Low Price Panasonic Lumix DMC-GF2 12 MP Micro Four-Thirds Interchangeable Lens Digital Camera with 3.0-Inch Touch-Screen LCD and 14mm f/2.5 G Aspherical Lens (Black) In Stock
Cheapest Panasonic Lumix DMC-GF2 12 MP Micro Four-Thirds Interchangeable Lens Digital Camera with 3.0-Inch Touch-Screen LCD and 14mm f/2.5 G Aspherical Lens (Black) – On Sale
- 12.1-megapixel multi-aspect Live MOS Sensor; Micro Four Thirds format camera
- Kit includes 14mm lens; capture high-quality photos in 3D with optional lens
- Full HD video capability; Venus Engine FHD enables Intelligent Resolution technology
- 3-inch free-angle touch-screen LCD; newly-designed Touch Q-menu allows focus to be set, or shutter released, with just a touch
- Built-in flash; compact, lightweight design for ease of use and portability
The Lumix GF2 is Panasonics signature DSL Micro Compact system camera in its mirrorless line-up, as it it’s the smallest and lightest model offered by Panasonic, while still offering the superb image quality expected from Lumix. The GF2 has been “future-proofed” with its support for 3D shooting while not compromising ease of operation or image quality. 3D shooting can now be easily accomplished with the addition of Panasonic’s new 3D interchangeable lens (Lumix G 12.5mm / F12). Images can be pri
List Price: $ 699.95
Tags: 14mm, 3.0Inch, Aspherical, Black, Camera, Digital, DMCGF2, f/2.5, FourThirds, Interchangeable, Lens, Lumix, Micro, Panasonic, Price, Stock, TouchScreen
Mirrorless is the Future,
Traditonal DSLR or Mirrorless?
Let me start by saying I think traditional Digital Single Lens Reflex (DSLR) will be in serious decline over the next few years. With an electronic viewfinder and high speed contrast autofocus mirrorless cameras will match the performance of their traditional dslr counterparts at the same format size. They will also offer benefits that can’t be matched in a traditional dslr in terms of size, weight, and lens cost. The lens cost advantage comes from not being constrained to have light hit the sensor without distortion, as the distortion can be corrected digitally without any loss. The 14mm lens here is a perfect example. It is very small, light, and relatively cheap. With this lens if you took a picture of a rectangular grid and looked at the unprocessed raw file you’d see the grid lines bend in an arc, but you’ll never see that lens distortion because the processed raw files, in camera jpegs, and view screen automatically adjust and bring the distortion back to imperceptible. If size and weight of camera and lenses aren’t a factor for you then a traditional dslr from Canon or Nikon or one of the others may be a better choice for you. I’ve always thought the best camera is the one you have with you, and you are more likely to have the mirrorless camera with you because it is smaller and lighter.
Which Mirrorless System?
So if you want to get into Mirroless which system should you go with? Currently there are three choices. Sony’s NEX system, Samsung NX system, or Olympus & Panasonic’s micro 4/3 systems. The Sony and Samsung systems use the aps-c image sensor size that traditional dslrs use but use incompatible mounts. That large image sensor means they will have great low light performance, but each of those two systems have a single manufacturer and a limited set of lenses. What’s the point of having replaceable lenses if you don’t have a good selection of lenses to choose from? Micro 4/3rds by contrast has been around longer and has two camera manufacturers dedicated to the format and more lens manufacturers. Both Olympus’s and Panasonic’s mirrorless camera linueps are larger than either Sony’s or Samsung’s, while their lenses are compatible. So with micro 4/3rds you avoid vendor lock in while getting a much larger selection of cameras and lenses. The only downside to the micro 4/3rds format is the image sensor is a little smaller than aps-c, which results in less optimal low light performance that is noticeable at high iso values. The GF2 for instance gets noticeably grainy at ISO 1600 and above, while the GF2 and G3 do a little better at high iso their performance is still only as good as the most basic canon or nikon models.
Which Micro 4/3rds Camera?
If you are looking for a more traditional dslr like performance and shape the Panasonic G3 is a good intro level camera with quite impressive performance in a relatively small package and the GH2 is a great camera capable of recording broadcast quality hd video. Olympus doesn’t make a pro pro-level dslr like micro 4/3rds yet. They do make a traditional 4/3rds camera but it is generally considered overpriced and it won’t work with the micro 4/3rds lenses. Keep an eye out because Olympus will likely introduce a micro 4/3rds dslr style camera at some point in the future.
If you are looking for a smaller rangefinder style camera to save even more space and weight Olympus offers the EP1, EP2, EPL1, and EPL2 and Panasonic offers the GF2. You could also pick up a Panasonic GF1 on ebay as it is now discontinued. None of these come with a viewfinder, but they all have an optional viewfinder you can put in the flash hotshoe area instead of a flash. Olympus’ also offer a bluetooth module that can be inserted in the flash hotshoe to sync with your computer and social media. And of course you can use the flash hot-shoe for an actual flash.
An interesting thing to note about Olympus is none of their lenses have in-lens image stabilization and instead rely on in-camera image stabilization. This means any lens used with their cameras, including the pancake primes, will be stabilized regardless of the lens. It also means any of their lenses, like their very nice collapsible zoom lenses, used with a Panasonic camera will work fine but won’t have image stabilization. The GF2 is the smallest of the lot, has a built in flash (some of the Olympus lineup don’t), and has probably the best kit lens. What you give up with the GF2 compared to the other rangefinder style cameras is a physical control wheel, external mic port, in body lens stabilization (they rely on in lens stabilization for lenses that support it), no remote trigger support, and well not much else. The GF2 is amazing! I don’t know how they fit all that performance in such a tiny package. Some GF1 users have complained about the removal of the wheel and move to more controls via the…
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|Preliminary review,
I just got my GF2 today. This is going to be a preliminary review after a few poking around. I still need more time to play with it a bit more to get the best out of it. However, I just want to give some information to people who want to get this camera. Some information is better than no information at all, right? So please don’t throw bricks on me for reviewing an item I just have for a few hours.
Before I get this camera, I did quite some extensive research on it. Let’s talk about the cons people concern about. The major complaints for this camera are that:
1. The mode dial on top has been removed compared to the GF1.
I think I don’t miss the mode dial for one. I own another DSLR camera with all the mode dials and bottons here and there. Yes, it gives you the convenience. However, my purpose of getting this camera is because of its small size so that I can bring it out more often than the big DSLR, not to mention all the attention the big DSLR draws. I want to practice photography, not mode dialing! By the way, the mode dial is replaced by a big icon, be it “M” “S” “A”, etc. on the upper left corner of the screen. One touch of that icon lets you choose any mode you want. So all you miss is a tweak of the dial from a touch of the screen.
2. The touch screen is not so sensitive
Yes, and no. First of all, I put a screen protector Lexerd – Panasonic Lumix DMC-GF2 TrueVue Anti-glare Digital Camera Screen Protector (Dual Pack Bundle)on it. I am not sure if that will affect it at all. The screen protector works quite well. It is very easy to apply. I found that the touch screen is quite sensitive when you try to make selections by poking on the screen with your fingers, but it is less sensitive when you try to slide your finger across the screen, such as when you try to move to the next picture or zoom into the pictures. To me, it is totally acceptable. After all, if you don’t like to use the touch screen, you can ALWAYS use the navigation buttons on the right hand side to make the selection. In another word, touch screen is OPTIONAL. It gives you faster access to commands.
There is a switch between on/off to turn on the camera. You can not confuse it from the shutter release. There is a specific video recording button (smaller) separated from the shutter release (bigger). There is only one dial located at the upper right corner on the back of the camera for controlling shutter speed and aperture. You switch between the two by a simply press of the rear dial. I like the design for its simplicity. The flash work quite well. The way that it pops up high is probably specifically designed that it is a little further from the lens so that you don’t get red eye images so easily. The only thing I don’t like is the HDMI/AV out socket cover. It seems to be a little flimsy and it might break easily if I bend it too much.
I took some high iso images. It seems like the iso800 is my breaking point for images with acceptable noise. At 1600, you can see prominent noise, and softness probably from the noise suppression of the cpu. I have not had time to try everything, so I can not comment on the sharpness of the images at different setting. Given that it is a 4/3rd, you can not expect it to be as good as a full frame or apc-s camera.
I tried the video mode a little. The view is very static during shooting. In the old days, a slight shake of the video camera will give you a pretty bad shaking of the video frame. This camera seems to do the job well for stablizing the frame at first view. It will auto focus on objects you center your frame on.
About its size, you can not fit this camera into your jean pocket or any shirt pockets like compact p&s do. You can probably fit it into a pocket of a jacket. In case if you think you can slip it into your back pocket or anything, forget it! Without the 14mm pancake, you can probably do it, but with the pancake on, there is no way. However, it is still way better than carrying a big dslr and its gears!
Overall, I really like the camera so far. The controls are simple. Picture quality is reasonable. I will have to do more shooting to find out more about this camera.
Update: About the white balance, I am pleasantly surprised that this camera allows you to adjust the color temperature by degree of kelvins, on top of the traditional preset WB scenes. Personally, I prefer to set the white balance by the degree of kelvins because you can exert finer control on the color temperature. If you use live view, you can even see how the color temperature on the live view changes with your adjustment. It is a very helpful function!
update: 2/25/2011, played…
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|Great camera, but know its limits,
So I have been waiting for this camera for a very long time since it was announced. It seemed like it took forever to get to the US market. I was in the market for a better ‘carry around’ camera since our P&S was lost. I didn’t want to buy another P&S and wanted something better to more photos that were ‘keepers’. I was tired of the P&S cameras taking forever to focus, lack of manual settings, and the slow shutters. I read into the 4/3s format and was sold. I went with the GF2 because of the reviews and I got a deal on it. I came from a Canon SD990 which I loves but is now lost and have a Canon 7D. Carrying around a SLR body just wasn’t going to happen either. Instead of writing a whole summary, I’ll just list out the good and bad about this camera.
Pros:
1. Small enough to carry around
2. All the manual features you need
3. Has pop up flash unlike the EPL-2 and Nex5
4. I like the touchscreen, some will hate it, but I don’t think it’s too bad.
5. Great selection of lens
6. Sharp
7. Fast focus
8. Menu is fairly customizable
Cons
1. Not small enough to be pocketable
2. Flash not useful most of the time. Can hold down to use as popup flash, but have found that depending on room, it produces a odd washed out brown hue
3. Not the best in low light conditions. This needs about 2 stops up to keep up with the same SLR shutter in the same shot
4. No real exposure compensation using dial. It just bumps up/down the shutter/aperature
5. Some washed out colors/shots. Many of the shots lacked contrast
6. Flash take a few seconds to recycle. Don’t expect to take 2 pics back to back using flash within a second or so of each other
7. Battery life is weak. Need to charge after two days of occasional use
Coming from a P&S, you might give this 5 stars, but coming from a SLR experience, you’d give this 3 stars, but for what it is and knowing it’s limits, I’d give this 4 stars based on speed, sharpness, portability, and useability. It just lacks better low light performance the and color accuracy. An Image Stabilizer would have been great on this camera. Most indoor shots will come out blurry due to movement of object or camera shake since you have to be on a fairly low shutter. All in all, I would recommend it, but wouldn’t mind trying the EP-L2 or Nex5.
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