Panasonic Lumix DMC-GF3 review

£550 is a frightening amount to spend on what is primarily a point-and-shoot camera, but we expect the price to come down a little when it reaches shop shelves. As we go to press, it’s available on pre-order from Jessops with an 8GB SDHC card, shoulder bag and Gorillapod thrown in to sweeten the deal. Panasonic adds further incentives with a five-year warranty and a free copy of Adobe Photoshop Lightroom 3 until 31 August 2011 (see here for details). That’s about £300 of freebies in total – and all of them genuinely useful. Meanwhile, switching the 14mm pancake lens for a 14-42mm zoom lens trims £50 off the price.

The optional 14-42mm kit zoom spoils the point of the GF3’s compact size

We’d recommend sticking with the pancake lens, though. A key attraction of the GF3 is that it fits into a pocket or handbag, but switching to the zoom lens makes it much bulkier. The 14mm lens gives a fairly wide 28mm equivalent focal length, which is perfect for landscapes, general sightseeing and group shots, and while it’s not so good for individual portraits, there’s always the option to crop photos after capture. The 14mm lens also benefits from a wider f/2.5 maximum aperture, although the advantage is offset by the lack of stabilisation (the zoom lens has this built in). There’s always the option to buy another lens later, of course – and a twin-lens kit is available for £630 for those with the cash to splash.

While the freebies last, the GF3 is an extremely attractive prospect – Lightroom is a superb program that every keen photographer should own. However, after they expire, we’d be more tempted by the Sony NEX-5. The GF3 is quicker to use but the NEX-5 takes better photos in low light. Both excel for video. However, the NEX-5 currently costs just £411 from Amazon with its 16mm pancake lens. There’s also the NEX-C3 just around the corner, which is available for pre-order from Jessops for £530 with twin lenses. That might well be the one to go for – look out for our imminent review.