Panasonic Lumix DMC-GM1 Pro Reviews

The Panasonic Lumix DMC-GM1 is the smallest interchangeable lens digital camera you can buy. It's not as full-featured as some other models, but you can't argue with its size or performance.

The GM1 offers much of the features and image quality of its Lumix GX7 sibling in a much smaller, lighter package. A few concessions have been made to reduce the size so drastically, namely a lower-capacity battery, but it's an excellent option for casual shooting.

Panasonic have achieved something quite remarkable with the GM1. The way such impressive features have been squeezed into such a small body goes to show what is possible, and as well as being a great technological achievement in its own right, its put its own stamp on what we define as compact in compact system camera. In comparison with a majority of other CSCs, and other Lumix models for that matter, it makes the competition look big and bulky. The GM1's petite size will undoubtedly win people over, especially those that don't want bulk but want the versatility of being able to interchange lenses. With the kit lens or Panasonic's 20mm f/1.7 LUMIX G II ASPH G pancake lens it's an ideal pocket-friendly companion, but with anything bigger, such as a long telephoto zoom, it feels a bit lost and indistinct. While we're full of praise of the features, build quality and image quality, the performance, or to be more specific the battery life is the underlying concern. You really need to be able to shoot more than the allotted 220 images from a single charge, and what with USB charging not being supported, the main trade off for choosing a camera so small is having a much more limited battery life. While we predict users will run out of power fairly quickly, at least there is the option of purchasing an additional battery.

The smallest CSC to date, and one of the best too

Overall the GM1 is a shrewedly positioned little camera that we can't help but think big, wonderful things about. If there was a second spare battery in the box for the list price we'd already be heading to the shops to buy one.

The Panasonic Lumix GM1 price is £629 with 12-32mm kit lens, which makes it quite expensive for a mirrorless camera, and it's designed to compete with other premium compact cameras, such as the Sony Cyber-shot RX100 II, with 1inch sensor, although benefits from a larger Micro Four Thirds sensor, and the option to change lenses. The Panasonic Lumix GM1 offers all of the advantages of a compact system camera, including access to one of the largest ranges of lenses for mirrorless cameras, from Panasonic, Olympus and others. Despite being the smallest Micro Four Thirds camera, and also being smaller than other mirrorless cameras, the Panasonic Lumix GM1 doesn't compromise on image quality or features, and delivers advanced features and options in a camera small enough to fit in your pocket even with the lens attached! The camera has a good 3 inch touch screen which makes it easy to use in combination with Panasonic's clear and logical menu system and built in Wi-Fi makes sharing photos or using the camera remotely easy and fun. There are a few negatives, including the short battery life, and the kit lens doesn't offer as good macro performance as other kit lenses available, but for those that want excellent image quality, the ability to change lenses, and the smallest compact system camera possible, the Panasonic Lumix GM1 is our Editor's Choice!