Value & Verdict

Panasonic Lumix GX1 review – Value

The GX1’s premium finish carries an equally premium price tag. At £749 with the 14-42mm power zoom lens it’s one of the pricier models in the G-series range, and even exceeds both the Samsung NX200‘s and Olympus E-P3‘s considerable £699 price tags.

Considering that the Lumix G3 – which produces the same image quality as the GX1 and even has a built-in viewfinder – was £630 at launch and can now be bagged for around £480 the GX1 seems all the more expensive. Should the new DMV-LVF2 electronic viewfinder (EVF) be added to your shopping basket the whole GX1 kit’ll be closer to £1000. Yowch.

It’s worth paying for premium build quality, but the power zoom lens may not be to all tastes, though the £599 standard 14-42mm kit option provides a more balanced price tag.

Panasonic Lumix GX1 review – Verdict

The GX1 is an accomplished camera that’ll be well suited to more demanding photographers. Compared to its Compact System Camera competitors Panasonic’s latest has a fine balance of physical system size to image quality ratio. The huge array Micro Four Thirds lenses available also makes the G-series all the more attractive.

The super-fast autofocus is accomplished and the touchscreen makes for intuitive stills or movie capture, while small touches such as edge-to-edge and Pinpoint focusing make the camera all the more standout.

Where build quality is concerned there’s little to be desired: the GX1’s craft and finish is delightful, though it has to be to justify the rather large asking price.

Battery life may be improved compared to its G-series cousins, but there’s still room for yet more improvement on the power front. The camera’s movie mode is also outclassed by Sony’s NEX series. But these two small blips do little to mask what’s otherwise an accomplished camera. It may seem a lot like the GF1 reimagined, but credit where credit’s due: the GX1’s a cracking Compact System Camera.