Panasonic Lumix DMC-GF2 micro four thirds camera

While Panasonic further extends the range of its Micro Four Thirds cameras with the recently announced Lumix DMC-G3, this new arrival with its bulging bridge form factor won’t be for everyone. Keeping up with Olympus with its PEN models, the Lumix DMC-GF1 was Panasonic’s first compact MFT alternative and with the DMC-GF2, the …

[Some Beggar]

No 3D video is a bit of a hole.

3D stills are not much more than a novelty and for many scenes you can knock them up relatively easily without a £250 stereo lens. And without the disadvantage of having the two lenses so close together. If it supported video then ... well it would still be a novelty ... but it would be a whizzier novelty than 3D stills.

[Vladimir Plouzhnikov]

Duuno...

I found 3D camcorder video practically useless. Anaglyphs recorded on DVD cannot be properly displayed on TV even if you bend over backwards and try to optimise them for reduced ghosting. And crosseyed video is much more tiring to watch than stills.

Stills are OK though, but you need an audience who can learn how to watch them.

[Mike Corlett]

great camera

I've been using one of these for the past few months now, and it really is a great camera. Personally I'd give it a 90%, not 75%, but I'm easily pleased :) Get the dual lens package when you buy it, it's worth having the zoom plus stability features, and there are some great deals out there.

Only things I miss are being able to preview the camera via HDMI whilst shooting, but the image quality and speed of this camera are fantastic.

[Anonymous Coward]

Have they looked up "Stereo?"

What is the point of having L and R microphones that are 1/8 inch apart, and both on the right-hand side of the camera?

[Some Beggar]

Have _you_ looked up stereo?

A Blumlein pair does stereo from microphones that are zero inches apart. I'm not suggesting that this is using a Blumlein pair, or that the audio through the built-in mics is even particularly good, but you can certainly achieve stereo from two mics close together. You can even get a half-decent surround sound from a bunch of mics clustered together if you do some tricksy processing. Built-in mics are typically much crappier than a decent external mic, but they can certainly manage stereo.

I'm not sure why you think there's a problem with placing them both on the same side of the camera, either.

[fishman]

Viewfinder

I'll pass - I won't pay for that overpriced optional viewfinder, and I won't buy a camera of this level without a viewfinder. I take alot of outdoor pictures, and there are times when the LCD screen is useless.

[Anonymous Coward]

It's not just for the outdoors...

A viewfinder is a boon to those of us who need reading glasses.

What's more, the to-the-eye method of holding a camera is always going to be the most stable way of hand-holding it.

[Kevin 6]

3D pics

Looked at the 3d pics on my 3ds, and the 3d wasn't extremely apparent. Some almost looked 2D, while some you could see some of the difference. For the record I've viewed other 3d camera images on my 3ds, and the 3d was way more defined.

2D the pics look really nice though

[John Sturdy]

The evil bit?

Presumably, being Panasonic, it'll have something to force you to use only genuine Panasonic batteries?