Panasonic Lumix G3 review

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

"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

G3 with good lens will beat near all entry-level DSLR cameras. And it's image quality better than awarded Sony Nex-5N

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.