Panasonic LUMIX DMC GF5 Review | 108 Data compared

The Panasonic Lumix DMC-GF5, reviewed by DPReview, is an entry-level mirrorless camera featuring a 12.1-megapixel Live MOS sensor and Venus Engine that offers improved high-ISO JPEGs and a responsive 920k-dot touchscreen. Pros include a significantly improved, more ergonomic rubberized handgrip, lightning-fast contrast-detection AF, and an intuitive, updated user interface tailored for beginners. However, the camera lacks a hotshoe or external viewfinder, restricting composition to the rear LCD, and suffers from distracting autofocus pulsing during video recording. While image quality is adequate, the sensor shows limited dynamic range improvements over its predecessor, with noticeable color noise in low-light, making it less ideal for advanced enthusiasts. For the full, in-depth review, visit DPReview.

The ePHOTOzine review describes the Panasonic Lumix DMC-GF5 as a highly successful, beginner-friendly upgrade over the GF3, offering enhanced autofocus speed, improved 920k-dot touchscreen, and better ergonomics via a textured hand grip. While featuring 14 creative effects and Full HD video, the camera is lauded for its compact, user-friendly design catering to those moving up from smartphones. Conversely, limitations include the lack of a built-in electronic viewfinder (EVF) or hotshoe, along with a fixed, non-articulating 3-inch display that restricts shooting flexibility. The camera also faces limitations in low-light dynamic range, with image quality softening beyond ISO 800, often requiring post-processing for maximum crispness.

The Panasonic Lumix DMC-GF5 is an entry-level interchangeable-lens camera that excels as a fast, user-friendly upgrade for point-and-shoot or smartphone photographers. Built with a compact and sturdy chassis, it features a significantly improved, rubberised physical grip for steady one-handed shooting and a redesigned, highly responsive 920,000-dot touch-screen interface. Performance is a major strength, delivering swift focus-and-shoot times of 0.2 seconds in good light, a responsive Quick Menu system, and fluid processing that allows users to adjust settings or review images without file-writing delays. However, the camera does compromise on lens quality and fine JPEG rendering. While its updated 12-megapixel sensor enhances noise profiles at low ISOs, shooting JPEGs beyond ISO 400 with the standard 14-42mm power zoom kit lens introduces heavy noise-reduction artifacts and smearing. The power zoom kit lens itself is described as mediocre, and its physical zoom switch is awkwardly placed. Additionally, raw image bursts are highly limited to just four frames, flash recycling slows the sequential shooting speed down to 1.7 seconds, and the body completely lacks support for an add-on electronic viewfinder.

The Panasonic Lumix DMC-GF5 is a compact system camera (CSC) that serves as an entry-level, point-and-shoot upgrade to its predecessor, the GF3. Key improvements include a higher-resolution touchscreen display (920,000 dots), a more substantial textured rubber handgrip, metal buttons, and a newly introduced stereo microphone. The camera's main advantages are its impressively small and lightweight body when paired with the slim 14-42mm Power Zoom kit lens, extremely rapid autofocus performance, and exceptionally sharp 1080p video capabilities. However, the GF5 suffers from significant image quality drawbacks, notably lagging behind its competitors due to heavy, inescapable noise reduction that smudges fine details even in bright light and creates ugly artifacts at high ISO settings. Additional downsides include a poorly placed microphone that can easily be blocked by fingers, a lack of a physical mode dial, and slow image processing that bogs down consecutive rapid-fire shooting. Furthermore, while the camera is highly pocketable, the Power Zoom kit lens relies on less satisfying levers rather than traditional control rings, and its high price premium pushes the overall camera package into an expensive bracket where...

The DXOMARK Panasonic Lumix DMC-GF5 review concludes that the camera's sensor yields a mediocre overall score of 50, indicating that its hardware updates were primarily cosmetic rather than revolutionary. On the positive side, the camera registers a respectable color depth of 20.5 bits, which makes it well-suited for beginners focusing on portraits. Additionally, it achieves a maximum dynamic range of 10 EVs at ISO 160, slightly improves low-light performance over its predecessor, and introduces practical interior feature upgrades such as creative filter controls, a scene guide, and enhanced audio/video capabilities. However, the camera's significant flaw lies in its low-light and sports performance, where image quality quickly deteriorates past ISO 575. This drop makes it highly problematic for capturing clean photos in dimly lit environments. Furthermore, the sensor's dynamic range declines sharply after ISO 400, resulting in a loss of detail in shadow and highlight regions. When compared to similarly priced or slightly costlier rivals from Sony and Olympus, the GF5 falls short in sensor evolution, leaving its performance vulnerable to market competitors.

The What Digital Camera review identifies the Panasonic Lumix GF5 as a capable, compact entry-level camera featuring a responsive 920k-dot touchscreen and an improved, fast 0.09-second autofocus system. Key pros include high-quality, well-exposed images with good noise control, and an improved, comfortable grip compared to the previous model. However, the camera represents only an incremental upgrade over the GF3 and lacks a viewfinder or hot shoe, limiting its appeal to enthusiast photographers. Other cons include some build quality concerns and potentially awkward handling of the power zoom lens controls.

The Panasonic Lumix DMC-GF5 is an incredibly compact mirrorless camera built around the Micro Four Thirds system, featuring a 12.1-megapixel CMOS sensor capable of capturing 4000×3000 pixel images and shooting Full HD 1920×1080 video in AVCHD or MPEG formats. Designed with minimal external controls and a fixed 7.6 cm touchscreen, the camera offers high ease of use for navigating menus, controlling zoom, and managing settings like ISO. It includes a beginner-friendly Scene Guide with 23 sample images, 14 adjustable Creative Control filters, and a continuous shooting speed of up to 4 frames per second. The review highlights several key pros, including its highly portable, tiny form factor and excellent overall image quality that far surpasses standard fixed-lens compact cameras. The intuitive touchscreen makes navigating settings simple, and the Contrast AF system provides fast and accurate focusing. However, the camera suffers from several cons, most notably severe noise at high sensitivities, making the maximum ISO 12,800 setting practically unusable. Additional drawbacks include a rigid LCD screen that does not tilt or swing out, a low resolution of 12.1 megapixels, and a...

The Panasonic Lumix DMC-GF5 is a highly compact, basic entry-level micro four-thirds mirrorless camera that serves as a modest but meaningful internal upgrade to the previous GF3. It retains a small, pocketable body size while adding an improved textured grip for better one-handed holding, an updated 12.1-megapixel sensor, a faster Venus VII processing engine, and an upgraded fixed 3-inch touchscreen LCD with 921k-dot resolution. Designed for simplicity, the camera strips away physical command and mode dials in favor of a clean button layout and a highly functional, deep customizable menu system that surprisingly caters well to serious shooters who want flexibility hidden beneath an approachable interface. The camera shines with several notable pros, including surprisingly competent raw image quality with manageable noise up to ISO 1600, swift single-shot autofocus, a well-implemented Quick Menu interface, and an award-winning form factor perfect for casual use. However, it is held back by distinct cons, such as poor continuous autofocus tracking (except when using face detection), a short-lived 940mAh battery that requires carrying spares, and an auto white balance system that occasionally misjudges scenes....

The Amateur Photographer review of the Panasonic Lumix DMC-GF5 highlights the mirrorless camera as an intuitive, pocketable entry-point into the Micro Four Thirds system. Pros include an extremely fast contrast autofocus system paired with a responsive 920k-dot touchscreen interface for easy menu navigation. The camera's design, featuring a customizable Quick Menu, successfully caters to point-and-shoot upgraders, though the reliance on the touchscreen means fewer physical, dedicated buttons are available. However, the review notes that the smaller sensor struggles with a narrower dynamic range compared to APS-C competitors, leading to easily blown-out highlights. Additionally, the camera exhibits increased color noise in shadow areas, particularly when shooting JPEGs at higher ISO settings. Amateur Photographer