The Poor Man's Digital Leica?
FIRST IMPRESSIONS OF THE
PANASONIC LUMIX GF1 MICRO
FOUR-THIRDS CAMERA

by Tony Bonanno, guest columnist
All photographs by the author
1/27/10

I’ll get to the bottom line right away. It’s a pretty impressive package. What is the appeal of this camera? If you are one of those shooters who, like myself, spent a good bit of time in the 1960s with an old Leica (and believe me, mine was “old” even in the ‘60s) and miss the “digital equivalent” of a similar form factor with interchangeable lenses and image quality better than 35mm film (can you say Tri-X 400), then you will probably like the GF1. If you are one of those photographers who just wants a smaller form factor than the DSLR you’re currently carrying, but have been put off by the current crop of point-and-shoot cameras due to slow autofocus, shutter lag, high ISO noise levels, and overall compromised image quality (compared to your DSLR), then you too will probably find the GF1 of interest. If you are looking for good image quality in a relatively inconspicuous (compared to a DSLR) “street” camera for personal projects and travel, you will likely find the GF1 appealing.

Lumix-1GF1 with 20mm (40mm equivalent)
“pancake” lens and Canon G10 for size comparison.

I purchased a GF1 with the “pancake” prime 40mm f1.7 lens in December, 2009. The lens is actually a 20mm focal length, but the Micro Four Thirds (MFT) sensor has a 2X multiplication factor. Later I added the 28-90 (equivalent) Image Stabilized Lumix lens, which is remarkably small for that zoom range. My motivation was to find a good “street” camera to use for some personal projects. Earlier this year I started a personal project in Latin America. I quickly became aware of the downsides of using my large (and heavy) Canon 1Ds MKIII and “L” glass for the kind of street photography I had in mind. I was often in places and situations where I didn’t want my camera to shout “professional photographer.” I kept wishing I had something smaller and lighter that could fit into my jacket pocket, and still give me the image quality I needed for 16x20 prints at ISO 400 using available light. At the time, I didn’t feel there was anything on the market that would meet those requirements. At least not anything that I could afford for personal work. The Leica M8.2 (and now the M9) was not an option, primarily due to cost. A new M9 with just one lens (35mm f2 Summicron) currently costs more than $10,000 street price.

A little history: The “Micro Four-Thirds” format (MFT) was introduced by Olympus and Panasonic in August of 2008. The new MFT cameras eliminated the reflex mirror and allowed the creation of smaller interchangeable lens cameras. In September of 2008, Panasonic introduced the G1 along with some new lenses. The G1 has a built-in bright electronic viewfinder (and looks like a traditional smaller DSLR). The MFT format uses the same sensor as the full size Four-Thirds format, but the mount is downsized and the distance between the rear lens element and the sensor is half of what the Four Thirds format requires. This new “micro” format allows significant downsizing.

In late summer and fall of 2009, Olympus and Panasonic introduced two new cameras based on their MFT format bodies. By eliminating the built-in viewfinder (as found on the G1), but keeping the same sensor and electronics, they created a rangefinder-like form factor with the image quality of the larger cameras. Olympus came out with the first model of this new genre, the EP1, and soon followed it with the EP2. Panasonic introduced their GF1 in October. The Olympus and Panasonic models have a lot of similarities, and some significant differences. If you want more details on how the GF1, EP1 and EP2 compare, a Google search on the web will locate plenty of reviews as well as information as to where these new cameras fit in relation to the latest Leica models.

Impressions:
The GOOD Stuff
- Small and lightweight. Almost as small as the Canon G10 / G11. Actually, without the lens mounted, a bit smaller than the G10. With the pancake lens, about the same depth as the G10 with the built-in lens extended.
- Very good image quality. 12.1 megapixel resolution. The GF1’s MFT sensor has a surface area of approx 225 square mm compared to 43 square mm for the sensor in a Canon G10 or G11. Obviously the larger sensor helps with the noise levels. Shooting RAW, the ISO’s up to 800 are quite good with only minimal noise. At ISO 200, you’d be hard pressed to see much difference from a larger sensor DSLR. I use it at ISO 400 for B&W and it is beautiful.

Hand-held backyard image using GF1 and Leica 35mm (70 equivalent) f2 Summicron lens.

Flare control is very good with the f1.7 Pancake lens. Shot at f8 directly into the Sun.

• Fast autofocus and overall shooting speed. This was important for me. I feel like it responds almost as quickly as many consumer DSLRs. The slowness of the Olympus models eliminated them from my list as a street shooter for my needs. The new MFT lenses can also be manually focused.

• LCD viewing screen is very high resolution, bright and crisp. The best LCD I think I’ve ever seen. (Better than my EOS-1 series III bodies)

• Lots of controls. ISOs in 1/3 stop settings from 100 to 3200. Full aperture and shutter settings, selectable metering modes, autofocus modes, file sizes, etc.

• Interchangeable lenses. The GF1 is available as a kit with a 20mm (40 equivalent) f1.7 prime lens that is a superb performer. Sharp and contrasty to the edges wide open. NO chromatic aberration detectable. It’s called a “pancake” lens due to its slender profile. My informal tests show it to have very good flare control for such a fast lens. As mentioned previously, the Lumix 28-90mm (equivalent) is very compact and performs remarkably well for its modest price. Check out the reviews regarding these lenses.

• MORE interchangeable lenses. One of the strengths of this camera (and the Olympus models) is the ability to use MANY different lenses. You can use almost any lens for the MFT format from any manufacturer. With the appropriate adapters, you can also use your old Leica screw mount, M mount, and R mount lenses, Contax/Voigtlander glass, Pentax, Nikon, and Canon manual focus glass, etc. With the manual focus lenses, you have to manually focus of course, but the camera will still auto expose for you with the correct shutter speed for the selected aperture if you wish. I had great results using a Leica 35mm f2 Summicron M mount lens on the GF1 (thanks, Peter Ogilvie, for the loan of the lens). An aftermarket adapter for the Leica lens was a reasonable $70. I should note that manual focusing these other lenses is inherently slow compared to the very fast autofocus on the new lenses. You have to focus the manual lenses using the live view on the LCD or use the optional electronic viewfinder. You can also “pre-set” aperture and distance for “zone” focusing.

Flare control is very good with the f1.7 Pancake lens. Shot at f8 directly into the Sun.

• Robust build quality. Mostly metal body. Made in Japan. There is something to be said for a relatively small camera body that really feels good. The metal, the weight, the absence of plastic, the smoothness of operation, the feel of quality. Not equal to the old Leica perhaps, especially with the bright LCD to remind you that this is modern digital technology. But enough of those real camera qualities to make you smile and appreciate the fact that someone is finally making the camera you have been longing for at a price you can afford. Even if it doesn’t have a real rangefinder to focus with.

• Built-in flash. Nice little pop up flash when you need a little fill or it’s just too dark to get the shot of your friends in the cellar. Hot shoe for attaching a real flash unit.

• Very good low light autofocus. Built-in autofocus low light assist beam works well.

• Optional electronic viewfinder. I have this little unit and it works well, although I find the resolution could be better. The unit attaches to the flash hot shoe and gives a precise “through the lens” view. Basically, it shows you what the sensor sees plus all the settings focus lock indicator, etc. Think of it as a miniature version of the big LCD. Useful for those who like looking through a viewfinder or when in bright sunlight, etc. Also quite useful for manually focusing your legacy lenses. WYSIWYG. Note: you can NOT use an external flash unit and the electronic viewfinder at the same time.

• Excellent battery life. Haven’t really calculated the average use per charge, but it seems to be much longer than most point-and-shoot cameras and I suspect it is similar to many consumer DSLRs. I have not found myself running out of juice yet.

• 720 fps High Definition Video. This is not something that I use, but it is appears to work well for those who want it. An eight GB SD card will capture about 1 hour of video.

• RAW files. Currently supported by Adobe’s Camera Raw 5.6 for Photoshop CS4 and Lightroom. Included with the camera is Silkypix software which also support’s the RAW format.

• Cost. Under $1000 with the superb 20mm pancake lens. Compare it to the new Leica X1 which is $2000 with a slower non-interchangeable lens. The Leica M9 and Leica lenses provide beautiful images… for $10,000 +.

The NOT SO GOOD stuff.
• Files above ISO 800 are noisier than some of the other large sensor compact cameras. Olympus models seem to have tamed the noise a bit better above 800.

• The use of a single “push and dial” switch to toggle between exposure compensation and aperture/shutter settings takes some getting use to. I would have preferred separate dials on the top of the camera body. One for aperture, one for shutter.

• The electronic viewfinder could be better. The Olympus electronic viewfinder has a much nicer view; brighter, larger, much more detail (but also is a bulkier unit).

• No real rangefinder focusing. Maybe something to hope for in future models.

In Summary:
I can say with confidence that this is pretty much the “street” camera I’ve been waiting for. There is a lot to like. I’ve been using it mostly for black and white. The images I’ve made so far, in my opinion, are better than what I used to get with my old Leica using Tri-X 400. WAY BETTER! It is not perfect, but as one of the early models of a whole new genre, I think it is a very worthy tool. A keeper for sure. Will it replace my EOS-1 DSLR bodies and “L” glass for my commercial work? NO. Will it be the camera that I grab first for my own work? Definitely! And yes, I think it is deserving of the Leica comparison.

Tony Bonanno
ASMP General Member
New Mexico Chapter
bonannophoto.com