

The DMC-GF1 isn't as small as all those glossy marketing shots may have suggested, but it subsequently handles really well, even for someone with large hands. It delivers all the convenience of a compact camera shooting experience with the benefit of a DSLR-sized sensor in a body that is smaller and more portable than any DSLR. Users looking to move-up from a point-and-shoot compact should definitely consider the GF1. It delivers a near-seamless Live View experience which doesn't feel as though it has been literally forced into the overall design, as with the Live View function on the majority of DSLRs.

In addition the GF1's auto-focus system is lightning fast and very accurate, outpacing its main competitor, the Olympus E-P1, and even rivalling most DSLRs. Some compromises have been made to physically reduce the size of the GF1, most notably the almost pointless handgrip and the removal of an integrated eye-level viewfinder. While the optional Live View Finder is just about worth buying because of the ability to compose an image with the camera held up your eye, it does fill the external flashgun slot, spoils the aesthetic look of the camera, isn't as clear and bright as the G1 and GH1's fantastic EVF, and is very expensive. The pop-up flash is a more inspired addition, with a unique double-hinged design that scores another important point over the flash-less E-P1.

The new 20mm pancake lens is the most natural partner for the GF1, creating a small and light system that can be easily stowed away. The fast maximum aperture of f/1.7 makes it easy to create out-of-focus backgrounds, and the 40mm equivalent focal length provides an appealing angle of view that's slightly wider than human vision. We also tried the GF1 with the 14-45mm and 45-200mm lenses - you definitely need to use the Live View Finder with the longer telephoto lens in order to achieve consistently sharp results. With a new 45mm macro lens due out before the end of October and at least three more lenses scheduled for 2010, Panasonic are clearly committed to the Micro Four Thirds format, an important consideration.

In terms of still image quality, the Panasonic GF1 gets almost everything right. Colours are accurate when using the default Standard setting, with lots of scope to adjust the JPEG output to suit your own tastes, and the auto white balance is spot-on in most lighting conditions. The diminutive pop-up flash is OK for use as fill-in, the ability to make bulb exposures up to 4 minutes long will please night photographers, and anti-shake via compatible lenses helps to keep things sharp in low-light. Noise performance has also been improved compared to the G1 and GH1 cameras, with a very usable range of ISO 100-800 and good results even at 1600. The GF1 still can't quite rival a decent DSLR camera with an APS-C sized sensor in low-light, but the gap has certainly narrowed.

In summary, the Panasonic Lumix DMC-GF1 takes most of the good points of its bigger brothers, the G1 and GH1, and literally squeezes them inside a smaller, more compact-camera-like body. The fantastically well-implemented Live View, lightning fast auto-focus, excellent image quality and added bonus of 720p video make the GF1 a great camera for beginners and more serious photographers alike.

Ratings (out of 5)
Design	4.5
Features	4.5
Ease-of-use	5
Image quality	4.5
Value for money	4.5

Review Roundup

Reviews of the Panasonic Lumix DMC-GF1 from around the web.

Specifications

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