Panasonic GM5 Shooter’s Report: The mini Micro Four Thirds camera gets minor but important upgrades & features
posted Friday, December 5, 2014 at 2:34 PM EDT
For those of you enticed by the ultra-compact Panasonic GM1 Micro Four Thirds camera, but put off by missing features like a built-in EVF or 1080/60p video recording, you're now in luck. Indeed, the Panasonic GM5 has come along and taken the best of the GM1 -- practically-pocketable size, high performance, and excellent image quality -- and added many of the features we missed in the GM1.
I reviewed the Panasonic GM1 last year, and I thoroughly enjoyed the camera. There was a lot to love about the pocket ILC, but there were certainly some issues with the little GM1, namely the lack of a built-in viewfinder of some form or a hot shoe to add an OVF or EVF. Also, the sheer compactness of the camera came with a few downsides: For one, larger lenses could become a bit awkward to hold, and the small body led to some issues with heat dissipation -- hence the lack of 1080/60p and Bulb mode in the GM1.
With the updated GM5, Panasonic took the GM1 and tweaked it to address most of the shortcomings of the original model, by adding an EVF, 1080/60p video, and a special T-mode, which is similar to Bulb exposure mode. Still, the GM5 and GM1 are nearly identical in many areas, including the same 16-megapixel Live MOS sensor and Venus Engine image processor (though Panasonic was able to slightly boost performance).
Given the strong similarities between models, my just-published Panasonic GM5 Shooter's Report comes as a single installment and focuses on the primary changes, tweaks and other improvements (or lack thereof) compared to the GM1. Head on over to our Panasonic GM5 review and read all about my shooting experience with Panasonic's latest pocketable ILC, and check out my gallery of real-world images.
