Panasonic Lumix DMC-G2 review

Performance remains one of the G2’s strong points, although its 2.5 fps burst rate is slightly slower than the G1’s. One key difference though is that the G2’s Live View isn’t disabled at this speed, which makes it easier to track moving subjects. The G2 starts up and can take a picture in under half a second, while shot-to-shot time is 0.8 seconds in single shot mode, which is comparable to entry-level DSLRs.

The G2’s auto-focus system still uses contrast detection like the G1, and is surprisingly quick in most lighting conditions. It does tend to search a little in the dark, but it’s helped by the AF assist lamp for subjects up to four metres away.

Given that the sensor technology hasn’t changed, it’s no surprise to see that image quality hasn’t dramatically improved compared to the G1. There’s a little less noise at ISO 1600 but it’s not a massive improvement and, in general, noise is well controlled up to ISO 800. At ISO 1600, tonal gradations do start to take a turn for the worse with visible chroma noise present where the image processor attempts to keep things under control – at ISO 3200, you’ll find the images are only usable if you’re using them online or for small prints and ISO 6400 is most definitely unusable.

Where things have improved compared to the G1 is in the kit lens. The new 14-42mm f/3.5 -5.6 lens is much sharper corner-to-corner and exhibits much less distortion than the G1’s 14-45mm kit lens. Chromatic aberration is also excellently controlled. The camera’s image stabilisation mode has been tweaked since the G1, but it exhibits the same problems that we documented in our G10 review – very rarely increasing sensitivity beyond ISO 400, even when it’s obviously required.

Overall, however, the G2’s upgrades are mostly for the better and if you’ve got your heart set on a Panasonic G Micro camera, then the G2’s large, high-resolution viewfinder alone is enough to justify this model over the G10. Currently, Panasonic has a cash back offer on, meaning you’ll end up only paying £519 for the G2.

Where the G2 starts to come a cropper is when you compare it to similarly priced digital SLRs. In both RAW and JPEG modes, we found that images from the Nikon D5000, Canon EOS 500D, and more recently the EOS 550D, exhibited much less noise and colour reproduction seemed altogether more sophisticated. Of course, they’re not as compact as the G2, but the differential isn’t as big as you’d think, with none of these models being exactly pocketable.

If compactness is more of a concern and you’re prepared to make a few sacrifices on the handling front, it might be worth looking at Sony’s Alpha NEX-5, which we’ll be publishing our review of very soon.