Micro 4/3 Panasonic GF2 Review

Panasonic GF2

I know that this camera is not on sale here in the UK yet; early next year I believe; however I wondered whether anyone had any views or had any information on it yet.

From what I have read on the Panasonic website it is smaller and lighter than the present GF1 it will be considerably more expensive (which is normal when a new series is brought out).

I look forward to reading about this camera because I do miss my Pen EP-1 for close up's.
 
As far as i can tell most people are annoyed at the camera having no dial on top and the touch screen auto focus isn't liked much either. If you like touch screen then fine. The image quality is no worse than the GF1 and better at higher ISO. I'll stick with my GF1 thanks, I like twiddling with my knob!!! :laugh1:
 
Andy I have never used a touch screen either and am not sure that I could cope with it; as to the lack of knobs and such that is another issue as well; this is why I put this on the site just to find out other people's thoughts.
At present my S95 is in most use the X1 has been out once am worried if I fall with that in my hands...well it doesn't bear thinking about.
BB I haven't read any independent reviews I didn't think there were any yet.
Cheers from a cold (very) snowy Liverpool.
 
Andy I have never used a touch screen either and am not sure that I could cope with it; as to the lack of knobs and such that is another issue as well; this is why I put this on the site just to find out other people's thoughts.
You can use all the functions without resorting to the touch screen so I believe. You just use the knobs on the back like the GF1.
 
Andy, glad to see you piping in here! You've been missed.

Cheers BB

Not been around much due to horrible 2 weeks of severe snow and now dull weather plus Xmas and starting a new job (WOOP WOOP!!) it's been kinda busy here. Looking forward to crisp sunny winter days so i can go walk-a-bout with my cameras!!!:D
 
In the UK the GF2 has been tested by Amateur Photographer magazine and they have given it a good write up. Changes to aperture / shutter speed / exposure compensation are still made with the main control wheel, same as the GF1. Most other changes are made on the four buttons surrounding the Menu/Set again as in GF1 fashion. Only difference really is when changing modes where touching the screen is required on the GF2 rather than turning a mode dial. To those who complain about this mode change the situation really begs two questions, how often do you change the mode, and how fast do you have to change it ?

The GF2 seems to offer faster AF and some small changes along with a size and weight reduction, lets see it before complaining !

With regard to mode changing how about a bit of EXTREME honesty ! When I started cameras were mechanical, you learnt about apertures and shutter speed, and of course manual focus. Having learnt the craft of photography I now seem to be trying hard to "unlearn" it, if that is word ! With EXTREME honesty I admit that I take most photos with the G1 stuck on P mode. Panasonic cameras give good exposures and the program always seem to give an excellent choice of aperture and speed for the subject. Anyone else care to confess ? !!
 
With regard to mode changing how about a bit of EXTREME honesty ! When I started cameras were mechanical, you learnt about apertures and shutter speed, and of course manual focus. Having learnt the craft of photography I now seem to be trying hard to "unlearn" it, if that is word ! With EXTREME honesty I admit that I take most photos with the G1 stuck on P mode. Panasonic cameras give good exposures and the program always seem to give an excellent choice of aperture and speed for the subject. Anyone else care to confess ? !!
I don't use P mode much, but I don't change modes often enough for the mode dial functions being moved to the touchscreen to be a problem (assuming it works reasonably - I saw one video where it appeared to be a bit fiddly, but nothing I couldn't live with pretty easily). I tend to shoot in A mode as a default, with occasional moves to S mode when I'm shooting something where I want a particularly fast (or slow) shutter speed. Full manual only very very rarely. In any case, I rarely change the mode once I've set it for a given shooting session, unless circumstances or subject matter changes a lot.

I suspect I'd be just as happy with the GF2 as I am with my GF1.

-Ray
 
I use Aperture priority 95% of the time. Never used P mode, perhaps i'll give it a try the next time light is marginal and see if it selects a better aperture for me.

The bonus with the GF2 is that it has better ISO and is smaller especially with the superb 14mm lens.
 
The mode dial is not the only change. There are fewer dedicated buttons.

To answer specifically around the mode dial: I use it reasonably often, especially for street shooting, changing between A and S. The mechanical dial also lets me see at a glance the current mode.

For me it's not about the touch screen, it's about the loss of direct manual control. It makes the movement and changes less fluid.

No doubt it's a great camera in many ways. But it's a step backwards for me. I hope Panasonic have it as an upgrade for P&S segments, and will offer a true GF1 replacement in due course.

Interesting overview of GF2 here, by a practical, working photographer:

Panasonic GF2 First Impressions
 
Confess to P mode? Never! "I would rather die of thirst than drink from the cup of mediocrity" :flypig:

Now moving away from humour.

I love my GF-1 and I was looking toward seeing what the encore would be. When the GF-2 was announced my first thoughts were not positive but I slapped myself and though, "wait and see, Grant." I have thought about it and it does look like a nice camera, but … The problem, for me, with this new GF-2 is that there is no incentive to move 'up' to it. There are no new got-a-haves on it. What can I say about the removal of buttons and dial to make it smaller, like .7 of an ounce lighter is not going to make my shoulder feel anymore comfortable? The bottom line is no matter how little I had to pay for this camera it would not improve my pictures any. Maybe if I were a die hard movie person ...

After thinking about it I suspect it will be a camera that does well commercially but it will not attain the cult status that the GF-1 has had. If My GF-1 broke I would at least consider the GF-2 but it is not a step up for me.
 
The problem, for me, with this new GF-2 is that there is no incentive to move 'up' to it. There are no new got-a-haves on it. What can I say about the removal of buttons and dial to make it smaller, like .7 of an ounce lighter is not going to make my shoulder feel anymore comfortable? The bottom line is no matter how little I had to pay for this camera it would not improve my pictures any. Maybe if I were a die hard movie person ...
I agree with this for sure. I like the gf2 - I don't see many downsides in the changes and see a bit of an upside in the size and maybe the video (but I don't do enough video to really care). So I wouldn't upgrade from the gf1 I have. I guess if I was looking for an upgrade I'd be disappointed to, but I'm quite happy with my gf1 and ep2. When something with GH2 like AF speeds and an articulated screen comes out in a pen/gf form factor, then I'll likely upgrade. Until then, probably not. But if I didn't have a gf1 already, I'd seriously consider the gf2 and wouldn't be put off by the downsides so many were unhappy about when it was first announced.

-Ray
 
I slated the GF-2 from day 1 but after seeing the images and reading a few reviews it's not a bad camera at all. If the results are good like the GF-1 (and better ISO) then how you get there is pretty irrelevant really. If i send my NEX back i will have a look at the GF-2 and E-PL2
 
Cheers BB

Not been around much due to horrible 2 weeks of severe snow and now dull weather plus Xmas and starting a new job (WOOP WOOP!!) it's been kinda busy here. Looking forward to crisp sunny winter days so i can go walk-a-bout with my cameras!!!:D

Just have to interrupt here to say Congratulations Andy!!!!: I am so happy for you about your new job! :dance3:

And, Grant, thank you for your great sense of humor!:D
 
Read the GF2 review on that other site and not to impressed with the IQ. Looks like the EPL2 is better in both JPG (by a mile) and RAW (by a little) output. Was glad to see that there is at least a control dial on the GF2. I thought it was going to be a full touchscreen camera other than shutter button.
 
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