See the detailed review for details on how this camera handles and fits between other digital camera models.

The Panasonic Lumix DMC-GF1 is one of the rare digital cameras to support interchangeable lenses and not be a DSLR. The goal of this design is to give the flexibility of changing lenses with the portability of a compact camera and still produce high-quality photographs.

The final rating of this camera therefore depends greatly on whether it is being compared to a compact camera or against a DSLR. The differences between this one and similar models boil down to handling as they all currently share the same sensor and lens mount. So this is either the best performing compact camera ever, a good DSLR or an average (by default) interchangeable lens camera:

Category	Rating
Large Fixed-Lens Camera
Interchangeable Lens Camera
DSLR

For the final rating, the GF1 was put in the large digital camera category because it is not a DSLR but when we take into account the size of the lens, even the smallest, it does form a rather sizable camera. Anecdotally, the reason the rating would be higher in the DSLR category is because the rating system considers performance of all DSLRs which have been around for much longer.

There are not many competitors to look at. The GF1 has a larger, SLR-shaped sibling, the GH1, that looks more like an ultra-zoom than anything. It has nearly the same feature set except that it can shoot 1080p video instead of the GF1's 720p. There was an older model, the G1, which did not have a movie-mode at all. It is interesting to see that these cameras are evolving to offer a more distinct proposition than their predecessors.

There are certainly a few things that will be changed as the interchangeable lens camera market picks up. It is about rethinking what the camera can do when there is no reflex viewfinder to accommodate. The main usability draw-back of the Panasonic GF1 is the lack of a built-in viewfinder which makes it harder to steady the camera and see subjects in bright light. For this, Panasonic has an optional EVF that goes into the hot-shoe instead of an add-on flash. This EVF provides reasonable visibility but is far from being best-in-class, something that belongs to the Panasonic Lumix DMC-GH1 with its 1.5 MP EVF, the highest resolution ever made.

The bottom line is that the GF1 outperforms fixed-lens cameras in most regards and by a fair margin when it comes to image quality. Speed is good but there are some very fast models in this category which will run circles around a GF1. Compared to a DSLR, things are different because of the Panasonic Lumix GF1's smaller sensor, it shows more noise and less dynamic range than virtually all DSLR cameras. The proposition though is that this digital camera can be taken to more places and is considerably more discrete than the average DSLR.

Read the full Panasonic Lumix DMC-GF1 review here.

There are currently two lines of relatively compact digital cameras with interchangeable lenses, the GF1 reviewed here and the Olympus E-P series. Olympus has two of these nearly identical models, the E-P1 and the almost shipping EP-2. Panasonic and Olympus have shared digital camera technology for a while, so these all have the same sensor, dust-reduction system and mount.

Although the form-factor of the GF1 and E-P2 are close, there is one crucial difference: The GF1 has a built-in flash while the E-P series have built in stabilization. There also also other differences which affect usability and functionality:

• The Olympus E-P2 has two control dials, both on the rear of the camera. The Panasonic GF1 does with one by using the dial as a button to choose between two parameters.

• The E-P2 goes to ISO 6400 and features advanced spot metering options.

• The E-P2 can record sound directly in stereo.

• The GF1's LCD screen has twice as many pixels as the E-P2.

• The GF1 restricts which lenses can be used with autofocus.

• The optional EVF is not the same or compatible. Note that the EP-1 does not support one.