The Micro Four Thirds category of cameras, essentially taking the power and photo-taking ability of a 2 pound DSLR and cramming into the size of a point-and-shoot camera, albeit with the same lens size. In the Panasonic Lumix G10′s case, its size is more mini-DSLR than Micro Four Thirds (i.e Olympus E-PL1 or Sony NEX-3) but honestly, for $600 bucks, who cares!? Read on, because the G10 is more than a solid digital camera. It’s awesome.
Price as Reviewed: $549.99 with 14-42mm kit lens
Full Disclosure: Sent as a review unit on summer vacation by Panasonic, on time.
Specs
The Panasonic LUMIX’s specs, nice and clean for the nitwits (no offence), and then some:
- Has a 12.1 megapixel sensor
- ISO range of 100-6400
- A VARIO 14-42mm with image stabilization kit lens
- 720p HD video recording with autofocus
- Weighs 19.68 ounces
- Pretty looking 3.0-inch LCD
- A “hot-shoe” for attaching external flashes and that sort of fancy stuff
Design
Contradicting other Micro Four Thirds cameras, the G10 sort of feels — too professional in a sense. And it feels good, actually. Coming from hardcore DSLRs like the Pentax K-x and Nikon D5000, the G10 felt all fuzzy and warm outside (read: it’s easy to use, ‘kay?). Many of the functions used in the software of cameras like these has been outed and turned into buttons, allowing pretty easy setting changes, like the left knob which is used for autofocus modes, and is helpful in a pinch (and it is in the “correct” place).
A nice touch: the G10′s lens comes with a flower-shaped light-reduction attachment. Pop it on and find reduced glare, and look like a pro photographer (!).
The Photos It Takes Are…
For a little DSLR (sorry, Micro Four Thirds, I messed up) the G10 can shoot some awesome nature photography with the kit lens, which is great for landscape and close-ups. Panasonic also offers a 45-200mm lens for super-zooming, but wasn’t thinking hard enough to provide one with the review unit (oh well). A gallery below demonstrates the G10′s awesomeness due to Panasonic’s perfect-placed Intelligent Auto button, which takes the work out of using a camera like this, sets up everything for you, and lets you fire away (pew pew pew):
Night Shooting
Can be slightly out-focused and noisy. At least with the kit lens it did. Even indoor conditions appear slightly out of balance and fuzzy due to the ISO not really doing anything except noising the photos (sans the lake and lights shot). Same goes for video. Speaking of video…
Now That’s Some Nice HD
The G10 only shoots up to 720p, but has continuous autofocus (a big thing in Micro Four Thirds and DSLRs) rather than turning the manual focus ring the entire time while shooting. Does it help? Heck yes it does; it’s fun. That’s what it is. For your pleasure, some 720P HD video sample, served up a la carte by The Tube.
Conclusion
At the end of every review, I have to make a “conclusion/ending/do I like it or not” sort of thing. The G10′s poor ISO performance compared to normal DSLRs and other Micro Four Thirds cameras can really be a deal breaker for any consumer, even in lit indoor conditions, the ISO starts to fuss up. The great image quality though is nothing you can simply walk by, either. So what’s my point? The Lumix G10 is a perfect buy for the price, power, and pro looks. Just don’t try and go taking pictures inside a cave, okay?
Pros:
- Great image quality
- DSLR design, albeit slightly large for a real 4/3rds camera
- Autofocus in both stills and HD video
- Battery lasts more than 430 stills
Cons:
- Terrible, low-res, viewfinder
- Noisy ISO quality
- A little bigger than a 4/3rds should be
