Panasonic Lumix DMC-GH1

The basics

The Panasonic Lumix DMC-GH1 is a 12.1MP Micro Four Thirds camera with a 10x interchangeable zoom lens that's optimised for digital video. AVCHD movies are captured at either 720/50p or 1080/25p, with stepless apertures and continuous contrast autofocusing. EVF has 1,440,000 dots and the LCD is 3-inches in size. Burst mode at 3fps, plus face detection and intelligent auto scene modes. It measures 124x90x45mm and weighs 460g.

The good

No one wants to eat a genetically engineered kiwicado or porkupine but electronics companies insist on mating different gadgets. The offspring of Panasonic’s latest inter-species love-in is a tasty treat: a lightweight 12MP camera that has the primo image quality and swappable lenses of a digital SLR alongside the ultra-smooth exposure, instant focusing and 10x zoom of a top-end High Def camcorder. The GH1 is easy to use, too, thanks to the best electronic viewfinder ever crafted from silicon, finger-friendly manual features and ace build quality. And as for the image quality... pics come out as sharp as our wit. Now that's sharp.

The bad

This is the bit where we normally hassle hybrids for lagging behind standalone kit. UAs it is this Panny genuinely is as good as any SLR and memory-card camcorder. Having said that, the EVF takes some getting used to and flickers a bit in low light, while the huge zoom lens isn’t absolutely sharp all the way to the edges.

The bottom line

The only thing wrong with the GH1 is the price – it looks Everest steep compared to budget SLRs. Factor in the long lens and the seamless Full HD video, though, and the flexible Panasonic starts to look like a better bet.