I found a Panasonic Lumix GF2 by crazy luck at the used market for about USD10/RM50 only. I tell you, this kind of fortune does not happen a lot, and boy oh boy was I excited to try the GF2. This earlier generation entry level Micro Four Thirds body can still hold its own today, delivering really good results. There are many things Panasonic did right with the Lumix GF2 which I wish they continued on with their newer modern cameras. Sadly, some of the changes they did were not necessarily for the better. I brought the GF2 out for some street shooting and I am actually impressed with the color output from a Panasonic camera, finally! I made a video to talk about this and more here (click).
There are many things I do like about this Panasonic Lumix GF2. It had solid construction, made of full metal body, and you don't see that these days for any entry level cameras. Even their latest GF series (not that new, the GF series has not been updated for a while) such as GF8, GF10 were made of plastic. The camera ergonomics and handling were also very good, with substantial hand holding area, thumb hook, and the button placements make sense. There was a partial touch screen operation that allowed for quick focusing point re-positioning, which I found useful, and have used lot shooting on the streets. The AF was not particularly fast, but good enough for moderate action on the street. No issue whatsoever, it was definitely reliable in good light. The 12MP sensor is outdated for sure, this is the first-generation Micro Four Thirds image sensor, so I am not expecting miracles when it comes to image quality. I was shooting under hot Malaysian sun, so with low ISO numbers, I had no issues with dynamic range, and images do come out with very good contrast.
The colors from the GF2 surprised me. Having used many Panasonic cameras, namely G9, GH4, GH5, LX100, GM1, GM5, LX10, I was never happy with their colors. The colors have this digital look to them, like artificially processed, and then there was a magenta cast which was impossible to correct. Skin tones usually looked ugly, and they don't even get the colors right under bright sun, which is a sin by itself. However, these issues were non-existent in the GF2. I was happy to find the colors from GF2 to be pleasing, natural looking, and somewhat organic. They were not too different from what I'd expect coming from an Olympus camera. I don't know how they could get the colors so right in GF2 and screw up all the newer cameras colors.
There are not many things that I dislike about the GF2. While I did say that the handling and ergonomics of the camera is very good, and I do like the metal body construction, the flushed metal was too smooth for sufficient hand gripping. I find the camera slipping off my fingers very frequently. I wish there was the usual rubberized texture for more gripping support, that would have been ideal. Then there was no image stabilization in body, where Olympus cameras, new and old, all had built in image stabilization that can help hand-holding the camera steadier, and this had some small consequence in some shots where there was some hand-shake blur. Finally, the third complain I had was the loud shutter clacking sound. Yes, it was clacking, and it was very loud. Perhaps, the loudest Micro Four Thirds camera shutter sound I have ever heard.
Overall, the Lumix GF2 got more things right than wrong. As an entry-level camera, the GF2 performed admirably, even for today. My complains are not dealbreakers, and the camera can still produce beautiful images, as shown on my street shooting adventures.
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