Panasonic Lumix DMC-GF3W

A new Micro Four Thirds model

Cameras more commonly known as Micro Four Thirds might not ring a bell for some of you, but the truth is they have roamed the earth for a good amount of time already, with Panasonic and Olympus leading the trend and Nikon and Canon following closely. As time passed, the large size of such gadgets packing only little features was forgotten in favor of a thin one with innumerable features to make taking photos more exciting than ever. The Lumix DMC-GF3W we’ll present in this review is one of Panasonic’s latest entries.

Minimalist design

Only a quick glance will tell you that the prize for the most compact camera in 2011 goes to the Panasonic Lumix DMC-GF3W. The 264g (including here the memory card and battery) are enough to catalog the device as light enough to be carried in the user’s pocket without her or him falling down. The colors we saw this camera come in were black, white, brown, red and pink, with us choosing to review the black one. In terms of specs, on the front of the product can be seen an AF assist and a 14mm lens.

3 inch display

If you’re wondering where all the frills have gone to, well, the Lumix DMC-GF3W used a minimalistic approach and got rid of all that was unnecessary. Take the rear: it only features a scroll wheel, few keys and a 3″ touchscreen. The buttons with their plastic material look somehow cheap, but forget that and concentrate on the fact that they are very responsive and comfortable to press. Turning the camera upside down revealed no flaws, only that the build was so solid that the device remained unscathed after suffering several drops.

12.1 Megapixel Live MOS sensor

Besides the 14mm lens, Panasonic’s Lumix DMC-GF3W comes with a second, 14-42mm one, and they are interchangeable and made with the utmost care for quality. We found that the attempt of removing each of them after use was, luckily, not met with hardship. Connection purposes are satisfied by a list which featured a USB port and a mini HDMI port which were quite effective at what we wanted from them. We are right-handed and, sadly, we couldn’t handle the camera that well, because the device offered no grip to facilitate that. The strap for neck use did provide some help, but a hand grip would have been better. The sensor inserted in the DMC-GF3W is a 12.1 Megapixel Live MOS and the great reduction in noise makes it an invaluable ally in getting your dream photos.

ISO up to 6400

Focus speed gives this camera a solid reputation, as does the fast image capture. Once again, we didn’t expect anything else than a very good user interface and we got what we wanted, but first we had to learn its way of thinking. The manual and semi-manual settings have the job of doing tweaks and they do it well. The display, a 3″ touch one, is not capacitive and this fact will undoubtedly make buyers opt for Olympus cameras instead. All the photos that we took using ISOs between the 160 and 6400 values looked swell. The iAuto mode was the one that stood out the most: with it those who are unaccustomed to photography can use it as an autopilot mode.

Review conclusion

The new Panasonic Lumix DMC-GF3W is a pretty decent camera, with good specifications and features. At the end of this test we consider that this camera a good choice if you want to buy a Micro Four Thirds model.

Technical specifications

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