Though I owned a pretty good Panasonic video camera in the past, Panasonic's name never associated in my mind with quality photo cameras, but I'm happy I've been proven wrong. I did quite serious research in various DSLRs, 4/3rds, mirror-less APS-C cameras, and ended up choosing G3. It's not the best camera in the world, every camera has its own trade-offs, it's just the most satisfactory camera for my needs for the money I was willing to spend. Your mileage may vary.
First of all, I would recommend to anybody considering buying this (or any other) camera do three things:
-Read professional reviews on dpreview dot com, it's important to see the objective tests and read professional opinion. But don't make final decision based on professional reviews. What reviewers achieved in controlled environment, putting their best efforts, may not be representative of what you get. In fact most cameras look in reviews much better than in reality.
-Check the average Joe the photographer pictures on pbase, flickr, etc. See how punishing or forgiving the camera is, compare to other cameras. I find the pictures of water especially revealing. Does the water look dark, muddy, blotchy with visible noise, or pleasantly smooth, even oily? I found many G3 water images very pleasing. It's possible for a camera to produce outstanding results in controlled environment and yet fare much poorer in casual use.
-If possible, handle the camera in the store. See whether you like the weight and size, how soft/hard the release button is, whether you like the viewfinder, are dials/buttons readable, how quickly it focuses, etc. When I was trying to decide between Panasonic DMC-G3 and Sony NEX-5N, I found the first was a lot more comfortable in my hands, and I immediately noticed that Sony was hunting trying to focus in low light situation, while Panasonic locked focus quickly and silently. The small stuff like that may make a superb otherwise camera a source of annoyance, so try it before buying.
I don't want to repeat technical reviews, which you can easily find on the web, rather mention pros and cons of this camera in my subjective opinion.
Pros:
* Perfect size and weight. This camera feels very comfortable in my hands and is easy to carry around. I have a Canon DSLR also and find it too heavy, too cumbersome to carry, especially with large lenses.
Most pictures require little or no post-processing in normal settings. Colors are pleasing, well saturated, contrast is perfect, default sharpening is just right. Jpeg images are acceptable for web use, raw images look much better in print, especially when shooting landscapes. Though I think the colors are close to reality, I wouldn't vouch for that and frankly I don't care. I'm not a forensic photographer, it's more important to me if the colors are pleasing to look at and bring up memories of the event. So when I hear from Canon DSLR users about their plasticky dull colors that they are very real, I can't care less if it's true or not. I know that bringing up pleasing vibrancy in Canon images isn't easy and often impossible. After using Canon DSLRs for almost ten years I feel a lot happier with Panasonic images.
* Autofocus is very quick and absolutely silent.
* Manual focusing with three mode magnifier works great. Since the picture you see in the viewfinder comes from the sensor, what you see is what you get. No front or back-focusing problems, with any lenses, which is a common problem even with expensive DSLRs. Additionally, auto+manual focusing mode is an absolute gem. I keep camera always in this mode. If you don't have an opportunity to manually focus, do nothing, camera will focus automatically; if you do want to focus manually, touch the focus ring and camera will assist you.
* I like the fact that flash is built in, and not a flimsy attachment, like in other cameras. It's quick to charge and always at hand, which is great because you never know when you might need it.
* An electronic viewfinder is also a very good idea, in most cases it's more convenient than LCD. It's not as good in low light as optical viewfinder, but it shows more useful information and has additional functionality that optical viewfinders don't have, like manual focus assist.
* Swiveling touchscreen LCD is also pretty handy. It makes it very easy to shoot from any position. I also like the fact that you can touch the screen to select the focus area and camera starts tracking it.
* Good sensor resolution and more importantly high spatial frequency contrast produces well defined images. Pixel peeping folks should be satisfied. Full-size images look spectacular on large screen monitors. Enlargements are pretty easy too, 11x14 can be viewed from any distance without pixelization or loss of sharpness. I also printed 20x30 and they look sharp from 2 feet or more.
* Video looks very good to me, though I haven't used it much.
* If you have a Panasonic large-screen TV, then pop the SD card straight from the camera in to TV SD slot and select Viera tools and you can watch videos or slide shows without any additional processing.
Cons:
* Buttons on the right side could have been designed better. I frequently inadvertently press some of them with the thumb.
* Buttons take time to get used to and remember how to set what you want. It's frustrating to scroll through pages of menus trying to locate stuff.
* Low light, low contrast focusing can be imprecise, but this is a common problem of contrast focusing cameras.
* High ISO pictures aren't particularly bad, but noise and blurriness become visible even on modestly large prints. It's not bad for web, but for large prints one should keep ISO under 200.
* Battery is weak, good for only 270 pictures.
* The choice of lenses is not big and they are quite expensive.
* No Photoshop included! Instead you get a Silkypix software. It misses many useful Photoshop features, though it does have the essentials, but it's also a useability disaster. The program is so backwardly designed, it looks like it was created in 1980's.
Finally, a few recommendations from personal experience. Shooting in RAW reveals more small detail and more importantly preserves better tonal transitions in landscape photos, so they look a lot better, I would recommend using RAW for those pictures for any size prints. To produce sharp, detailed pictures for large prints, you should keep ISO low, shutter speed shorter than 1/2f 1/4f, or better yet use a tripod. Test your abilities to hold the camera steady, take pictures hand-held and with tripod and compare them on pixel level to see how much your hands are shaking. Every lens has its sweet spots where it shows best sharpness and contrast. You can find MTF charts for many lenses on the web. Many lenses have the best performance around F8. It also makes sense to use manual focus when feasible. Again, compare manual focusing with autofocus in various light condition to see when to use what. Taking pictures with telephoto 200-300 mm lens can be challenging. When you close the aperture down to F8, and set shutter to at least 1/1000, and ISO to 160, you can shoot only in a very bright sunny day. Therefore, a tripod when using telephoto lenses is virtually always a necessity. Also if you have difficulty manually focusing because your hands are shaking, you aren't likely to get sharp pictures. Get some practice on a gun range, familiarize yourself with shooting breathing techniques, take a half breath, let some out, hold it, steady your hands, push the trigger slowly. Many people blame a camera or lens for their blurry pictures, while the real reason is shaking hands, or poor focusing, or high ISO.
If you have looked on with dismay as Panasonic abandoned the enthusiast small M4/3 and instead chases a smaller and smaller and dumber and dumber form factor with the GF line, then you now have a reason to be happy. It appears Panasonic is positioning the G3 as the successor to the GF1. They might not know that but that is how I view it. Viewed as a replacement to the G2, the G3 is a bit of a let down. Much the way the GF2 was compared to the GF1. However, the G3 is a great replacement to the GF1. It is a little bigger but not that much. The physical controls are the same but now there is touch screen controls and to make up for many of the missing physical controls there are the C1 and C2 modes on the mode selector. a Before continuing something that very few people seem to understand with these camera systems is the lens, not the camera body, determines how big the camera is. I will use extremes to illustrate the point. Put a 14mm f/2.5 on a GH2 and it seems very small. You can't put it in a shirt pocket but it will fit inside a jacket pocket. Also, you can get it in a very small carry case. It is so small and light I use a wrist strap and not a neck strap. Put a 100-300mm on a GF3 and it is going to be huge and because of the form factor really unusable.
The first thing to note about the G3 is the price is $699. That is $100 cheaper than the G1 or G2 at launch and $200 cheaper than the GF1. In addition to being $200 cheaper than the GF1, the G3 has a built in EVF (would have been nicer rangefinder style) and a swivel screen.
Another nice change from the G2 and the GF line is the new sensor. Panasonic and Olympus have been using a 3 generation old sensor in every m4/3 line except the GH line. The G3 now has a new 16mp sensor and updated image processing engine. The G3 takes slightly better pictures than the GH2.
As far as IQ goes, the m4/3 are not as good as DX sensors and they never will be as good. The same way as DX sensors will never be as good as FX sensors. All else being equal. With that said, IQ merits some discussion as most people don't really understand it and most "professional" review sites confuse the whole issue. Here is everything you need to understand on the issue. First every generation of sensors the differences between m4/3, DX, and FX decreases. At some point the difference become negligible. Where that point is depends on what you want to do. IQ is very dependent on the size of what you are going to do with the image. I think for the vast majority of what people are doing, the differences are already negligible. Here are a couple of examples of what I mean. The biggest of computer monitors is right at 3.6mp. Most are around 2mp. That means to view a medium format 40mp image on a (2mp) monitor you are only using 5% of the image data. The rest is getting thrown away. For a 16mp image you are using 12.5% of the data. So that means noise, detail etc is getting thrown away as you deres the image. The same goes with printing. The human eye can see 200-300 dots per inch (A useful piece of information is monitors used to be 72 dpi and are somewhere around 96 dpi. That means if you blow an image up to 100% on your computer screen you are effectively magnifying by 2 to 3. Therefore, the images at 100% on the computer monitor are not going to look as good as on paper) Using 200 dpi, that means you need 2000x1600 pixels to print a decent 8x10. If you do the math that means you need 3.2mp to print an 8x10. (At 300 dpi you would need 7.2mp) That means for a 16mp image you are using 20% of the data. If this fits what you are doing, then any IQ differences are not important for you. As you start printing larger than this, the difference can be noticeable.
Where these m4/3 cameras excel is handling. The GH2 is the king, in my opinion, for handling. The controls are so well laid out it is a breeze to do anything you want quickly. Additionally, the contrast based auto focus is so fast, that live view is exceedingly useable. The swivel screen gives you huge options over a hold up to the eye only or a fixed back screen. You can hold the camera way over your head or way down by your feet and still frame the image.
On top of that is the light weight. It has gotten to the point that I don't travel with my Nikon D7000 at all. I only keep and use that for portrait/wedding/event type photography (I did however just shoot a wedding with m4/3 only. The 100-300 was my primary lens. It is a little slow but still grabbed some amazing shots). I usually travel with 2 GH series bodies, 5-8 lenses, and an iPad all in a Domke F4 bag. (With my G3 I will now travel with 3 bodies) All of this weighs right around 10 lbs. You could also just carry the 7-14, 14-140, and 100-300 lenses and cover from 14mm to 600mm equivalent with 3 lenses. All of these lenses can be attached to 3 camera bodies and in the F4. You could even add a 4th body and add the 20mm f/1.4. That would still fit in the F4 and weigh in around 10lbs.
I don't really do that much with video so I am not really going to comment that much on it. However, video on the G3 is far easier and more useable than any DSLR except for the Sony A33/55. Also, there is a built in stereo mic but no external connector. I don't think the latter is big deal for most people.
Construction on the G3 is very nice. It is the first of panasonic m4/3 which uses aluminum in the construction instead of all plastic.
Handgrip. I am a little disappointed at the loss of the handgrip as it is essentially free. I am still not sure how I feel about the new hand "bump" especially for the bigger lenses. I will have to report on that one later. If you are coming from a GF1 then this is a step up. Since the old handgrip was shorter than the shortest lens, I am not sure what we are really gaining by this. It also means the loss of space for the battery so Panasonic had to use a smaller battery. I believe it is the same as the GF2. The smaller batteries means less pictures so make sure you have a spare. It is rated at 270 shots but a secret with Panasonic m4/3 is to turn your camera off after shooting. Doing that I get around 750-800 shots. I also have the auto review switched off.
For anyone who is new to a more complicated camera, Panasonic has two very cool features to make it a little easier to use. The first is Program shift mode and the newest one, only on the G3 right now, is iAuto+. The program shift mode obsoletes the Aperture priority mode. As you press the button half way down to get the exposer numbers. You can then rotate the thumbwheel to goto a bigger aperture (smaller DOF) or larger aperture (larger DOF). The iAuto+ now allows you to adjust white balance, exposure compensation, and aperture (defocus control). This is a very handy feature and is good for the expert and beginner alike. For the expert you can now stay in iAuto more often when in a fast moving shooting situation. The camera will recognize the scene and make hundreds of changes to make the scene look best as possible. You can now easily change the exposure and work the aperture. For the beginner, you can start in iA. After getting comfortable with that you can now start playing with aperture and exposure (the 2 most important controls in my opinion) while still having the "safety" of iAuto. When you get more comfortable with that then moving to P mode is an easy jump. With program shift there are not many reasons to shift over to A or M mode but when you need to it is there for you.
Auto ISO and iAuto ISO. Auto is based on light level and iAuto is based on light level and movement of subject.
MF Assist The manual focus for m4/3 lenses is fly-by-wire. That means there are no stops. On the first generation G bodies it was horrible. On second generation Panasonic added a scale marker which was really nice. On this generation, Panasonic added picture in picture for manual focus assist. This is a really nice feature as I can focus and frame at the same time. The m4/3 allows the use of just about any lens made. However, you lose auto focus. So for those with old film lenses there is probably an adaptor that can allow it to fit on the m4/3. For that purpose and when auto focus has trouble the new manual focus assist is very nice.
I mentioned before the loss of physical controls on the camera. For enthusiast this is a step backwards. For newbies this is probably a good thing. The touch screen implementation is very nice but I am still not convinced I like it better than physical controls. However, for enthusiast the loss of these controls is partially made up for with the C1 and C2 modes. Now before you get into the fray, you can set the camera up for 2 custom modes and then just switch between the modes. Therefore, you don't need to do as much fiddling. Also, Q menu and Display buttons are now programmable functions buttons. Therefore, if there is some function you use a lot and can't get to easily, now you can put it on one of these buttons. Panasonic's menus aren't that great. So I recommend leaving the Q menu button as is. It relieves a ton of scrolling through menus. I rarely ever use the Display button, I think the most I use it is when I am trying to go back to the display I want after it was accidentally touched.
A big loss is the auto switch between EVF and screen. On the previous Gs and GHs, there was a sensor to determine if your eye was up to the EVF. If so it switched off the back screen and switched on the EVF. Now you will have to use the button to switch. Bad move from my perspective. However, if you are coming from a GF1 or P+S, the fact that it has an EVF is a big plus.
Overall, this camera has amazing capabilities in a small light and easily accessible package. The handling on these cameras is amazing and the camera gets out of the way to let you do what you want to do. This camera has so many capabilities there is no way to review them all in one of these reviews. If you have any specific questions, please ask in a comment and I will get back with you as soon as possible.
I have the Red version. My wife says with the RED version of the G3 you can't help but smile when you see it. So I am hoping for some great pictures.
Pros
Amazing handling Not as good as GH2 but almost For me GH2 is best in the business for handling
SmallNot pocketable but then again neither is the G12, LX5, OZ1, or P7000 and this camera spanks all of the above mentioned cameras for IQ and features.
Light
Nice construction Some aluminum
Nice new feature set (focus assist, iAuto+, C1+2, F1+2, etc)
Nice new sensor
Best high ISO of any m4/3 so far ISO 1600 JPGs good and ISO 3200 usable for on screen
Very good GF1 replacement
Cons
Disappointing G2 replacement Panasonic still has yet to make a high end enthusiast/pro stills focused camera.
Same mediocre shutter specs 1/4000 and 1/160 or worse flash sync
No electronic shutter
IQ not as good as DX or better (However, better than my 3 year old DX Nikon D300)
Smaller battery due to loss of grip
No social networking features
Buying Considerations
Someone Stepping Up to a "DSLR" category camera
Of the Panasonic m4/3 this is a great one to start with. Lots of features but accessible. The only other m4/3 I would currently consider is either of the GH cameras. (GH1 is $399 for body only). Olympus still has 3 generation old sensor and molasses slow focus. (From what I have seen, Olympus is about to announce a new PEN camera that uses a new 12mp (I am glad they are stopping at 12 as that is more than enough) and new lenses that feature blazing fast autofocus (faster than the G3). If it pans out it could be the new camera to own. Of note, Olympus made the Pro lenses for the 4/5 cameras and they were great. They are bringing out a 12mm f/2.8 for $800. So this is going to be for enthusiast or pros.)
Someone who already Owns a M4/3
For the G1 and GH1 this is a very good trade up. Skipping each generation is actually a good technique. The G2 was a huge disappointment for me so this even makes sense as an upgrade over the G2 since that camera had the same sensor as the G1. None of the Olympus has an EVF built in or a swivel screen. They do have better IQ generally and internal image stabilization. The autofocus is also really slow. To me the handling and auto focus speed trump the other considerations so I think the Panasonic is better. Others prefer the cache of the PEN. If it is form over function, then stick with PEN otherwise G3. Do take note of what I wrote above about new PEN.
Someone who owns a DSLR and is tired of lugging the weight and wants a portable high quality camera.
This is a great choice. The price is only $200 more than the advanced compact cameras. None of them can approach the G3 for what it can do. It is not pocketable but neither are they. A G3 with the 14mm, 25mm, and 45mm primes makes for a very lightweight and portable system that can cover just about any situation.
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I took my G3 on my four week vacation to Europe. I also bought the 20mm f1.7 pancake to go along with it. I'm back from my trip and here are my impressions:
What could be better:
Feels solid but a bit heavier than expected. I can fit it into some of my jackets' pockets but it weighs the jacket down too much.
Shape of camera not as pocketable as I'd hope, mainly due to protruding EVF, only large pocets work even with a pancake lens.
EVF is great for composing shots but not good enough for evaluating exposure, the 3" LCD does a better job.
Compared to APSc censors the dynamic range is not as wide, however much better than any compact I ever used. I compared some high contrast shots to my friends Nikon D5100, and his camera was better at preserving highlights. Non high contrast scenes were comperable.
White Balance could be better in artificial light.
What I love:
Smaller and less intrusive than a full sized SLR.
Looks great, especially with the 20mm pancake.
Great handgrip & controls
Easy to use if you need to capture a spontenaous mement.
Intuitive controls if you want to get creative.
Fast shooting.
Great Looking Photos
All in all the G3 is not as pocketable as I'd hoped, but that is the tradeoff oh having an EVF and manual controls, and for me it's worth it. The camera easly slips into a small messenger style bag. Once I got over the portablity issue I fell in love with the camera, it's just fun to use, and the photos are great. I especially love it with the 20mm pancake for a really portable package. I took 1,500 hundred photos on my trip, reviewed them all, and I am very pleased. This camera is not for everyone however it's great for anyone that wants to take charge of the camera, play with manual controls and get creative controls without the bulk of an SLR.
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On the one hand I'm leery of reviews from people who have just received a complicated piece of equipment, but I believe my thoughts of the G3, even though I've only had it a few days, may prove valuable to those who have a viewpoint similar to mine.
My viewpoint is not so much that of a newbie, as I had SLRs back in the days of film, but more of one who has preferred to let the advanced cameras of today do most of the work and leave me to simply compose my shots. So why did I decide to move up? A couple of basic reasons. My Panasonic DMC ZS3 doesn't have a viewfinder and I found myself taking shots by guesswork as when I was in bright sunshine I just couldn't see the screen. So getting a camera with a viewfinder was a priority. And after much research, once I decided to make that move, going to a premium point and shoot with a viewfinder, like the Canon G12, didn't make as much sense as going the DSLR route, as neither is pocketable. My other reason is that point and shoots are slow so when it comes to taking people shots when they are not posing, like children at play, most such shots end up being blurry. I've got my first grandchild on the way, so I wanted to be prepared. I have no intention of giving up my 12x zoom, pocket ZS3 as in some situations it will be what is called for, but from what I've seen of the G3, it was the right purchase.
Some of my first shots with the G3 were out the window of a moving car. I wasn't trying for great pictures, just seeing if they'd be usable, and they are. I chose a high shutter speed, 1000, and voila, I could get clear snaps of people walking down the street. That tells me that moving kids when I'm standing still should be a breeze. I also took some shots of cars in a parking lot, and when I zoomed in on them, I could read the license plates. Was there "noise" of course. But I'm never going to blow up most of my shots so who cares. Anyway, this was just a test to see how good or bad shots from a moving car would be. And to be able to just keep clicking away without waiting for the camera to catch up to me was a joy, so when the experts say that automatic focus works great, they're right.
But the word speed has different connotations and while the G3 can shoot really fast, if you're going to set up the shots yourself, rather than use the automatic setting, then speed goes out the window. If you're the type of photographer who goes out by him or herself to take pictures, this is no problem. But if you're a tourist with your spouse and you need to start adjusting each setting before you take the shot, then you're spouse is going to quickly get tired of the process. Now the G3 can act like a point and shoot, which is good, but if using all the bells and whistles is going to make life harder for you, then maybe you want to think again.
One thing I did not read about the G3, as the experts all assumed I knew, was that when zooming (the optical with the kit lens is only 3X) it's all manual. I've been used to pushing a button and the camera zoomed itself. Not a big deal, but newbies need to know they'll be twisting the lens to zoom.
Also not really mentioned in reviews is that there is added digital zooming power, 2X and 4X, so you can actually get to 12X, though it's digital, not optical. I know, if you're making poster sized pictures, this is terrible, but if all you'll do with those pix is load them into a digital frame, then they're fine. But since you have to turn the zoom feature on, and it's limited to off or one of the two zooms, you can't go from zero zoom to 12X. If you have 4X on, then you're starting out at 4X and when you zoom out the lens, you're going to 12X. Also when you look at your pictures in the camera, zoomed or not, you can blow them up to 16X, and do that just by touching the screen a few times.
If you read the basic manual, they tell you that the touch screen takes some pressure to get going. If you don't, you might assume it stinks. It's fine once you know this, but again, be aware. I will say it takes enough pressure that I find myself using the scroll wheel a lot.
Maybe I need to read the manual some more (definitely I do) but I discovered that the camera wouldn't take some shots. I suppose I had settings that it thought would lead to a bad picture, but I was surprised by that.
I have fairly small hands, probably the size of the Japanese engineers who developed the G3 and even I find some of the controls on the small side. Now I wanted a small camera, but if anyone out there has huge paws, definitely don't buy without trying it out.
Hope these first impressions will prove helpful to someone considering getting this camera.
PS I discovered that if you turn on the camera with the LCD facing in, that is to say with it's protected back facing out, the viewfinder goes on automatically. Makes sense, but also means you're saving power, which is good. But more importantly, I discovered that when you're looking through the viewfinder you can see the ISO setting (unless you're in Intelligent ISA instead of auto, and I've yet to figure out the difference) but if you're looking at the LCD, the ISO value isn't there! I'm guessing that they think beginners are more likely to use the LCD and don't need that info, though there's certainly a lot more real estate on the LCD. And I was just fooling around inside the house taking practice pictures and noticed that the camera chose an ISO of 800. Naturally I'd want a lower value if I was taking "good" shots. There's a button on the back that lets you set the ISO, but I can imagine those who are just getting into DSLR world and using the LCD forgetting to think about ISO. Maybe all DSLRs are like this but if this is your first, be warned.
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I traded in my Panasonic GF2 (which I loved) for the G3.
The problem with most small compact M4/3 systems is that they don't have a viewfinder. Its a catch 22 because the M4/3 mirror-less standard was designed to reduce the camera package size, yet the addition of a viewfinder now makes the camera larger. However, as I quickly learned, a viewfinder is critical for bright outdoor photography. I haven't seen a LCD screen on a camera yet that works great in bright sun. A viewfinder is better.
When the G3 was released I was pleased to see that Panasonic focused on all the right things. Image quality, articulating screen, viewfinder, and simple effective controls. The final "icing on the cake" was the reduced camera size compared to previous models with built-in viewfinders. The G3 is not much bigger than the GF2, in fact it feels like the GF2 with a really good viewfinder attached to it. In fact it still fits in my GF2 camera bag, a bit snug but it fits. Bottom line is that the G3 is still way smaller than a large bulky DSLR.
I highly recommend upgrading to the G3 if you have a non-viewfinder M4/3 system.
Updating the review after more analysis. Its a great camera, and I'd give it 4 stars, however.. I'm going to keep at 3 stars so that panasonic understands it needs to work on its White Balance features and color accuracy. With the default settings and intelligent auto, there is a "cool tone" in the picture. Although this camera has the best sharpness, The Canon G20 and Sony CX760 both excel in color saturation/white balance.
