The

Panasonic formerly between 1935 and 2008 and the first incarnation of between 2008 and 2022, is a major Japanese multinational corporation, multinational Conglomerate (company), conglomerate corporation, headquartered in Kadoma, Osaka, Kadoma, Osaka P ...

Lumix Lumix is Panasonic's brand of digital cameras, ranging from pocket point-and-shoot models to digital SLRs. Compact digital cameras DMC-LC5 and DMC-F7 were the first products of the Lumix series, released in 2001. Most Lumix cameras use di ...

DMC-G1 was the first digital

mirrorless interchangeable-lens camera A mirrorless camera is a photo camera featuring a single, removable lens and a digital display. The camera does not have a reflex mirror or optical viewfinder like a digital single-lens reflex (DSLR) camera, but may have an electronic v ...

(MILC) adhering to the Micro Four Thirds system design standard. The G1 camera is similar to the larger

Four Thirds system The Four Thirds System is a standard created by Olympus and Eastman Kodak for digital single-lens reflex camera (DSLR) and mirrorless camera design and development. The system provides a standard that, with digital cameras and lenses availa ...

format

DSLR A digital single-lens reflex camera (digital SLR or DSLR) is a digital camera that combines the optics and the mechanisms of a single-lens reflex camera with a digital imaging sensor. The reflex design scheme is the primary difference between ...

cameras, but replaces the complex optical path needed for the optical viewfinder with an electronic viewfinder EVF displaying a

live view Live preview is a feature that allows a digital camera's display screen to be used as a viewfinder. This provides a means of previewing framing and other exposure before taking the photograph. In most such cameras, the preview is generated by ...

image directly from the sensor. Eliminating the mirror box and optical viewfinder allows for smaller and lighter camera bodies, while the less complex optical path also allows for smaller, lighter lens designs. The DMC-G1 (also known as simply the "G1") was displayed for the first time at ''

photokina 2008 Photokina (rendered in the promoters' branding as "photokina") is a trade fair held in Europe for the photographic and imaging industries. It is the world's largest such trade fair. The first Photokina was held in Cologne, Germany, in 1950, a ...

''; it was available for sale in the United States and Europe in November 2008.

Micro Four Thirds system

The Micro Four Thirds system standard uses the same sized sensor (nominal 4000 pixels by 3000 pixels) as the original Four Thirds system. One advantage of the smaller MFT system sensor (when compared to market leaders Canon and Nikon APS-C and full frame sized) is the ability to engineer smaller and lighter lenses since the smaller sensor allows for a reduced image circle.

Features

The G1 camera and its lenses are smaller than competing

s. It uses a sophisticated projection system to achieve a clearer, smoother image in its electronic viewfinder than in compact camera EVFs. As it lacks a separate autofocus sensor, the G1 uses contrast-detect autofocus, utilizing the readout from the main sensor. The performance of this AF system is comparable to the phase-detect systems in conventional DSLRs. The G1 was packaged with a 14–45 mm ƒ/3.5–5.6 kit lens (28–90 mm equivalent) and can use all native Micro Four Thirds System lenses regardless of manufacturer.

Four Thirds System The Four Thirds System is a standard created by Olympus and Eastman Kodak for digital single-lens reflex camera (DSLR) and mirrorless camera design and development. The system provides a standard that, with digital cameras and lenses availa ...

lenses can be used with an adapter, although response time, especially focus response, can be slower. Legacy lenses from nearly every major manual focus camera mount, such as Leica M,

Leica R Leica Camera AG () is a German company that manufactures cameras, optical lenses, photographic lenses, binoculars, Telescopic sight, rifle scopes and microscopes. The company was founded by Ernst Leitz in 1869 (Ernst Leitz Wetzlar), in Wetz ...

Olympus OM The Olympus OM System was a line of 35mm single-lens reflex cameras, lenses and accessories sold by Olympus between 1972 and 2002. The system was introduced by Olympus in 1972. The range was designed by Yoshihisa Maitani, chief designer for Olympu ...

Nikon F The Nikon F camera, introduced in April 1959, was Nikon's first SLR camera. It was one of the most advanced cameras of its day. Although many of the concepts had already been introduced elsewhere, it was revolutionary in that it was the first ...

Canon FD The Canon FD lens mount is a physical standard for connecting a photographic lens to a 35mm single-lens reflex camera body. The standard was developed by Canon (company), Canon of Japan and was introduced in March 1971 with the Canon F-1 camera. ...

Minolta SR The Minolta SR-mount was the bayonet mounting system used in all 35 mm SLR cameras made by Minolta with interchangeable manual focusing lenses. Several iterations of the mounting were produced over the decades, and as a result, the mount itself wa ...

M42 Screw Mount The M42 lens mount is a screw thread mounting standard for attaching lenses to 35 mm cameras, primarily single-lens reflex models. It is more accurately known as the M42 × 1 mm standard, which means that it is a metric screw thread ...

, Contax/Yashica Mount and others can also be mounted and used in manual mode.

Canon EF The EF lens mount is the standard lens mount on the Canon EOS family of SLR film and digital cameras. EF stands for "Electro-Focus": automatic focusing on EF lenses is handled by a dedicated electric motor built into the lens. Mechanically, it i ...

mount lenses can be used with an adapter. The Micro Four Thirds system specification supports lenses with optical image stabilization. In many ways, the G1 was considered a landmark camera, kicking off a new market for mirrorless interchangeable lens system cameras. The camera was available in three colors: black (suffix K), red (R) and blue (A). Upon introduction the United States,

MSRP The list price, also known as the manufacturer's suggested retail price (MSRP), or the recommended retail price (RRP), or the suggested retail price (SRP) of a product is the price at which its manufacturer notionally recommends that a retailer ...

for body and kit lens was set at USD 800.00

Successor models

The G1's successor model is the

Panasonic Lumix DMC-G2 The Panasonic Lumix DMC-G2 is a digital mirrorless interchangeable lens camera adhering to the Olympus and Panasonic developed Micro Four Thirds System (MFT) system design standard. It was announced in March 2010 along with a lesser featured P ...

which was announced in March 2010. The third model in the "G" line, the

Panasonic Lumix DMC-G3 The Panasonic Lumix DMC-G3 is a digital mirrorless interchangeable lens camera adhering to the joint Olympus and Panasonic Micro Four Thirds System (MFT) system design standard. The Panasonic Lumix DMC-G3 is the eighth Panasonic MFT camera int ...

, was announced in May 2011.

References

External links

Panasonic DMC-G1 Press ReleasePanasonic Lumix DMC-G1 PhotosPanasonic Lumix DMC-G1 Review
– '' Digital Camera Resource Page''
Panasonic Lumix DMC-G1 Review
– ''

Digital Photography Review ''Digital Photography Review'', also known as ''DPReview,'' is a website about digital cameras and digital photography, established in November 1998. The website provides comprehensive reviews of digital cameras, lenses and accessories, buying g ...

''
Panasonic Lumix DMC-G1 Review
– ''Imaging Resource'' {{Micro Four Thirds cameras G1 Japanese inventions