Panasonic builds the Lumix DMC-GF7 the tried and tested Micro Four / Third sensor an absolutely miniaturized housing and at the same time follows the Selfie trend. And this is not just the 180 ° swivel display. The engineers have much more thought about how to best support photographers who want to figure themselves out. There were new possibilities for triggering: As soon as two faces approach each other, the GF7 automatically releases itself within 3 seconds. Buddy trigger mode is called then. And the face trigger is activated when the face is briefly covered by a waving hand. It also makes it click after 3 seconds.
Full system camera
The wildest function of all is called Jump Snap - in case you want to take pictures yourself while jumping. The smartphone serves as the remote control of the camera and its acceleration sensor triggers the camera at the highest point of the jump. This all sounds a little bit slanty, but works halfway well.
Housing and equipment
That you are expected for about 500 euros but more than a few nice gimmicks, of course. Can be synonymous, because the GF7 is a full-fledged system camera. The sensor technology is largely identical to that of the Lumix DMC-GM5 (test), the autofocus module is also used in the Panasonic Lumix GX7 (Test) and Panasonic Lumix GM1 (Test) models An extremely compact housing. The GF7 is hardly bigger than the compact camera Lumix DMC-LF1 (test) from the same house - although the surface area of the GF7's micro-four-third sensor is nearly six times that of the 1 / 1.7-inch LF1 sensor.
Flash and image stabilizer
On the outside it comes quite nostalgically, with silver, slightly matte surface and controls. The grained leather on the camera center part supports the retro design, which reminds the GM series, but also has a clear function: it creates a secure holding feeling. With 107 x 65 x 33 millimeters, the GF7 is hardly bigger than a better compact. The Kamerabody weighs 240 g without lens, the standard lens Lumix G Vario 12-32mm / F3.0-5.6 O.I.S (equivalent to 24 to 64 mm KB) weighs just 70 grams. With this total weight (310 grams) it is a real everyday companion, which - depending on the optics used - fits into the jacket pocket as well.
Keys and controls
On the top, the GF7 has a bump, behind which one suspects an electronic viewfinder. But this does not have it, this feature must dispense GF7 owner. Instead, a built-in flash flashes out, which is released by a small slide. It can be made more gentle when one dampens something with the hand, the too strong momentum. The lightning flash is not a light giant with guide number 4, but it can be helpful for lightening with backlight or in smaller rooms. There is no flash for external flash-on flashes. An optical image stabilizer is installed and a thread allows the screw-in of filters on the lens. The camera is solid and clean, the tripod thread is close to the optical axis, and the connector for the connectors is good.
The metallic shiny buttons and the mode dial on the camera top are of a good quality and clear arranged. On the back of the camera there are a further four buttons and a four-way button with rotary function. All buttons are well protected against unintentional pressing. The bores are lowered and the key surfaces are flat with the housing surface, which provides reliable protection. The labeling of the controls is, however, somewhat filigree and not clearly recognizable.
The 3-inch display has 347,000 RGB pixels, and the contrast, brightness and colors are clean. The sharpness is crisp. The display can be swiveled upwards by 180 degrees - a prerequisite for the self-reliance to which the manufacturer attaches great importance. Also simple touch functions are realized, Panasonic calls the "display with static touch control". The symbols are generally very small and sometimes difficult to recognize. The touch operation becomes an artifice and requires tiny fingers or an auxiliary tool. Positive on the display: Brightness, contrast, saturation as well as red- and blue-tone can be changed and the font size in the menu is pleasantly large and clear
The contrast AF works with 23 measurement points and offers, besides the automatic measurement field selection, also tracking AF, single-field AF and touch-AF. For manual focus, a focus peaking function is on board. The kit lens 12-32 mm is not suitable for this purpose - it has only one zoom but no focus ring. With measured AF times of 0.33 s at 300 lux and 0.47 s at 30 lux, the GF7 is in the middle. A micro-four-thirds sensor with 16 megapixels of resolution is responsible for the image recording, the electronic mechanical shutter allows ultra-fast exposures up to 1 / 16,000 second.
In addition, the GF7 has a silent mode, in which the camera can only use the electronic shutter and trigger silently. The light sensitivity ranges from ISO 200 to 25 600 and can also be extended manually to ISO 100. Sensitivities above ISO 1600 are also to be used here with caution.
The mode dial offers the familiar presets of P, A, S, M and Panorama as well as five other options for the creative sector, including three common scene types (landscape / portrait / children). Exposure bracketing is also possible. Series shots fade in the RAW format: five frames per second are OK, but with eight shots per series is in RAW format. JPEGs are only slightly faster at approximately 5.8 frames per second, but the GF7 records them with an unlimited serial length until the card is full.
When the camera is turned on, the display will show: "Rotate the zoom ring to extend the lens" A slight clockwise rotation of the outer knurled ring turns on the camera. The focal length is changed by rotation on the zoom ring, completely mechanically. The camera can be configured in the menu depending on the mode dial setting.
The lavish setting options require a clear and comprehensible menu navigation, so that all positions can be reached as short as possible. This can not be achieved with such a small number of operating elements. Fn-keys, which allow individual functions to be transferred to a different operating element, are usually used as a remedy here. Panasonic stores the functions on so-called touchpoints on the PAL display.
The menu item "Fn key setting" displays a graphical display on the display. Each of the six symbols can be assigned an individually selected function by touch. This is then stored until the change is made. If this sounds too complicated, you can call up relevant setting parameters with a single push button via the Quick Menu button. Only the Fn1 key on the left side of the camera is still a key.
Display
If you have no desire or time to adjust any parameters, the iA button on the camera side, to the left of the shutter button, helps. By pressing the button once you are in the automatic mode and can simply take pictures without a picture. With various filter effects (Creative Control) you can edit photos and videos directly in the camera artistically. The panorama function can be used to record panorama images by rotating horizontally or vertically. Also, consecutive images in the camera can be compiled into the time-lapse image.
Videos supports the GF7 in Full HD with 1920 x 1080 50p in the formats AVCHD Progressive and MP4 with stereo sound. Continuous autofocus is possible. Connect the camera via WiFi to your smartphone or tablet is quick and easy by pressing the WiFi button or reading a QR code. However, a comfortable NFC module is missing.
Autofocus and exposure
16-megapixel sensor and Venus image processor provide a high resolution of over 1600 LP / BH and up to ISO 1600 over 1600 LP / BH at ISO 100 and 400. However, the edge lift of contrast-rich structures is very vigorous up to all sensitivities. This can lead to faults on hard edges and is covered with a dot draw. The noise remains within the range up to ISO 1600 (VN 1.3), and the fine-definition is quite flawless until ISO 800, even if slight losses are already visible. As expected, this goes down. The dynamic range reaches at least 9.7 apertures through to ISO 6400.
Panasonic has done quite a lot with the Lumix DMC-GF7. For an entry-level system camera for the price of around 500 euros, the 50 points can be seen. It is pretty much equipped with everything you would want from a modern case - WLAN, touch screen and folding display included. For a viewfinder, however, the space has not been enough and the battery is a little weak-breasted - also this is a price for the very compact design.
Very gratifyingly, however, that no unnecessary compromises have been made in the picture quality, even if we had - as so often - wish that the images are processed internally less. The GF7 can also score points when it comes to operation: Good technology and clever menu management equalize the complex system and make it supple. All in all, the combination of a compact camera and a high image performance is a great value.
Mode dialing
Operation
Also interesting is
Automatic mode
Videos
Image quality
Conclusion
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