Panasonic Lumix G2 Review

Panasonic G2 Review: Overview

Back in 2008, the Panasonic G1 rewrote the digital camera rulebook. Before then, serious cameras were big and clunky – and stuck with an optical design that had scarcely changed in 70 years. Fun pocket cameras, on the other hand, disappointed creative users with their fixed lenses, small sensors and lack of control. The G1 and its Micro Four Thirds system broke the mould – and found a happy ground in the middle of the two camps. It allowed you to change lenses to suit your subject; it offered good old-fashioned controls over focusing and exposure; but managed to do this in a much smaller shell than any DSLR. And this beautifully-designed new breed of camera was full of fun – not least because it was made in a choice of three colours.

Now, it's time for its successor – the aptly named Panasonic Lumix DMC-G2 – to take the stage, and to carry on the good work of converting point-and-shooters to serious, interchangeable lens, photography.

Again, the new model is available in blue, red or black – and in truth its the similarities between the G1 and the G2 that are the key attractions. But with the G2, Panasonic has transformed an enticing-if-expensive camera into something with real mass-market appeal.

The first significant improvement is the addition of video shooting – offering high-definition movie-making with a fair amount of creative control. It shoots as 720-line 30-frame-per-second HDTV resolution – not quite the 1080-line performance of some DSLRs (or its older brother, the top-of-the-range Panasonic GH1), but with the provision for an external microphone and aperture control it still has appeal to the serious film student.

The next advancement is the screen. Again it's a 3-inch, fold-out affair – which can be turned through 180°, and rotated through 270°, to great effect for adventurous camera angles, or simply to help you see the scene in bright light. But the innovation is touch control – the first time that this has ever been seen on an interchangeable lens camera

Panasonic G2 Review: Overview
Panasonic G2 Review: Build Quality and Handling
Panasonic G2 Review: Controls and Features
Panasonic G2 Review: Image Quality
Panasonic G2 Review: Test Pictures
Panasonic G2 Review: Verdict
Panasonic G2 Review: Specifications, Price and Product Images