Unlike the GF series Panasonic is investing a lot of marketing money on the new GM1 “philosophy”. At least in Japan Panasonic invested a lot to change their image and with the Gm1 release they also launched a new website: http://lumixgm.tumblr.com. The famous Japanese actress Haruka Ayase is sponsoring the GM events (http://panasonic.jp/dc/gm1/event/). This is just to make you understand that like the GH series the GM could mark the beginning of a new much bigger vision on high quality “miniature” mirrorless cameras.
GM1 preorder list:
In US at Amazon, Adorama, BHphoto.
In Europe at Amazon Germany, Wex Germany, Amazon UK, Fotohanskeuzekamp, Cyberphoto Sweden and Wex UK.
79 Responses
What an amazing little camera!
I got a chance to handle one at B&H the other day and it’s quite a piece of engineering!
Unfortunately, the battery was dead, but luckily I was able to take a few shots with the 12-32mm with my GX7. It’s a pretty impressive little lens.
I get the feeling the GM1 will really get introduce more people to the M4/3 system. This could be the sort of product that puts M4/3 on the map. It really is a groundbreaking camera in many ways. It’s not perfect, but damn close.
Between the GM1, GX7 and EM1, 2014 could be quite a year for M4/3!
You say that it’s an amazing little camera but you never even get to take photos with it.
Another PANNY FANBOY adding garbage to an already OVERHYPED brick.
You should really learn to read.
What he said was “it’s quite a piece of engineering!”. That is something you can reasonably say just by looking and holding.
Most of the rest is publicly available.
+1
Another Oly fanboy looking for any opportunity to criticize any positive comment about Panasonic.
What a moron. Mr. Reeee has been coming to this site for a long time, always with insightful and constructive comment. He doesn’t need to have a GM1 to comment on the details of design, engineering, and performance, as he has a lot of experience with the m43 platform, and is more than equipped to look critically at what is rumored or published. I took delivery of a GX7 and GM1 some two weeks ago, and I can affirm what is being said (and I have been using m43 cameras since fall 2008). This site can really help those deciding what specific pieces of equipment to acquire, what the R&D directions are for m43, and the likelihood of success for the technologies being employed. Unfortunately the traffic at the site in increasingly being jammed by inanity, flippancy and just plain ignorance or mischief making. Come on, it is a RUMORS site, where we air what is happening at the leading edges of m43 development and marketing, so that we can come away better informed and better able to make intelligent purchases.
Mr. Reee. I just received GM1 5 days ago and its an awesome camera. I’ve been shooting at ISO 6400 in low light and the images are blowing my mind. I shoot weddings and portraits with the GH3 and the jpgs from the GM1 are so much cleaner and have better color and tonality. Jpgs from the GH3 look like bad video grabs at times, so I always shoot client work in RAW. I’m really excited to see where Panasonic is going with its sensors. BTW, the Panny 12-35, 35-100 feel great on the GM1 and the Only 45 is perfect. Bravo Panasonic. This camera is just plain fun to use.
Really the 2.8 zooms feel ok on the gm1? Die it feel like you’re holding a lens with a camera attached to it?
Steven Ellington. The GM1 with the 2.8 zooms does feel like you’re holding mostly a lens, but that’s not a bad thing. I was able to walk around town with both zooms, the GM1 and a small bag with no issues. The GM1 just travels well, perfectly in my humble opinion. The buttons are a bit small, but feel really good and are easy to press without accidents. I’ve had no issues with accidentally touching the screen while shooting. You just have to adjust the way you frame and shoot, not a big deal at all especially when you see the image quality you get from this tiny camera. Rock on.
Hello otto von,
Thanks for sharing your experience.
Do you have any sample pictures you could share?
I mean … from the GM1 and 2.8 zoom lenses?
Thanks!
Screw the camera. What an amazing little girl!
I wish we could get the orange one in Canada. We only get the black model.
Import it from an online store, you’ll be the bell of the ball
Like it a lot, awesome little camera especially with a 1/16,000 shutter, well done Panasonic.
And that Haruka Ayase is smoking hot too 😉
I sense a brother in mind here.
like a wounded rabbit leaving a trail of red I would crawl across biting snow for you Haruka,
with my aching heart heavy with lead shot I save my last breath until I reach your feet Haruka,
please pluck this spiney thorn from my paw Haruka, for I need to take a picture of you with my tiny little GM1
busted bunny thats very nice, I think we need another one please
Haruka is the real inspiration here!
Let us stop blabbering Voigtlander, DOF and the like, at least for once.
Admin: how about “model-themed posts” for a change?! We are tried of cold glass and colder electronics -let’s get inspired! I think it will be great
Haiku!
I dont think post about stills or video content produced with mft is in demand on this site; its more about the gear, not what you can do with it.But thats because this is a rumors place about new products. Just look at the replies for either still or video work, its almost zero.
Maybe , just maybe lots of replies will be guaranteed when Haruka walks around with just an undersized t-shirt and bobby socks. Stills or Video both will do.
Life is a great slab of misery interspersed by fleeting moments of Haruka Ayase holding a GM1
Feel free to let Panasonic know I can make time to be a co-sponsor.
A much bigger miniature camera. Ideally, mounted piggiback on a Kaiju.
“piggyback”
Stick to making vacuums, Panacrapic. It’s all you’re good at!
Your cameras are appalling!
Was there any real need for that, at least you could try and be constructive in your critique so that we could all learn from your insight?
Really temped to sell my black/silver GX7 for this camera. I usually don’t carry a second camera when I grab my 6D. But I’d carry this.
When you carry a 6d you ain’t got room or energy for anything else.
On the contrary, you fail to realize how small it is compared to other DSLRs. Plus the battery lasts a very long time.
That’s if he carries one at all. It’s probably all in his dreams.
Oly fanatic feels threatened. Panasonic must have done something right.
It’s a troll, on here to stir up trouble between Panny and Olympus.
He’ll (it’s normally a he) will be posting anti Olympus nonsense under a new name a few posts down.
And the gullible and overly sensitive people fall for it everytime.
I’m excited at the way both manufacturer’s are developing m43.
Interesting times ahead as they both exploit different areas.
No, it’s just some blinded Olympus Fanatic, sensing fear and lashing out the only way he knows how. Typical of 43 Rumors.
yawn..nice camera. So panny why don’t you do yourself a favor and drop the price. You know how the gx1 is $200 instead of $700. G2,g3,g5,g6 all 40% off or more. Yeah $400 at launch, $250 next Christmas. At $700? it really is not that much smaller than epm1/epm2 you know, nothing ground braking here.
hello troll! you do realize that the 700$ is with the 12-32mm lens included??? that alone is about 350$, rather nice and with OIS.. and the GX1 is many years old without a lens..
If you can’t afford it you should wait until the price falls in six months.
Or when it is replaced.
Or maybe save up for it.
Some people on here remind me of kindergarten kids who must have the latest now or they’ll sulk.
You seem to lack a certain understanding of the costs of manufacturing and of micro-economics. But hey, if it makes your wounded Oly pride feel better to live in make believe, be my guest.
It’s ground breaking, instead.
First, it has a flash, which the EPM1/2 lacks.
Second, have you holded the EPM1/2 and this one? Have you tried to fit it in your jeans pocket? If not, shut up and try before speaking (I know, that may be impossible since Panasonic and Olympus marketing is crappy and they don’t have their cameras on display on every grocery store like Nikon smartly does)
Third, even if you don’t care about the jeans pocket but (say) only a coat pocket, then try to put the EPM1/2 with its kit lens in your coat pocket. It does fit, but it’s bulky and it weight too much.
The GM1 with its kit lens fits (barely) a jeans pocket, and very comfortably a coat pocket, without being too heavy.
Last, but not least, if you don’t care about size this much, you shouldn’t be reading and commenting on a post about the GM1, but spare your time for the GX, GH, G, OMD and the likes.
In Japan and East Asia, they can market to middle income women. In the West, they can market to metrosexuals, queers, public servants, scientists and self-funded retirees. Great marketing plan. This is the strategy we advise. Many of our clients have been successful with this marketing strategy.
Who else is buying cameras these days?
Gee, are we feeling threatened by the changes going on around us? How do you work up the courage to venture out into the nasty, threatening world and take pictures? Or are you one of those guys who has posted 1,000 pictures of his cats on Flickr?
So the big tough boys don’t like the little camera with the orange cover, thats ok, for you there is a big black chunky OMD or GH3. Let the rest of us enjoy it, if you can’t think of something nice to say, go and spew vitriole on the Sony forums, they’ll be happy to have you 🙂
Hi
For what it is the GM1 has no equal.
Unparallelled even!
Like it, but the hype is getting overblown. If you haggle you’ll get a emp2 for half the price, and it’s a very similar package.
Boooo!
I agree with your thinking, but would like to clarify the viewpoint.
First I would like to say that I think that the GM1 is an incredible achievement in technology and like someone said above that the camera will increase awareness and users in the MFT format. This is good all-around!
I considered this camera as a second MFT body for my system (it’s so damn cool technologically and looks-wise!), but I really require a VF for my shooting needs….so I kept looking and reading, ( and price-checking! LOL.).
I decided to buy an E-PL6 and since I live in the US and E-PL6 is not sold here, I have ordered from Hong Kong at a very good price. After I sell the kit lens my net for the body will be about $459 plus $199 for the incredible VF4 (price @ recent Black Fri. sales). $658.00 incld. shipping for total package. At that price I am getting an incredibly small camera with IS, better IQ than the GM1 and an optional VF. (Yes, it is a giant wart on the camera! LOL, but you have to admit there is nothing like shooting with a stellar VF).
So for my needs, I feel I paid I got a lot more. I realize I am not in the target market for the GM1…but it is such a cool, sexy little package that I am sure it will sell well. I would love to take the Panny 12-32mm for a spin on my E-PL6…bet that would be fun!…when you figure that lens into the price of the GM1 that duo is priced about right. The camera is unique.
Olyuser, I agree with you but…
This is a bit like the OM-D range or E-P5 compared to the Panny G6.
You pay a premium for the better build, metal construction etc.
Personally I like the better built cameras as they feel more special when you use them. YMMV.
And it’s nice to have a choice according to your budget and needs.
I hope Oly brings out an equivalent to this. ( I prefer to have a consistent UI on my cameras and my other cameras are Olympus )
+1
The EPM2 is similar, but not quite. It was bargain priced, but only for Cyber Monday (and it was sold out by noon). The regular price is not that much of a bargain.
And as I wrote in my comment above (awaiting moderation) the GM1 with its kit lens is (barely) jeans pocketable. The EPM1/2 with kit lens is certainly not jeans pocketable. It’s not jeans pocketable with the pancake 20mm either. The EPM1/2 with kit lens is coat pocketable, but it feels uncomfortable for its size and weight. With the 20mm the size is ok, but the weight not much: the coat feels odd. The GM1 with kit lens is very comfortable in a coat pocket.
So, if you want a large-sensor, interchangeable-lens, truly pocketable camera, the GM1 is your only choice on the market today. And for “the only option on the market”, its price is incredibly low. It might not be “best value” or it might not be the camera you care about, but some people do (I for one)
> Like it, but the hype is getting overblown.
Panasonic fans had to persist though months and months of E-M5 and E-M1 noise.
Don’t see anything wrong with some of the hype going the Panasonic way this time.
> If you haggle you’ll get a emp2 for half the price, and it’s a very similar package.
But you have to agree that GM1 is just kawaii 😉
The main attraction to me IMO is the new kit lens. At €350 I’m seriously considering it. If of course it doesn’t have the same IQ problems as pz14-42.
Lots of good points in reply to my post.
They are both good cameras, but atm you can get the epm2 for a fair bit less in Australia, is all I’m really saying.
Admin, I think you’ve used the wrong word here. She is a spokesperson for Panasonic, not a sponsor!! A big difference between the two!
Like otto von said: “The GM1 just travels well”
GM1 is the first m43 I am considering to buy. It could replace my old Canon pocket camera.
Have it since Friday. Am delighted. Low light capacities are incredible. Perfect match with all Voigtlaenders, but especially with the 25.
And, funny: While the included zoom-lens looks ugly when I use it with my GH3, it produces very sharp pictures with fast focussing.
Really not a bad deal.
Really? It’s a good match with the big heavy Voigtlanders? I thought it would be the opposite and hard to hold. I find it a bit of a wrestle with the 17.5mm on my E-M5 with no grip.
Hold the lens, not the camera, like you’re supposed to. 😉
Of course it’s a two handed operation, but I just can’t see how the right hand is going to get enough purchase on the camera for, yes as you said, focus. I’ll be delighted if someone says its a breeze.
That’s good to know about the Voigtländers and the GM1.
How do you find focusing the Big V’s with only the LCD?
I’m really tempted to dump my GX1/LVF2 and get a GM1. My girlfriend LOVES it, which is always a good thing!!!
Okay … compromises must be made …. focus peaking (you can chose two different “values” high/low and three colours) helps a lot, especially when control of framing via screen can not be achieved perfectly in doc-style shooting. Because, for instance, you need to be in awkward positions body wise to watch the screen – which will “un-sneak” you… 😉
Using iphone helps a lot when shooting sneak. Actually focus peaking is transferred (!) as long as you do not start shooting. Then it disappears, but you see what you do while shooting – latency is about 1/10 sec and a bit stuttery but absolutely okay for control. Camera can yet, it seems, NOT be started with the iPhone.
Obviously it seems that shooting with the Voigtlaenders defies the object but… hell: no! As this little box really does not produce much noise it’s in some ways a perfect match for shooting under certain conditions and – yes, indeed, with the Voigts – you hold the lens and not the camera while doing this.
Why the Vigtlaenders? Obvious: They shine in low light conditions and with a camera that produces excellent video in low light – match.
The joke with all of this is: I’ve bought this camera primarily for street photography and only yesterday did find out about it’s video capabilities.
Don’t be too critical with this, I just did run out, basic settings no time and vimeo-compression….
https://vimeo.com/81336166
Okay! I believe you.
Nice shots. Excellent video quality, too, even handheld.
Di you try any of the Voigtländers with the GM1 on a tripod? Do they fit?
Excellent question …. answer is: not really.
While the 25er seems to be only some millimetres too big in diameter, both the 42.5 and the 17.5 are clearly too fat. As the camera is so small I will need an extension plate under the camera body.
Tried it with my Manfrotto exchange plate but its about half a millimetre (!) too long – you can get the optic onto the camera with some force, but …. yes: Better not. Maybe have to attack the plate with a file and just fine it down in front.
Still: Love the thing. And, btw, the 12-32 looks incredibly ugly on my GH3 but it produces extremely sharp pictures…. 😉
Might work, as the Manfrotto plate (or any other about the same or – better – smaller size) would be the logical solution.
No need to file it, Panasonic makes an extension plate for the GM1 and GX7. DMW-TA1 Tripod Adaptor.
I took a few shots with the 12-32mm with my GX7 at B&H the other day and was very surprised by how clear and sharp they were. Nice lens.
Just found the solution:
The Manfrotto plate can also be installed to the camera 90 degrees off – with the opening latch to the back of the camera. It seems to be more stable than the Panasonic thing. Blocks the battery door though.
Manfrotto has another problem with the mechanics of the plate with the latch applied to the head then, but I have to see how this works……
Btw – Mac does not yet read the RAW dialect of photos taken with the GM1, it seems.
yes and sorry … got the last passage garbled with the second last.
I just wish Panasonic and Olympus would do some real marketing of m43 in the US! I was at a part not long ago where someone had a Pen. Am EPL3, I think, but I didn’t look all that closely. Anyway, I made a comment to him about m43, and he basically said “what?” No idea it was part of a larger system of cameras.
In the LX models, panasonic put the hotshoe and possibility of attaching EVF after LX3. . .so I’ll wait until panasonic doing so on the GM models.
GM1 is about being as small as possible, therefore I don’t expect the hotshoe to appear. Even the GF series has lost hotshoe.
I suspect as sensors are getting better to lose the flash and get smaller, instead.
If you care about hotshoe, you’re probably better off with a GX.
Cheers,
Dav
I have a question about GM1. Do you know if we can get any other colors of GM1 other than Silver in US. I would like to get Orange one for my wife.
You can’t. At least not for the time being and not from the official import (you may get it from grey imports). Why? Because Panasonic marketing dptm think we are radioactive: http://www.sansmirror.com/newsviews/panasonic-gm1-likes-big.html
There is a form on http://shop.panasonic.com/ecom/support/contact-us?t=email which I used to ask about it and they said “no”. However, if enough of us will keep asking them, maybe they’ll see that there is a demand for it and start selling it.
Ultra miniature M43 cameras is an exciting direction (if it is indeed a signal from Panny). It really plays to the M43 size and weight benefit, while retaining fantastic IQ.
For me, a tilt screen and/or an EVF is very important, do I’m hoping that like the Sony EX100, Panny releases a version that adds tilting LCD and EVF and/or hot shoe + port. When prices drop, I will jump. But it costs close to a GX7 right now!
As it stands, this camera looks to be a great match for the Oly 12, 17 or Panny 20.
Anybody used it with the $99 grip yet?
I’d rather use a flipback.
I don’t see the point of a “bulky” grip on a camera whose whole point of existence is being super tiny in size (use the GX7 otherwise). Not to mention springing $100 for a grip on top of a certainly not cheap (but see my comments above) camera.
Nitpicking I would say Panny should have integrated something of the size of a flipback grip instead, and taken advantage of those few millimeters of thickness for something useful, e.g. a slightly larger battery (the only defect with the GM1), an NFC or GPS chip (certainly not “must have”, but nice things to have). Maybe in the GM2?
So at the moment, I personally hope they drop this cute-looking but expensive and not that great accessory. I’m open to change my mind if I can try the thing and realize its value, but with the radioactivity (see http://www.sansmirror.com/newsviews/panasonic-gm1-likes-big.html if you don’t know what I’m talking about) I doubt it’ll happen.
There is no better marketing for me than show lot of fine photographs and place a camera or lens few times in between. The mFT system needs more dedicated web sites and brochures illustrated with great pictures to get more people interest in what these cameras and lenses are capable of.
BTW Leica has to be spoiled by the GM’s design, resist the urge to re-brand it :D.
By coincidence I just received my E-M5 grip from China, and I couldn’t be happier for the better grab with my ‘old’ 9-18.
However I can see myself v. well replacing my E-PM1 with the GM1, if I can ignore the lack of IBIS.
This, to say that the big advantage of m4/3 is scalable bodies, one can change them as well as lenses, depending on genre and field use.
An always with you camera makes a big difference existentially. Personally I loathe cellphones, so the GM1 is the closest thing without being disturbed.
Wish however to buy it body only: 14/2.5 seems the ideal match. Or the coming 15mm Leica.
amalric I was looking at those $60 Chinese grips for the E-M5 on ebay, but they look like they block access to the SD card? Can you tell me if this is the case, or if you managed to get a different one? The ones I am referring to are mostly called iShoot. I did see a post where someone hacksawed the side off and then covered it in black velvet, but that doesn’t entice me.
Yes, I saw it too. But you see I never move my SD card, always using the USB cable instead. As an alternative you might consider a bluetooth SD, or a flipback grip.
Cheers amalric, I think I’m going to go with a HOSON MA-1 Black Grip, strangely it comes with a black aluminium grip and a replaceable dark walnut wood grip. Also a bit weird it never came up under any “E-M5 Grip” searches but I found it when I did “OMD Grip” but it’s clearly for the E-M5.
It’s the bloody voigtlander 17.5 you see, I love it, but it’s a beast.
I forgot to say Matt, that mine, the Sunlycnc, has a quick screw in the tripod, that just needs a half turn with a coin, so you can put it on or off in a sec, so no great deal…