Panasonic Lumix DMC-GF3 12.1MP Compact System Camera Kit with 14mm Lumix G f/2.5 ASPH Lens - Black

I am a professional photographer but wanted a small and compact high quality camera that could shoot HD video. I saw this absolute bargain at J Lewis in Kingston, while looking at another Panasonic Video camera for a client. I saw the GF3 on a shelf with a reduced price tag of £300-last one they had before restocking. I asked to look at it and unlike the very poor, yet pricey Camcorder i had looked into, this was immediately distinguished by its build quality-good slightly weighty feel, giving it a reassuring feel. What's more it came with the 14mm-42mm zoom as well! I have seen this all for over £450 on the web since.
I have now used it and the video in HD is superb. The controls are easy to navigate and it has a range of controls allowing you to override the auto settings. The lens quality is superb-i have only used the standard 14mm which has a great field of view.
The sound is also excellent-and in stereo. Ok, you cannot add external mics, but for this price you cannot expect to. (You could always buy a sound recorder and link the two in edit-should you need professional sound)
Furthermore i have bought some adaptors that will enable me to use my old manual Nikon F lenses-sharpest you can get. Also have some unused Pentax M42 lenses which I inherited. They will now have a new life on this camera. Also the bonus is that these lenses double their focal length on this camera so a cheap 135mm lens becomes a near enough 300mm lens.
Given its capacity as a video camera with HD as well as a still camera, it is a bargain. Quality without a price tag to match.

The Panasonic Lumix GF3 is, at the time of introduction, Pansonic's smallest Compact System Camera. It has a "micro four thirds" lens mount, so is compatible with lenses made for other Lumix G series cameras and the Olympus PEN cameras.

Compared with previous Panasonic G series cameras, the image quality is a great improvement: their previous cameras had discernible luminance noise when viewed full scale, which seems to be absent here. For me, that improvement in quality and the small size of the camera are it's main advantages.

The controls on the back of the camera are a slight change from previous models. It retains a rocker button for the main menu navigation, but the jog wheel of other Lumix G cameras is replaced a ring around the rocker button. On the one hand this makes it easier to scroll through menu items, but on the other hand it is quite easy to knock, bringing up a menu when mid-way through composing a shot.

The small size of the camera mean there is not much space for buttons, so the few that there are have to work quite hard. The buttons are quite light and responsive which means it is quite easy to navigate through the menus, but it is also quite easy to find you've gone a button-press too far.

As an alternative to the buttons, the camera also has a touchscreen, from which it is possible to do all that is available on the buttons, and a little more. To me, the screen seems to need rather heavy pressure to register a command, but is still quite responsive. Using both buttons and touchscreen together makes it very quick to get around the menus.

The camera shell is mainly of metal construction giving it, in the main, a robust feel, but that is let down by two functional parts that seem quite flimsy. The inbuilt flash mechanism seems incredibly delicate - not something to push back into its closed position in a hurry, and as there's no hot shoe, this inbuilt flash is your only flash option. The other disappointment is the cover for the various sockets, which is rubberised plastic rather than the metal flap that, for example, the Panasonic Lumix GF1 has. It is quite a tight fit and looks as though the lugs that keep it closed will wear quite quickly.

I've mainly used this with a Panasonic Lumix G 20mm/F1.7 Pancake Lens so far, with which it has a nicely balanced feel. It also feels quite comfortable with smaller zoom lenses, but the body is so small that it just doesn't feel right with a large zoom lens.

If you're looking for a small, go-anywhere camera then, although this isn't quite pocket sized, it's a good step up from a compact, with image quality way above compacts of similar size. If you already have a larger micro four-thirds camera, it is a convenient back-up to go with your existing equipment. For the moment though, there are other interchangeable lens cameras that, by virtue of being somewhat larger, are more suited to a wider range of photography.

This is the GF-3 compact in the much-lauded Lumix range, this one includes the body and the vari-focal lens 14-42mm. For technical specifications; please see the product descriptions.

I have to say that this is a fantastic camera that sits somewhere between the point-and-shoot category and the true SLRs. It has no viewfinder, so you are looking at a digital reproduction of the light hitting the sensor on the back screen. This is not a major problem, but proved to be difficult to frame things correctly in bright-light or higher-humidities where the fingerprints from using the touch-screen show up. All settings can be tweeked manually with the quick menu and has full ISO settings and F-dot control.

What I found most useful is the IA (Intelligent-Auto) assist button that sits on the top of the camera next to the capture button, this IA (Idiot-Assist as I have come to call it!) sets up the ISO and focal settings for you on the fly - it is incredibly quick at doing this as well meaning that when there isn't time to plan the shot; you still get great results. The focal mode can be shifted from Auto-Continuous, to Auto-Single or onto Manual, where a zoomed in section of the photo is shown to you to tweak it to perfection with the manual focus ring. This is a very nice touch that allows you to focus properly, despite the lack of a viewfinder.

The build is sturdy, if a little lens-heavy - but then this is the compact and has made an effort to reduce body size. The lens comes with a hood & a branded-carry-belt that attaches neatly to the sides. It comes with all the standard charger & necessary transfer cables for data - obviously. For this price, this is a fantastic camera that will produce quality photos with a professional feel to them.

The one thing that frustrated me was the lack of a camera case specifically for this model. The ones for the GF3 are slightly too large and the best fit I could find was for the Sony NEX-5, but does the job. Aside from this minor qualm, this is an impressive bit of kit for the money. Recommended!