Panasonic Launches First Stabilized Mirrorless

2013.08.01

Today, Panasonic revealed a new mirrorless digital camera and their first to feature in-body image stabilization, joining the other Micro Four-Thirds camera manufacturer in their universal support of stabilization, including that of legacy and third-party lenses. The Panasonic Lumix DMC-GX7 boasts a stabilized 16 megapixels sensor with native sensitivity range of ISO 200 to 25600, expandable downwards to 125. It is equipped with a mechanical shutter capable of 1/8000s to 60s automatic exposure or 120s in bulb mode and an ultra-quiet electronic shutter. The mechanical shutter can shoot continuously at 5 FPS while the electronic one at 40 FPS.

The GX7 becomes the first mirrorless to feature a tilting EVF. This field-sequential display offers 2.8 megapixels and 100% coverage of both the field-of-view and AdobeRGB color-space. An eye-start sensor switches between the tiling EVF and 3" tilting LCD with 1 megapixel of resolution. With GX7 features plenty of external controls, including dual control-dials, another first for Panasonic mirrorless cameras, although the GH3 reviewed here offers three. As expected from such a digital camera, the GX7 has full manual-controls, including manual focus, custom white-balance and spot metering.

The GX7 includes a hot-shoe for external lighting as well as a built-in popup flash. For convenience, it offers both WiFi and NFC connectivity. It is compatible with all current Micro Four-Thirds lenses, even those with built-in stabilization. Simultaneously with the GX7, Panasonic has pre-announced a Leica DG 42.5mm F/1.2 lens, the brightest among Micro Four-Thirds optics.

The Panasonic Lumix DMC-GX7 is scheduled to be available in early fall for a suggested price of $999 USD or $1099 CDN. Both Adorama and B&H Photo are already accepting pre-orders.

• Digital Camera