Panasonic Lumix DMC G3

The new Panasonic Lumix DMC G3 is the seventh camera in the now extensive Lumix G Micro System range from Panasonic. The DMC G3 is 25% smaller and 9% lighter than last year’s G2 model and at the time of launch it is officially the world’s smallest and lightest compact system camera with a built-in viewfinder.

 

Panasonic Lumix DMC-G3 offers the benefits of a DSLR interchangeable lens system camera with a point-and-shoot cameras compactness, light weight and simplicity. This reduction in size and weight is thanks to advancements in mirror-free viewfinder technology and large DSLR format sensors that are more compatible with a new class of compact Micro Four Thirds (MFT) system lenses.

 

 

MFT offers greater size and weight reduction in the lens without compromising lens performance and clarity. Lumix MFT lenses come with Mega O.I.S. ( Optical Image Stabilization) built-in. This feature helps prevent blurring from hand-shake.

 

 

Notable features of Panasonic Lumix DMC G 3 include: a 16-megapixel Live MOS image sensor, a 3.0-inch touchscreen LCD that tilts (180 degrees) and rotates (270 degrees), touch control shooting, full HD video recording in 60i format (24p also available) and burst shooting at up to 4 fps at full resolution (20 fps at 4M).

 

Technical specifications of Panasonic Lumix DMC G3:

 

TYPE	Type				Digital interchangeable lens system camera
	Recording Media				SD Memory Card, SDHC Memory Card, SDXC Memory Card
	Image Sensor Size				17.3 x 13.0 mm (in 4:3 aspect ratio)
	Lens Mount				Micro Four Thirds mount
IMAGE SENSOR	Type				Live MOS Sensor
	Total Pixels				16.68 Megapixels
	Camera Effective Pixels				16.0 Megapixels
	Color Filter				Primary color filter
	Dust Reduction System				Supersonic wave filter
RECORDING SYSTEM	Recording File Format				Still Image: JPEG (DCF, Exif 2.3), RAW, DPOF compatible MPO (When attaching 3D lens in Micro Four Thirds System standard) Motion Image: AVCHD / QuickTime Motion JPEG
	Aspect Ratio				4:3, 3:2, 16:9, 1:1
	Image Quality				RAW, RAW+Fine, RAW+Standard, Fine, Standard MPO+Fine, MPO+Standard (When attaching 3D lens in Micro Four Thirds System standard)
	Color Space				sRGB, Adobe RGB
	File Size (Pixels)	Still Image			[4:3] 4,592 x 3,448 (L) [16M], 3,232 x 2,424 (M) [8M], 2,272 x 1,704 (S) [4M], 1,824 x 1,368 (When attaching 3D lens in Micro Four Thirds System standard) [3:2] 4,576 x 3,056 (L) [14M], 3,232 x 2,160 (M) [7M], 2,272 x 1,520 (S) [3.5M], 1,824 x 1,216 (When attaching 3D lens in Micro Four Thirds System standard) [16:9] 4,576 x 2,576 (L) [11.5M], 3,232 x 1,824(M) [6M], 1,920 x 1,080 (S) [2M], 1,824 x 1,024 (When attaching 3D lens in Micro Four Thirds System standard) [1:1] 3,424 x 3,424 (L) [11.5M], 2,416 x 2,416 (M) [6M], 1,712 x 1,712 (S) [3M], 1,712 x 1,712 (When attaching 3D lens in Micro Four Thirds System standard)
		Motion Image	Motion JPEG		[4:3] VGA: 640 x 480, 30 fps / QVGA: 320 x 240, 30 fps [16:9] HD: 1,280 x 720, 30 fps
			AVCHD	NTSC	[Full HD] 1,920 x 1,080, 60i (sensor output is 30p) (FSH: 17 Mbps) [HD] 1,280 x 720, 60p (sensor output is 30p) (SH: 17 Mbps)
				PAL	[Full HD] 1,920 x 1,080, 50i (sensor output is 25p) (FSH: 17 Mbps) [HD] 1,280 x 720, 50p (sensor output is 25p) (SH: 17 Mbps)
	Continuous Recordable Time (Motion Image)*				AVCHD with picture quality set to [FSH]: Approx. 110 min with H-FS014042 / Approx. 100 min with H-FS045200 Motion JPEG with picture quality set to [HD]: Approx. 120 min with H-FS014042 / Approx. 110 min with H-FS045200
	Actual Recordable Time (Motion Image)*				AVCHD with picture quality set to [FSH]: Approx. 55 min with H-FS014042 / Approx. 50 min with H-FS045200 Motion JPEG with picture quality set to [HD]: Approx. 60 min with H-FS014042 / Approx. 55 min with H-FS045200
VIEWFINDER	Type				Live View Finder (1,440,000 dots equivalent)
	Field of View				Approx. 100%
	Magnification				Approx. 1.4x / 0.7x (35 mm camera equivalent) with 50 mm lens at infinity; -1.0 m-1
	Eye Point				Approx. 17.5 mm from eyepiece lens
	Diopter Adjustment				-4.0 – +4.0 (dpt)
FOCUS	Type				Contrast AF system
	Focus Mode				AFS / AFC / MF
	AF Mode				Face detection / AF Tracking / 23-area-focusing / 1-area-focusing / Pinpoint Touch (1-area-focusing in Face detection / AF Tracking / Multi-area-focusing / 1-area-focusing / Pinpoint)
	AF Detective Range				EV 0 – 18 (ISO100 equivalent)
	AF Assist Lamp				YES
	AF Lock				Set the Fn button in custom menu to AF/AE lock
	Others				Touch shutter, Quick AF, Continuous AF (during motion image recording), AF+MF, Touch MF Assist
EXPOSURE CONTROL	Light Metering System				144-zone multi-pattern sensing system
	Light Metering Mode				Intelligent Multiple / Center Weighted / Spot
	Metering Range				EV 0 – 18 (F2.0 lens, ISO100 equivalent)
	Exposure Mode				Program AE / Aperture Priority AE / Shutter Priority AE / Manual
	ISO Sensitivity (Standard Output Sensitivity)				Auto / Intelligent ISO / 160 / 200 / 400 / 800 / 1600 / 3200 / 6400 (Changeable to 1/3 EV step)
	Exposure Compensation				1/3 EV Step, ±5 EV
	AE Lock				Set the Fn button in custom menu to AF/AE lock
	AE Bracket				3, 5, 7 frames, in 1/3, 2/3 or 1 EV Step, ±3 EV
WHITE BALANCE	White Balance				Auto / Daylight / Cloudy / Shade / Incandescent / Flash / White Set 1, 2 / Color temperature setting (Touch operation is possible)
	White Balance Adjustment				Blue/amber bias, Magenta/green bias
	Color Temperature Setting				2,500 K – 10,000 K in 100 K
	White Balance Bracket				3 exposures in blue/amber axis or in magenta/green axis
SHUTTER	Type				Focal-plane shutter
	Shutter Speed				Still Images: 1/4,000 – 60 and Bulb (up to approx. 120 seconds) Motion Image: 1/16,000 – 1/30 (NTSC), 1/16,000 – 1/25 (PAL)
	Self Timer				10 sec, 3 images / 2 sec / 10 sec
	Remote Control				Remote control with bulb function by DMW-RSL1 (Optional)
SCENE MODE	Still Image SCN Mode				Portrait / Soft Skin / Scenery / Architecture / Sports / Peripheral Defocus / Flower / Food / Objects / Night Portrait / Night Scenery / Illuminations / Baby 1, 2 / Pet / Party / Sunset
	Video SCN Mode				Portrait / Soft Skin / Scenery / Architecture / Sports / Flower / Food / Objects / Low-light / Party / Sunset(Activated by selecting Still Image SCN mode then pressing Video Button. Still Image SCN modes without corresponding Video SCN mode is recorded in mode suitable for the recording situation.)
CREATIVE CONTROL	Creative Control				(Still Image & Motion Image) Expressive / Retro / High Key / Sepia / High Dynamic
BURST SHOOTING	Burst Speed				SH: 20 frames/sec (4M), H: 4 frames/sec, M: 3 frames/sec (with Live View), L: 2 frames/sec (with Live View)
	Number of Recordable Images				7 images (when there are RAW files with the particular speed) Unlimited consecutive shooting (when there are no RAW files) (depending on memory card size, battery power, picture size, and compression)
BUILT-IN-FLASH	Type				TTL Built-in-Flash, GN10.5 equivalent (ISO160 · m), Built-in Pop-up
	Flash Mode				Auto, Auto / Red-eye Reduction, Forced On, Forced On / Red-eye Reduction, Slow Sync., Slow Sync. / Red-eye Reduction, Forced Off
	Synchronization Speed				Less than 1/160 second
	Flash Output Adjustment				1/3 EV Step, ± 2 EV
	Flash Synchronization				1st Curtain Sync., 2nd Curtain Sync.
	Hot Shoe				TTL Auto with FL220 / FL360 / FL500 (Optional)
LCD MONITOR	Type				TFT LCD with Touch panel
	Monitor Size				Free-angle 3.0 inch (7.5 cm) / 3:2 Aspect / Wide-viewing angle
	Pixels				460,000 dots
	Field of View				Approx. 100%
	Monitor Adjustment				Brightness (7 levels), Contrast and Saturation (7 levels), Red tint (7 levels), Blue tint (7 levels)
LIVE VIEW	Digital Zoom				2x, 4x
	Extra Tele Conversion				Still Image: Max. 2x (Not effective with L size recording. Magnification ratio depends on the recording pixels and aspect ratio.) Motion Image: Max. 4.8x (Magnification ratio depends on the recording quality and aspect ratio.)
	Other Functions				Guide Lines (3 patterns) Real-time Histogram
PHOTO STYLE	Color				Standard / Vivid / Natural / Monochrome / Scenery / Portrait / Custom
PLAYBACK	Playback Mode				Normal playback, 30-thumbnail display, 12-thumbnail display, Calendar display, Zoomed playback (Max. 16x), Slideshow (duration & effect is selectable), Playback Mode (Normal / Picture / AVCHD / Motion JPEG / 3D Play / Category / Favorite), Title Edit, Text Stamp, Video Divide, Resize, Cropping, Aspect Conversion, Rotate, Rotate Display, Favorite, Print Set, Protect, Face Recognition Edit
IMAGE PROTECTION / ERASE	Protection				Single / Multi, Single in Burst Group / Multi in Burst Group, Cancel
	Erase				Single / Multi / All / Except Favorite
PRINT	Direct Print				PictBridge compatible (Print size, Layout and Date settings are selectable)
INTERFACE	USB				USB 2.0 High Speed
	HDMI				mini HDMI TypeC / VIERA Link Video: Auto / 1080i / 720p / 480p (576p in PAL system) Audio: Dolby® Digital Stereo Creator
	Audio Video Output				Monaural Type, NTSC / PAL, NTSC only for North America *Check the website of the Panasonic sales company in your country or region for details on the products that are available in your market.
	Remote Input				φ2.5 mm, mini jack
	Microphone				Stereo, Wind-cut: Off / Low / Standard / High, Mic level adjustable (4 levels)
	Speaker				Monaural
LANGUAGE	OSD Language				English, German, French, Italian, Spanish, Polish, Czech, Hungarian, Russian, Chinese (Traditional), Chinese (Simplified), Dutch, Thai, Korean, Turkish, Portuguese, Arabic, Persian, Japanese, Swedish, Danish, Finnish, Greek *Check the website of the Panasonic sales company in your country or region for details on the OSD languages on the products that are available in your market.
POWER	Battery				ID-Security Li-ion Battery Pack (7.2V, 1,010mAh) (Included) Battery Charger
	Battery Life (CIPA Standard**)				Approx. 270 images (When using the LCD / LVF) with H-FS014042 Approx. 250 images (When using the LCD / LVF) with H-FS045200
DIMENSIONS / WEIGHT	Dimensions (W x H x D)				115.2 x 83.6 x 46.7 mm / 4.54 x 3.29 x 1.84 inch (excluding protrusions)
	Weight				Approx. 382 g / 13.47 oz (SD card, Battery, Body) Approx. 544 g / 19.20 oz (SD card, Battery, 14-42 mm lens included) Approx. 761 g / 26.88 oz (SD card, Battery, 45-200 mm lens included) Approx. 336 g / 11.84 oz (Body only)
OPERATING ENVIRONMENT	Operating Temperature				0 °C to 40 °C (32 °F to 104 °F)
	Operating Humidity				10%RH to 80%RH

 

 

 

The verdict of trustedreview about Lumix DMC G3 is:

Overall, we’re mightily impressed by the specifications, handling, performance and overall image quality of the G3. Having spent some extended shooting time with it, we’re confident enough to say that it’s Panasonic’s best G-series model yet. Yes, the omission of an external microphone input will sadden some video enthusiasts, and the lack of an eye-sensor is an inconvenience but as an all-rounder, it excels. If you’re looking to buy into the micro system camera genre, you should definitely consider the G3.