Panasonic GF7 Field Test

The Panasonic LUMIX DMC-GF7 promises to pack a whole lot of performance into a very small package. Can it fulfill that promise in the real world? Let's find out.

The small package part is certainly no lie, especially when the Panasonic GF7 is paired with the LUMIX G Vario 12-32mm / F3.5-5.6 ASPH retractable kit lens that I got with it. I also received a LUMIX G 42.5mm / F1.7 ASPH to test, and it's surprisingly compact as well, despite its relatively large maximum aperture. The small size and light weight of the GF7 and its lenses make the package a breeze to carry, which I appreciated on my first walk with it, a long circuit around Greenwich Village and Chelsea in New York City. This camera, with the kit lens, is smaller than many point-and-shoot digicams that I reviewed ten years ago.

Quick and nimble operation so you don't miss a shot.
I mentioned in Part 1 of this field test that the Panasonic GF7's controls are a tad small and spaced closely together, but I didn't feel that hampered my shooting in any significant way. The same has been true of the camera's general responsiveness in all my outings with the GF7 -- it has responded quickly, without any noticeable delays, whenever I've needed it. That came in handy one evening when I stepped out onto a terrace overlooking Eastchester Bay completely unaware that a blue moon (the second full moon within a given month) was just rising in the magenta-tinted twilight. I ran inside, grabbed the camera, and was able to get it turned on, set, and shooting before the light changed, the color left the sky and the boats sailed out of frame.