Eight months down the road, rival Sony upped the ante with the debut of its NEX-series cameras, with the NEX-5 in particular having an exceptionally compact body for an interchangeable lens model. The Panasonic GF2 is something of an answer to that progression towards ever smaller mirrorless cameras, and while it's not quite as aggressively styled as the Sony, there's no questioning that the Lumix GF2 lives up to the term 'compact system camera'.

Despite its coat pocket-friendly design, the GF2 doesn't skimp on features, some of which are unique in this form factor. Most notably, the Lumix GF2 offers a modern touch screen interface that can make it much more intuitive to operate, letting the photographer simply tap on the display to change settings, indicate a focus point, or even trip the shutter. Panasonic also retains a built-in flash strobe in the GF2's design, something that's relatively rare among its compact still camera competitors. Throw in Full HD video capture and one of the more responsive autofocus systems we've seen in a compact system camera, and the Panasonic GF2 proves interesting not only to still photographers, but also to videographers. Add in the fact it's just plain fun to shoot with, and we couldn't help but make it a Dave's Pick.

There's a lot more to discuss about the Panasonic Lumix GF2, so click here for our review of this unique Micro Four Thirds digital camera.