You’re packing your bags for that long-awaited vacation. Do you pack the bulky DSLR that will take awesome shots or go with the smaller point-and-shoot and sacrifice on quality? Neither. Ditch both for the Panasonic LUMIX GX1.
Combining the image quality of a DSLR with the portability of a compact camera, the new LUMIX GX1 lets you have your cake and eat it too. It’s built on the Panasonic Micro Four Thirds platform and packs a massive 16 megapixels into a retro styled build that features a LCD touchscreen and interchangeable lenses.
Designed with the ambitious photographer in mind, any setting adjustments are just a quick click away. ISO, drive, Auto Focus, and white balance can be easily adjusted from the four directional back buttons and the single click wheel allows you to toggle between and change the aperture and shutter speed.
In addition to the one-tap intelligent auto button on the top of the camera, the GX1 also comes with 17 pre-programmed screen modes like portrait, sport, pets, party, retro and toy effects (which transforms houses and cars into miniature toys when taken from a distance – brilliant).
Found a combination of settings you love? No problem. The camera lets you store four of your own personalised settings for quick future use. In short, there’s plenty for the experienced photographer to play with here.
However, what really sets this camera apart is the intuitive LCD touchscreen which allows you to adjust all the major settings without pushing any external camera buttons at all. But why have the same adjustments on the touchscreen as you do on the buttons you ask? My thoughts exactly. But after fiddling around with the screen I soon realised that you can never have too many options. With just the tap of your finger you can select the area on the image to focus on, fire off the shutter to capture the image, or even activate the level gauge to help you square off the image (super helpful when taking happy snaps out on the water).
With the GX1 you can say goodbye to grainy holiday pics and be done with neck pain from hauling that brick of a DSLR around town (been there, done that). Striking a good balance between quality and portability (and all wrapped up in a stylish vintage body), this camera is one sweet cake. Roll up your sleeves and tuck in.
