Panasonic Lumix G3 review
Image Quality
Panasonic Lumix G3 review - Image Quality
Panasonic G3 review: Tone & Exposure
There are the three standard exposure metering settings - evaluative, centre-weighted and spot. Exposure is generally accurate, though some scenes were towards the side of overexposed, leading towards a lean for bracketing shots.
Tones can be towards the darker side of the palette, though by default the ‘i.Dynamic' mode gives a push to shadow areas for more equal exposure. This can be turned off or has three levels of strength as you choose.
When shooting in the iA+ mode the option to use a ‘Brightness' slider adjusts exposure compensation but guises it under a different name. The +/-5EV compensation can be useful, plus it's also possible to set Fn2 to become an exposure lock button which is of particular merit.
Panasonic G3 review: Colour & White Balance
Colour is rich and standout, though not to the point of looking ‘fake'.
There are also a variety of in-camera options to manipulate colour. Gone are the ‘My Color' modes of old, replaced by new ‘Creative Control' options - in essence the very same mode dressed up with a different name. This offers Expressive, Retro, High Key, Sepia and High Dynamic Range options and it's even possible to shoot an original Raw shot in tandem should you want to 'remove' the effect after.
Photo Style is a secondary option that offers Standard, Vivid, Natural, Mono, ‘Scenery', Portrait and Custom controls to adjust contrast, sharpness, saturation and noise reduction severity for yet more user-defined control.
White balance has all the usual presets and the Auto White Balance worked well in a variety of scenarios, including natural, fluorescent and flash lighting.
Panasonic G3 review: ISO Sensitivity & Image Noise
With 16-megapixels on that Micro Four Thirds sensor our initial assumptions were that the overall results may fall behind what the G2 achieves. However this isn't the case. With an added noise elimination circuit at the sensor level the overall image quality is good.
From ISO 160-200 results are decent and although there is some grain-like structure to be seen throughout images it's not to the detriment of quality. Enough detail is resolved from ISO 160-400, which then dips at ISO 800 where the JPEG processing begins to sharpen results more heavily. In studio testing ISO 1600 began to soften and break down detail, and this rose exponentially through ISO 3200-6400. The latter two also showed far more signs of colour noise seeping into the image, to the point of rendering blacks and shadow areas a little more red-tinged in colour (particularly in studio shots).
However, in real world shots, all snaps throughout the ISO range lend themselves well to a variety of settings. Now the G3 isn't going to fight off a high-spec DSLR, but at less money than the likes of the Nikon D5100 and Canon EOS 600D, Panasonic's offering holds up rather well.
Panasonic G3 review: Sharpness & Detail
The biggest letdown to image quality is really based on the 14-42mm lens. It lacks that pin-sharpness and close-up focusing isn't easily within reach either. Thankfully there are plenty of other lenses out there to choose from, and we'd recommend looking into the considerable range.
Have your say!
Latest comments
July 14 14:46
Peter Bower
I bought a G3 body as I had the older 14-45 lens [Which this magazine gave a gold award and 93% editors choice] So on that basis with this combination, image quality for the G3 should be at least 19. Its a very good camera, but if you tweak a few settings such as noise filter and sharpening to minus, then tweak it back in post processing the level of detail becomes out standing and thats just Jpegs.There seems to be a paranoia amongst reviewers about noise. Well a little noise even at low ISO is good because it enhances image detail. Read Wrotniac.net, the best Olympus site there is. No, the G3 does not approach a DSLR for image quality, it surpasses 'some' of them. Peter
September 03 17:59
DC
"No, the G3 does not approach a DSLR for image quality, it surpasses 'some' of them." Quite so. A stunning small camera that really improves on the GF1 beats my Sony A55. At the lower price it's a bargain
November 22 20:52
Krasitsky
G3 with good lens will beat near all entry-level DSLR cameras. And it's image quality better than awarded Sony Nex-5N
May 05 09:40
Speiro
I have owned my G3 for about three months and have juat given it the full holiday test. Having switched froman excellent Canon 450d and 4 lenses the weight saving is nothing short of dramatic. I unloaded the 14-42mm kit lense from the start and bought the 14-45mm off ebay. I then added the 45-200mm to give me a 35mm equivalent range of 28-400mm. Everything fits into a tiny bag and it was weightless compared with my old kit which was burdensome after a few miles of walking. So, downsizing was the main motivation and it was worth it for me. Quality-wise, I see little real difference in the results compared with my old Canon. The ability to shoot HD movies with the push of a button proved to be a big plus and the results are amazingly good. However, if movies are your think I would recommend the PZ lenses as manualy zooming does cause some jerkiness as the zoom controls are not smooth enough to go unnoticed. The viewfinder is excellent, huge and 100% accurate. The LCD screen can be positioned at any angle and I am left wondering why there is still a market for micro-twothirds cameras without a built-in VF. The touch screen is easy to use once you get the hang of it. Downsides? Battery life is appalling and it was necessary to buy a back up battery (not the Panny brand--overpriced). I found 4 or 5 short 15 seond movie clips and 25 stills knocked the battery down one notch which means you are two-thirds used up. This was alsmost a deal-breaker for me but the camera's overall quality, huge weight saving and nice quality Panasonic lenses all at moderate cost persuaded me to buy. I would never go back to a APS SLR due to sheer bulk and although I only saw one other user with a Micro-2/3rds camera on my holiday (loads of people with entry level Canons and Nikons) I belive it is the future--especially as many people like the weight and bulk savig which is a big issue given the severe weight and space restrictions on airlines these days. Hope to see an updated kit lens with better macro and maybe a slightly better range.