Cameras

I make no apologies for constantly banging on about my Panasonic GF1. It’s a wonderful photographic tool which takes fantastic photos. I should therefore be excited about the prospect of a successor, but noises from the rumour mill have not been promising.

The problem is the Sony NEX, a tiny, interchangeable-lens camera which also takes fantastic photos; albeit with crappy controls and rather feeble selection of lenses. It’s selling like cakes which have been heated beyond the warm stage, and Panasonic feels the need to respond.

And so today they announced the diminutive GF2.

Photo from dpreview.com

It’s smaller and lighter than the GF1. To accommodate the size reduction, some of the dials and switches have been moved to a touchscreen interface; not sure this a good idea. It will not be available as a kit with the essential 20mm F1.7 lens. It’s only selling points are that it is smaller and does HD video. To those considering a Sony NEX, this is a worthy alternative at a similar size. To those considering an upgrade to their GF1, no thank you.

The GF2 will not be available until early next year. So this would be a good time to pick up a GF1 if you don’t already have one (you don’t? How empty your life must be).

And now we must wait to see what Panasonic and Olympus will offer the serious photographer next year. More pixels, higher ISO performance and a gorgeous integrated electronic viewfinder would do the job, all wrapped up in a sexy, retro-style body. Or if you don’t care about the way it looks, just get a GH2 now.