Panasonic LUMIX DMC-G5 Black Digital Camera Body

Comments about Panasonic LUMIX DMC-G5 Black Digital Camera Body:

With the Lumix G5, mirrorless cameras reach new heights. I am already a fan and owner of the GH1, GH2 and G3 in the same series, loving them all, but with this new model the ease of operation, construction quality and image quality are superb! I don't see why people bother with SLRs with their heavy pentaprisms, mirrors and film era technology, nor with the APS format. 4:3 is the way forward with light, quiet, small beautiful cameras and Panasonic seem to lead the way.

Comments about Panasonic LUMIX DMC-G5 Black Digital Camera Body:

Great camera . Have also got the GF1 another great camera but the G5 has many more features.

Comments about Panasonic LUMIX DMC-G5 Black Digital Camera Body:

I am well experienced in the use of the Panasonic Lumix G series having previously owned a G2 and currently owning a G3 and a G5. The G5 is a great improvement on the previous models especially for handling. In their efforts to make the G3 smaller, Panasonic drastically reduced the size of the handgrip making it hard to hold firmly without accidentally pressing the buttons on the back of the camera. The grip on the G5 has not only returned to roughly the same size as that on the G2 but has been enhanced by being leather and having indentations for your middle finger and your thumb, and your fore finger falls naturally onto the shutter release button as the top plate has a slight incline where it meets the grip. Also the video recording button has been more sensibly moved to the top plate. The G2 had some fiddly awkward to use controls on the left hand side of the top plate which were moved to the menu on the G3 and have stayed there for the G5.

Picture quality is better and even at 3,200 ISO there is little evidence of noise. There is a good sensitivity range from 160 to 128,000 although I would have liked some lower settings such as 100 or 50 to help if you want to use a slow shutter speed in bright light. Several shooting modes are available from intelligent auto, scene and creative through to program shift, aperture priority, shutter priority and manual so there is something there for everyone from 'point and shooters' to enthusiasts. Four custom modes can be set to remember your preferred settings for different situations. Shutter speeds are from 60 seconds to 1/4000 plus bulb up to 2 minutes. The autofocus is fast and the camera can shoot at up to 20 frames a second without raw files or 6 with raw files so capturing action is easy. Other drive modes include auto bracket and a variable self-timer. There is also a good selection of metering and focusing options.

Some useful additions have been made including a spirit level, the option of using an electronic shutter (quieter & less intrusive than the noisy mechanical one) and in camera hdr.

The G5 is a great little camera, albeit a little pricey.

Comments about Panasonic LUMIX DMC-G5 Black Digital Camera Body:

Having used a wide range of cameras over the last few years including Canon 7d and Canon 5d MK2 I am more than impressed with this latest offering from Panasonic. I have used a G1 & G3 and have been pleased with results but the G5 is the first I would happily use to take some Professional shots.Don't get me wrong,it's not up there with the Top range Canon and Nikon cameras but would give entry level and mid-range DSLR's more than a run for the money!
The feel of this camera is much more solid and the handgrip really steadys the camera which is a marked improvement on the G3 which felt unbalanced with some of the larger zoom lenses. The picture quality is much improved and with 6 frames per second,it captures movement very well too!
The G5 has a quick and efficient focusing system and performs very well in low-light in particular.I have used it with the 45mm Leica lens with great results and also works well with 100-300mm and 45-175mm offerings from Lumix.
Overall...a great camera which is lightweight but performs like a middleweight!