The Panasonic Lumix DMC-GM5 is about 10 cm wide, 6 cm high and including viewfinder eyepiece only 3.6 cm deep. There is no doubt that the miniaturization of an MFT system camera has been pushed to the top, especially as an electronic viewfinder is already installed.
Housing & Viewfinder
If you place a Fujifilm X30 (test) with a 2/3-inch sensor next to the Lumix GM5, it will be surprisingly powerful compared to Panasonic. Pricey, the Panasonic is however a whole piece over the precious compacts settled - currently one can start from a price of about 850 euros with kit lens 3.5-5.6 / 12-32 mm (24 to 64 mm KB equivalent) .
Autofocus & Exposure
In terms of the chassis design of the Lumix GM5, the Panasonic shows a certain relationship to the Sony RX100 III (test): a valuable magnesium case with gently rounded edges, more modern than retro. The leather looks fine and feels good, but it is slightly smooth. At least at the back, in the grip area of the thumb, a slightly rougher gumming would be desirable.
Functionality & Operation
The built-in electronic viewfinder of the Panasonic Lumix GM5 offers a rather meager resolution of 388,666 RGB pixels and a disappointingly small viewfinder with an effective magnification of 0.46 times. For comparison: Sony RX100III (0.6x) and Fujifilm X30 (0.65x). There is a diopter compensation, but the corresponding slider on the side of the viewfinder eyepiece is somewhat hackneyed in comparison to the usual dial.
Picture gallery
For a built-in flash unit there was no more space in the miniature housing of the Lumix GM5. To compensate, Panasonic has donated the camera a flash shoe and supplies a compact flash unit (LZ 7), which is then powered by the camera. In view of an electronic viewfinder, the lithium-ion battery with 680 mAh appears rather undersized. It should be good for a maximum of 220 recordings according to the CIPA standard, but one should then probably not flash too often. The monitor on the back is not adjustable (understandable because of the small housing size), but offers a decent resolution of 307 000 RGB pixels.
The contrast AF of the Panasonic Lumix GM5 works with 23 measurement points. You have the choice between automatic measurement field selection, single field, tracking AF as well as face detection. In addition, the camera also offers touch-AF or touch-triggering thanks to touchscreen. Manual focusing is supported by a magnifying glass at various magnification levels and a peaking feature that highlights sharp edges.
The shutter release delay including AF time is acceptable at SLR level at 0.29 / 0.43 s at 300/30 lux, while the standard image speed at 5.6 B / s (100 in series) is acceptable. The GM5 offers fully automatic or motif settings, as well as standard exposure programs (P, A, S, M), manual setting, scene modes, panorama mode, filter effects and an individual memory
Exposure Bracketing (Bracketing) allows the system camera to view brightness and white balance. The electronically controlled slit shutter allows exposure times from 60 to 1/500 s, the electronic shutter also fast times up to 1/16 000 s. Metering, center-weighted and spot metering are available for exposure metering.
Special feature: Under the menu item "Brightness distribution", the Lumix GM5 provides various contrast presets and allows manual adjustments on the basis of a gradation curve. In addition, "i.Dynamik" has a dynamic range setting available in three levels and as an automatic system. Also an HDR and multi-exposure function is on board. Filming is maximized in full-HD with 50 full-frames per second.
The program dial on the top of the Lumix GM5 gives analog control as well as the rotary switch to the left. This allows you to select between single-frame AF, continuous autofocus and manual focusing, and the rotary wheel is placed in such a way that it can hardly be adjusted inadvertently. The rotary wheel in the handle area of the thumb, which is responsible for various functions, including aperture or shutter speed settings, is not too easy, too.
The buttons of the 4-way switch are doubled for access to frequently used functions: ISO, AF mode, white balance and drive mode (single / serial, bracketing, self-timer). Two function keys of the Lumix GM5 can be occupied freely. In addition, the camera provides five additional softbuttons on the touch monitor as freely assignable function buttons. A quick menu is also missing.
There you select function ranges with the directional buttons, in order to then act in a submenu (unfortunately not directly by means of the setting wheel). Special feature: The Quick menu can be configured individually. In sum, the camera provides enough direct access, only the exposure correction would have been more easily in the access. Although the flashlight correction can be set to a function key, the general exposure compensation can not be applied.
The fact that the small housing of the Lumix GM5 also has its disadvantages, one notices among other things with the eye sensor, which switches between EVF and monitor operation. Frequently, the monitor has a blackout for a short time, because the thumb or finger of the left hand is too close to the sensor. Tip: Hold the camera with the left hand on the lens when making the right adjustments.
Image quality
With a 16-megapixel sensor in four-thirds format and a Venus image processor, the Lumix GM5 delivers a consistently high resolution over 1600 LP / BH to ISO 800 and 1500 LP / BH to ISO 6400. At the same time, the edge lift of contrast-rich structures is very strong And at ISO 100 to 800 as high edge values show. The distinctly pronounced Overshoot can lead to a light disturbance at hard edges.
Lower contrasts processed the GM5 much more moderately. In addition, there is a high proportion of artifacts at high ISO values - about 14 to 20 percent to ISO 400 and about 24 to over 30 percent to ISO 6,400. The noise remains as low as ISO 1600 (VN 1.4), but the fine-tuning is then reduced. The dynamic range reaches ISO 6,400 through 10-aperture values, with the exception of ISO 3,200 (9 stops).
Conclusion
The concept of the Panasonic Lumix DMC-GM5 can be described with a simple formula: "the largest possible sensor with the smallest possible housing". And if you are so stupid, the Lumix GM5 can warm up right away. Also, the camera is not only small, but well-equipped and very high-quality.
It is true that miniaturization does not fit well with large men's hands, and the tiny viewfinder can not inspire. In terms of image quality, the camera behaves largely four-thirds compliant, but as so often you want less severe interferences in the image processing. In sum, however, what has already been said at the outset: as an unobtrusive companion for the road, the GM5 is simply ideal - Kauftipp travel.
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