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Panasonic is a leading manufacturer of mirrorless interchangeable lens compact cameras ( ILCC). The Panasonic Lumix GF6 was introduced on 13th May 2013, along with the Lumix G6. Besides the usual goodies, the GF6 offers Wi-Fi and NFC ( Near Field Communication). The GF6 will be available in black, white, brown and red colours. Read on to know more...
Design and Build Quality
The Panasonic Lumix GF6 is a mirrorless interchangeable lens camera. The body is made mainly from engineering plastic. The top plate, which appears to be made from metal, is actually chrome-plated plastic. The handgrip is sufficiently decent. There is no viewfinder, nor is there a provision to attach an external one. The GF6 has a built-in flash – external flashguns cannot be attached. The knurled Mode Dial is made of metal, but is quite rough on the fingers. We have seen better build quality on most Panasonic cameras. The camera weighs approx. 323g (with battery and card).
Key Features
The Panasonic GF6 is a 16-megapixel mirrorless, interchangeable lens compact camera ( ILCC). The design is based on the Micro Four Thirds System. The camera uses a Live MOS imaging sensor (13 x 17.3mm) along with a Venus Engine processor, with an advanced noise reduction system that reduces digital noise in multiple steps. A supersonic wave filter is used for dust reduction control. What differentiates the GF6 from similar ILCCs is the GF6’s in-built Wi-Fi, along with its Near Field Communication ( NFC) capability. This allows wireless communication between the camera and NFC enabled Smartphones and Tablets. You first download the Panasonic Image App
on your Smartphone/Tablet, start the app, press the Wi-Fi ‘On’ button on the camera, and touch the two devices. That’s it! The Panasonic Image App works with iOS as well as Android. This way you can do remote shooting, send images to the Smartphone/Tablet while recording on the GF6, and send images stored on the GF6 to the Smartphone/Tablet. As per Panasonic, the GF6 is ready to shoot in just 0.5 seconds after start-up (using the H-FS1442A lens). Four focus modes are available: Single (AFS), Continuous (AFC), Flexible (AFF) and Manual Focus (MF). The camera uses Contrast AF system. Autofocus modes are Face Detection, AF Tracking, 23area focussing, 1-area focussing and Pinpoint focussing. The camera also offers Quick AF, Continuous AF during motion image recording, Touch AF/AE Function, AF+MF, Touch shutter and Touch MF Assist. The light metering system in the GF6 uses a 1,728-zone multi-pattern sensing system. The light metering modes are Intelligent Multiple, Centerweighted and Spot, whereas exposure modes are Program, Aperture Priority, Shutter Priority and Manual. ISO sensitivity settings available on the GF6 are Auto, Intelligent ISO, and 160-12800. ISO can be extended to equivalent of 25,000. Exposures can be compensated by +/-3 EV in 1/3 EV steps, while exposure bracketing is limited to 3