The Panasonic Lumix GF7 is the latest in a long line of popular and successful CSCs. The series debuted back in 2009 with the enthusiast-orientated GF1, with successive models aimed more at the entry-level market.

Things seemed to be changing more towards the enthusiast photographer in 2013 with the GF6, although the new GF7, with its emphasis on selfie capture, seems like a it might be a step back towards the entry level market.

The LCD screen is hinged so as to face the front of the camera

LCD screen

The screen in question measures in at 3in and features a resolution of 1,040k-dots. It’s so well suited to selfies thanks to the fact it can rotate 180-degrees about a horizontal axis and thus face forward to the subjects in front of the lens.

There’s also a range of shooting functionality to aid selfie-capture, including a mode which triggers when you wave your hand in front of your face or when couples bring their heads together.

A 16MP lens is borrow from more enthusiast-orientated Panasonic CSCs

The GF7 features a 16MP Four Thirds sensor which has been seen in various other Lumix CSCs, including the enthusiast GX7, and thus promises some good results. It features an ISO range of 200-25,600, and offers Full HD video capture up to 50fps assisted by built-in stereo microphones.

Other performance measures include a continuous shooting speed of up to 5.8fps in fixed focusing mode, offering a buffer capacity of up to seven frames when shooting Raw images. The hybrid electronic/mechanical shutter, meanwhile, offers shutter speeds of up to 1/16,000 seconds and a ‘Silent’ shooting mode for situations where you might want to limit the noise of the camera.

The GF7 is one of the smallest Panasonic CSCs to date

Small size

There’s no denying that the GF7 is a small camera, and even with the tilting screen it’s not much larger than its diminutive GM1 stablemate. Despite being targeted more towards the entry-level photographer, the GF7 does still feature a host of on-camera controls to adjust the various exposure settings.

There’s also an ‘Fn1’ button on the top plate which can be assigned to the shooting setting of your choice, while a rear dial offers quick adjustment of shutter speed, aperture and the like.

General build quality is respectable enough, although comparing it to the GM1 it does feel a touch more plasticky. Panasonic has once again gone for the retro look, and although the GF7 is attractive on the whole the small bump in which the built-in flash is housed spoils the finish somewhat.

Unfortunately the area which houses the built-in flash somewhat spoils the line of the camera

AF Performance

In use, the GF7 is a solid performer. Navigation of controls and menus is generally intuitive, while the camera itself responds promptly to commands and never particularly lags.

The autofocus system is also fast and accurate in a range of scenes, even in difficult lighting conditions. It also benefits from the touchscreen functionality offering touch-select of focus points.

The only area in which the GF7 really stumbles is when it comes to image review – it’s particularly slow in this regard, taking a long time to bring up the first image.

When you zoom in to check finer details the model struggles to render the information, hinting at soft images when in fact review on a monitor shows they are in fact sharp.