Panasonic G2, a camera ahead of its time

There are some few digital cameras that deserve a place in history, and in my opinion, the Panasonic G2 is one of these.

The G2 is the second model from the G series from Panasonic. It has the same roots as the GF1, the first micro four-thirds camera from Panasonic with exactly the same specifications.

The GF1 was a great camera with a legion of fans still today in 2019. It's small, versatile and has a good layout with a decent set of controls and multi-purpose flash shoe.

Panasonic GF1 with standard zoom and optional EVF

The GF1 with the EVF attached

The good thing about the GF1 was the small size, good lenses and excellent image quality. But it had a caveat, the rear LCD screen, not so great under a bright sky and Panasonic knew this and to make things easier, providing the external DMW-LVF1 EVF as an option. 

This EVF was usable but not great, and it was very expensive for such a low-resolution device (202K dots). It was intended to make framing a better experience, but unusable for checking focus when in manual focus mode. No Panasonic cameras at that time had focus peaking, just a quirky magnifier feature, not very effective, but better than nothing.

The use of this EVF with the GF1 makes the use of an external flash unit impossible. This same EVF was also compatible with the compact camera LX3.

Then, Panasonic decided to strip out the GF1, removing the top mode set dial and adding a touch-sensitive rear LCD on the GF2. To make things even worse, the next GF3 got its multi-purpose hot-shoe stripped out.

I got my G2 after I lost my GF1 kit. Just the batteries and the charger remained. The good thing is that the batteries are the same on both cameras. 

The G2 main obvious difference compared to the GF1 is obviously the built-in EVF with a much higher resolution than the accessory LVF1, with a very decent 1.44M dots. The difference in image quality between both EVFs is huge. Even by today's standard, it's still not bad and way better than any of the built-in EVFs of Nikon or Canon bridge cameras.

The G2 sensor is the same as the GF1, a 12.1 MP 4/3 Live MOS.

Panasonic G2

What I like on the G2:

• Superb ergonomics with a very comfortable grip for such a small camera.
• Lots of direct settings by control dials on the top plate, like AF modes, metering modes, etc.
• Decent EVF (1.44 million dots)
• Very well implemented touch interface, but it uses a resistive technology touch screen, so the usability is not great but mine is still working perfectly in 2019!
• It uses the same battery of the GF1
• Flipping LCD screen
• Direct access to drive mode (single, multiple, timer and bracketing) by a lever next to the mode dial.
• Direct access to all focus settings by a dedicated dial and lever at the left side.
• Decent pop-up flash AND a flash hot shoe.
• Precise and fast AF.
• Excellent metering system.

Panasonic G2 flip LCD

Panasonic G2 main mode dial

Limitations:

• No focus peaking
• No in-camera image stabilization
• Video capture limited to HD (720)
• Need an external microphone to capture stereo audio
• Some noise at ISO 400, but usable at 800. Forget above.

Final Words:

Still good as a spare camera or when by some reason you don't want to risk a more expensive camera. Great little camera for hiking and very inexpensive in the used market. 

To my taste, the best value for money from all the GF/G Panasonic system until the G7 arrival. Don't try to compare it with the GX and GH series, they are very different and much more advanced.

There is plenty of information about this camera around if you want to dig more.