{"id":2945,"date":"2014-01-21T23:06:54","date_gmt":"2014-01-22T04:06:54","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/admiringlight.com\/blog\/?p=2945"},"modified":"2014-02-03T08:26:18","modified_gmt":"2014-02-03T13:26:18","slug":"review-panasonic-lumix-dmc-gm1","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/admiringlight.com\/blog\/review-panasonic-lumix-dmc-gm1\/","title":{"rendered":"Review: Panasonic Lumix DMC-GM1"},"content":{"rendered":"

The mirrorless landscape has changed rapidly over the past five years, and many insiders have spelled the death of many of the players due to lower demand for serious cameras and the improvements and advertising push from larger companies. One thing that has been oft speculated is the decline of Micro 4\/3 due to the prevalence of quality mirrorless cameras with APS-C and now Full-Frame image sensors. Panasonic has responded by reminding everyone why 4\/3 was chosen for the first mirrorless system in the first place: Size.<\/p>\n

\"Panasonic<\/a>
Panasonic Lumix DMC-GM1<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

The Panasonic GM1 is out to show just how tiny a high quality interchangeable lens camera can be. Indeed, the miniscule camera looks more like a compact than a system camera with interchangeable lenses. Panasonic put a similar sensor to their GX7 and included some unique shutter technology and some impressive specifications to this little wonder. Let’s dive in.<\/p>\n

If you\u2019re not familiar with my reviews, I review from a real world shooting perspective. You won\u2019t find lens charts or resolution numbers here. There are plenty of other sites that cover those. I review products on how they act for me as a photographic tool. I am not a videographer, so my reviews concentrate on the still imaging capabilities of a camera.<\/em><\/p>\n

Body and Ergonomics<\/h3>\n
\"Panasonic<\/a>
Panasonic Lumix DMC-GM1 with the 12-32mm kit zoom<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

If you’ve followed the news about the Panasonic GM1, then you’ve heard that it’s small. \u00a0You’ve seen pictures showing how small it is. \u00a0But even I wasn’t prepared for how minuscule this camera actually is. \u00a0It seems almost impossibly tiny. \u00a0The body alone is as small as most compact cameras, and I was somewhat amazed to see that it’s actually smaller than my iPhone in width and height (though it’s obviously a fair bit thicker), and with the tiny little 12-32 kit zoom (reviewed here<\/a>), it makes for a truly pocketable package. In fact, I think it would be nearly impossible to design a smaller body that was actually useful.<\/p>\n

The small size is both a blessing and a curse, as it handles very well with the small Micro 4\/3 lenses, while it’s rather unwieldy with any of the larger lenses. You can still shoot fine with them, but at this point, it feels like handling a lens with a small control box on the back, rather than handling a camera with a lens attached.<\/p>\n

The grip is minimal, but controls are laid out to prevent accidental activation for the most part. \u00a0The only real issue from the small size was accidentally touching the top right corner of the touch screen, and thereby moving the focus point inadvertently. \u00a0Panasonic offers a very small metal add-on grip, which should improve handling with somewhat larger lenses, but will block access to the battery and memory card door.<\/p>\n

The GM1 is built quite sturdily despite its small size, and the metal and plastic exterior is solid with no creaks or wobbles. \u00a0Switches and dials have a firm tactile quality, and the rear wheel surrounding the four-way dial is one of the best small dials I’ve encountered of this type, with detents that are firm enough to prevent accidental activation, while loose enough to be easily moved. \u00a0 As such, while it’s not the greatest camera ergonomically, it is about as good as it could be given the small size. \u00a0Panasonic did a good job putting controls where they made sense and providing a solid layout to make shooting the camera as comfortable as could be expected.<\/p>\n

\"The<\/a>
The rear of the Panasonic GM1, showing the large touchscreen and controls<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Overall, while I wouldn’t choose the GM1 as a sole Micro 4\/3 body, unless I was after the smallest kit around, it is wonderful for use with the tiny lenses. \u00a0I found that the size alone absolutely begged me to pick it up and shove it in a pocket for easy shooting. \u00a0 The ease of grabbing a camera of this size and one or two small lenses is incredibly liberating and exciting.<\/p>\n

Rear Screen<\/h3>\n

The GM1 features a 3″, 1 million dot touch screen that dominates the rear of the camera. \u00a0The screen is bright, clear and vibrant and has outstanding viewing angles. \u00a0The capacitive touch capability is well implemented, making it easy to move around menus and activate controls, along with the possibility of using touch to focus or touch shutter release. \u00a0While shooting in very bright sunlight isn’t as nice with a rear-screen only, the GM1 performs pretty well in this area. \u00a0It’s hard to ask for much more in a camera this small.<\/p>\n

Continue: Operation and Performance<\/a><\/h4>\n

<\/p>\n

Operation and Menus<\/h3>\n
\"The<\/a>
The top plate controls of the GM1<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

The GM1 is light on controls compared to many other Panasonic Micro 4\/3 cameras, but what it does have is fairly well implemented. \u00a0The main controls included a top plate mode dial, along with the rear wheel that also acts as a four-way controller. \u00a0This wheel is used to change exposure parameters, and the function toggles between parameters by pressing the top of the wheel. \u00a0As such, in aperture priority mode, the wheel sets the aperture, and a click switches to exposure compensation. \u00a0There is a focus mode switch surrounding a programmable function button on top of the camera, which is easily accessible by your right index finger while shooting. \u00a0I set this button to change ISO, as I’d imagine most photographers would do. \u00a0The four-way controller contains buttons for white balance, drive mode and focus point selection. \u00a0The rear of the camera also has dedicated movie record, display and quick menu buttons. \u00a0The Quick menu is implemented as in other Panasonic cameras, providing quick access to JPEG options, flash settings, movie record settings, metering mode, etc.<\/p>\n

\"The<\/a>
The rear screen of the GM1, showing the software function buttons on the right of the screen<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

The result is a camera that can largely be operated without use of the touch screen or menus despite lacking many controls other cameras have. \u00a0 The touch screen is a big help in many instances, however. \u00a0As with all touch screen cameras, I love being able to move focus points simply by touching somewhere on the screen. \u00a0The menus, which are largely identical to those found on the GX7, are likewise very easy to navigate by touch. \u00a0The menus themselves are well laid out into multiple sections and pages and make diving into the settings pretty straightforward.<\/p>\n

Like many other Panasonic touch screen cameras, there is a slide out panel as well that can be activated with a swipe, and four additional software function buttons can be assigned to this panel. \u00a0This makes good room of the available real estate on a camera like the GM1, providing extra controls in easy reach.<\/p>\n

On the whole, I found operating the GM1 relatively painless. \u00a0It isn’t as nice as using a larger camera in this regard, with more direct control and a more comfortable grip, but it operates quite well for a camera of its size.<\/p>\n

Performance and Autofocus<\/h3>\n
\"The<\/a>
The GM1’s tiny pop-up flash<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

The GM1 inherits the same (or similar) autofocus as other recent Panasonic cameras. \u00a0I found the GM1 to be every bit as quick and precise as the likes of the GX7 and the GH3. \u00a0Panasonic has wonderful single shot autofocus that locks swiftly and surely. \u00a0The only lens that seemed to struggle a bit was the 20mm f\/1.7 pancake, but that’s more to do with the lens’ slow focus motor than anything. \u00a0As with other Panasonic cameras, the GM1 isn’t particularly useful for continuous autofocus, as the CDAF algorithms prevent predictive autofocus.<\/p>\n

The GM1 is also a quite responsive little camera. \u00a0It starts up quickly and has no perceptible lag in camera function. \u00a0Write speeds were quick.<\/p>\n

The GM1 features a very unique shutter mechanism to allow for its small size. \u00a0This comes at the cost of a terrible 1\/50s flash sync speed and a slow maximum mechanical shutter speed \u00a0of 1\/500s. \u00a0However, the camera seamlessly switches to its electronic shutter at speeds faster than 1\/500s, and indeed can stop action all the way to 1\/16,000s! \u00a0The GM1 can capture images at 5 frames per second with the mechanical shutter or up to 10 frames per second with the electronic shutter for full size images. \u00a0If you are willing to shoot JPEG at a reduced file size, it, like many other Panasonic cameras, can shoot at 40 frames per second in its super-high burst mode.<\/p>\n

While one isn’t likely to use a camera like the GM1 for sports, it is a responsive camera that doesn’t get in the way.<\/p>\n

Flash Performance<\/h3>\n

The GM1, despite its super tiny body, manages to pack a small pop-up flash into its frame. \u00a0While the flash is quite weak and, as mentioned earlier, can only sync to 1\/50s, it can come in handy. \u00a0Like the GX1 and GX7, the GM1’s pop-up flash can be tilted backward to provide for some bounce flash, though you will need to pump the ISO up a bit if using a slower lens. \u00a0The shot below was taken with the GM1 and the 12-32mm kit lens with the pop-up flash bounced to the ceiling at ISO 1600.<\/p>\n

\"The<\/a>
The GM1’s flash can be bounced to provide softer lighting<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Continue: Key Features<\/a><\/h4>\n

<\/p>\n

Wi-Fi<\/h3>\n
\"The<\/a>
The remote control interface on the GM1 (iOS)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

The GM1 comes complete with built-in WiFi and all the usual features, including image transfer, remote control and geotagging capabilities. \u00a0I’ve written before about the robustness of Panasonic’s remote control capabilities, and indeed, nearly every function available to the camera can be changed remotely. \u00a0However, with the GM1, I struggled mightily to get the camera to actually connect to my phone for remote control purposes. \u00a0Using an iPhone 5S with the latest Panasonic Image App, the camera repeatedly failed to establish a connection. \u00a0On the ONE time I actually was able to take remote control of the camera, (as shown in the screen capture on the right), I was unfortunately unable to actually take a photo. \u00a0Every time I pressed the shutter button, I received a “Recording Failed” error. \u00a0Upon shutting down the app and the camera and trying again, I was again unable to establish a connection. \u00a0I’m not sure if this is a problem with the WiFi implementation or the app, but I do note that the folks over at DPReview experienced similar problems.<\/p>\n

I did, however, have no issues utilizing the image transfer function, which worked seamlessly. \u00a0As I’ve written before, however, Panasonic really needs to get on the train with in-camera RAW conversion. \u00a0If you shoot RAW only, you will be unable to transfer images from the camera to a mobile device. \u00a0Both Olympus and Fuji offer outstanding in-camera RAW conversion with plenty of options, so I’m disappointed to see this hasn’t been addressed yet.<\/p>\n

Focus Peaking<\/h3>\n
\"The<\/a>
The GM1 has all the same scene modes as the GX7<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

The GM1 features focus peaking that is implemented in the same manner as its big brother, the GX7. \u00a0The focus peaking on the GM1 outlines the in-focus areas of a an image in cyan and certainly helps aid in manual focus. \u00a0The peaking on the rear screen is helpful, but not quite as easy to see as it was in the viewfinder of the GX7. \u00a0Still, this combined with the ability to zoom on a scene (by using the touch screen) makes manual focus relatively painless.<\/p>\n

Other Key Features<\/h3>\n

The GM1 also inherits a built-in intervalometer, allowing for the easy creation of time-lapse photos simply by inputting a rate of shooting and the number of shots you’d like to take. \u00a0Click the shutter and away it goes. \u00a0On the slightly less useful side for serious shooters, but potentially helpful to more casual photographers are the 22 art filters ranging from grainy and overprocessed looks to soft focus and artificial sunlight. \u00a0Some of these filters look really nice and others look terrible, but I’d imagine most photographers will simply stick to the regular shooting modes.<\/p>\n

One more thing of note: \u00a0The shutter mechanism for the GM1 is exceptionally quiet. \u00a0While you can switch to electronic shutter for complete silence, the mechanical shutter is the quietest focal plane shutter I have ever heard. \u00a0If you are after discretion, the GM1 delivers.<\/p>\n

Continue: Image Quality<\/a><\/h4>\n

<\/p>\n

Image Quality<\/h3>\n
\"Columbus<\/a>
Columbus Morning – Panasonic DMC-GM1 with 12-32mm f\/3.5-5.6<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Dynamic Range and Color<\/h4>\n

The GM1 features a very similar sensor to that found in the GX7, and as such, it provides very good dynamic range and color response. \u00a0The GM1’s dynamic range might be just a little less than that of the GX7, but you’ll hardly notice. \u00a0It’s worth watching the highlights in extremely contrasty scenes, and shadow areas can show some noise if pushed too hard, but overall, it’s on a very high level. \u00a0The GM1’s color response is very good, and I found my images to result in natural colors and rich tones.<\/p>\n

Noise<\/h4>\n

Noise control with the GM1 is in line with the other 16 megapixel cameras in the Micro 4\/3 line from the past year. \u00a0Overall noise control is quite good, with low noise images up to around ISO 1600 and usable images up to around ISO 6400. \u00a0Higher sensitivities are usable for small prints or web use in a pinch, but they do have a considerable amount of grain.<\/p>\n

JPEG Quality<\/h4>\n

I don’t generally shoot a lot of JPEG, but it’s nice to see that Panasonic continues to improve its JPEG quality. \u00a0While it’s still a little higher in artifacts than I’d like, overall quality is fairly good. \u00a0Panasonic has made good strides in JPEG color output and the color casts that plagued earlier cameras are predominantly a thing of the past. \u00a0At high ISO, things can get a bit crunchy, but overall quality stays on a high level through ISO 3200. \u00a0At ISO 6400, things start getting a little too over-smoothed for my taste.<\/p>\n

Video<\/h4>\n

As mentioned at the beginning of the article, I don’t shoot much video, and only briefly utilized it on the GM1. \u00a0The GM1 does offer very nice video features, with full manual control, relatively high bit-rates and 1080p\/24 video capabilities. \u00a0Overall quality looked quite good to my eye, and offers a lot of power in such a small package.<\/p>\n

Continue: Conclusion and Image Samples<\/a><\/h4>\n

<\/p>\n

Conclusion<\/h3>\n

Pros<\/h4>\n