Panasonic DMC-G2 Preview, March 2010

Preview based on a pre-production Panasonic DMC-G2 with firmware v0.1

Panasonic's G1 was not only the first product of the Micro Four Thirds standard, it was also the world's first interchangeable lens camera to turn its back on traditional optical viewfinder designs and take a more compact-camera-like live view approach. The outward appearance may have been pure DSLR but the G1 is likely to be remembered as the camera that foreshadowed the end of that breed's preeminence.

The G1 included almost all the features of Panasonic's considerably more expensive L10 mid-level DSLR in a smaller, lighter, cheaper format. It also offered levels of coherence and performance (particularly in terms of autofocus), that were distinctly at odds with its first-generation status and that more recent competitors have not always managed to live up to. However, perhaps because it had so few other obvious flaws or because its styling was so deceptively conventional, the G1 wasn't embraced as the revolutionary product it was and instead was viewed warily because of what it didn't offer: video.

18 months have now passed (a generation in camera terms), and the limelight is being occupied by the pedigreed beauties and establishment characters clambering on to the barricades of the G1's revolution. Panasonic has not sat by and let others take up its mantle, though. It has introduced two models to take up where the G1 left off - the simplified G10 and the upgraded G2. Both will go into battle equipped with a new, simplified 14-42mm F3.5-5.6 kit lens and even the G10, which loses the G1's hi-res viewfinder and articulated screen comes tooled-up with 720p HD video in the simple but space-hungry Motion JPEG format. Both models offer Panasonic's new Intelligent Resolution technology that attempts to smooth or sharpen different parts on the image in a context-sensitive way to optimize image quality.

While the G10 takes the mirrorless message to the masses, the more expensive G2 will look to win-over the mid-range crowd. It too can shoot 720p HD video but with the advantage of being able to record it in the more efficient AVCHD Lite format at either 60 or 50 frames per second (based on 30 or 25fps data coming from the sensor). The G2's most radical credentials, though, stem from its touch-screen interface.

Touch screen cameras aren't a particularly new idea (it could be argued that they started appearing before the touch-sensitive technology or user interfaces were really ready), but this is the first interchangeable lens camera we've seen to add the feature. Crucially, the touch-screen options are in addition to, rather than in replacement of, traditional controls.

The G2 features a touch-sensitive screen that can be used to select focus point, adjust camera settings and even fire the shutter. However, no conventional controls have been removed, so it can still be operated exactly like a G1. An oddly-shaped stylus is provided but we found the pressure-sensitive screen responsive enough to not need it. The G2 uses the eye sensor to the right of the electronic viewfinder (inherited from the G1), to detect when your face is close to the viewfinder and disables the touchscreen, to prevent unintended nose operation.

In the hand

The G2 retains the G1's basic layout, making it a comfortable camera to hold, despite its small size. The clickable control dial moves to a more comfortable position on the rear of the camera, making it easier to operate without a shift of hand position.

Compared to the G1

Although it may at first glance appear to be identical to the G1, some subtle changes have been made to the body of the G2.

At first glance there is little distinction between the G1 (left) and G2 (right) beyond the video-related decals. On closer examination you'll notice that the control dial has been moved to the rear of the camera and the handgrip very slightly re-shaped. The area around the lens mount is also slightly more substantial and features two extra screws below the lens.
As well as the repositioned dial, an extra button has been added above the four-way controller. The touch screen is noticeably less reflective than the G1's LCD.

Most of the changes are fairly minor attempts to refine and improve the G1's already very good control and handling but there have been a handful of hardware changes made too.

The remote control socket now doubles as a stereo mic input, though sadly it remains a 2.5mm connector, rather than the more common 3.5mm style.	The G2 loses the card door that appeared on the G1's right flank. Cards, including the large capacity SDXC type, now live alongside the battery (which is bad news for tripod users).
The controls on the top left of the camera become more sophisticated, adding focus point selection mode to the corner dial and transferring focus drive mode to a newly gained film-era-esque switch that encircles the base of it.	The controls at the top right have also been juggled around - iA mode leaps off the dial to its own button, next to the new direct movie record button. The Q.Menu and Film Mode functions are moved to buttons on the back of the camera.

On the button-front there's been something of a cabinet reshuffle - all the key players are still around but now hold slightly different positions. The big gains are for AF-point selection mode, which gets added to the G2's scaled-down retro-styled combination dial and switch, and the newly arrived movie mode, which has a direct start button. Intelligent Auto mode also gets its own button, having been displaced from the mode dial by Movie P mode.

Q.Menu, exiled from the top plate, finds a new home on an additional button on the camera's rear (just next to where the 'Q.Menu' virtual button appears on the touch screen). Film Mode, which also used to occupy the top of the camera gets shunted to the four-way controller, nudging AF-point selection down to the Fn button. As a result, the only function to lose direct access is metering mode, which instead becomes one of the other options available for the Fn button (there's a choice of ten, rather than the G1's five).