Panasonic Dmc-g1

[JimB]

Hi everyone,

Does anyone have any first-hand expirence with the PANASONIC DMC-G1K???

How do you rate it against other Micro 4/3rds cameras? or full size 4/3rds cameras?

Any drawbacks or advantages?

Any information will be greatly apprieciated.

Thanks

Jim

[Photo-John]

Jim-
I've used four Micro Four Thirds cameras and lots of Four Thirds cameras. I like the Micro Four Thirds cameras for their size and weight. But for me, I don't see them as a DSLR replacement. I found I really liked the Olympus E-P1 for street and landscape photography. But for any kind of action shooting - something I do a lot - the Micro Four Thirds cameras fall far short of even the simplest DSLR. With the G1 (and the GH1), the EVF (electronic viewfinder) blacks out during bursts, making it next to impossible to pan and shoot action. You can get one well-framed shot and then it's a matter of luck after that. The Micro Four Thirds camera AF systems also aren't as good as any DSLR auto focus. The Panasonic Micro Four Thirds cameras are supposed to be better than the Olympus, but no Micro Four Thirds camera will focus as quickly and accurately as a digital SLR.

In the end, I found I like the Micro Four Thirds cameras as an upgraded compact camera replacement. I have been encouraging people who are looking at the Canon G10 and G11 to look at the Micro Four Thirds cameras instead. But after taking the E-P1 out for a couple of shoots where auto focus performance was critical, I went back to shooting with the Olympus E-620. Yes, the E-620 is bigger - but not really that much. And the auto focus performance is world's apart. So if you want a casual camera with changeable lenses and great image quality, then I think the Micro Four Thirds cameras are great. I prefer the Olympus E-P1 to the Panasonic G1 because the Olympus is smaller. Or if you want to stick with Panasonic, the new GF1 is about the same size as the Olympus and supposedly has better auto focus. But if auto focus performance is really important, I would still go with a DSLR.