FUJIFILM X-Pro1 (35mm, f/2.8, 1/50 sec, ISO320)

No I did not change to M43 ( Micro Four Thirds ) but I tested one. The Panasonic G6. When my mother in law turned 70 we searched for the perfect birthday present.

I thought about getting her a new small camera. She used to shoot with DSLRs ( Nikon ) but always wanted something smaller but still with good image quality. That ruled out compact cameras. And she likes to use a viewfinder which ruled out most of the mirror less cameras. The camera she really liked many years back was the Olympus E100RS I gave to her when I switched to a DSLR in 2002. An 1.5MP bridge camera with 10x IS zoom and fast AF and frame rate.

She also used to shoot video in the past so good video performance was a must too. And she likes close up photography.

With all this requirements in mind I chose the Panasonic G6. A mirror less M43 camera that looks like a small DSLR.

Here are it’s main features:

• an integrated high res viewfinder
• a high res tilt swivel touchscreen
• very, very fast autofocus ( DSLR style )
• face detection
• all functions that videographers need ( according to the reviews )

When I compare that to my Fuji XP1 I get jealous. I’m not into video but fast AF and face detection wouldn’t hurt. A higher resolution viewfinder and touchscreen would be nice too.

The Panasonic G6 isn’t cheap but it is very good value. Combined with the power zoom it is compact too. A compact, very fast camera with good images quality. I can’t stress out enough how nice this camera handles. Taking pictures is a very straightforward and simple thing. Just great. And of course there is the biggest lens selection in the world of mirror less cameras.

What’s not to like?

Well there is this rather small sensor with it’s native 4:3 ratio. 4:3! It made no sense back then and it makes even less sense today. Today most of the computer screens are 16:9 and TV screens are just the same. So the black bars on each sides are even bigger. The good thing is that can be switched to 3:2.

Unfortunately there is no quick fix for the other big disadvantage: lack of DOF ( depth of field ) control. Even with very fast lenses it is hard to separate the subject from the background. Today this is essentially the last real drawback of m43 as noise performance now is really good enough for real world use.

But a larger DOF can be an advantage too. 3 examples:

1. Close up photography. When magnification increases DOF gets very thin. Sometimes too thin. With m43 “native” DOF is bigger.

2. Street photography: Usually bigger DOF is better to ensure that everything is reasonable sharp. With full frame that means stopping down to f11 or even f16. Combined with a shutter speed of 1/250s or faster it means that even in good light you need to switch to higher ISO values. With m43 maybe f8 or even f5.6 is good enough. You can shoot at base ISO.

3. If you are not in close up or street photography there is still a strong point for more DOF: when taking pictures of kids or pictures of more people. With a full frame DSLR you need to stop down to make sure that all persons are in focus. It happened to me a couple of times that I shot at f2.8 just to find out that the second face is out of focus.

Larger DOF plus a very fast AF means that the average user most likely will get better results with this camera than with a full frame camera or a Fuji X. A perfect sensor is of no use if the image is not in focus. I recommend the Panasonic G6 to everybody that just want to get good, sharp pictures of his/her kids, friends or pets without hassle.

PS: Why no more words about images quality? First: I had only the power zoom which is a nice lens but hardly the best way to exploit the potential of the sensor. Second: I shot only JPEG as LR did not recognize the RAW files when I had the camera.

No nice sample images? See above.

If you worry regarding the image quality of the camera I recommend to take a look at Gordon Laing’s fantastic website www.cameralabs.com. There is a great review and he states that image quality is on par with Canon 18MP APS-C sensor. So there is no need to worry.  I can tell it is behind my Fuji XP1 and of course my Canon 6D but it is better than the Nikon D300 or the Canon 500D I have owned in the past. So it is clearly good enough for all but pixel peepers.

Conlusion:

The Panasonic G6 is a great camera. It is a joy to use. It’s snappy and it has one of the most extensive feature sets: an integrated high resolution viewfinder, a tilt swivel touch screen, integrated flash, fast AF including face detection and excellent video.

What’s not to like in real world usage: Nothing!

Panasonic DMC-G6 (14mm, f/3.5, 1/60 sec, ISO160)
Panasonic DMC-G6 (14mm, f/3.5, 1/60 sec, ISO2000)