Full Panasonic G1 Test Results Analysis posted!
By
Zig Weidelich, The Imaging Resource
(Wednesday, November 5, 2008 - 16:24 EST)
We've completed our analysis of our test shooting and performance measurements with the Panasonic DMC-G1 Micro Four Thirds camera, and have to say we're fairly impressed with this little camera.
As we noted in our preliminary performance report, the Panasonic G1 isn't quite as quick on the draw (shutter lag) as typical consumer DSLRs, but it's not all that much slower, either. - And, oddly, it really feels faster when shooting with it than its performance numbers bear out.
Image quality looks quite good: There's a ton of detail available in its images, particularly in its RAW files, its color is good, and it did surprisingly well at high ISOs. When Dave was first briefed on the Panasonic G1 in Japan back in June, he and other editors encouraged Panasonic to aim for fine-grained luminance noise, as it's generally less objectionable in images than the big, soft blotches produced by many camera noise reduction systems. Whether they took that tip, or had already been thinking in that direction themselves, this is exactly what the engineers accomplished in the Panasonic G1.
Its luminance noise levels are only average from ISO 100-800, and higher than average at 1,600 and 3,200. But the fine grain pattern of the noise makes it drop out very nicely when you print at output sizes up to about 8x11 inches or so. There's also a fair bit of noise visible in areas of its images with strong underlying subject detail, but the net effect (again, when printed vs viewed on screen) is to render the subject detail more sharply than some competing cameras would. Make no mistake, the Panasonic G1's images are noisier at high ISOs than the best competing cameras based on APS-C sensors, but we found its ISO 1,600 setting very usable for routine shooting.
Check out our Panasonic G1 Review for all the details on our testing!
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