Panasonic Lumix DMC-G3 (with 14-42mm lens, White)

Pros: + The pics and videos are amazing
+ Small, lightweight, seems very well made
+ Electronic viewfinder is excellent
+ Solid-felling and it is incredibly easy to use

Cons: - It does eat batteries
- LCD monitor is very good in everything except very bright sunlight

Summary: was looking for something less bulky and lighter than my trusted Nikon D70 DSLR. One essential requirement was a "proper" viewfinder. After reading lots of reviews, I decided to go for the G3. I have had limited opportunity to use it so far, and certainly have not yet tried all the functions, so these are only my initial impressions:

- I cannot believe how far camera technology has advanced in the few years since I bought my Nikon - the G3 has a huge number of features.

- Small, lightweight, seems very well made.

- The electronic viewfinder is excellent. The ability to switch gridlines on for photographing buildings is really helpful.

- The LCD monitor is very good in everything except very bright sunlight. The touch screen facility is a bit difficult to use with a finger. I find it works better using my fingernail (though the manual says not to do this).

- Performance on the few photos I have used so far is excellent: crisp and with vibrant colours. I have tried some of the programmed scene types - these work very well. It handles backlit scenes well. Intelligent Auto mode is very, very good. You could just use this as a point and shoot camera if you wanted.

- I am still literally getting to grips with the camera - its small size means that the way I naturally want to hold it (with my right hand on the grip and my left hand holding the barrel) my left thumb blocks the AF window.

- I have tried taking video, but I cannot get it to play on my PC, although I do get the sound. I am not sure if my PC is powerful enough, I still have to check this out. Nor have I worked out how to crop pictures using the supplied software - there is nothing labelled "crop" that I can find.

- The small printed manual that comes with the camera is very, very basic. The complete manual on CD-ROM runs to 207 pages! This is only in black and white, when colour would be more useful. What is really needed is a small A5 booklet that you can take with you and covers most of the basic options.

- It does eat batteries, I will have to buy a spare.

- The 14-42 lens is good, but I miss the little extra "reach" that I have with the 18-70 lens on my Nikon. I will probably have to buy the 40-200 lens as well.

- If you will buy the Lumix G3 I suggest you have to compare prices before you decide at: *********.info/DMC-G3

So overall, I am very pleased indeed with it, and would recommend it.

Updated on Nov 30, 2011

EDIT

- If you will buy the Lumix G3 I suggest you have to check for best deal before you decide at: bestdealschecking.info/dmc-g3

Enjoy!