The lenses are where Panasonic have really shrunk the overall system, and the 14-42mm power-zoom lens is no exception, weighing a mere 95g and measuring 26.8mm in length when turned off and retracted. The GF5 sports a design characterised by clean lines, gentle curves and a polished exterior and is extremely well-built despite its entry-level price-point, with a high quality aluminum body, lens mount, buttons and tripod socket. This works in tandem with the useful rubberized thumb-rest on the rear. The DMC-GF5 has a much better raised, curved and textured vertical area on the front-right of the body which acts as a handgrip, allowing you to hold the camera with three fingers whilst operating the shutter button with your forefinger. The GF3's monoaural microphones has thankfully given way to a more advanced stereo mic, with dual holes on the left of the top-plate alongside the built-in microphone.
DMC 5 REVIEW MOVIE
The mechanical button on the rear for the GF5's pop-up flash has been retained, with all the top-mounted controls - including the shutter release, one-touch movie record button, power switch and dedicated intelligent Auto button - grouped tightly together on the right-hand side of the top-plate. Otherwise the GF5 bears an uncanny resemblance to its predecessor. The main changes versus the previous GF3 include a prominent, textured hand-grip on the front that definitely helps with holding the camera more firmly, the addition of a new Display button to the rear controls, and the replacement of most plastic buttons with shiny metal ones. If you're looking for the smallest possible compact system camera, then the Panasonic GF5 certainly fits the bill. The GF5 is smaller even than the already diminutive Sony NEX 5 and 3 compact system cameras, which additionally suffer in comparison by not having a built-in flash unit, although the Olympus E-PM1 gives it a run for its money. The recently introduced 14-42mm F3.5-5.6 X lens is also a perfect match for the GF5, offering a standard zoom in a super-compact package, and this was the lens that was supplied with the GF5 for our review. Indeed, with a pancake lens like Panasonic’s own 14mm f/2.5 fitted, the GF5 is about the same size as a typical fixed-lens compact camera, even though it boasts a much bigger sensor. It's just a little bit larger at 107.7 x 66.6 x 36.8mm and a few grams heavier at 225g without a lens attached or battery inserted, making it one of the smallest and lightest compact system cameras on the market. The Panasonic Lumix DMC-GF5 is virtually identical to the previous GF3 model that it replaces. The Panasonic GF5 is available in black or white in a kit with the Lumix G X Vario PZ 14-42mm F3.5-5.6 lens for £579.99 / $699.95 or £449 with the standard Lumix G Vario 14-42mm F3.5-5.6 lens.
DMC 5 REVIEW FULL
The DMC-GF5 also offers full HD movies at 1920 x 1080 at 60i (NTSC) / 50i (PAL) in AVCHD format with stereo sound and full-time auto-focus, 4fps continuous shooting, 14 different creative filter effects, RAW support and an expanded ISO range of 160-12800. The Panasonic Lumix DMC-GF5 is a small and stylish compact system camera that features a FourThirds sized 12.1-megapixel Live MOS image sensor, Venus Engine VII HD2 processor, 0.09 second contrast-detect auto-focusing, built-in pop-up flash and a 3 inch touch-sensitive LCD screen with a resolution of 920k dots.