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Simon Yates Photography
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Happy so far. Compared to Olympus Pen Mini E-PM1,
Forgot to check Amazon reviews before buying this, but glad I didn’t because the camera is quite good for my needs and I might not have bought it based on the mixed and sparse reviews on Amazon. I did look at “professional” reviews on photographyblog and dpreview, which were much more positive.
I was deciding between the new Olympus Pen Mini E-PM1, Sony NEX C3, and GF3. Tried out the Olympus and GF3, and decided on the GF3. I got a better price on the GF3 than I could for the Pen Mini, but that was just icing on the cake, because the features on the GF3 meet my needs better.
Similarities between GF3 and E-PM1:
–body size about the same
–similar price range
–Micro Four-Thirds sensor
–both are the budget, easy-to-use version of their respective camera families
–instant-record movie button
–kit zoom lens 14-42mm
–neckstrap
–to my layman eyes the photo quality was about the same, as was auto-focus speed, though E-PM1 is billed as having the fastest auto-focus in this category.
The features that put the GF3 over the top for me:
–Price. I got a great deal on the GF3. Sony was just too expensive, though I’ve read great things about photo quality
–GF3 touchscreen, while not very responsive (resistive screen you have to press down on, rather than capacitive screen like iPhone), is very useful for quick adjustments. It just makes the camera easier to use, much like an iPad is easier to use than a laptop. Deleting batches of photos is much easier than using buttons. So is scrolling around a photo you’re reviewing in close-up. You can also touch to change the subject of focus, like on an iPhone.
–Flash is built in–not so on the Pen Mini or NEX. I’m not an “enthusiast” and have no intention of ever buying an external flash or viewfinder, so lack of a hotshoe was not an issue. Flash can also be tilted up to the ceiling (with some finger dexterity) to do a bounce-flash that brightens up indoor photos without that nasty flash look. Other 2 cameras come with a small add-on flash, but that’s just too much trouble.
–I like the physical on-off switch rather than the Pen Mini’s button
–Menus and options were slightly more intuitive, though I admit my previous camera was a Panasonic as well, so I may be used to their menus.
–In addition to dedicated movie button, there’s a dedicated “iA” full-auto button, which my wife can press to go to full-auto mode without digging into menus (it lights up).
–Big lens cap seems easier to handle.
–Comes with lens hood, which I might not use but is nice to be included.
–Battery charger is a one-piece mini brick with prongs built in, making it very portable. E-PM1 comes with a brick with power cord attachment.
I can’t speak to other reviewers’ issues with the pancake lens (since I don’t have it) nor the flash durability (since I’ve only had the camera a week).
About the Pen Mini:
–Body is about the same size as the GF3, but the kit zoom lens is smaller (shorter and narrower)
–Stabilization is in the body, not the lens like GF3. From what I read this is supposed to be an advantage, but I think it was adding noises to the videos I took (turning off stabilization stopped the noises). I haven’t noticed similar noises in GF3 videos with stabilization on.
–Lock on the lens to close it (but not open it) started to get annoying quickly.
–Flash was impressive–power is adjustable, and I think it auto-adjusts based on subject distance. From what I can see of the GF3, it fires full-power all the time, which can make photos look washed out. Fortunately the bounce-flash trick mentioned above avoids that problem.
–Neck strap attachment loops are hinged and tends to kind of make click-clack noises when handling the camera.
About me: my main photo subject is my 2 yr old daughter, so I was looking for a camera that would focus quickly, take decent pics in indoor light without flash, and still be small enough to throw in the diaper bag with room to spare for, well, diapers and stuff. These criteria rule out bulky SLRs, and most point-and-shoots. For my daughter’s first 2 years I had the Panasonic LX-3, a “high-end point-and-shoot”. The LX-3 produces great pics in good light, and decent pics in low light, but I find the focus is too slow (esp. in low light) now that my daughter is moving around (a LOT).
Long review and naturally biased toward the GF3, but I hope it helps your decision process!
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|Great option for point and shoot upgraders who are willing to invest into the system,
I think how you feel about this camera is really going to depend on where you’re coming from. If you’re a DSLR shooter and are looking for a portable body you’re likely going to be frustrated by the lack of control points on this camera.
On the other hand, for those upgrading from a point and shoot camera like myself, this camera can be ideal. I came from a Canon S90, which I purchased a couple of years ago looking for a camera that does a better job in low light than the typical point and shoot. The S95 was definitely a step up from what I had before, but more recently I’ve become frustrated with the limitations of the sensor and was also interested in exploring the world of interchangeable lenses.
What I didn’t want, however, was to get a full DSLR. Portability is extremely important to me, any camera that can’t be slipped into a coat pocket or small bag is simply useless to me. No, the GF3 can’t fit into a pants pocket like my S95 did, but it’s still massively smaller than even the smallest DSLRs and it’s amongst the smallest models in the mirrorless camera class.
With small size taken care of, the next question is how good is the image quality? If you’re stepping up from a high-end point and shoot like I am you’re probably not going to notice a major difference in good lighting conditions, but where the GF3 blows my old S95 away is in low light situations. This performance does come with a caveat, however, which is that you need the right lens on the camera in order to get the low light performance you want. If you are not going to buy any additional lenses beyond the kit you’re not going to see any benefit over a high end point and shoot and you should probably consider one of those cameras (Canon S100, Olympus XZ-1, Fuji X100).
In my case I was happy to go out and purchase the 20mm f/1.7 Panasonic lens for low light photography. This lens allows me shoot at shutter speeds ranging from 1/40 to 1/100 of a second in very low light situations, at ISOs that would have ended up unacceptably grainy on my S90 (1600 or 3200). The result is that I’m getting indoor shots of pets and kids that I simply wasn’t able to get before.
Now, some people coming from a pro level camera will probably tell you that I’m crazy to shoot at ISO 3200 with this camera, but if you’re coming from a point and shoot you’ll find the noise so much better that it will be hard to notice. Yes there is a slight grain to shots, but it’s very fine and if all you’re doing is sharing photos on Facebook or via email it’s barely noticeable. I wouldn’t push it to 6400 ISO, however.
What about controls? In my case I find that the combination of the four-way controller, rotating dial and touch screen give me all the control points I want or need. I’ve got the FN button assigned to ISO control, and access Metering, Image Size and Flash controls via the touch screen Quick Menu, which can be customized to include a wide variety of controls. The four-way controller then gives me access to all the other controls I want: drive mode, white balance, focus point and exposure compensation. I shoot mostly in Program or Aperture Priority mode and am very happy with how quickly I can adjust my settings.
So, bottom line, if you’re upgrading from a point and shoot and are willing to take advantage of the fact that this is an interchangeable lens camera to buy the lens(es) that fit your needs, this can be a great upgrade camera for point and shooters. Don’t forget that the real long-term investment is in the lenses, you can always upgrade to a better body in the future and continue to use whichever great lenses you purchase on those future bodies, one of the great features of a camera system like this.
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|No regrets. This camera is sexy.,
I got this kit about a week ago at Target. It was a deal I couldn’t pass up: $400 with a free $75 Target gift card. I’d been obsessively researching system cameras for a few months, and I thought I had narrowed it down to either the Canon T2i or the Nikon D3100. I wanted something that could do full HD as well as sophisticated focus pulling. I was pretty sure I wanted something that could shoot at 24 fps, but this deal got me rethinking that. The more I read, the more I realized that you don’t really need 24 fps to get that film look, that there are other factors that go into profession looking shots. I wanted to be able to achieve the rack focus effect of pulling the focus from the background to the foreground or between different subjects in the frame. With the touchscreen and the crazy-fast autofocus on the GF3, all you have to do is point where you want to focus. It makes it so simple, and if you want more controll, you can still focus manually. The mic is mono, but I decided I could live with that because I can alway use an external recorder and microphone and add the audio track to the clips later, which would lead to better sound anyway. The lack of viewfinder option is a little disappointing, but I’m over it. I may eventually get a third party LCD viewfinder for shooting in sunlight.
I had no trouble importing clips to Corel Videostudio and editing them.
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|GREAT camera, but GREAT, depends how you will use it…,
This Panasonic GF3 is a rather impressive camera that can take VERY sharp pictures with really good IQ/Dynamic range, and color overall. Besides my love for Photography I also enjoy using the best of the best cameras in their category if I can afford them. I have owned, or own the Canon S95/Fuji X100/ Sony NEX-5, Had the original E-P1, Had the GF1 prior.
I have been searching forever for a VERY SMALL camera that can take DSLR like pictures. Though the GF1 did have a little bit more manual control than the GF1 does, for instance even flash compensation..I can’t seem to find that adjustment on this GF3. Even cheap point and shoots often let you change the amount of flash you will use, That’s one con here.
Overall though, though using the same sensor as the older GF1 and GF2 my pictures from my GF3 look BETTER overall as to color, noise, IN focus, virtually no Moire pattern problems..the GF1 had a lot of Moire pattern noise, the GF3 seems much cleaner.
The GF3 has something called pinpoint focus. It works GREAT and so super fast. You choose ANY point on the lcd you want to focus on, drag the POINT where you want it. Press the shutter 1/2 way down..you can focus on just an eye or any small spot you like. The screen will first show you an enlarged view so you KNOW you have perfect focus..that’s a great plus being able to have picture after picture IN focus. Also depending upon what focus mode you choose the focus speed is rocket fast on this camera and usually quite accurate. Pictures outdoors look as good as a high quality DSLR as to overall dynamic range, very little highlight clipping, color..and the 14 mm lens has virtually no purple fringing. The reason for just four stars is though the GF3 is pretty good up to 800iso ..you still see a bit too much noise and yellow splotches on jpegs indoors unless the light is rather bright or you use 400 iso and under. It’s too bad there’s no in camera image stabilization like Olympus does..another con if you are using the 14mm lens or the 1.7 aperture lens here. My Fuji x100 can use iso 2000 in poor light and still look amazing. BUT the x100 has a full sized sensor and is a fixed lens camera..and it’s much more expensive and larger than the GF3, so not a fair comparison.
Overall as to overall picture quality, SMALL FORM factor, this camera with LARGE sensor is almost the exact same size as the Pana LX5 which I also own…you just can’t beat the GF3 overall,as far as the camera you CAN take with you..vs some bulky heavy camera that will drag you down.
I have not used the video function as it is not important to me so I can’t comment about that.
I like the pictures from this GF3 overall a bit more than my NEX-5 because the NEX-5 pics to me all look all a bit too soft..it mis focuses too often..and NEX color seems a bit too saturated..(Just not right). That said, the NEX5 blows away the GF3 on high iso..hence it depends how you are going to use your camera most.
Overall..I think most people will really like the GF3. Sure if you NEED a hot shoe..obviously it doesn’t have one. For me if I’m going to use a hot shoe..It’s going to defeat some of the SMALL factor, so why bother with a small camera like this in the first place. I applaud Panasonic for getting most things right here. The touchscreen works just fine, you just need get used to it. It’s 2011..maybe this will be the way of the future, change is often painful..:)
Overall..this is an excellent camera..maybe a tad overpriced I feel..but an excellent camera on most points.
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|An excellent step up from a point and shoot or a great DSLR companion.,
The Panasonic GF3 is a compact, easy to use camera that takes excellent photos.
Design wise the Panasonic is very sleek and compact. It’s not going to fit into a jean’s pocket, but will slip into a jacket pocket with ease, especially with the small 14mm pancake lens. It’s light in weight and is easy to carry around all day. The camera is very discreet and draws little attention. There is a small rubber grip on the back and a nice sized grip on the front. I had no trouble getting a good hold on the camera and it fits nicely in my average sized hands. Build quality of both the lens and the camera is extremely high, with a nice metal body that feels solid and well assembled. Lastly, there is a small pop-up flash that can also be pulled back to function as a bounce flash.
Using the Panasonic is simple. For beginners, there is a button on the top of the camera to activate Intelligent Automatic mode. In this mode the camera will do all the thinking for you. For those who wish to have more control, the camera offers the full suite of manuals controls, including aperture and shutter priority modes. While the exterior of the camera has very few buttons, there are just enough to give you direct access to important setting (focus mode, exposure compensation, continuous shooting, and white balance). Additionally, the camera is very customizable and I like the fact that you can set the Quick Menu button to operate any number of features, including ISO speed. There is a movie record button on the top by the shutter. The 3″ touch screen on the back is bright and sharp, and responds instantly and works well. You can even customize the features that pop-up when you use the touch screen’s quick menu. For instance I added the metering setting so I’d have quicker access to them. I really enjoyed shooting with the camera and found the lack of external buttons to be a non-issue.
In operation the Panasonic GF3 is very speedy. It turns on and is ready to shoot in about 3 seconds. Focus speeds are quick, especially in the 1 area autofocus mode. Continuous shooting is fast as well and gives you a choice of three speeds; the highest however will not update the screen in real time. When reviewing/deleting photos and navigating the menus the camera responds instantly. Shot to shot times are instantaneous as well. Battery life is high and I was able to take over 200 pictures with lots of reviewing and menu navigating before the battery died.
The 14mm f/2.5 kit lens is compact and nicely made. It is sharp from corner to corner, even wide open. If you shoot JPEG and turn on the camera’s shading compensation vignetting is not much of an issue, and you’ll might notice it in 1% of your photos. Additionally the combination of the GF3’s large sensor and the lens’ bright f/2.5 aperture allow for a shallow depth of field for nicely blurred backgrounds and foregrounds. Without an image stabilizer the slowest shutter speed I can hand hold is 1/20″.
Photo quality is terrific, and while it’s not as good a high end SLR (like my Canon 7D), it is a definite step up from a point and shoot camera without much added bulk. Colors, exposure, sharpness, and detail are all very good. At low ISO speeds the photos are devoid of noise. Moving up the ISO scale, I can confidently shoot up to ISO 1600 before I start to see noticeable noise in the camera’s JPEGs. ISO speeds above 1600 are decent, but I save those for emergencies only. The camera allows you to adjust contrast, sharpness, saturation, and noise reduction for the photographs. Movie quality is also good with smooth action and good sound, but it is recorded in mono.
All in all…a great little Micro Four Thirds camera that is a joy to use, and delivers excellent photo quality.
07/17/2012 Update: I recently took the camera to a wedding reception and it performed like a champ in full manual mode. I shot at f/2.5, shutter speed 1/125″, and ISO speed 2000, and was able to get great images of couples dancing.
P.S. If you have any questions please leave me a comment and I would be happy to respond.
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|A decent complement to an enthusiast photography kit,
For some time I’ve been looking for a camera with better image quality than a point & shoot that I could carry whenever I didn’t feel like lugging my EOS 7D or 60D around. When a competing camera business offered the 14 mm kit bundled with the 14 – 42 mm zoom, I couldn’t resist and jumped in. The GF-3 feels very well built and so does the 14 mm pancake. Not so much the kit zoom, but never worse than the standard kit glass offered with the Rebel line from Canon. The camera with the 14 mm prime is very small and certainly filled the profile of what I was looking. External controls are sparse but no surprises here, as simplicity is the predominant philosophy preconized buy Panasonic. In its favor, the touchscreen interface is very intuitive and you do get full control access after some Q-menu tweaks. Therefore, in my opinion, the GF-3 gets high marks in usability but not so much in image quality. Although I wasn’t expecting DSLR quality given the limitations (and advantages) of the micro four/thirds format, I do think that IQ is closer to high end point and shoot than entry-level DSLRs. Specially at above ISO 800. ISO 1600 is usable but very blotchy at regular jpeg output and requires some processing for raw images. Love the size of the pancake but unfortunately this lens is SOFT at the open 2.5 setting. And I mean soft at even regular viewing magnifications. Also, it might be a mislead impression, but it behaves slower than you might expect from a 2.5 maximum aperture prime. I guess you can’t cheat physics. The kit zoom offers visibly better IQ at the wide (equivalent) end but it is painfully slow. Not sure how much the mega O.I.S. helps in low light in a camera that is more difficult to hold still than a DSLR. I final note goes to the bundled software. I haven’t tried the raw converter, but Silkypix crashes every time I connect the camera through the supplied USB cable. This is the case in two separate machines although I have to mention that it coexists with other camera manufacturer software. So far, direct SD card downloads and uninstalling the software has solved the issue. To summarize, even with the lack of external controls, I like the ergonomics for what it is (compact mirrorless camera) and the handling is good but noise at high ISO settings is above my generous expectations.
People interested in the m4/3 format should consider offerings from Olympus or the newer GX-1 for better low light image quality.
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