Time for a new GM1 roundup:
1) On top you can watch the next GM1 unboxing video. You can see once again how incredibly small that thing is!
2) There is a new first impression review with plenty of images at Popco (no translation available).
3) Cameras.reviewed added a video on their initial first impression review: “For the user who wants high image quality in a go-anywhere form factor, the Lumix GM1 looks to be a great option—easily a better choice than the RX100 II”
4) Short hands-on at Newsshooter.
5) The GM1 will ship in mid December in USA according to BHphoto.
6) Great set of GM1 pics at Panasonic Germany.
GM1 preorder list:
In US at Amazon, Adorama, BHphoto.
In Europe at Amazon Germany, Wex Germany, Amazon UK, Fotohanskeuzekamp, Cyberphoto Sweden and Wex UK.
61 Responses
Of the latest m43 wave (GX7, EM1 and GM1, and even EP5) this is way my favorite. I find it an adorable mix of technology and convenience, nicely packaged. Well done Panasonic. I am giving you my money!
I would buy the GM1 in an instant if it had tilty screen. The new pancake zoom though is very tempting still.
Yet another unboxing video, how pathetic can these people get, I feel so sad for them.
Just don’t watch them if you don’t like them; but I bet you did.
I believe the only time they use their new camera is when they video the unboxing of their next new camera. For your interest no I don’t waste my time.
You do, posting here about pathetic unboxing videos:-) Doubt someone is interested in your opinion if its pathetic or not
Don’t most of them do that for a living? For US? Unboxing and reviewing.
I kind of agree with you, but having a sook about them is even worse lol.
I’m curious what’s that black cover with a shiny dot that I keep seeing in the GM1 with lens removed? That hardly looks like the sensor as expected…
you’ve never seen a vertical shutter curtain?
I haven’t read anything from Panasonic on this, but I think it is a brilliant feature. It only makes sense to keep the shutter closed while the camera is off and you are changing lenses.
This is a pretty awesome little camera. I just don’t understand why people wanna have hotshoe on top? I’ve seen so many comments on YouTube. “It would be perfect to have the HotShoe” Do you really need to attach a real big flash on top for such a small camera? Or people just expect to have everything!! Come on, this is the world smallest “Micro four thirds” point and shoot camera. If you really need the professional lighting set up, you should be thinking the GH3, EM-1, or even Canon, Nikon DSLRs. Not this GM1
I want a hotshoe on top because:
– it allows connecting a hotshoe to pc connector for wiring up external flashes
– it allows using a radio trigger for external flashes
– it allows using a clip-on optical VF, or if it also had an accessory port, an electronic VF.
Just to name 3 reasons that do not involve sticking a big flash on top of the camera.
Do you like your bike with
– a car cigarette plug -to charge your iphone
– fog lamps -when it gets foggy
– built-in navigator -when you get lost in a fog and your iPhone is dead
None of which has anything to do with the GM1 or a hotshoe. I suppose you never used 2 cameras that are part of the same system, or you wouldn’t make such a silly comment.
But here is a nice one for you.. there exist classic ‘full frame’ cameras approx the size of a GM1 that do have a hotshoe, so seemingly it can be done in such a small camera. Yes, Minox made a few of them, as did Fuji, Ricoh and the like.
Sie haben noch nicht verstanden, das Sensoren nicht in der Lage sind Licht von nahezu 180* Grad wie chemischer Film aufzunehmen.
I fully understand that, and that problem has been solved ages ago with collapsable lenses.
I hope you are not real…
I’m pretty ‘real’ about that, and I won’t buy a GM1. And no, I’m not saying it sucks because of not having a hotshoe, I’m merely saying why I’d like one.
See, a small camera used as a second body next to say a GH3 or E-M1 or such is much much more useful if it can tap into the same light system. It can’t, so it won’t do the job as a secondary camera for me.
Certainly many street shooters are fine without a hotshoe, so nothing wrong there.
What I do wonder however when looking at comments like yours, what the fuck is wrong with people saying they want something, and actually give a for those people totally valid reason for wanting something? Do you think you can decide for others what they want or need or something? Don’t you think that is more then a bit arrogant?
If it’s not for you, it’s not for you. Panasonic can only make so much cameras. They clearly didn’t make the GM1 for you. They thought the GX7/GX1 would be good/small enough for you.
Hence I won’t buy one, no big deal. But eh, I wasn’t anywhere arguing the GM1 is a failure for not having a hotshoe, or that Pana is stupid for not including one, and in fact I wasn’t criticising the camera or Panasonic. I answered a question about what a hotshoe would be useful for when not wanting to put a big flash on top, what is so difficult to understand about that?
Why is it that people are always complaining about ‘olympus fanboys’ while evidently anything that doesn’t sing the praise of panasonic for 110% triggers a silly defensive response from known panasonic users?
Why are you so annoying. Here’s a question for you. Could you make an effort to not be so annoying. Seriously man. Answwer this.
Why should I stop giving a serious (and actually pretty obvious) answer to a simple but somewhat suggestive question?
That the answer annoys you is quite your own problem.
If you are honestly suggesting that this is the camera you would choose for serious studio work and radio triggered flashes you have lost your mind. If you are doing that kind of work, you are not using this camera as your main tool, and surely you would have others.
This is a portable camera designed as such. And it is built perfectly *for it’s intended purpose*.
Even the evf argument is silly. This camera is too small for the evf’s available (they look silly enough on the E-P5 as it is…)if you need an evf this is not your camera.
The *only* flaw I can see is have the focus controler on the top plate. If you are going to have only one dial, make it a frickin control dial!
Was I suggesting that?
Where?
Oh wait, I wasn’t, I was pointing out uses of a hotshoe that do not involve sticking a huge flash on top of it.
But it is very nice to have a second or third very small body in the same system as your main camera that can serve as an extra camera while not taking up much space at all. The GM1 can’t, no big deal, just means I won’t get one.
With regards to the EVF, yep, the VF4 looks silly on an E-P5, the VF2 or 3 somewhat less so. It would look even more silly on a GM1 probably, through a nice 1:1 OVF matched to the 20/1.7 would look quite ok I think.
But I don’t own cameras for looking nice, so to me thats a non-issue.
Agree about the focus mode wheel, it seems to me as one of the things that didn’t really need a physical control on such a camera. Seeing this is a kind of P&S camera, it would be nice to have a bunch of configurable presets on a wheel there.
But for someone wanting all those things, why not a GX7?
With the GM1 you’ll be clearly limited by size of the lens you attatch to it, it’s not made for a whole pack of accessories. It’s made so you use the kit lens, the upcoming complementary tele zoom and pancakes.
If you want hotshoe, EVF, better grip, just buy a GX7, isn’t it easier to live this way rather than trying to make things more complicated?
I’ll buy something else indeed, but I gotta wonder, someone asks why people would want a hotshoe seeing how putting a big flash on this camera seems like a bad idea. I point ot some uses of a hotshoe that don’t involve putting a big flash on top of the camera, so am simply answering a question, and people like you go all defensive, acting as if I was suggesting its a piece of crap for not having one. Is it an inability to actually read what people are writing? Or is it an urge to stamp out anything that doesn’t totally praise a panasonic camera? Go get a life.
You can use the build in flash as the master trigger!!!!!
And I wouldn’t want a big vf on thart body anyway, else I’d take a different camera with me.
One could use the builtin flash for triggering a slave flash indeed, won’t work well for me, but might work for others. It won’t work for me because generally I’m not the only photographer present, and its desirable to only have my flashes triggered by my own camera(s). Using a radio trigger (or a wired one) prevents this.
Consider having a small camera that you can easily use on a small gorilla pod or with a clamp attached to the tripod socket to attach it to for example a light rails on the ceiling or such as a secondary camera. Aim it at a stage, put on a lens that covers the entire stage, and ensure you can trigger it remotely. The camera being very small and light is a very big advantage here, as you can use smaller, ligher equipment for attaching it. The camera doesn’t need many physical controls since it will be preset anyway.
With regards to a viewfinder, a removable one won’t make the camera bigger when its not being used and can be stored separately. The only issue is that it does need a way to connect it to the camera which might make the camera a tiny little bit bigger.
And again, its totally fine that the GM1 doesn’t have a hotshoe, I’ll certainly pick another camera that does have one, but that doesn’t in any way make the GM1 a bad camera or such. My original answer wasn’t saying its crap for not having a hotshoe, its saying what I’d use a hotshoe for if it did have one. I know it doesn’t have one, but why does that mean people cannot answer the question what they’d use one for if it did have one?
Satisfying your requests would make the camera bad. Because the viewfinder port and the hotshoe take SPACE! Their dimensions are not “zero”. They take space OUTSIDE the camera and (especially) INSIDE the camera for the electronics needed to drive them. This camera is all about being THE SMALLEST EVER, did you get it? SMALLEST EVER, not SMALL ENOUGH. There are plenty of SMALL ENOUGH out there ALREADY. Just the EPM2 to mention one that seems what you need.
And before you reply “well, but the hotshoe is a quite small space” (which by the way is incorrect), I’ll say: how about a swivel LCD? how about a IBIS? How about a grip? How about XXX? How about YYY? Each one of them is quite a small space, somehow.
The combinatorial explosion of people wanting A and B but not C and D makes it impossible to have a camera with all the features you want but none of the ones you don’t.
So either you are happy with the GM1 compromise (where size is all, at the expense of what they decided was “too big to include”), or you aren’t. If you aren’t, go get a GX7 or an EPM2 and you have everything you may want in a package which you can’t say it’s “too big” or “too heavy” to hang with a gorillapod.
If you do not understand these basic facts of life, you are either a whiner or a troll.
First of all, how often do I have to repeat that I am NOT demanding those features on the GM1 specifically, rather, I was pointing out why a hotshoe would be useful even on such a small camera, considering you wouldn’t want to put a giant flashgun on top of it IN RESPONSE TO A QUESTION. Please go learn about the difference between demanding and explaining.
Where was I actually DEMANDING such a feature on the GM1 specifically? Point out the exact post where I did or just realize you are responding to things not being said.
As to size of a hotshoe, owning a lot of classic cameras, including a few that are smaller then the GM1, and doing repairs on those, I’m pretty aware of how big a hotshoe is.
How about you try to actually read what is being said instead of responding to your own assumptions?
@dav which part of
“And again, its totally fine that the GM1 doesn’t have a hotshoe, I’ll certainly pick another camera that does have one, but that doesn’t in any way make the GM1 a bad camera or such. My original answer wasn’t saying its crap for not having a hotshoe, its saying what I’d use a hotshoe for if it did have one.”
made you think I am demanding anything? Where was I saying I want A and B but not C or all the other stuff you had to scream about?
Can you please try to actually read what you are responding to, and then actually respond to what is being said instead of responding to your own fantasies?
I am torn bw rx10 and gm1. Rx10 is overpriced imo. Do you think gm1 is priced appropriately or will it come down in price?
Like every product it will obviously come down in price, as will the alternatives.
Its more a matter of how long that will take, and seeing the response the camera is getting, and it being an overall quite desirable device (eventho its not for me since I want a hotshoe), its likely going to take a while for the GM1.
Do you have a good camera?
What do you expect to get from your new purchase that makes it worth spending money on over your current camera? If so, is the $100 or therabout you might save by waiting 6+ months worth not having the things you expect to get from your new purchase for another 6 months?
Put differently, yes, it will always be cheaper some time from now, and yes there will always be something newer and better some time from now, if you go by those things you’ll never get a new camera (which is totally fine if you already have a good one)
Still, it is strongly advisable to wait for some months before buying the newest item. You never know if everything works as it should, until it is widely tested. So I guess that waiting for the tests implies also hoping for a price reduction…
Its still a matter of what it gets you, there isn’t a simple answer.
> I am torn bw rx10 and gm1.
A strange comparison. RX10 is a little monster. GM1 is monstrously little.
If you are really unsure, then go with the GM1. If you will not like it, at least you would be able to toy with more different lenses around.
Ok, now that we have this perfect body to mount it on, can we have a 300 f/4, please?
🙂
Hey yaa,
Will you please. get lost.
Thanks
No
I have the same complaint as I had for the E-M5. I think it would be much better if the optional grip is built-in. Adds only a little bit of height, but it will provide besides the grip, also more room for other things, like bigger battery, or bigger buttons, more buttons, … and all that without having to sacrifice the tripod mount if this grip were built in. Most people will have to buy this grip and it will probably stay on the camera most times for them. So, artificially making the price and size smaller by not integrated the grip, just means more cost for everybody (costs/fees and hassle for handling, shipping, comission, boxing….) and also waste of the space inside the grip.
GM1 make GF6 looks chubby, even though GF6 is on the small side of the M43 scale.
They can’t make it thinner due to flange distance and they can’t push the sensor further to the back and just behind the LCD due to heat issues.
This is still a camera without a market. I know you fanbois will jump all over that statement, as that’s your thing. But try taking a step back, and look at things objectively (as I do, being that I have no specific brand / format loyalty).
This, again, is going to have no value, whatsoever, to the rapidly diminishing P&S market. I say diminishing, because the camera phone has decimated that field.
Nor will this have value to actual photographers. Why? Because it has no control over critical functions. I understand that it’s small, and I’m not suggesting that it should have ten-control dials for every possible manual configuration. But right off the bat, not having the ability to immediately control aperture or shutter speed, let alone a manual focus over-ride, is just a deal killer.
I’m sure that a few of you will still buy this, because you’re enamored with anything Panasonic sells, or anything involved with the m4/3 format. But this thing will end up selling even more poorly than many of the other badly-executed Pany products of late.
Oly fanbois pretending to be objective just got sour grapes. Im sure youd be singing praises about the camera if it had been made by the other m43 manufacturer.
I’m getting a bit sick, with all this Oly fanboys, Pana fanboys sh!t.
I have mainly Olympus camera’s E-1 (sold the E-5), E-M5, E-P1 and the E-M1 is on the way, but I do have a number of Pana lenses and the GF3.
I think the GM1 is a winner.
And I think of m43 as one great system with interchangeable components. There’s so much choice it’s not difficult to find a camera that fit’s ones needs.
Silly Pana Oly wars.
The only thing keeping ME away from Pana is it’s loud clacking shutter(Olympus’shutter is so well dampened in the E-M5/E-M1 even better than in the E-1/3/5) and the jpeg engine.
I should RAW plus jpeg always but always use the jpeg, if I don’t have to do special PP to the output. But I’m old school and learned how to compose and use the light, so I don’t have to crop or correct exposure as so many are doing today.
Using jpeg and knowing what you do is a big win. The workflow isn’t that extensive and you spare a lot of time.
Your most important point is the positioning of the cellphone in the market place. People want photos with reasonable quality for the social media for unplanned photoshoots. We all have cellphones and few of us want to carry anything extra most of the time. There are technical hurdles to overcome to bring up the quality of cellphone pictures and videos but they have the connectivity capability and apps can add tremendous value. As mentioned camera companies are withdrawning from the PS end of the market. M43’s place is to replace DSLRs where reasonable portabilty trumps highest PRO quality. That is what I want from M43. For complete portabilty I will look to future cellphones.
Valid argument, the smartphone camera is now the imaging tool for ultimate portability and convenience on consumer level.
Going back to the pre-smartphone era: in the late ’90’s I owned a Contax T2 which was a lovely camera but it was too big and heavy to be really comfortably pocketable. So I sold it and switched to a Fujifilm Tiara ix 1010 APS film camera. It was really small and light (as big as a pack of sigarettes and < 150 grams) and was great as a take anywhere camera (the design also protected the lens). Of course APS film never took off because digital came into play but it was a great little camera at that time.
I’d argue that in the film era APS never took off because it never took off. I remember it was a “new market” theoretically offering small cameras with equal quality, but FF films catched-up in quality-per-millimiter (hence offering a superior overall quality), and APS became the standard for the not-so-serious compact camera user (with some exceptions, of course).
Then digital cameras arrived, and APS became the new standard for 90% of the market.
Still not small enough for me. When they are as small as a Pentax Auto 110, I might be interested.
I like the GM1, I think I’m going to buy one. I consider it a “digital back” for my lenses. No hotshot is fine, this is just not that camera, making no accommodations for anything that increases size – smart in my mind. My biggest dislike is the touchscreen. I wish the focus selector was put on the front of the camera, though, and exposure compensation dial or something useful up top, in a more traditional setup. If it is the same image sensor and processor as the GX7, which was the video cripple to do only 24p and 30p and not include 60p like the GX7? This intentional crippling of one product to protect the sales of a higher end product is not appreciated.
The “crippling” is due to heat. The GX7 has a bulky heat sink which keeps the temperature down during 60p and bulb exposure for still. Of course there is no heat sink in the GM1 (else it will be larger) and it needs to be “crippled” otherwise it will overheat and some electronics will burn. I don’t like the “crippling” either, but there is a technical reason.
Good to know, GX7 also offers stabilized sensor – +EVF – so an appealing extra feature set. Will handle both when I can see in person in a store, but still liking the compact GM1. Supposedly there is going to be a special Leica 17mm F/1.7 styled specifically for the GM1? That would have been a nice launch lens!
This EM1 has totally killed my desire for an e-p5. The size is awesome, the style is awesome, and the price with quality kit lens is excellent. I dont care about a vf or flippy screen or hotshoe. The ONLY flaw in my mind is the wasted focus selector dial – having a control dial instead would have been killer!
My last seven bodies stretching back to the e-500 have all been Olympus. The eighth body will be the Panasonic GM1. Well done!
Sorry. Meant “GM1”.
Admin: I saw there is a GM1 kit package on the Panasonic Germany site (zoom with 20mm pancake). Do you know which other countries this will be available in? And do they have a black version of the kit package? Thanks.
No, the black version and the kit with the 20mm are not available in the US.
They think we stupid Americans don’t like black nor the 20mm lens. I complained at http://shop.panasonic.com/ecom/support/contact-us?t=email if enough of us will do the same they might change their plans.
There is another pictures here :
http://www.pixelistes.com/blog/revue-photo-du-panasonic-gm1-et-prise-en-mains/
Look at how small the 75mm f/1.8 is!
From http://camerasize.com/compact/#491.30,491.5,491.93,491.346,491.397,163.92,ha,t it looks small, but not as small as it seems in the hands of that guy!
Good bye mechanical shutter, hello rolling shutter artifacts!