Panasonic Lumix DMC-G10

A diminutive camera that punches above its weight in terms of picture quality

The Lumix G10 is Panasonic’s fifth venture into the world of micro four thirds cameras, and is designed to be more affordable than other offerings in the popular G-series. To look at, the G10 bears a striking resemblance to some of its forerunners – in fact, it’s identical in size to the 18-month-old Lumix G1 and just 50g lighter. But the G10 enters the marketplace equipped with HD video capture and costs just £499, complete with a 14-42mm f3.5-5.6 standard lens. Obviously, there have been some cuts in specification to get down to this price point, but this is now the most affordable four thirds format camera currently on the market, and that has to be a good thing.

For those who are new to this type of camera, the micro four thirds format shares the same size sensor as conventional four thirds technology, except that the reflex mirror and optical viewfinder have been eliminated. The result is a much smaller, lighter camera – halfway between a traditional DSLR and a bridge-type compact. At least, in theory anyway. In actual fact, the G10 is not much larger than something like an Olympus E-420, but it’s with the lenses that a size reduction is achieved.

Underneath the G10‘s rubberised plastic body you’ll find a 12.1-megapixel CMOS sensor that is paired with an all-new Venus DH II image processor. This means the camera is now capable of shooting from ISO 100 to ISO 6400, and capturing 720p HD video at 30 frames per second. Files are written to SD, SDHC or SDXC cards that are inserted into a slot in the battery compartment – a much better solution than the G1’s flimsy plastic card compartment door.

Other differences between the G10 and the G1 are really more about what has been left off the camera to make it more affordable. The viewscreen has 460,000-pixel resolution and the camera will boost its brightness by 40 per cent automatically in bright sunlight. The G10’s screen is fixed, though, rather than hinged, as it is in the G1. Without the optical viewfinder of a traditional DSLR the G10 relies on an electronic viewfinder (EVF), hated by photographers until the G1 and GH1 proved the concept could be done properly. Sadly, this is another area where the G10 economises, and the EVF is pretty much a standard, grainy- looking affair that can’t really be described as a joy to use. Also gone is the clever eye sensor that switches on the EVF when the camera is raised to the eye – a simple button toggles between screen and finder on the G10.

Anti camera-shake technology, in the form of Panasonic’s optical image stabilisation (OIS), is included in the 14-42mm lens that accompanies the G10. There are three modes, activated through the camera’s menu, and Panasonic claims the technology lets users work with shutter speeds three stops slower than normal.

The Lumix G10 produces JPEG files of roughly 6-7MB in size and RAW files weighing in at 14.7MB, which open up on a PC or Mac to give 34.3MB 4000 x 3000-pixel images. These days, plenty of compact cameras give files this large, but the G10’s images are packed full of the kind of quality you would expect from a DSLR. Although obviously built to a budget, the 14-42mm f3.5-5.6 resolves plenty of detail, which is recorded well by the sensor. If anything, JPEGs are a little lacking in sharpness straight out of the camera, but we’d rather it be this way around than have them oversharpened. After all, it’s easy to add a bit more sharpness afterwards in something like Adobe Photoshop or Elements, or just beef up the Sharpness setting in one of the G10’s film modes. Colours are punchy, without being over the top, and dynamic range is well controlled too. It’s altogether a more refined performance than we expected from a camera with this much automation on it.

As we’ve already stated, the G10’s sensor is bigger than you’ll find on most compact cameras, so those upgrading to their first DSLR will be delighted with the lack of noise at high ISO sensitivities. At ISO 100-400 the G10 performs very well indeed, and what little noise that is visible at ISO 800 isn’t a dealbreaker, being uniform and film-like. However, things get more hairy towards ISO 1600, and ISO 3200-6400 is strictly for emergencies only. The other reason you will love a larger sensor, if you have never used one before, is the control this gives over depth of field. This is because, as sensor size gets larger, the true lens focal length needed to give the same field of view gets greater – and longer lenses give shallower depth of field. This means it’s much easier to restrict how much of a scene is in focus with the G10 than with a superzoom compact, when making a portrait stand out against a blurred background, for instance. On the other hand, you won’t be getting the same results as you might get from a conventional cropped sensor or full-frame DSLR, which employs even longer length optics. The f3.5-5.6 maximum aperture on the G10’s standard kit lens isn’t the widest in the world, either.

Like its G-series siblings, the G10 employs a contrast-detection autofocus system, as opposed to the phase-detection system found in orthodox DSLRs. If you’ve used compacts with contrast-detection AF before and been disappointed, you’ll be pleasantly surprised by how the G10 performs. Focusing is swift and accurate, not being too far off the mark laid down by some conventional DSLRs. The camera has face detection, and can learn what up to six people look like so it can prioritise them in groups. Focus tracking also means you can track an object around the frame, while keeping the camera still. All in all, it’s an AF system that works very well indeed.

Better performance is accomplished, too. We got over 300 shots from a single lithium-ion rechargeable cell, which is pretty good for a camera that relies on Live View and an EVF for its operation.

It seems that Panasonic may have another winner on their hands in the Lumix G10. While there are some obvious omissions when comparing the camera to the older G1, there is also much to like about this new kid on the block. HD video capture – the feature that every new DSLR seems to require – has been added, whereas before you would have had to shun the £489 G1 and buy the £1000+ Panasonic Lumix GH1 for this. Video on the G10 isn’t quite as good as on the GH1, but it’s enough for most users’ holiday needs. The design of the G10 merges what is good about a compact with what is good about a DSLR. So if it’s a price-conscious, lightweight, easy-to-use DSLR you are after, we can’t recommend this camera enough.

Final Verdict An excellent choice for those wanting to move up from a compact and take their photography more seriously, without sacrificing convenience and portability OVERALL

Ian Farrell is a journalist and photographer from Cambridge. He enjoys shooting street and travel photography using both digital and film cameras, and is currently developing a taste for portraiture and medium format.