If you want to know how well the new Panasonic DMC-G1 Micro Four Thirds camera performs, there’s a full analysis of it over at Imaging Resource.
The Panasonic G1 ($800 including a 14-45mm lens) is a new direction in digital imaging. Unencumbered by legacy lenses, the company took a new tack in designing a camera: Micro Four Thirds with its small size and and its own interchangeable lenses. They threw away the pentaprism/pentamirror contraption – a mainstay for DSLRs – and replaced it with a live view-only viewfinder. The aim was to offer a camera the size of a compact but produces photos very much like those from SLRs.
How well did the G1 perform in the test? Read the full report by Zig Weidelich if you’re interested in the details (he posted a lot of details!).
But this we can tell you in a nutshell: the G1’s not as quick as a DSLR but it’s not all that much slower, either. Image quality looks quite good with a lot of details, but see for yourself. Its luminance noise levels are only average from ISO 100-800, and higher than average at 1,600 and 3,200.
In short, Panasonic’s got a pretty safe bet here. The G1 performs decently without offering that much in terms of the other bells and whistles. For someone venturing in an entirely new direction, Panasonic chose to be safe.
[Via: Imaging Resource]