Panasonic Lumix DMC-GF1 12.1MP Micro

Limitation for My Color mode
It's mostly a great camera. I was surprised when I learned that the flash doesn't work in the My Color (Retro, Dynamic Art, etc.) mode. If you're expecting to be able to make a Retro photo of a darker indoor scene, you're out of luck.

Great for an Old Guy !
I am an 'old fart' and come from the now very old world of film cameras.

I grew up in 4x5 sheet film and still think 35mm format is a 'toy' .. But since I can no longer effectively use my old 120 roll film cameras like the Zeiss Super Ikonta and Hasses' what to do?

I am an amateur with my only requirement being to document my RV trips and the back-country 4WD adventures and the 'less than 5 mile' day hikes, so I may as well use one of these new fangled digital cameras.

I always thought my old Nikon F bodies were too heavy for the result they gave and now the new breed of 10 pound DSLRs are even worse yet. It's the same bad trade off today as it was in 1965, nothing has really changed. A ten pound mirror slapping monster with a one ounce result.

The GF1 is very much like my old M2 Leica rangefinder. It has all the benefits of the rangefinders, none of the SLR drawbacks. Faster than lightening to bring into play, very responsive, excellent fit and feel in the hand, and very well thought out in design and manufacture. A one pound camera with a ten pound result ! Rangefinder 35mm of this style and design are the ultimate 'candid' and street cameras, and they can not be beat on the trail unless you are hiking with a pack burro to help you along.

If you are looking for a modern camera that will do the job the old Leicas' did then this is the one for you. The lens and the sensor and the resultant image quality is excellent. You will have no problem up to 11x14 prints and perhaps beyond. I noticed in the excellent dpreview review of this camera that they have some minor moans and complaints about the JPEG engine in the camera. I do not agree with them on this point. If you set the 'my film' settings in the GF1 correctly you can get an almost indistinguishable color result against the RAW. Admittedly you loose some image information in the JPEG, and have to experiment a little with it, but once you develop a 'my film' profile for various standard shooting situations then you are good to go and save yourself the later workload of the RAW development.

The Japanese software that is supplied as a freebie with the camera is excellent, and very sophisticated. You will not have to buy 0 worth of junk from Adobe unless you want to. Once you get over the 'translation chuckles' of the various menu items in the software you will have a powerful tool in your hands. Admittedly there is a learning curve with any software of this complexity, but it is doable and is a significant value added bonus to the price of the camera.

When even the GF1 is too heavy for me to take on the trail, I pocket my Cannon S90. There is no comparison between the image quality of the Micro 4/3s and the little chip in the Cannon. It is the difference between night and day, apples and oranges. If you are one of those that are tired of the 'almost' image quality of your little pocket digital camera but do not want all the same old - same old SLR negatives, then I don't think you could do better than the GF1. Of course this Micro 4/3 world is just in it infancy and and you will probably watch the world pass you by a little as new cameras of this class are released over the next few years, but you will be taking great shots with it now, and having great fun as well.

If you are one that used to use, appreciated, and understood rangefinders like the old Leicas, and now watch, with disbelief, the endless profusion of so-called "pro grade DSLRs " pour out of Japan then you need to have a close look at the GF1. Only thing it is missing is the wind-lever under your thumb, but hey, you can't have everything.

Good stuff.
Fast delivering. Brand new product. I like this style and the quality. It would be even better if it had panorama function like Sony Nex 5 does. Can't complain more.

Takes a beating and keeps on ticking
Most what can be said about this camera feature-wise has been said. But I think few have subjected their camera to as much abuse as I have recently, so I'll offer my experience here.

I bought the Panasonic GF-1 with the 14-45 mm lens and used it on a two week family trip to Europe recently. Well, it came days before the trip and in the midst of chaos I left the camera strap at home and just stuffed the camera in a small, sagging camera bag. On day two, while on the road, the camera flew out of the opened bag, and landed on hard pavement after tumbling a few feet. A small section of the edge of the LCD screen was dented. I was surprised there were no additional physical damage. And this was just the beginning of the trip. In all, the camera got dropped, in the bag, a few more times (due to the lack of a strap) during the trip.

After all that, the camera performed as well as new. Pictures came out very well. No rattles or loose parts. Lens mount seems to be very solid still.

This could not be said about my Sony point and shoot (W290), which probably saw less abuse. Before the Sony, it was a Canon SD800 IS. My son's soccer ball sent it to digital camera heaven (lens came loose).

Bottom line, a very solid camera that is easy to use and produces very good image quality.

Camera bag
I'll let those who "know" review the camera (I am very happy with it, suffice to say) but I do recall there being a question as to what camera bag would work well for this unit. I have the "Digital Video/Photo Bag" from Tamrac. The tag is listed as Model #5697. The bag itself is well-constructed and I can easily carry the camera body w/pancake lens and a 200mm lens in it.