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-GF2 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 ISO 3200 is even noisier but still usable. The new fastest setting of ISO 6400 is just too noisyfor anything but as a last resort. 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 My Color 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 7 ISO settings available on the Panasonic Lumix DMC-GF2. Here are some 100% crops which show the noise levels for each ISO setting, with JPEG on the left and RAW on the right:

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)
ISO 6400 (100% Crop)	ISO 6400 (100% Crop)

File Quality

The Panasonic Lumix DMC-GF2 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 (6.33b) (100% Crop)	Normal (2.82Mb) (100% Crop)
RAW (14.1Mb) (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-GF2 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 (28mm)	Flash On (28mm)

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-GF2 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 30 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)

My Colors

Panasonic's My Colors provide preset combinations of different sharpness, contrast, saturation and noise reduction settings. The eight available My Color options are shown below in the following series, which demonstrates the differences. There is also a Custom option so that you can create your own look.

Expressive	Retro
Pure	Elegant
Cinema	Monochrome
Dynamic Art	Silhouette

Sample Images

This is a selection of sample images from the Panasonic Lumix DMC-GF2 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-GF2 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

Front of the Camera / Pop-up Flash

Front of the Camera / Lens Removed

Isometric View

Isometric View

Rear of the Camera

Rear of the Camera / Image Displayed

Rear of the Camera / Turned On

Rear of the Camera / Main Menu

Rear of the Camera / Q.Menu

Rear of the Camera / Record Menu

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

Conclusion

The appeal of the Panasonic Lumix DMC-GF2 is definitely in the eye of the beholder, more so than most cameras that we've reviewed recently. While current GF1 owners will most likely bemoan the simplification of the control system in favour of a touchscreen system, compact camera owners looking to upgrade to the new breed of DSLR-like models will no doubt be attracted by the smaller design, cutting-edge interface and pared-down design. The GF2 is definitely not a natural successor to the GF1 that it replaces, but that doesn't mean that it isn't a great camera in its own right that's well-suited to its new target audience.

The drive towards smaller and smaller bodies and lenses in the fledgling Compact System Camera market is similar to the megapixel wars that have dominated compact digicams until very recently. While the Panasonic GF2 isn't as small as the Sony NEX system if you compare the bodies side-by side, when you factor in the fact that the GF2 has a built-in flash and in particular the tiny Micro Four Thirds lenses, both are very similar in size and weight. Indeed, the GF2 with the 14mm lens fitted is smaller than the likes of the Canon Powershot G12 and Nikon Coolpix P7000, which only have much smaller image sensors (but admittedly bigger zooms) and it's almost as small as Panasonic's own LX5 premium compact.

This diminutive design has been achieved by the implementation of that potentially controversial touch-screen system and the accompanying removal of many of the GF1's buttons, dials and switches. While you can still access most of the camera's main features via its remaining external controls, it is undoubtedly trickier than on the GF1. Importantly, though, you'll be missing out on some advanced functionality that GF1 owners can only dream about if you ignore the touchscreen, chief among them the ability to focus on your subject simply by tapping them onscreen, even when shooting movies. While the polished and intuitive touchscreen interface still won't be to everyone's tastes, it should help the GF2 appeal to a wider audience, helping to expand the appeal of Compact System Cameras further.

The other major change, an upgrade to 1080i Full HD movies, will likewise also braden the GF2's appeal, especially given that the move to high definition video has swept across the entire photographic industry in the last year. It now sits just behind the flagship GH2 in terms of quality, although there are a few significant missing features, most notably the lack of an external microphone socket and the inability to change the aperture and shutter speed during recording. We also missed the remote control socket which has been inexplicably dropped from the GF2, making timed exposures an unnecessarily hit and miss affair.

In terms of still image quality the GF2 uses the same sensor as its predecessor, so the performance is virtually indistinguishable. Noise performance is very similar, with a very usable range of ISO 100-800 and good results even at 1600, although the fastest settings of 3200 and particularly the new 6400 setting aren't really worth using, so the GF2 still can't quite rival a decent DSLR camera with an APS-C sized sensor in low-light. 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.

Cheaper than the GF1 was on launch, the new DMC-GF2 takes Panasonic's compact system cameras in a new direction, aiming to appeal to a wider base of users who are looking for DSLR-like results from a simpler and more compact design. While it's certainly not a logical upgrade for current GF1 owners, the GF2 deserves to make a big leap forward both for Panasonic and for the Compact System Camera market as a whole.

Ratings (out of 5)
Design	4.5
Features	4.5
Ease-of-use	4.5
Image quality	4.5
Value for money	4

Review Roundup

Reviews of the Panasonic Lumix DMC-GF2 from around the web.

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