Panasonic Lumix G100 full review
Richard Sibley discovers if Panasonic’s new camera is a great all-in-one solution for photo and video creators
Whilst Panasonic’s cutting-edge Lumix S1H fullframe mirrorless camera may have taken most of the video plaudits recently, the
rm hasn’t forgotten about the other end of the camera market. The new G100 is the entry-level point into its Micro Four Thirds range. It aims to merge creativity with affordability, being designed to appeal to the latest generation of users who are just as at home shooting video as photographs.
Features
It will come as no surprise that the G100 features a 20.3MP Four Thirds sensor similar to the one used in the older G90, and which is no doubt similar to that found in the top-end GH5 and G9. With Panasonic promoting the G100 as being designed for vloggers, the camera boasts both Full HD and 4K video capture at up to 30fps, albeit with a slight crop. Stop motion and time-lapse options are also available for those who want to get creative with their moving footage.
Perhaps the most interesting new feature on the camera is the microphone system, which is powered by Nokia’s OZO Audio. This employs multiple capsules to capture sound from different directions. The idea is to be able to isolate particular sounds, such as a person talking to a camera, from any background noise. In the G100 it works in combination with the Face Detection to focus the sound on the subject talking to camera. Panasonic also offers the DMW-SHGR1 handle (£89), which can be used either as a table-top tripod or a grip for vlogging, with buttons to start and stop video capture.
Although the image stabilisation is touted as being 5-axis, this isn’t the entire story. The camera has no mechanical sensor shift mechanism, instead relying on 2-axis optical stabilisation in its lenses. An in-camera gyroscope calculates camera
movement, which then guides electronic stabilisation when shooting video. This stabilises the footage by cropping into each frame and adjusting its position to counter movement. Whilst it is effective, adding a crop to a 4K shooting mode that is already cropped is far from ideal. At its most extreme, the highest stabilisation setting is about a 1.8x crop, meaning vloggers will need lenses wider than the 12-32mm kit zoom to get that arm’s length shooting distance they are used to. You would expect a camera touted as being for vlogging to have slightly better 4K performance, though it isn’t unique at this price point, with the EOS M50 also having a signi cant crop in 4K.
Interestingly, and no doubt in an attempt to keep size and cost to a minimum, the G100 features a fairly basic shutter mechanism that consists only of a rear curtain. The image capture process is started electronically, with the rear curtain stopping the exposure. This means that ash sync is a rather feeble 1/50th sec, but as this isn’t the sort of camera that’s likely to be used much with ashguns, it shouldn’t be too serious an issue.
Build and handling
Aimed at photographers who may be moving up from a smartphone, and wanting to compete against the likes of the Sony ZV-1 and Canon PowerShot G7 X Mark III compact cameras, Panasonic has made the G100 as small as it can, whilst maintaining as many as possible of the features from its predecessors.
The G100 is one of the smallest mirrorless cameras with a centrally placed EVF, pop-up ash and a hotshoe. With the Sony ZV-1 launched around the same time and also designed for vloggers, it’s logical to compare the two. The ZV-1 is smaller, thanks to its 1-inch sensor and xed 25-70mm equivalent zoom. However the G100 has a larger sensor and interchangeable lenses. Being able to select from the huge array of Micro Four Thirds lenses is a real selling
point, with there being so much room to grow in to the system. Panasonic is offering the G100 with the 12-32mm f/3.5-5.6mm lens for £679. The beauty of this 24-64mm equivalent zoom is that it is collapsible when not in use, making the partnership ideal for travelling.
Despite its size the camera is comfortable to hold with a decent size grip on the front and a thumb rest on the rear. It also sports a good array of buttons and dials, with a front dial and rear wheel to control exposure settings, as well as direct controls for exposure compensation and white balance. To access other settings there is an onscreen Quick Menu, which can be easily accessed to change settings such as autofocus or picture style. While there may not be all the buttons and dials of a more advanced camera, there is certainly enough to make it comfortable to use, whilst not being intimidating for those starting out.
A total of four buttons can be reassigned to work as function buttons, but two of these are used to change exposure compensation and to access the Quick Menu. This leaves the view nder switch button and image transfer buttons, Fn3 and Fn4, the most likely options for reassignment to the user’s preference.
Adding another element to the handling is the articulated rear screen, which is touch-sensitive. Its ability to face forwards is great for vlogging and sel es, and in this position, pressing the shutter or record button starts a 3-second countdown timer before shooting, which is extremely useful. For photographers, it also makes shooting at awkward angles easier. As with many other touchscreens, it isn’t always the easiest to use to change settings. But it’s incredibly useful for selecting the AF point, particularly when combined with Tracking AF. Simply touch what you want to focus on and let the camera track the subject as it moves around the frame.
Performance
Let’s get it out the way, the smaller size of the 20MP Four Thirds sensor has a slight disadvantage against its numerous rivals with larger 24MP APS-C sized sensors. Conversely the G100 has an advantage over the 20MP 1-inch sensors found in the Sony ZV-1 and Canon G7X III compact cameras.
All of that said, I didn’t really notice much difference in terms of detail from the lower resolution, and with most of our media consumption being on screens rather than print these days, the resolution is perfectly fine. I was also pleasantly surprised with the dynamic range. When editing raw les I had enough exibility to pull back all but the brightest highlights in an image, and shadow recovery was also good, although with a little more noise than I would expect to see compared to an APS-C size sensor. However, once again it is all relative to how the images will be viewed, which given the intended audience of the camera will mostly be online.
Noise was handled well in JPEG images, and while shooting on a bright sunny day at ISO 1600 the luminance noise was noticeable, the camera did a good job of maintaining as much detail as it could. Although the camera has sensitivities up to ISO 25,600 I would avoid either this or ISO 12,800, and would only use ISO 6400 if I really had to. Although noise is well controlled, there is a noticeable drop-off in detail from the luminance noise reduction.
In terms of autofocus I was pleasantly surprised by the performance of the G100. It uses Panasonic’s Depth From Defocus system, which works with contrast detection AF. I found it to be responsive in single-point AF and worked well with the touchscreen. In continuous AF there was a little bit of hunting back and forth when shooting still images, but for moderately fast-moving subjects, like children running around playing, the Tracking AF mode did a good job of keeping up with the subject. It is similar story when shooting video, with the addition of Face and Eye Detection keeping a subject’s face in focus, although with the occasional bit of hunting. Again, though, for the intended audience and price point it performed acceptably.