Panasonic Unveils Two G-Series Digital Cameras

By Greg Tarr -- TWICE, 3/8/2010

Secaucus, N.J. - On the heels of recent interchangeable-lens camera introductions from Sony, Samsung and Olympus, Panasonic introduced Monday a pair of models for its G-series Micro Four Thirds digital camera series.

The Lumix DMC-G2 is billed as the first interchangeable-lens system camera with a movable touchscreen LCD, and will stand as the replacement for the G1, which was Panasonic's first Micro Four Thirds digital camera.

Panasonic further expanded the line with the Lumix DMC-G10, which it called "the world's lightest digital interchangeable-lens camera with a viewfinder." The G10 also adds several other features.

Pricing and availability on the cameras will be announced later.

Both models add video recording in up to 720p HD resolution using the AVCHD Lite format, and the G2 includes a dedicated video-recording button.

Both cameras also include 12.1-megapixel Live MOS image sensors, which are said to combine the strong still image imaging characteristics of a CCD sensor with the low power consumption of CMOS. A high-speed Venus Engine HD II in both cameras has been re-engineered to incorporate the new Intelligent Resolution technology that enables high-quality stills and videos in a variety of lighting and motion situations.

Intelligent Resolution technology automatically detects and enhances outlines, detailed texture areas and soft gradation enhanced. For soft gradation areas, the improved noise-reduction system of the Venus Engine HD II is applied to achieve a smoother effect, Panasonic said.

The G2 features a 3-inch 460,000-dot moveable touchscreen LCD, enabling shooting from a variety of high and low angles.

Using the touchscreen operation, once a user locks onto a subject, the autofocus (AF) tracking locks on the subject as it moves within the frame. Then, with a touch on the screen, users can select the part and the size of AF area with the 1-area AF.

Additionally, the touchscreen operation makes it easy to choose a specific thumbnail among the many on the screen. To view images one by one, photos can be dragged across the screen to browse as though flipping the pages of a book.

The LCD has a wide viewing angle and rotates 180 degrees from side to side and tilts 270 degrees up and down, providing an approximately 100 percent of field of view.

The mirror-less design of the G10 was said to enable a compact, lightweight body design. It will ship with a new Lumix G Vario 14-42mm/F3.5-5.6 ASPH/MEGA Optical Image Stabilization (OIS) lens, offering a zoom range from 14-42mm (35mm camera equivalent: 28-84mm).

When shooting in Intelligent Auto (iA) mode, the G10's MEGA OIS prevents blurring from hand shake; Intelligent ISO Control reduces motion blur by adjusting the ISO sensitivity if the subject moves; Intelligent Exposure optimizes exposure for each part of an image, preventing blocked shadows and blown highlights and helping ensure that gradation and details are reproduced properly; Intelligent Scene Selector detects the most common shooting situations (portrait, night portrait, scenery, night scenery, close-up and sunset) and switches to the appropriate scene mode automatically - no setting changes needed.