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This is the greatest all-around camera I've ever used. With the large image sensor usually seen in DSLRs and many different lenses available, it really is a large camera in a small body. Full manual mode is a bit more cumbersome than larger DSLRs and the lack of an optical viewfinder sometimes can be an issue but these are small prices to pay to pack nearly all the benefits of a DSLR in an almost-pocketable camera. The weight and feel are great, the choice of materials give it a real sensation of quality. The 14-45mm lens is actually a very high quality lens, *especially* for a kit lens. While coated with some sort of plastic/rubberized coating, taking it off shows off its metal construction. It is a sturdy, albeit heavy, lens with optics beyond what the usual customer will expect. While exceeding in no particular area, it is a great all-rounder. Unlike the newer 14-42mm lens they ship now, the 14-45 is made in Japan. Perhaps they were losing money on it and stopped shipping for that reason. The lens has two drawbacks. First, like nearly all kit zoom lenses, aperture varies with zoom. While at wide-angle, it has a reasonable f/3.5, at full zoom this increases to a slower f/5.6, making long distance shots even more difficult. Secondly, possibly because of incorporating OIS in the lens, it actually is quite a large lens for a Micro Four-Thirds system lens. Equipped with a pancake lens, this camera becomes a pocketable device. However, with this lens, forget about that idea. Still, at least people will think you mean business when you show up with this camera.Read full review
The Panasonic Gf1 is a killer.. It is a lightweight, easy to use, full spectrum digital camera. It has the features of a full size DSLR but with half the weight and size of the smaller DSLRs. The kit lens is a very good lens. If you want more of a zoom you can pick up a 45-300mm for about $350 on EBay. I was worried about low light noise or artifacts in the shadows.. absolutely no problem at lower or higher ISOs. Panasonic takes care of the noise and you lose very sharpness even at the high end. You will love this camera. I bought this one to play with and then planned to resell it but I can't let go. It is simply too good not to keep.
I was looking for a backup camera to my Nikon D7000 for an Alaskan cruise. I looked at a variety of P&S and did not like the available features. I wanted better lens quality and RAW file capability in a compact package. Compact System cameras are the wave of the future versus DSLRs. However, I did not want to spend the $800-$1500 for a new camera. After much research, I found there was a very high opinion of the Panasonic GF1. I was able to get the camera body, EV, 14-45mm lens for under $500 on eBay in near mint condition. So far, I am very impressed. I was concerned about not having a viewfinder, but have found the live view to be fairly easy to use. I have not tried the EV yet, but will in bright sun conditions. Excellent IQ has been achieved on most of my pictures without a lot of work. I am still learning my way with this camera. The menu system is different than the Nikon's and feels complicated right now. But I assume, I will learn this overtime. Net, an excellent camera and I am impressed with the promise of future Compact System cameras.Read full review
The rave reviews and the fact that this camera with the 20mm pancake lens goes for a premium on ebay says it all. So, since there are so many positives (with which I agree), I'm going to focus on the Cons here. Before I do, though, I really gotta say how I love the solid feel of this thing and the quality of the pictures. 1. Focus can be soft on landscape/distance photos 2. No panorama mode, although there's an AE lock 3. For a beginner, a bit tough to use. As a compact option for someone who's savvy with a full DSLR, this is aweseome 4. The pancake lens is not forgiving: if you don't focus right on your target with an f stop of 9 or less, your target will be out of focus. Hence it's not a beginner camera. 5. The Intelligent Auto option works great. Wait, that's not a negative. Pretend I didn't write that. 6. Look at using a belt-loop lens case for this camera with the 20mm lens on it. Not as compact as an Elph, but it's more compact than luggage around your neck for most DSLRs. Consider the LowePro 1N case. Great, I can't think of more negatives and now I'm writing this stuff. 7. No viewfinder, but I knew this, and it's what makes it compact. This is a plus/minus comment. I'm not doing well at identifying cons, so I'm winding this up.Read full review
I like the small size; easy to carry. Nice viewfinder screen. I like that I can use my exiting Leica and CV lenses with an adapter. Seems like good quality construction and seems to be a popular model. Can shoot RAW photos and has many features (many of which I haven't yet mastered). Overall a relatively small investment in a digital camera.
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