Panasonic Lumix DMC-GF3CT Kit 12.1 MP Digital Camera with 14mm Pancake Lens

Panasonic Lumix DMC-GF3CT Kit 12.1 MP Digital Camera with 14mm Pancake Lens

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• 12 Megapixel Ultra Compact System Camera
• Micro Four Thirds 14mm F2.5 ASPH Lens
• 3.0\" Free Angle Touch Enabled LCD
• Built-in Popup Flash
• Multiple Lens Options including 3D Still Lens

Buy Now : Panasonic Lumix DMC-GF3CT Kit 12.1 MP Digital Camera with 14mm Pancake Lens

Brand : Panasonic
Category : Electronics,Camera & Photo,Digital Cameras,Point & Shoot Digital Cameras
Rating : 3.9
Price : US $499.99
Review Count : 56

Panasonic Lumix DMC-GF3CT Kit 12.1 MP Digital Camera with 14mm Pancake Lens

• This Panasonic GF3 is a rather impressive camera that can take VERY sharp pictures with really good IQ/Dynamic range, and color overall. Besides my love for Photography I also enjoy using the best of the best cameras in their category if I can afford them. I have owned, or own the Canon S95/Fuji X100/ Sony NEX-5, Had the original E-P1, Had the GF1 prior.I have been searching forever for a VERY SMALL camera that can take DSLR like pictures. Though the GF1 did have a little bit more manual control than the GF1 does, for instance even flash compensation..I can\'t seem to find that adjustment on this GF3. Even cheap point and shoots often let you change the amount of flash you will use, That\'s one con here.Overall though, though using the same sensor as the older GF1 and GF2 my pictures from my GF3 look BETTER overall as to color, noise, IN focus, virtually no Moire pattern problems..the GF1 had a lot of Moire pattern noise, the GF3 seems much cleaner.The GF3 has something called pinpoint focus. It works GREAT and so super fast. You choose ANY point on the lcd you want to focus on, drag the POINT where you want it. Press the shutter 1/2 way down..you can focus on just an eye or any small spot you like. The screen will first show you an enlarged view so you KNOW you have perfect focus..that\'s a great plus being able to have picture after picture IN focus. Also depending upon what focus mode you choose the focus speed is rocket fast on this camera and usually quite accurate. Pictures outdoors look as good as a high quality DSLR as to overall dynamic range, very little highlight clipping, color..and the 14 mm lens has virtually no purple fringing. The reason for just four stars is though the GF3 is pretty good up to 800iso ..you still see a bit too much noise and yellow splotches on jpegs indoors unless the light is rather bright or you use 400 iso and under. It\'s too bad there\'s no in camera image stabilization like Olympus does..another con if you are using the 14mm lens or the 1.7 aperture lens here. My Fuji x100 can use iso 2000 in poor light and still look amazing. BUT the x100 has a full sized sensor and is a fixed lens camera..and it\'s much more expensive and larger than the GF3, so not a fair comparison.Overall as to overall picture quality, SMALL FORM factor, this camera with LARGE sensor is almost the exact same size as the Pana LX5 which I also own...you just can\'t beat the GF3 overall,as far as the camera you CAN take with you..vs some bulky heavy camera that will drag you down.I have not used the video function as it is not important to me so I can\'t comment about that.I like the pictures from this GF3 overall a bit more than my NEX-5 because the NEX-5 pics to me all look all a bit too soft..it mis focuses too often..and NEX color seems a bit too saturated..(Just not right). That said, the NEX5 blows away the GF3 on high iso..hence it depends how you are going to use your camera most.Overall..I think most people will really like the GF3. Sure if you NEED a hot shoe..obviously it doesn\'t have one. For me if I\'m going to use a hot shoe..It\'s going to defeat some of the SMALL factor, so why bother with a small camera like this in the first place. I applaud Panasonic for getting most things right here. The touchscreen works just fine, you just need get used to it. It\'s 2011..maybe this will be the way of the future, change is often painful..:)Overall..this is an excellent camera..maybe a tad overpriced I feel..but an excellent camera on most points.
• When I bought the camera, I was actually buying it more for the lens than the camera. I have an Olympus E-PL1 with the 14-42 lens that I have had for a few years now. The Panasonic is a lot faster with a lot of nifty features in the menus, but lacks motion stabilization onboard (rather it leaves it to the lenses, unlike Olympus\' PEN cameras that implement it in the camera.) I am not camera savvy, and in both camera I got a lot more than I bargained for, with great automatic settings. Having a pop-up flash that you have to manually pop up is a great boon for the beginner, because the camera adjusts to the lack of flash, unlike in point and shoot model that sometimes don\'t have auto modes that you can turn off the flash.The lens is great, I have used it on both cameras and have gotten some great shots. I like that it doesn\'t have to be unlocked and extended like the zoom lenses do, so action vacation shots takes no time to take. It also helps to take high res shots and zoom at home. I took some shots in a show at Disney World and actually had to lower the sensitivity to get good shots from the stage lights. With the smallish size, the camera and lens fits nicely in my pocket when I need it to also.All in all it is massively better than a point and shoot, even without stabilization since the camera does a lot better job taking in light for the shot than a point and shoot.
• I seriously have and have had lots of cameras throughout my lifetime, and the GF3 has become my all-time favorite. Is it great for all needs? NO... But for many, it is wonderful. The GF3 takes very sharp pictures in a compact form. It has good light sensitivity, low digital noise, and good speed. The battery is more than adequate for a full day of shooting and reviewing pictures.If you are traveling with the family, there is no better camera for portability and quality scenery and family shots (or movies). The 14mm pancake lens is very sharp and fast, and indoor pictures (without the flash) are surprisingly good. With the flash, you have a decent range of lighting and fill for most needs. The options for automation and more manual shooting are very good, and I\'d have to say that the fully automatic settings are best to use with this camera since the changing of other settings can be annoying to find in the menus.If you want high magnification or high speed shots (such as sports action), then stick with your digital SLR. Once you add big lenses to this type of package, the advantages seem lost to me. I also don\'t see a good reason to buy the bigger and more expensive 4/3s models. Once you lose the size and cost advantages of a camera like the GF3, you might as well be using the DSLRs.Pros:* Size and weight. You can fit the camera (with one of the pancake lenses) in your pocket or purse (though it bulges more than most ultra-compact cameras and cell phones).* Clarity. Very sharp 12MP pictures, and the big 4/3 sensor is much-much better than a 12MP sensor in small compact cameras.* Sensitivity. Indoor pictures without the flash are quite decent with the faster fixed-focal-length lenses (e.g. 14mm pancake)* Flash. Easy to use built-in flash* Battery. Good life lithium-ion with decent charge time* Flexibility of shooting modes.* Lens interchangeability. Though I have yet to buy more lenses, I like that these appear to be standard among multiple manufacturers.* Sleep mode. The camera puts itself to sleep if you leave it on. This is a good battery saver, and it wakes by pressing the shutter button.Cons:* Touch screen - inadvertent touching of the back screen can change your settings, and you won\'t know it happened until you review your pictures. I have lost a whole day\'s worth of pictures due to an unintended focus change caused by the touch screen getting bumped while it was left on. Accidentally touching a settings-change happens much more often than I\'d like.* Tricky menus - it is difficult to find some of the common settings in the menus. In time you get used to many. I am an experienced photographer with many old and manual cameras, but I still have trouble with the settings changes in the non-auto modes of this camera. I hope to work with it more in time for better creativity shooting.* Flash settings. Perhaps I\'ve not looked in the right place yet, but I\'d really like a forced-flash setting for filling backlit subjects.In summary: if you travel and want a reasonably small camera that takes excellent pictures, then forget about using a cell phone or ultra-compact camera. Use this or a similar 4/3 camera and you will be VERY pleased. For action and high magnification photography, this is not your best choice.

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