Camera Labs

Here are 4 full-sized images from the G1. I got them from Panasonic's Japanese site. I posted them on my business web site:

www.purebeads.com/G1.htm

The images all look a little soft to me, but not so soft that they can't be sharpened. They are delightfully free of noise. They were taken as JPGs and not converted from RAW, so I assume the RAW files will look even better. I'm definitely impressed.

Nice images. I could live with those. But they are at low ISO of course. Would be interested in a few high ISO shots. There is some noise visible in the sky in the night scene at 100% but I wouldn't know at what ISO larger sensors would start to show that.

I like the atmosphere of the night shot. The tea ceremony gear, katana and silk fabrics shots are very Japanese in subject but quite nice too. A little sharpening wouldn't hurt but without knowing the in-camera settings for noise reduction and sharpening it isn't really possible to make a final judgement here.

Ben
_________________
When in doubt..... Press the shutter.

Well, the EXIF information attached to the files indicates that they used "normal" settings (such as "normal" sharpness).

You know, even if the high-ISO performance of the camera isn't that good, it will still be better than point-and-shoot cameras, and that will be good enough for me. If I can get reasonably good shots at 800 ISO, I'll be happy. I'm just so thrilled that a smallish camera will be available that has good image quality.

If the Olympus E-420 and E-520 had had DC-In ports and better dynamic range, I would have gotten one of those. I'm still shocked that those cameras would not take power adapters -- that means that no one who does studio work can use them conveniently. I already know that the G1 can be used with an adapter AND that the adapter is included in the box.

I get more excited the more I hear about this camera.

Hey Caleb, I had a lot of good things to say about the R1 as well - and I reviewed it before dpreview! (note this was using our old review and test layout)

http://www.cameralabs.com/reviews/SonyR1/

PS - welcome on-board visionz!

At a pre-photokina event, Panasonic has shown a preview of its Micro Four Thirds HD camera - basically the G1 but with HD video in an as yet unspecified format - I'm guessing it was 720p, but now Canon's raised the bar to 1080p, maybe they're now aiming for that now...

There's some photos over at Photography Blog.

They also showed some lenses incluing the 14-140mm and 7-14mm.

It's good video is coming to Micro Four Thirds, but really it should have been there from day one in my view. You'd have to really hate the feature to buy the G1 now knowing there's be a G1 coming with video sometime in 2009. Unless of course the non-video G1 is much cheaper...

Gordon

Sorry, I didn't realize you had reviewed the R1. I'll take a look at that review.

I have never used the video function on any camera I owned, so there are definitely people out there who don't care about that. For me it is all about still photography. I'm sure there are other people who feel the same.

Caleb

I wonder whether Panasonic decided to quickly add this feature and announce this camera after the criticism that the G1 was lacking this feature. Why wouldn't they have announced them both at the same time otherwise?

I don't know what they are doing on that site you linked to Gordon but the photos are only indicated by the word Photokina and when I click on that I get a 403 Forbidden message on them.

Ben
_________________
When in doubt..... Press the shutter.

Here's a site with photos of the G-HD that do work for me.

With the 14-140.

Ben
_________________
When in doubt..... Press the shutter.

I would expect at least $100 premium for the HD to start with, but they might do it by dropping the price of the G1 once the HD is available.
The differential will probably erode in time, or the feature might just become standard. It will be interesting to see if they eventually come out with a version optimised for movies, rather than grafted onto a camera that is full of features aimed primarily at still photography.

Caleb, thanks for posting these sample pictures. To my eye, these pictures look magnificent! What do those of you in the know think about the quality of these images? Would you say that they are DSLR quality?

Curious,

Fred

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Frederick W. Chapman: Consultant & Scientist @ F.W. Chapman Solutions / Expertise in Web Design, Digital Imaging, E-Learning, Math & Comp Sci / www.fwchapman.com

Cameras: Oly E-P1; Pan G1, FZ28, LZ10 | FT Lenses: Oly 50mm f/2.0; Sig 18-50mm f/2.8, 70-200mm f/2.8 | MFT Lenses: Pan 20mm f/1.7, 14-45mm f/3.5-5.6, 45-200mm f/4-5.6

There's a lot of commentary out there about who uses video on still cameras and who doesn't, and why and etc. *But*, if the mfr's just made two shutter buttons, that would solve the problem for everyone, guaranteed.

i see that panasonic have just announced the UK price £599.00 ! that,s a bit much , when you consider that jessops are offering the nikon d80 with 18-55 lens for £450.00 .

Fred, I've viewed hundreds of photos from DSLRs -- not my own DSLR, but DSLRs that I was thinking of buying. (I always examined the full-sized image; I've been in the market to buy a DSLR for 2 years.) Those photos are definitely DSLR quality. As I said, they are a little soft, but I've seen softer images from highly rated DSLRs. The Nikon D90, which all the reviewers love, produces softer images. Making images slightly soft is a method that the manufacturers use to eliminate low-level noise. (Personally, I hate it, so I would expect to shoot RAW, although often the RAW images are just as soft.) The night scene picture also shows noise in the dark areas, but nothing major. One thing is for sure, those images are a huge step up from any small-sensor compact camera. You could not get such good images from any compact.

About image softness, it still isn't clear to me if the softness of digital images is due to the technology (the Bayer sensor and the antialiasing filter) or if the manufacturers are purposely softening the images. If they are not purposely softening the images, then the soft photos that some DSLRs produce would seem to be soft only because the camera isn't sharpening the photos. However, it would seem to me that antialiasing filters can be made more or less aggressive in their action. I think you are the one who said that the Sigma DP1 produced remarkably crisp and three-dimensional photos -- such crisp photos will never be gotten from a camera with a Bayer sensor. Maybe the DP2 will turn out to be a better-designed camera.

Caleb, thanks very much for taking the time to answer my question. I'm glad to know that the Panasonic G1's images are DSLR quality. I just bought a Panasonic FZ28 superzoom, which I'll be using primarily to post images online at web resolutions -- it should more than suffice for my current needs. I really like the whole concept of the superzoom as a bridge between compacts and DSLRs.

I used to think that I would upgrade to a DSLR if I ever outgrew the FZ28 -- now I think I would upgrade to an Electronic Viewfinder Interchangeable Lens (EVIL) camera based on the Micro Four Thirds System standard. In my opinion, the optomechanical system found in SLRs was a very clever and useful idea in its day, but I believe its day has passed -- I'd like to think that entirely optoelectronic devices are the future of digital photography.

In any case, it's a big relief to know that it is now possible to get DSLR quality results from an interchangeable lens camera with no reflex mirror. Plus, who can deny the WOW factor of having a camera which complies with all the latest photography buzzwords!


I'm somewhat familiar with the DP1 (full-size DSLR sensor in a compact body), but I have never reviewed it. I'm afraid that comment must have come from someone else.

Thanks again,

Fred

_________________
Frederick W. Chapman: Consultant & Scientist @ F.W. Chapman Solutions / Expertise in Web Design, Digital Imaging, E-Learning, Math & Comp Sci / www.fwchapman.com

Cameras: Oly E-P1; Pan G1, FZ28, LZ10 | FT Lenses: Oly 50mm f/2.0; Sig 18-50mm f/2.8, 70-200mm f/2.8 | MFT Lenses: Pan 20mm f/1.7, 14-45mm f/3.5-5.6, 45-200mm f/4-5.6

My obsession is with image quality. When I got my first digital camera 6 or 7 years ago (a 2 MP model), I started looking at the images at 100% and I could see the artifacts and the fuzziness that comes from noise reduction (although at the time I didn't know what was causing them). I would then look at images on the internet from DSLRs, and they seemed so much better. But I didn't have the money for a DSLR and they were too big and clunky. I upgraded to a 5 MP and then a 7 MP compact camera, and the noise in the images got a little worse. So finally I resolved that I would have to get a DSLR. However, by then I was accustomed to using the LCD to frame my photos, so I've been waiting for a DSLR that had good live view and good image quality, but I haven't found one yet. The G1 seems to fit the bill. Judging from those photos, it has great image quality, an interchangeable lens, good live view, and it is small. Everything that I want in one package!

The mirror and pentaprism in DSLRs are leftovers from the film age. It is only because electronic viewfinders have not been good enough that DSLRs have flourished. The technology that Panasonic is using for the EV in the G1 (taken from camcorders) is the wave of the future. Eventually, I expect that DSLRs will become a niche market for professionals. Compact cameras will remain for people who aren't concerned about image quality. And EVIL cameras, in my opinion, will become the dominant format.

I also photograph for the web -- I sell products online. I use a Canon A720 with a 7 MP sensor. 7 MP is about the most that can be squeezed into a small sensor and still look reasonably good. Images from the new Canon G10, which crams 15 MP on a small sensor, look horrid in my opinion.

If the Panasonic G1 turns out to be as good a camera as pre-production models indicate that it is, and if Barack Obama wins the presidency, 2008 will be a perfect year!