Panasonic LUMIX DMC G5 Review | 108 Data compared

The Panasonic Lumix DMC-G5, a 16-megapixel Micro Four Thirds mirrorless camera, features a redesigned 16-megapixel sensor and a new Venus Engine processor, offering improved handling with a large rubberized grip, an articulating touchscreen, and a 6 fps burst rate. The DPReview assessment highlights top pros, including excellent 1080/60p video capabilities, a new control lever for intuitive handling, and a responsive eye-sensor for switching between the EVF and rear display. Despite these improvements, the camera suffers from sub-par low-light performance at high ISO levels and is prone to nose-activated, accidental touch-screen AF point changes, according to reviews. Key cons further include the lack of a dedicated external microphone input for video and weak flash capabilities, limiting its professional versatility.

The ePHOTOzine review highlights the Panasonic Lumix DMC-G5 as a feature-rich mirrorless camera delivering excellent 16.05-megapixel image quality, fast autofocus, and a 6fps continuous shooting rate. Key strengths include a high-quality electronic viewfinder, a versatile articulated screen, and a portable, well-designed body. While the overall package is highly praised, the review notes the rear control dial feels plasticky compared to other metallic buttons. Despite a higher launch price than its predecessor, the camera's improved performance and handling earned it a "Highly Recommended" rating.

Review Overview The Panasonic Lumix DMC-G5 is a well-built interchangeable lens camera that Panasonic refers to as a "digital single lens mirrorless" (dSLM) camera. It features a 16-megapixel sensor and an impressive range of 20 available companion lenses. In testing, the camera delivered excellent image quality with a high level of detail, sharp focus, and accurate colour reproduction even in overcast or narrow-gamut settings. The G5 stands out for its silent powered kit lens, extremely fast autofocus, and an articulated 3-inch LCD touchscreen that simplifies creative framing. Its low-light performance is also stellar, maintaining true-to-life colours and keeping digital noise to a bare minimum even when shooting at higher sensitivities like ISO 800 and ISO 1,600. Additionally, it shines in video mode, capturing smooth 1080p HD footage at up to 50fps (PAL) or 60fps (NTSC) alongside clear, clean stereo sound. Pros and Cons Pros: Consistently high image quality, a vast selection of interchangeable lenses, excellent low-light/high-ISO performance, silent movie zooming, fast autofocus response, and a highly versatile articulated touchscreen. Cons: The primary drawback is its high retail price (£600 body-only,...

The Panasonic Lumix DMC-G5 is evaluated as an appealing, highly portable mirrorless camera option that serves as a strong alternative to budget DSLRs, making it especially suitable for photographically aware travellers. Built with a polycarbonate body and an aluminium front plate, it features a 16.1-megapixel Micro Four Thirds CMOS sensor capable of producing excellent image quality across varied conditions, notably in soft lighting. Key highlights of the camera include its comfortable speed grip, an electronic viewfinder equipped with an automated eye sensor, and a highly versatile 7.6cm articulated touchscreen LCD. Performance-wise, it features an accurate contrast autofocus system, an eye-level orientation gauge, and impressive burst shooting speeds reaching up to 20 frames per second. Video recording is fully supported at 1920×1080 resolution in AVCHD or MPEG4 formats with active touch autofocus.

The DXOMARK review of the Panasonic Lumix DMC-G5 highlights a new sensor, refined design, and enhanced 1080p video capabilities, earning an overall sensor rating of 61. Key advantages include impressive color depth (21.4 bits at ISO 200) and a commendable dynamic range of 11.6 Evs, making it effective for portrait and landscape photography. However, the camera's primary disadvantage is its mediocre low-light capability, with a low-light ISO score of just 618 ISO. This constraint makes it less suitable for high-ISO action or night-time photography, requiring potential buyers to consider this limitation despite the ergonomic and functional improvements.

The Panasonic Lumix DMC-G5 is a scaled-down, SLR-styled mirrorless camera that earned an "Outstanding" 4.5-star rating and the Editors' Choice award for compact interchangeable lens cameras under $1,000. The 16-megapixel shooter features a sharp 1.4-million dot eye-level electronic viewfinder (EVF) with eye-sensor focusing, alongside a highly responsive 3-inch, 920k-dot vari-angle touch-screen LCD. Performance-wise, the G5 excels at continuous action, rattling off 33 JPEG photos at a fast 5.3 frames per second. It delivers excellent low-noise image quality and sharp details up to ISO 3200, matching up well against competing models from Sony and Olympus. Additionally, it provides exceptional video recording capabilities by capturing 1080p60 footage at 28Mbps using the AVCHD Progressive format. Despite these high-end capabilities, the camera has notable design limitations. Its bundled 14-42mm kit lens underperforms, showing softness at its widest 14mm setting and telephoto 42mm setting. Video creators will face hurdles because the camera lacks an external microphone input, and processor-heavy art filters like the "Miniature Effect" significantly degrade video frame rates. Furthermore, Panasonic builds stabilization directly into its lenses rather than the camera body; using an...

The Panasonic Lumix DMC-G5 is a mid-range Micro Four Thirds camera that offers solid performance but struggles to find a clear identity between entry-level models and the high-end GH3. Its strengths lie in its ergonomic design, featuring a comfortable, well-shaped grip and a versatile swiveling 3-inch touchscreen. Image quality is another high point, with the 16-megapixel sensor delivering accurate color reproduction and natural sharpness without excessive software processing. Additionally, the electronic viewfinder (EVF) is praised for its quality and the inclusion of a proximity sensor that automates the switch between the LCD and the EVF. However, the G5 is hampered by several "middle child" compromises, most notably a chintzy plastic build and a frustratingly unresponsive touchscreen. The physical controls also receive criticism, particularly the "pitiful" D-pad and a mushy shutter button. Performance-wise, the camera’s burst mode is lackluster at just 5.7 fps, and its video capabilities—while decent—lack advanced features like a 24p frame rate or an external microphone jack. Ultimately, while it is a capable shooter, it lacks the modern amenities like WiFi or GPS and the distinctive character found...

The Panasonic Lumix DMC-G5 is an interchangeable-lens camera (ILC) that features a redesigned, streamlined body resembling a superzoom model with excellent ergonomics and a comfortable right-hand grip. Key hardware highlights include a highly responsive 3-inch 920,000-dot articulating touchscreen that allows for finger-touch focus targeting across the frame, alongside an automatic eye-sensor that seamlessly switches between the screen and the electronic viewfinder. Performance is exceptionally quick, with impressive metrics like a 1.2-second start-up time, rapid shot-to-shot times, minimal shutter lag, and multiple continuous burst modes, including an electronic shutter option for near-silent shooting. For beginners, the camera features an intelligent automatic mode and a unique 23-photo professional scene guide to replicate pro settings effortlessly. However, the camera falls short of being a standout flagship device due to a lack of "wow"-worthy features to truly differentiate it from competitors. On the downside, the device completely lacks an external microphone jack, restricting audio capture strictly to the top-mounted stereo microphone. The battery life is merely average, rated for 320 shots per charge. Furthermore, while the upgraded AVCHD progressive video recording is sharp and...

The Amateur Photographer review highlights the Panasonic Lumix DMC-G5 as a solid G-series evolution, featuring a 16.05-million-pixel sensor and Venus 7 HD II engine that enable 6fps burst shooting and ISO 12,800 sensitivity. Key pros include refined ergonomics with a large, rubberised grip, premium metal buttons, and advanced 1080/50p video capabilities featuring "touch-pad" autofocus. Cons noted in the review include a plastic control wheel that feels less premium than the overall build, along with a 320-shot battery life that may be insufficient for heavy use. Additionally, the polycarbonate construction is less rugged than some competitors, and default JPEG images can appear slightly soft, requiring in-camera adjustments.

The Panasonic Lumix G5 is recognized by What Digital Camera as a high-performing compact system camera featuring robust build quality with an aluminum front panel and improved handling over its predecessors. Key strengths include a fast "Light Speed" contrast-detect autofocus system, a 6fps burst rate, a 920k-dot free-angle touchscreen, and a 1.44m-dot electronic viewfinder. Conversely, the review notes a cheap-feeling plastic rear command dial and limited touchscreen gesture support. While the 16.05MP sensor produces clean images up to ISO 800, aggressive in-camera noise reduction at higher sensitivities can lead to a waxy appearance with lost detail, causing it to fall behind APS-C competitors in low-light situations.

The Panasonic Lumix G5 is a 16.1 Megapixel Micro Four Thirds mirrorless camera that offers a rock-solid implementation of core features, excellent handling, and great value for money. Its design resembles a miniaturized DSLR with a comfortable, deep front handgrip and a highly customizable interface, including a versatile physical layout and an adjustable Quick Menu. Key performance strengths include an incredibly fast and low-light-accurate contrast-detect autofocus system, a 920k-dot fully-articulated touchscreen with an innovative "Touch Pad AF" tracking option, upgraded 1080p video at 50/60fps, and a robust continuous shooting speed of roughly 6.6fps to 6.9fps. Furthermore, the camera benefits immensely from the mature Micro Four Thirds ecosystem, providing users with the broadest native lens selection available for mirrorless systems. However, the Lumix G5 does have notable shortcomings when compared to pricier rivals like the Sony NEX-6. Its 1.4 million-dot electronic viewfinder trails the higher resolution of competition, resulting in distracting shimmering and "tearing" effects when panning. For video shooters, the camera lacks an external microphone input, manual exposure controls, and clean HDMI output during filming. Battery life is also heavily...