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| Panasonic Lumix G6 |
This not intended to be a technical review but just a first impression from a user perspective.
I’ve taken a few shots and I must say I’m impressed with the performance of this camera.
Things I like:
Image quality. Panasonic’s processing has improved a lot. JPEG exposures and colour are much better than my previous Panasonic camera. The 16mp sensor gives approx. 1 EV (I stop) better dynamic range and ISO performance in RAW than my Olympus E-P3. The movie image quality is great.
Handling. This camera has a deep rubberised handgrip so feels immediately comfortable.
Electronic Viewfinder. The new OLED EVF panel has a large viewing area that’s very clear, detailed and realistic. The colour also matches the LCD monitor - it’s great! It’s bigger than the one found on the new and more expensive Panasonic Lumix GX7, which looks small and tunnel like in comparison. It's also better than the EVF found on the GH3, which suffers from distortion that does not occur on the G6 (I've compared the EVFs of all three cameras).
Autofocus. It’s very fast and accurate with most M4/3 lenses, with the exception of the Panasonic 20mm lens. I would recommend to anyone that buys this camera to get the Olympus 45mm f1.8. It’s a killer combo!
Touch Pad AF. Touch pad autofocus allows you to change the autofocus point using the touch screen while looking through the electronic viewfinder. It's a neat feature that makes AF point selection quick when using the EVF.
Focus Peaking. This manual focusing aid displays blue outlines on the area that’s in focus. It makes manual focusing quick and easy when using old manual focus lenses. It even works when using video for accurate movie style focus pulling!
Electronic Shutter. This allows completely silent shooting. The shutter curtain is not activated. Great for tripod shooting to prevent jitter, street shooting or anywhere that requires silence. This mode cannot be used when moving or panning the camera because it will cause a skewed rolling shutter effect. I haven't tried it with flash so I don't know if it works.
LCD monitor. The articulating monitor moves to almost any angle you want. It’s a high-resolution panel that’s very clear and detailed even in low light.
Touch screen UI. The touch screen user interface is the best I’ve ever used and gives access to useful functions as well as touch shutter. It’s very responsive.
Function buttons. It has 5 hard function buttons and 2 on-screen, giving 7 in total. Probably the most customisable camera I’ve ever had. Most of the important functions for me are at my fingertips and can be changed without taking my eye away from the viewfinder.
Sleep Mode. The wake up time from sleep mode is very fast compared to my Olympus E-P3. Great for getting quick grab shots.
Movie Mode. The movie files generated by this camera are great. There’s a wealth of features available for producing high quality movies. I’m not adept in Videography (yet!), so check out
EOSHD for a review of this camera’s movie capabilities.
Stereo microphone. The built-in microphone has good sound quality. This is important if you don't own an external microphone.
Wireless TTL flash mode. I don’t know why Panasonic aren't shouting about this function considering how long punters have waited for this. The first Panasonic camera to have this function was the recent GH3. The G6 is the second. It allows you to use a wireless enabled flashgun off of the camera without any cables attached, but gives full TTL control over the exposure The beauty is that this flash function works with my Metz 50 AF-1 flashgun that I use with my Olympus camera. I can use the Metz in wireless mode with both cameras instead of having two different flashguns, saving me a lot of money.
WiFi with NFC. The camera is WiFi enabled with NFC (Near Field Communication), which means you can simply touch the camera against a smartphone or tablet to make a connection. The camera can then be controlled through your tablet computer or phone. Very useful for a home studio set up. I haven't tried this feature yet because I don't currently have a smart device.
The price. The body only is available for only £449 from
Srsmicrosystems. That’s currently the cheapest in the UK. They're also doing a deal on the Panasonic battery for £29.99 and cashback deals are available for kits. Plenty of bang for your bucks!
Consider this:
Both the Panasonic GH3 and the GX7 are significantly more expensive than the G6.
The G6 has a better viewfinder than both the GH3 and GX7 (I’ve tried all of them).
The G6 has focus peaking, which the GH3 does not have. It's a valued function for videography.
The G6 has a 3.5mm microphone jack for fitting a professional mic. The GX7 doesn’t have this.
The Panasonic G6 has to be the most feature rich camera within it's price range right now.
Here are some shots I took with the G6. Click on the image for larger view.
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| A photographer composing his shot - 45mm f1.8 @ f5 - ISO 160 |
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| Autumn - 45mm f1.8 @ f5 - ISO 320 |
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| Day dreamer - 45mm f1.8 @ f2.8 ISO 160 |
I used the electronic shutter (silent) mode when I took the photo of the chap sitting on the bench. He was unaware that I was there.
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| ISO 1000 - 1/100 sec using the 45mm f1.8 @ f2 |
The photo of the ladies at the cafe was taken at ISO 1000 under florescent lighting and converted from Raw to JPEG using Photoshop ACR with no adjustments or noise reduction applied.
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| Portrait - 45mm f1.8 @ f2.5 - ISO 160 |
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| Cyclist - 45mm f1.8 @ f2.8 - ISO 160 |
The shot of the cyclist was taken using AFS (Autofocus Single Shot) and single AF point (no tracking). I used f2.8 to reduce depth of field so I could test the accuracy. It locked on instantly and was very accurate. A very decent performance.
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| Chinon 50mm f1.4 @ f2.8 - ISO 160 |
The cash machine photo was a test of the focus peaking feature. I used an old 50mm f1.4 manual focus lens. I focused this shot within 2 seconds and it's very accurate and sharp. Without focus peaking it would have taken a lot longer to focus accurately.
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| Colour - 20mm F1.7 @f2.8 - ISO 160 |
The fruits shot is an out of camera JPEG taken in daylight using auto white balance. The JPEG colour rendering is very natural.
Things that could be better:
Build quality. Build quality is a mixed bag. The front of the camera feels sturdy with a good rubberised texture and the top plate plate feels good too. However, the plastics used on the back of the screen and behind the screen have a different texture and feels a bit cheap. The battery/card door also feels a bit flimsy.
Battery. I wish it took a larger capacity battery that gives longer battery life. The battery life is still better than the battery life of my Olympus E-P3 but I was hoping for a bit more.
Display button. The display button is positioned in the path of the thumb rest at the back of the camera and I sometimes press it by accident. It's not a big deal because it doesn't change any exposure settings but it would be nice if it was positioned out of the way.
That's my first impressions of the G6 and I'm very pleased so far.
I'll post more photos and highlight some more features as soon as I can.
If you're thinking of buying a micro 4/3rds camera then the G6 is well worth considering.