Digital Camera - Ken Gilbert

114 kitzone
hYbrid review
> tALe of tHe tApe The Specs
Sensor 12.1Mp, 17.3x 13mm
(in 4:3 aspect ratio)
focal length
conversion 2x
memory sd/sdhc/sdXc
Viewfinder electronic
Video resolution 1280x720 pixels
iSo range 100 to 6400 (expanded)
Autofocus points 23
focusmodes Face detection, aF
tracking, 23-area focusing,
touch focusing
Self timer 2 sec, 10 sec, 10 sec/3 shots
LCD screen size 3 inches
Shutterspeed 1/4000sec to 60sec, bulb
exposure modes Program ae, aperture
Priority ae, shutter Priority
ae, Manual
Aspect ratio 4:3,3:2, 16:9, 1:1
image quality raw, raw+Fine,
raw+standard,
Fine, standard
Lens mount Micro Four thirds mount
flash sync 1/160 sec
Burstspeed 3.2fps (2.6fps in live view)
Connections usb 2.0, minihdMi
Weight 380g (body only)
Software Photofunstudio 5.0
hdedition / silkypix®
developer studio 3.1 se/
QuicktimetM / usb driver
ack in 2008, the
B
Panasonic G1 rewrote
the digital camera
rulebook. Before then,
serious cameras were
large and clunky, and kept faith with
an age-old optical design that had
scarcely changed in 70 years. Fun
pocket cameras, on the other hand,
often disappointed more creative
userswith their fixed lenses,small
sensors and lack of user control.
The G1 and itsMicroFour Thirds
system brokethe mould, and found
ahappyground in the middle of the
twocamps. It enabled youtochange
lensestosuit your subject, and
offered good old-fashioned controls
overfocusing and exposure, but
managed to do this in amuch smaller
shell than any SLR. And this
beautifullydesigned newbreed 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 G2 – to take centre
stage, and to carryonthe good work
of converting casual point-and-shoot
userstomoreserious, interchangeable
lens photography.
Again, the new model is available
in blue,red or black –and in truth it’s
the similarities between the G1 and
the G2 that are the key attractions.
However, with the G2, Panasonic has
DigitalCamera July2010
miCRo fouR tHiRDS HyBRiD Panasonic Lumix G2 > £599 > www.panasonic.co.uk
Atouchof
greatness?
take the best-selling G1, fit a touchscreen
and you get the panasonicLumix g2.
chris George puts it through its paces
transformed an enticing-if-expensive
cameraintosomething thathas real
mass-market appeal.
The first significant improvement
is the addition of video shooting
– offering High-Definition moviemaking
with a fair amount of creative
control. It shootsat720-line 30fps
(framesper second) HDTV resolution
–not quitethe 1080-line
performance of some D-SLRs (or its
older brother,the top-of-the-range
Panasonic GH1) but, with the
provision for an external microphone
and aperturecontrol, it still has appeal
to the serious film student.
The next advance is in the screen.
Again it’s a three-inch fold-out affair,
which canbeturned through 180° and
rotatedthrough 270° for adventurous
cameraangles, but the innovation
is touch control –this is the first
time this has ever been seen on an
interchangeable lens camera.
Atouchscreen interfacemay
seem like a gimmick, but it’s not.