Panasonic Lumix DMC-G2
Encyclopedia
Introduction
The PanasonicPanasonic
Panasonic is an international brand name for Japanese electric products manufacturer Panasonic Corporation, which was formerly known as Matsushita Electric Industrial Co., Ltd...
Lumix
Lumix
Lumix is Panasonic's brand of digital cameras, ranging from pocket point-and-shoot models to digital SLRs.Compact digital camera DMC-LC5 and DMC-F7 were the first products of the Lumix series released in 2001. They are equipped with Leica lenses....
DMC-G2 is a digital mirrorless interchangeable lens camera
Mirrorless interchangeable lens camera
A mirrorless interchangeable-lens camera is an emerging class of digital system cameras, intermediate between compact digital cameras and digital single-lens reflex cameras . They are characterized by a no-mirror design and an interchangeable lens mount...
adhering to the Olympus and Panasonic developed Micro Four Thirds System
Micro Four Thirds system
The Micro Four Thirds system is a standard created by Olympus and Panasonic, and announced on August 5, 2008, for mirrorless interchangeable lens digital cameras and camcorders design and development...
(MFT) system design standard.
The Panasonic G2 was introduced as the successor to the revolutionary Panasonic Lumix DMC-G1
Panasonic Lumix DMC-G1
The Panasonic Lumix DMC-G1 is the first digital mirrorless interchangeable lens camera adhering to the recently developed Micro Four Thirds System system design standard...
, the first MFT camera ever introduced. As with the Panasonic G1, the Panasonic G2 was designed primarily for still photographers. While the G1 had no video capabilities, the successor G2 included 720p
720p
720p is the shorthand name for 1280x720, a category of High-definition television video modes having a resolution of 1080 or 720p and a progressive scan...
HD video capability using both AVCHD Lite and Motion JPEG recording formats.
The G2 introduced a number of new features, including the first MFT implementation of a resistive touchscreen
Resistive touchscreen
In electrical engineering, resistive touchscreens are touch-sensitive computer displays composed of two flexible sheets coated with a resistive material and separated by an air gap or microdots. There are two different types of metallic layers. The first one is Matrix, which is a striped electrodes...
to control many camera functions, including easy selection of a focus point within the live view frame. The touchscreen interface did not replace the numerous dials, buttons and controllers on the G2, but in keeping with the Panasonic philosophy, allowed the photographer to control the same functions on the camera several ways. The G2 also shipped with a new Panasonic 14–42 mm kit zoom lens
Zoom lens
A zoom lens is a mechanical assembly of lens elements for which the focal length can be varied, as opposed to a fixed focal length lens...
, a lighter, and less expensive, version of the original Panasonic 14–45 mm kit zoom sold that shipped with the Panasonic G1.
The Panasonic Lumix DMC-G2 is the eighth MFT camera introduced under the standard and Panasonic's fourth MFT system camera. The G2 is the evolutionary successor to the revolutionary Panasonic Lumix DMC-G1
Panasonic Lumix DMC-G1
The Panasonic Lumix DMC-G1 is the first digital mirrorless interchangeable lens camera adhering to the recently developed Micro Four Thirds System system design standard...
, the first MFT camera introduced under the MFT system design standard.
The G2 was announced at the March 2010 along with the less full featured and less expensive still photography oriented Panasonic Lumix DMC-G10
Panasonic Lumix DMC-G10
The Panasonic Lumix DMC-G10 is the sixth digital mirrorless interchangeable lens camera introduced that adheres to the recently developed Micro Four Thirds System system design standard, and the fourth Panasonic model MFT camera introduced...
.
The United States MSRP
MSRP
MSRP may refer to:* Manufacturer's suggested retail price, in business* Message Session Relay Protocol, a protocol used for multimedia communications* MSRP Motorsports, a former name of the HP Racing NASCAR team...
with 14–42 mm kit zoom lens was USD 800.00 Available colors were black, red and blue.
About the Micro Four Thirds System
The Micro Four Thirds (MFT) system design standard was jointly announced in 2008 by OlympusOlympus Corporation
is a Japan-based manufacturer of optics and reprography products. Olympus was established on 12 October 1919, initially specializing in microscope and thermometer businesses. Its global headquarters are in Shinjuku, Tokyo, Japan, while its USA operations are based in Center Valley, Pennsylvania,...
and Panasonic
Panasonic
Panasonic is an international brand name for Japanese electric products manufacturer Panasonic Corporation, which was formerly known as Matsushita Electric Industrial Co., Ltd...
, as a further evolution of the similarly named predecessor Four Thirds System
Four Thirds System
The Four Thirds system is a standard created by Olympus and Kodak for digital single-lens reflex camera design and development.The system provides a standard that, with digital cameras and lenses available from multiple manufacturers, allows for the interchange of lenses and bodies from different...
system pioneered by Olympus. The Micro Four Thirds system standard uses the same sized sensor (nominal 4000 pixels by 3000 pixels) as the original Four Thirds system. One potential advantage of the smaller MFT system sensor (when compared to market leaders Canon and Nikon APS-C and full frame sized) is potentially smaller and lighter lenses. The smaller MFT sensor allows for a reduced image circle which allows the development of smaller and lighter native lenses. The MFT sensor has a crop factor
Crop factor
In digital photography, a crop factor is related to the ratio of the dimensions of a camera's imaging area compared to a reference format; most often, this term is applied to digital cameras, relative to 35 mm film format as a reference. In the case of digital cameras, the imaging device would be a...
of 2.0 when compared to 35mm film equivalent full frame
Full frame
In cinematography, full frame refers to the use of the full film gate at maximum width and height for 35 mm film cameras. It is sometimes also referred to as silent aperture, full gate, or a number of other similar word combinations. It is the original gate size pioneered by William Dickson and...
sensors. By comparison, the more popular consumer (as opposed to professional) DSLRs such as those made by Canon, Nikon and Sony have 1.5 to 1.6 crop factor APS-C sensors, which means larger and heavier lens designs. For example, a typical Olympus MFT M.Zuiko 14-42mm f/3.5-5.6 kit lens weighs 112g, is 56mm in diameter and 50mm in length. The equivalent Canon APS-C DSLR EF-S 18-55mm f3.5-5.6 kit lens weighs 190g, and is 69mm in diameter and 80mm in length
While the older Four Thirds system design standard allowed the incorporation of a single lens reflex (SLR) camera design including a mirror box and pentaprism
Pentaprism
A pentaprism is a five-sided reflecting prism used to deviate a beam of light by 90°. The beam reflects inside the prism twice, allowing the transmission of an image through a right angle without inverting it as an ordinary right-angle prism or mirror would.The reflections inside the prism are not...
based optical viewfinder
Viewfinder
In photography, a viewfinder is what the photographer looks through to compose, and in many cases to focus, the picture. Most viewfinders are separate, and suffer parallax, while the single-lens reflex camera lets the viewfinder use the main optical system. Viewfinders are used in many cameras of...
system, the MFT system design standard sought to pursue a technically different camera, and specifically slimmed down the key physical specifications which eliminated the ability to include the traditional complex optical path and the bulky mirror box needed for a SLR optical viewfinder. Instead, MFT uses either a built-in (Panasonic) or optional (Olympus/Panasonic) compact electronic viewfinder
Electronic viewfinder
An electronic viewfinder or EVF is a viewfinder where the image captured by the lens is projected electronically onto a miniature display. The image on this display is used to assist in aiming the camera at the scene to be photographed.-Operation:...
(EVF) and/or LCD back panel displaying a Live view from the main image sensor. Use of an EVF/back panel LCD and smaller four thirds image sensor format
Image sensor format
In digital photography, the image sensor format is the shape and size of the image sensor.The image sensor format of a digital camera determines the angle of view of a particular lens when used with a particular camera...
and allows for smaller and lighter camera bodies and lenses. The MFT system standard also specifically includes seamless switching between still photography and HD video recording recording as a design criterion.
MFT cameras are physically slimmer than most interchangeable lens cameras because the standard specifies a much reduced lens mount flange to imaging sensor plane distance of just 20mm. Typically this so called flange focal distance
Flange focal distance
For an interchangeable lens camera, the flange focal distance of a lens mount system is the distance from the mounting flange to the...
is over 40mm on most interchangeable lens cameras. The MFT system design flange focal length distance allows for, through use of an adapter, the possibility to mount virtually any manufacturer's existing and legacy still camera interchangeable lens (as well as some video and cine lenses) to an MFT body, albeit using manual focus and manual aperture control. For example, many theoretically obsolete 35mm film camera lenses, as well as existing current lenses for APS-C and full frame DSLR's are now usable on MFT cameras. As an example, an older (i.e., used, obsolete and low priced), but still high quality, 50mm f/1.8 "standard" lens from a 35mm film camera can be used on a MFT camera body. With MFT sensors having a crop factor of 2.0, the old 50mm f/1.8 "standard" lens becomes a high-speed (although manual) 100mm f/1.8 telephoto portrait lens. So the MFT system allows the re-use of expensive lenses that may have outlived their 35mm film format camera, and can be used on a modern digital camera body capable of both still and HD video recording. Similarly, the MFT system design allows current DSLR lenses to be used as well, although only with manual focus and aperture control.
Panasonic Lumix DMC-G2 Features
Upon its announcement introduction in March 2010, the Panasonic Lumix DMC-G2 was marketed as the world's first interchangeable lens camera with an articulated, touch control LCD, and a true successor to the Panasonic DMC-G1 MFT camera. Also added was 720p720p
720p is the shorthand name for 1280x720, a category of High-definition television video modes having a resolution of 1080 or 720p and a progressive scan...
HD video and a redesigned physical user interface, changing placement of dials and button controllers. The resulting G2 camera, true to the spirit of the G1 camera it replaced, remained a remarkably small and lightweight interchangeable lens camera, with an electronic viewfinder, designed not only to take still photos, but also 720p HD video recording in AVCHD Lite and Motion JPEG formats. Notably, the G2 was not capable of full 1080p
1080p
1080p is the shorthand identification for a set of HDTV high-definition video modes that are characterized by 1080 horizontal lines of resolution and progressive scan, meaning the image is not interlaced as is the case with the 1080i display standard....
HD video as was the then top-of-the-line Panasonic GH1. The resistive touchscreen
Resistive touchscreen
In electrical engineering, resistive touchscreens are touch-sensitive computer displays composed of two flexible sheets coated with a resistive material and separated by an air gap or microdots. There are two different types of metallic layers. The first one is Matrix, which is a striped electrodes...
control concept allowed the user to access various camera controls and setting via touch screen, rather than using multi-button controllers or wheels to select settings. This included allowing the user to choose the focus point by touching the desired area on the screen. This touch innovation was implemented in all Panasonic MFT cameras introduced after the G2. In addition, other manufacturers such as Sony
Sony
, commonly referred to as Sony, is a Japanese multinational conglomerate corporation headquartered in Minato, Tokyo, Japan and the world's fifth largest media conglomerate measured by revenues....
with its new NEX
Nex
Nex is a suburban shopping mall in Serangoon, within the North-East Region of Singapore. The largest mall in the Northeast region and one of the largest suburban malls in the country, it has an integrated air-conditioned Serangoon Bus Interchange, the fifth bus interchange in Singapore which is...
family of cameras, and Olympus in its PEN E-P3
Olympus PEN E-P3
The Olympus PEN E-P3 announced on June 30, 2011 is Olympus Corporation's seventh camera that adheres to the Micro Four Thirds system design standard...
MFT camera also incorporated use of the touch screen feature for camera controls.
Also announced with the G2 was a new kit zoom lens, the Panasonic 14-42mm f/3.5-5.6 with optical image stabilization. Significantly, the 14-42mm lens became the de-facto kit zoom lens for nearly every Panasonic MFT camera introduced after the G2. The "new" 14-42mm kit zoom was less expensive than the original optical image stabilized 14-45mm f/3.5-5.6 kit zoom lens that came with the G1. The new 14-42mm kit lens is lighter, but longer than the original 14-45mm kit lens, features a plastic, rather than metal lens mount, and omits on-off switch for the in lens optical image stabilization system. However, the 14-42mm optical image stabilization system on-off could be controlled through camera menus. Many enthusiasts regard the 14-42mm kit lens as a step down in both optical image quality and build quality from the original 14-45mm kit lens.
Body Colors and MSRP
The camera was available in three colors — black (suffix K), red (R) and gold (N). MSRPMSRP
MSRP may refer to:* Manufacturer's suggested retail price, in business* Message Session Relay Protocol, a protocol used for multimedia communications* MSRP Motorsports, a former name of the HP Racing NASCAR team...
in the United States for the body and 14-42mm kit zoom lens was USD 800.00
Successor Model
The G2 camera's successor model is the Panasonic Lumix DMC-G3Panasonic Lumix DMC-G3
The Panasonic Lumix DMC-G3 is a digital mirrorless interchangeable lens camera adhering to the joint Olympus and Panasonic Micro Four Thirds System system design standard...
which was announced in May 2011.
AVCHD Lite Format (.MTS files)
| Menu Designation | Aspect Ratio | Resolution | Frame Rate | Bit Rate |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| NTSC NTSC NTSC, named for the National Television System Committee, is the analog television system that is used in most of North America, most of South America , Burma, South Korea, Taiwan, Japan, the Philippines, and some Pacific island nations and territories .Most countries using the NTSC standard, as... HD HD HD may refer to:- Science and technology :* High-definition, reference to:** high-definition video** high-definition television ** Intel High Definition Audio** HD Voice... |
16:9 16:9 16:9 is an aspect ratio with a width of 16 units and height of 9. Since 2009, it has become the most common aspect ratio for sold televisions and computer monitors and is also the international standard format of HDTV, Full HD, non-HD digital television and analog widescreen television ... |
720p 1280 × 720 |
60p (sensor output is 30 fps) (60p done with frame dup) |
SH SH - Places :* Saint Helena Island ISO 3166 digram and FIPS PUB 10-4 territory code** .sh, the country code top-level domain of Saint Helena* the deprecated ISO 639-1 code for Serbo-Croatian* Schleswig-Holstein, Germany* Shanghai, China... : 17, H H H .) is the eighth letter in the basic modern Latin alphabet.-History:The Semitic letter ⟨ח⟩ most likely represented the voiceless pharyngeal fricative . The form of the letter probably stood for a fence or posts.... : 13, L L Ł or ł, described in English as L with stroke, is a letter of the Polish, Kashubian, Sorbian, Łacinka , Łatynka , Wilamowicean, Navajo, Dene Suline, Inupiaq, Zuni, Hupa, and Dogrib alphabets, several proposed alphabets for the Venetian language, and the ISO 11940 romanization of the Thai alphabet... : 9 Mbit/s |
| PALS PALS PALS may refer to:* Pouch Attachment Ladder System* Pediatric Advanced Life Support* Periarteriolar lymphoid sheaths* Prague Asterix Laser System* Patient Advice and Liaison Service* Positron Annihilation Lifetime Spectroscopy... HD |
16:9 | 720p 1280 × 720 |
50p (sensor output is 25 fps) (50p done with frame dup) |
SH: 17, H: 13, L: 9 Mbit/s |
M-JPEG Format (.MOV files)
| Menu Designation | Aspect Ratio | Resolution | Frame Rate | Bit Rate |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| HD | 16:9 | 1280 × 720 | 30 frame/s | ~8 MB/s |
| WVGA | 16:9 | 848 × 480 | 30 frame/s | ~3.5 MB/s |
| VGA | 4:3 | 640 × 480 | 30 frame/s | ~2.7 MB/s |
| QVGA | 4:3 | 320 × 240 | 30 frame/s | ~0.7 MB/s |
Micro Four Thirds Camera Introduction Roadmap
| Item | Model | Sensor | Electronic View Finder (EVF EVF EVF may refer to:*Ekal Vidyalaya Foundation*Electronic viewfinder*Erythrocyte volume fraction or hematocrit*Embryonic ventral forebrain-2... ) | Announced |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Panasonic Lumix DMC-G1 Panasonic Lumix DMC-G1 The Panasonic Lumix DMC-G1 is the first digital mirrorless interchangeable lens camera adhering to the recently developed Micro Four Thirds System system design standard... |
4:3 / 13.1 mp (12.1 mp effective) | EVF; 1.4x magnification; 1.44M dots | 2008, October |
| 2 | Panasonic Lumix DMC-GH1 Panasonic Lumix DMC-GH1 The Panasonic Lumix DMC-GH1 is a digital mirrorless interchangeable lens camera adhering to the Olympus and Panasonic developed Micro Four Thirds System system design standard... |
4:3; 3:2; 16:9 (multi-aspect); 14.0 mp (12.1 mp effect) | EVF; 1.4x mag; 1.44M dots | 2009, April |
| 3 | Olympus PEN E-P1 Olympus PEN E-P1 The Olympus PEN E-P1 announced on 16 June 2009 is Olympus Corporation's first camera that adheres to the Micro Four Thirds system design standard. The first camera to use the Micro Four Thirds mount was the Panasonic's G-1 camera.-Features:... |
4:3 / 13.1 mp (12.3 mp effect) | optional hotshoe optical VF-1; 65 degree AOV AOV -Technology, science, and medicine:* AoV or aortic velocity, the speed of blood flow in the aorta of the heart, a maximum measurement of can be noted as AoVmax or more commonly as Vmax* Air operated valve* Analysis of Variance, also known as ANOVA... |
2009, July |
| 4 | Panasonic Lumix DMC-GF1 Panasonic Lumix DMC-GF1 Panasonic Lumix DMC-GF1 is the third camera in Panasonic's Lumix G-series, using the Micro Four Thirds System. Its body design similar to that of the recently released Olympus E-P1, the GF1 is 35% smaller than earlier G models... |
4:3 / 13.1 mp (12.1 mp effect) | opt hotshoe EVF LVF1; 1.04x mag; 202K dots | 2009, September |
| 5 | Olympus PEN E-P2 Olympus PEN E-P2 The Olympus PEN E-P2 announced on 5 November 2009 is Olympus Corporation's second camera that adheres to the Micro Four Thirds system design standard... |
4:3 / 13.1 mp (12.3 mp effect) | opt hotshoe EVF VF-2; 1.15x mag; 1.44M dots | 2009, November |
| 6 | Olympus PEN E-PL1 Olympus PEN E-PL1 The Olympus PEN E-PL1, announced on 3 February 2010 is Olympus Corporation's third camera that uses the Micro Four Thirds mount after the Olympus PEN E-P1 and Olympus PEN E-P2.... |
4:3 / 13.1 mp (12.3 mp effect) | opt hotshoe EVF VF-2; 1.15x mag; 1.44M dots | 2010, February |
| 7 | Panasonic Lumix DMC-G10 Panasonic Lumix DMC-G10 The Panasonic Lumix DMC-G10 is the sixth digital mirrorless interchangeable lens camera introduced that adheres to the recently developed Micro Four Thirds System system design standard, and the fourth Panasonic model MFT camera introduced... |
4:3 / 13.1 mp (12.1 mp effect) | EVF; 1.04x magnification; 202K dots | 2010, March |
| 8 | Panasonic Lumix DMC-G2 | 4:3 / 13.1 mp (12.1 mp effect) | EVF; 1.4x mag; 1.44M dots | 2010, March |
| 9 | Panasonic Lumix DMC-GH2 Panasonic Lumix DMC-GH2 The Panasonic Lumix DMC-GH2 is a digital camera with HD video recording capability that uses the Micro Four Thirds System. Though commonly referred to as a DSLR camera, it has no mirror or optical viewfinder, but has instead both a fold-out LCD screen and a electronic viewfinder... |
4:3; 3:2; 16:9 (multi-aspect); 18.3 mp (16.0 mp effect) | EVF; 1.42x mag; 1.53M dots | 2010, September |
| 10 | Panasonic Lumix DMC-GF2 Panasonic Lumix DMC-GF2 Panasonic Lumix DMC-GF2 is the sixth camera in Panasonic's Lumix G-series, using the Micro Four Thirds System. The model number implies that it is the successor to the DMC-GF1, although critics complain that the GF2 is not a true successor to the GF1 because the photographer's interface with... |
4:3 / 13.1 mp (12.1 mp effect) | opt hotshoe EVF; 1.04x mag; 202K dots | 2010, November |
| 11 | Olympus PEN E-PL1s | 4:3 / 13.1 mp (12.3 mp effect) | opt hotshoe EVF VF-2; 1.15x mag; 1.44M dots | 2010, November |
| 12 | Olympus PEN E-PL2 Olympus PEN E-PL2 The Olympus PEN E-PL2, was announced in early January 2011 at the CES. This is Olympus Corporation's fourth camera that uses the Micro Four Thirds mount after the Olympus PEN E-P1, Olympus PEN E-P2 and Olympus PEN E-PL1. At the time it was announced, it had a US dollar MSRP of $599.99... |
4:3 / 13.1 mp (12.3 mp effect) | opt hotshoe EVF VF-2; 1.15x mag; 1.44M dots | 2011, January |
| 13 | Panasonic Lumix DMC-G3 Panasonic Lumix DMC-G3 The Panasonic Lumix DMC-G3 is a digital mirrorless interchangeable lens camera adhering to the joint Olympus and Panasonic Micro Four Thirds System system design standard... |
4:3 / 16.6 mp (15.8 mp effect) | EVF; 1.4x mag; 1.44M dots | 2011, May |
| 14 | Panasonic Lumix DMC-GF3 Panasonic Lumix DMC-GF3 Panasonic Lumix DMC-GF3 is the eighth camera in Panasonic's Lumix G-series, adhering to the Micro Four Thirds System design standard, and was announced in June, 2011. The model number implies that it is the successor to the Panasonic Lumix DMC-GF2... |
4:3 / 13.1 mp (12.1 mp effect) | N/A | 2011, June |
| 15 | Olympus PEN E-P3 Olympus PEN E-P3 The Olympus PEN E-P3 announced on June 30, 2011 is Olympus Corporation's seventh camera that adheres to the Micro Four Thirds system design standard... |
4:3 / 13.1 mp (12.3 mp effect) | opt hotshoe EVF VF-2; 1.15x mag; 1.44M dots | 2011, June |
| 16 | Olympus PEN E-PL3 Olympus PEN E-PL3 The Olympus PEN E-PL3 announced on June 30, 2011 is Olympus Corporation's seventh camera that adheres to the Micro Four Thirds system design standard... |
4:3 / 13.1 mp (12.3 mp effect) | opt hotshoe EVF VF-2; 1.15x mag; 1.44M dots | 2011, June |
| 17 | Olympus PEN E-PM1 | 4:3 / 13.1 mp (12.3 mp effect) | opt hotshoe EVF VF-2; 1.15x mag; 1.44M dots | 2011, June |