Panasonic Lumix DMC-G10 review (with 14-42mm lens)

Panasonic's entry-level interchangeable-lens model, the Lumix DMC-G10, is a moderately de-featured version of its big brother, the G2. Based around the same Micro Four Thirds-standard sensor and lens mount, the G10 is a solid ILC model, but one that has a few weaknesses compared with similarly priced competitors.

The displays seem to be where Panasonic cut corners to get the G10's price down. It has a fixed, instead of articulated, LCD, though that's par for the course in the entry-level models. But the company also went with a low-resolution, low-magnification EVF. When I first picked up the G10 to shoot, my initial response was "what a horrible EVF." Not only did it look coarse and small, but the eye cup felt uncomfortably rigid. Though I subsequently got used to it, and found it just about adequate for manual focus, it's probably the worst of the interchangeable-lens models. Still it's better than some of the EVFs I've seen on megazoom cameras and certainly better than none at all. It also lacks an automatic sensor that toggles between the LCD and EVF when you bring the camera up to your eye, but I generally prefer manual control over that and tend to turn the off the sensor.

Overall, the G10 has intelligently laid out and easy-to-understand controls that will likely be understood by anyone who's used a relatively sophisticated compact camera (off Auto, of course). Though a few of the buttons and controls are different, the G10 uses basically the same body and layout as the G2 and earlier G1. I generally like the overall design and it's solidly constructed and comfortable to grip and shoot--even one-handed with a heavyish lens. One of my least favorite changes between the G1 and G10 (and G2) is the relocation of the SD slot from the grip to the battery compartment. Yes, it's a very common location in point-and-shoots (and the Olympus models), but it's annoying if you use a tripod and awkward if you take the card out frequently.

	Panasonic Lumix DMC-G10	Panasonic Lumix DMC-GF1	Panasonic Lumix DMC-G1	Panasonic Lumix DMC-G2	Panasonic Lumix DMC-GH1
Sensor (effective resolution)	12.1-megapixel Live MOS	12.1-megapixel Live MOS	12.1-megapixel Live MOS	12.1-megapixel Live MOS	12.1-megapixel Live MOS
	17.3mm x 13mm	17.3mm x 13mm	17.3mm x 13mm	17.3mm x 13mm	17.3mm x 13mm
Processing engine version	Venus Engine HD II	Venus Engine HD	Venus Engine HD	Venus Engine HD II	Venus Engine HD
Sensitivity range	ISO 100 - ISO 6,400	ISO 100 - ISO 3,200	ISO 100 - ISO 3,200	ISO 100 - ISO 6,400	ISO 100 - ISO 3,200
Focal-length multiplier	2x	2x	2x	2x	2x
Continuous shooting	3.2fps unlimited JPEG/7 raw	3fps unlimited JPEG/7 raw	3fps unlimited JPEG/7 raw	3.2fps unlimited JPEG/7 raw	3fps unlimited JPEG/7 raw
Viewfinder (effective magnification)	EVF 202,000 dots 0.52x	Optional EVF	EVF 1,440,000 dots 0.7x	EVF 1,440,000 dots 0.7x	EVF 1,440,000 dots 0.7x
Autofocus	23-area contrast AF	23-area contrast AF	23-area contrast AF	23-area contrast AF	23-area contrast AF
Metering	144 zone	144 zone	144 zone	144 zone	144 zone
Shutter	60-1/4000 sec; bulb to 4 minutes	60-1/4000 sec; bulb to 4 minutes	60-1/4000 sec; bulb to 4 minutes	60-1/4000 sec; bulb to 4 minutes	60-1/4000 sec; bulb to 4 minutes
Flash	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes
LCD	3-inch fixed 460,000 dots	3-inch fixed 460,000 dots	3-inch articulated 460,000 dots	3-inch articulated touch screen 460,000 dots	3-inch articulated 460,000 dots
Image stabilization	Optical	Optical	Optical	Optical	Optical
Video (max resolution at 30fps)	720p Motion JPEG MOV	720p AVCHD Lite or Motion JPEG MOV	None	720p AVCHD Lite or Motion JPEG MOV	1080/60i AVCHD
Audio	None	None	None	Mic, headphone	Mic, headphone
Battery life (CIPA rating)	380 shots	350 shots	300 shots	370 shots	300 shots
Dimensions (WHD, inches)	4.9 x 3.3 x 2.9	4.7 x 2.8 x 1.4	4.9 x 3.3 x 1.8	4.9 x 3.3 x 2.9	4.9 x 3.3 x 1.8
Weight (ounces)	13.9	12.2	15.1	13.1	15.2
Mfr. Price	$599.95 (with 14-42mm f3.5-5.6 lens)	$899.95 (with 14-45mm f3.5-5.6 lens)	$799.95 (with 14-45mm f3.5-5.6 lens)	$799.95 (with 14-42mm f3.5-5.6 lens)	$1,499.95 (with 14-140mm f4.0-5.8 lens)
	n/a	$899.95 (with 20mm f1.7 lens)	n/a	n/a	n/a

More than any other manufacturer, Panasonic's models retain a plethora of direct-access controls. The focus mode options (single, continuous, manual) sit on a small dial on the top left of the body; the drive modes (single, continuous, bracket, and timer) are switch-selectable on the top right. The mode dial contains the usual suspects: PASM, movie, custom settings (which holds three slots), a handful of scene modes, and a slot leading to the entire selection. As with the G2, it's a bit hard to decipher which settings can be saved, even with the help of the manual; for example, it seems like it won't save shutter speeds in still-photo modes, but it will in video mode. Though that's not uncommon, in my book it's aggravating and counterintuitive that you can save all the settings surrounding a shutter-priority mode except for the most important one: the shutter speed.

I really miss the dedicated movie record button that's on the G2, but otherwise the mode dial and drive mode options, as well as the dedicated Intelligent Auto button, are identical. You have less manual control during movie capture than with the G2--just a limited ability to change shutter speed, which requires a slog through the manual to find. You press the button labeled with aperture and garbage icons, which then brings up text that says "flicker red. cancel," at which point the scroll dial lets you choose a yellow-highlighted number from 50, 60, 100, and 120. I'd never have guessed that as the way to set shutter speed.

On the back is a smallish thumb rest. Above that are the jog dial and AE/AF lock button; the jog dial, which could really use a label for better discoverablity, controls exposure compensation, aperture, and shutter speed. Below the thumb rest sits the Quick menu button, which brings up the interactive display for adjusting the most commonly used shooting settings: flash, Film Mode, image stabilization, image/video quality and size, Intelligent Contrast/Resolution, AF mode (single, 23-area, tracking, and face detection), metering, shutter speed, exposure compensation, ISO sensitivity, and white balance. ISO sensitivity, white balance, and AF mode all have dedicated buttons on the four-way navigation, whereas the fourth, Fn, can be programmed to directly pull up settings for film mode, aspect ratio, quality, metering, Intelligent Resolution, Intelligent Exposure, extended zoom (a form of digital zoom), and guide lines.

You rarely need to go into the menu system, but my one frustration with its design is that instead of letting you create a custom menu of potentially frequently needed options, such as Format or monitor brightness, it simply lists the most recently accessed options.

	Olympus E-PL1	Panasonic Lumix DMC-G10	Samsung NX10
Sensor (effective resolution)	12.3-megapixel Live MOS	12.1-megapixel Live MOS	14.6-megapixel CMOS
	17.3mm x 13mm	17.3mm x 13mm	23.4mm x 15.5mm (est)
Color depth	n/a	Venus Engine HD II	n/a
Sensitivity range	ISO 100 - ISO 3,200	ISO 100 - ISO 6,400	ISO 100 - ISO 3,200
Focal-length multiplier	2x	2x	1.5x
Continuous shooting	3fps n/a	3.2fps unlimited JPEG/7 raw	3fps 10 JPEG/ 3 raw
Viewfinder (effective magnification)	Optional plug-in articulating EVF 1,440,000 dots 0.58x	EVF 202,000 dots 0.52x	EVF VGA/921,000 dots 0.86x
Autofocus	11-area contrast AF	23-area contrast AF	15-point contrast AF
Metering	324 area	144 zone	247 segment
Shutter	60-1/2000 sec; bulb to 30 minutes	60-1/4000 sec; bulb to 4 minutes	30-1/4000 sec.; bulb to 8 minutes
Flash	Yes	Yes	Yes
LCD	2.7-inch fixed 230,000 dots	3-inch fixed 460,000 dots	3-inch fixed AMOLED 614,000 dots
Image stabilization	Sensor shift	Optical	Optical
Video (max resolution at 30fps)	720p Motion JPEG AVI	720p Motion JPEG MOV	720p H.264 MPEG-4
Audio I/O	Mic	None	n/a
Battery life (CIPA rating)	290 shots	380 shots	400 shots
Dimensions (WHD, inches)	4.5 x 2.8 x 1.6	4.9 x 3.3 x 2.9	4.8 x 3.4 x 1.6
Weight (ounces)	12.4	13.9	14.5
Mfr. Price	$499 (est)	n/a	n/a
	$599.99 (with 14-42mm f3.5-5.6 lens)	$599.95 (with 14-42mm f3.5-5.6 lens)	$699.99 (with 18-55mm 3.5-5.6 lens)