Bought a Panasonic G2 Micro 4/3 system - Here's the scoop...

kygarden

I basically put this in a blog post but to make it easy on me, I'll just paste that post in here! I bought a Panasonic Lumix G2 to replace my LX3. Sure, the G2 is bigger than the LX3, but it's still a good deal smaller AND lighter than my 'main camera', the Nikon D700. So the G2 will become my family/vacation camera, when I don't want to lug around the D700. Image quality can't compare to the D700, but still, the G2 does very, very well because it has the full size 4/3 sensor stuffed in there. Anyway, here's the rest of the story...

After selling my Panasonic LX3 and a few other things I don't need anymore, I had the money to buy a new Panasonic Lumix G2 with the 14-42mm lens, an extra battery, a 16GB class 4 SDHC memory card and a holster/case for the camera.

The G2 is one of the newer 'Micro Four Thirds' cameras. It has a full size 4/3 image sensor, stuffed into a much smaller camera body. You can think of it as a digital SLR, but technically it's not a SLR. It does have interchangeable lenses. There's just no mirror assembly for the viewfinder. Everything is electronic. Electronic viewfinder and a live LCD as well, whichever you prefer to use. The LCD swivels around in all different directions. It's very handy. AND it's the first camera of it's kind to have a TOUCH screen. You can touch the screen to perform various tasks like scrolling through photos, setting a focus point and even telling it where to focus and then immediately after, take a photos. Mostly I just use it to set the focus point. Very handy. Oh and it takes very nice 720p HD video in the AVCHD format. I can shoot up to 2 hours continuously on the 16GB card in the AVCHD format. In the motion jpeg format (.mov?), the recording is limited to 10 minutes or so.

Now on with the photos. First a few of the camera itself, then a few photos I made with this camera the last few days! The rest of the photos I've uploaded so far are here, in case you want to see more: http://www.openbloom.com/GEAR-Etc-1/Panasonic-Lumix-G2/13110463_d3GnN

<a href="http://www.openbloom.com/GEAR-Etc-1/Panasonic-Lumix-G2/13110463_d3GnN#953951781_WmSGu-A-LB&quot; title="Front, with 14-42mm Panasonic lens. (35mm full frame equivalent is about 28-90mm)"><img src="http://www.openbloom.com/GEAR-Etc-1/Panasonic-Lumix-G2/20100731-DSC5327-2/953951781_WmSGu-M.jpg&quot; title="Front, with 14-42mm Panasonic lens. (35mm full frame equivalent is about 28-90mm)" alt="Front, with 14-42mm Panasonic lens. (35mm full frame equivalent is about 28-90mm)" /></a>
<a href="http://www.openbloom.com/GEAR-Etc-1/Panasonic-Lumix-G2/13110463_d3GnN#953951398_PhRtJ-A-LB&quot; title="Rear with LCD closed."><img src="http://www.openbloom.com/GEAR-Etc-1/Panasonic-Lumix-G2/20100731-DSC5323-2/953951398_PhRtJ-M.jpg&quot; title="Rear with LCD closed." alt="Rear with LCD closed." /></a>
<a href="http://www.openbloom.com/GEAR-Etc-1/Panasonic-Lumix-G2/13110463_d3GnN#953951508_tPxmW-A-LB"><img src="http://www.openbloom.com/GEAR-Etc-1/Panasonic-Lumix-G2/20100731-DSC5324-2/953951508_tPxmW-M.jpg&quot; /></a>
<a href="http://www.openbloom.com/GEAR-Etc-1/Panasonic-Lumix-G2/13110463_d3GnN#953951592_LZEGn-A-LB"><img src="http://www.openbloom.com/GEAR-Etc-1/Panasonic-Lumix-G2/20100731-DSC5325-2/953951592_LZEGn-M.jpg&quot; /></a>

Now for some photos from the G2. I used Lightroom 3 to edit the photos...some to a greater extent than others. Most photos were shot in RAW and converted to JPG after editing...but some were shot as JPG as well.
<a href="http://www.openbloom.com/GEAR-Etc-1/Panasonic-Lumix-G2/13110463_d3GnN#953644516_6wT67-A-LB&quot; title=""><img src="http://www.openbloom.com/GEAR-Etc-1/Panasonic-Lumix-G2/20100731-P1000271/953644516_6wT67-M.jpg&quot; title="" alt="" /></a>
<a href="http://www.openbloom.com/GEAR-Etc-1/Panasonic-Lumix-G2/13110463_d3GnN#952758202_idLyB-A-LB&quot; title=""><img src="http://www.openbloom.com/GEAR-Etc-1/Panasonic-Lumix-G2/20100730-P1000081/952758202_idLyB-M.jpg&quot; title="" alt="" /></a>
<a href="http://www.openbloom.com/GEAR-Etc-1/Panasonic-Lumix-G2/13110463_d3GnN#952902014_2MVbq-A-LB&quot; title=""><img src="http://www.openbloom.com/GEAR-Etc-1/Panasonic-Lumix-G2/20100730-P1000155/952902014_2MVbq-M.jpg&quot; title="" alt="" /></a>
<a href="http://www.openbloom.com/GEAR-Etc-1/Panasonic-Lumix-G2/13110463_d3GnN#953884507_XHHKu-A-LB&quot; title=""><img src="http://www.openbloom.com/GEAR-Etc-1/Panasonic-Lumix-G2/20100731-P1000286/953884507_XHHKu-M.jpg&quot; title="" alt="" /></a>
<a href="http://www.openbloom.com/GEAR-Etc-1/Panasonic-Lumix-G2/13110463_d3GnN#953881675_Q8cXe-A-LB&quot; title=""><img src="http://www.openbloom.com/GEAR-Etc-1/Panasonic-Lumix-G2/20100731-P1000275/953881675_Q8cXe-M.jpg&quot; title="" alt="" /></a>

I've even got a video. Nothing special. It can get a little shaky doing video without a tripod. From this morning. Love the sound of nature :-) Overall quality of this video could be better, but I just wanted to take some quick test videos to see how well it does. It's a nice improvement over my former LX3. I'll have to take some time to make some really nice videos now :-)

Wanna watch it in HD? Just click <a href="http://www.openbloom.com/GEAR-Etc-1/Panasonic-Lumix-G2/13110463_d3GnN#953418610_mWrM3-A-LB">HERE!</a><div><a href="http://www.openbloom.com/GEAR-Etc-1/Panasonic-Lumix-G2/13110463_d3GnN#953418610_mWrM3-A-LB"></a&gt;
<object width="640" height="360"><param name="movie" value="http://cdn.smugmug.com/ria/ShizVidz-2010071401.swf"><param name="allowFullScreen" value="true"><param name="flashVars" value="s=ZT0xJmk9OTUzNDE4NjEwJms9bVdyTTMmYT0xMzExMDQ2M19kM0duTiZ1PU9wZW5CbG9vbQ=="><embed src="http://cdn.smugmug.com/ria/ShizVidz-2010071401.swf&quot; flashvars="s=ZT0xJmk9OTUzNDE4NjEwJms9bVdyTTMmYT0xMzExMDQ2M19kM0duTiZ1PU9wZW5CbG9vbQ==" width="640" height="360" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" allowfullscreen="true"></embed></object></div>

ziggy53

Congratulations on the new camera.

Thanks for the review and especially for the sample images.

kygarden

Thanks, Ziggy.

An observation - The hype about the smaller size of the GF1 and E-P2 bodies is a little misleading, I'd say. I mean, what's the point in having a slightly less bulky body (the GF1 for example, vs. the G2) if the camera ends up being the same size once you put a lens on??? Are people really planning on transporting and using the camera with NO lens? Seriously. So regarding all these various micro 4/3 bodies, I think it comes down to a matter of personal taste. The Sony NEX-5 was looking pretty interesting until I saw that the body had virtually no buttons/controls. I couldn't live with that. But the image quality is very nice.

Anyway, Since the LX5 has just been announced and the MSRP is a steal at $500 for that great camera, even if just a mild improvement over the already excellent LX3 (we'll see)...I may have to save just a little more and grab one of those once they start selling. I've for about half saved already with the money I had leftover once I bought the G2. I don't think I'll be able to resist not buying one, even if I technically don't 'need' a LX5. It will be a great addition to my small collection. Then I'll have a point and shoot (The LX5), a mid-range 'SLR' type camera (The G2) and a full frame killer (The D700). I think after that, I will be totally content (until I 'need' a new lens for the G2! >>> ).

misterb

These 4/3rd Cameras are awesome- nice and small, almost tiny when using a pancake lens- and images that are really usable.

Good luck with thwe new camera..

kevinpw

how is it compared to the GF1?

kygarden

I thought I'd do a somewhat controlled test to see how the ISO performance was on my new G2. This is not a scientific test. I had the camera sitting on the counter and used the self-timer so there was no camera shake. My intent was to use aperture f/8 for all photos, but I inadvertently changed to a higher aperture for some of the photos, but that's ok. I leveled out the exposure for each photo so it shouldn't really matter. I used the camera's meter to determine proper exposure (according to the camera, but personally I think it's just slightly underexposed, but not much). All shots in manual exposure mode.

Link to gallery. Full size images available: http://www.smugmug.com/gallery/13161505_r9P7e

As far as how it compares to the GF1, I haven't compared the specs too much, but I think it's the same sensor and many other things are the same...so if I had to guess, I wouldn't expect much difference (if any at all) in image quality. The G2 certainly has more controls at your fingertips though.

brad21

Nice, just picked one up today used from B&H, can't wait!

geode

If I understand it correctly, I can use my Canon FD prime lenses on the G-2. Is that right?

Since I have a bunch of Canon glass sitting here that does NOT fit any of the cameras Canon now offers my choice is to trade it in for low $$, or sell it for low $$, or use it on a camera like a G-2.

TIA

aquaticvideographer

geode wrote: »

If I understand it correctly, I can use my Canon FD prime lenses on the G-2. Is that right?

TIA

You can, if you get an adapter. There are many m4/3 adapters out there. I got an OM-to-m/43 adapter from fotodiox for about $30, and there are cheaper ones to be had.

3power

geode wrote: »

If I understand it correctly, I can use my Canon FD prime lenses on the G-2. Is that right?

Since I have a bunch of Canon glass sitting here that does NOT fit any of the cameras Canon now offers my choice is to trade it in for low $$, or sell it for low $$, or use it on a camera like a G-2.

TIA

You can, but only with MF. Also, if it doesn't have a dedicated aperture ring it gets tricky.

3power

kygarden wrote: »

Thanks, Ziggy.

An observation - The hype about the smaller size of the GF1 and E-P2 bodies is a little misleading, I'd say. I mean, what's the point in having a slightly less bulky body (the GF1 for example, vs. the G2) if the camera ends up being the same size once you put a lens on?? .

It's not really the same size. When you look at lens of the same focal length, the mFT systems are still considerably smaller.