Panasonic Lumix DMC-GF2 with 14mm lens review

The new lens does have one key advantage over its predecessor: silent operation. This meant that continuous autofocus didn’t blemish videos’ soundtracks. It was smooth and quick, too, especially with the help of the touchscreen spot-focus function. With 1080p AVCHD capture and high quality stereo sound, video quality is a big upgrade on the 720p, mono GF1, and marginally better than the NEX-5 too. The video mode is fully automatic, though, ignoring all exposure settings except for compensation.

The sensors in Micro Four Thirds cameras such as this are a little smaller than APS-C sensors used in most consumer SLRs and the Sony NEX-5. That equated to more noise. Even at ISO 100, photos were a little grainy in places. By ISO 800, the NEX-5 was showing a clear advantage. To make matters worse, neither the 14mm lens nor the GF2 body has optical stabilisation, so using slower shutter and ISO speeds in low light resulted in blur. The same is true of the NEX-5 and its pancake lens, though. The GF2 also captured less detail than the NEX-5. That wouldn’t normally bother us too much, but the wide-angle lens means it’s likely that some photos will be heavily cropped on a PC.

There’s plenty to like about the GF2, and anyone who values hands-on control or wants to be able to trigger external flashes should choose it over the NEX-5. However, with the NEX-5 delivering superior photos for £100 less (with equivalent lenses), the GF2 can’t compete for value.