The GF1 adopts the micro four thirds system standard, which was developed as an extended version of the four thirds system standard for digital camera systems. By using this standard and developing a camera body that eliminates the mirror box and optical viewfinder unit, Lumix was able to achieve a dramatic reduction in both size and weight compared with conventional digital SLR cameras, to create a new-generation system camera that features full-time live view, high-speed, high-precision contrast AF, HD movie recording, and more. The GF1 is small enough to take anywhere yet sophisticated enough to take you as far into photography and movies as you want to go.The 4/3-type 12.1-megapixel live MOS sensor featured in the GF1 offers the best of both worlds the superior image quality of a CCD sensor, and the lower power consumption of a CMOS sensor. This sensor is also advantageous for photo and movie recording with its high S/N, thanks to a circuit structure that is unaffected by the noise generated in each of the circuits. It results in clear images even when taken at high ISO sensitivity.The hybrid GF1 lets you take both high-quality photos and HD movies. You can shoot breathtaking HD movies in AVCHD Lite format (MPEG-4/H.264) backed by the high sound quality of Dolby Digital Creator. And you can record for a longer time without running out of memory because AVCHD Lite stores data more efficiently than Motion JPEG while maintaining stunning image clarity and detail. A dedicated "movie record" button on the top lets you instantly start recording movies while shooting photos, so you don't miss a second of the action.

4/3-type 12.1-megapixel Live MOS sensor; clear images even when taken at high ISO sensitivity
Elegant, compact design; includes Lumix G Vario 14 - 45 mm F3.5 - F5.6 ASPH.Mega OIS lens
Capture 1280 x 720 HD video in AVCHD Lite format for longer recording time
Full-time Live View; new My Color mode
Capture images to SD/SDHC memory cards (not included)

GF! ? Save your money Wait For the Canon G12 (1.0)

I purchased this product
I was totally disappointed.
I have a Canon G10 and wanted to upgrade the video to HD and get more zoom power
I took it out of the box and noticed that the body was extremely light made totally of plastic it seemed.
The 14-45 zoom lens was heavy throwing the balance way off when connected to the camera.
I am used to the G10 which is not heavy but has a solid metal body.
Then the test was the video.
I shot a couple of movies looked at them and they were okay.
The test was panning.
It was choppy much more so than the G10
And I shot photos and some the formats were not able to be recognized by Iphoto.
The result within an hour it was at UPS being returned.
Not worth the $865 not even worth $300
But Amazon was great they get top reviews.
It only cost me about $4.00 to return it with free shipping coming my way.

Great camera, but no image stabilization is a HUGE problem (4.0)

I spent a lot of time trying to make up my mind, and now I have. Looked at both GF1 and Olympus E-P1 and going with Olympus. Panasonic is a better camera, no doubt, but they completely missed the boat with image stabilization. And I mean completely. Seems that they forgot why the 4/3m was created in the first place, and it was to make compact SLR for enthusiasts, not just professionals. That means a compact all-in-one camera for pics and video. Compact is the key word here, and without in-body image stabilization the only option for video is the Panasonic zoom lens with the MEGA O.I.S., which is huge. The 20mm pancake lens is fantastic for pics, but it does not have IS and you will not be able to shoot free hand video with it. Would you buy a camcorder without IS? I would not.

With zoom lens GF1 is nearly as large as a regular SLR, so what's the point? Olympus E-P1 has in-body IS, you can carry it around with just the pancake lens and get all the shots and video you want. Without optical IS built into the lens Olympus produced a collapsible zoom lens that is much smaller, even with it attached E-P1 is still pretty compact. For those who don't care as much about the size of the camera it will seem that I'm obsessed. True, but if not for size, why even consider GF1? Full size SLR will be cheaper and better.

Olympus has shortcomings too, slower auto-focus, no af assist light to make it even worse, no built-in flash. But I'd rather carry the small flash than the huge lens. In-lens image stabilization of Panasonic completely defeats the purpose and is the deal breaker for me.

Consumer review for consumers (i.e. parents) looking for increased photo quality (5.0)

This review is really intended for parents, grandparents and non-pros who are looking for a camera that will improve the quality of their photos, without strapping a massive camera around their necks. This is a great camera for that.

Per the title, I'm not a pro or even an amateur photographer. I had a Lumix DMC-TZ3, which is very small and has a big zooms. It worked well for pictures of our children outside in bright light. However, the indoor and low light quality was not as good as we wanted. Since many of these family photos will be kept, saved, and archived for a long time, we were willing to spend some extra money IF we could find a camera that would do it and that was convenient and easy to use.

As an aside, we tried a couple other point and shoot cameras (thanks to Costco's great return policy) but, with some research, realized that ever increasing megapixels and zoom were not going to help us. We needed better lenses and bigger / better sensors.

The key features that were most important to us in comparing other cameras in this price range were:
1. Improved image quality than our point-and-shoot cameras, especially capturing active children in low-light / indoor light conditions. (We tend to turn off the flash and use room lighting so as not to stop the kids in their tracks, which ruins the spontaneous moments we are trying to capture.)
2. Able to take high quality video clips when a photo moment would be better captured with video and audio.
3. Small enough to carry in a pocket and keep handy on a small shelf in the kitchen so that we'll actually use it.
4. Easy to use automatic settings / good auto settings, since we do not use the manual (professional) settings.

We compared the Panasonic Lumix DMC-GF1 to the Canon EOS Rebel T1i and the Nikon D90. We ruled out the Olympus EP1 (or EP2?) early because it does not have an integrated flash. Yes, I know I said we tend not to use it, but we do use it for "say cheese" portraits and a few other instances. Light usually seems to improve the quality of our photos, and having to carry and attach a big flash to the Olympus dropped it from our list early.

We looked at the sample photos and photo tests available for DMC-GF1, T1i, and D90 at [...]. We also held them, turned dials, and pushed buttons at a local camera store. We liked the color, tone, and clarity of the DMC-GF1 best as posted at dpreview. (I imagine this is subjective. We are not pros.) We favored the much smaller size and weight of the DMC-GF1, too. These were all great cameras by our standards, though. Any of them would have greatly improved the photos of our children. In the end, the GF1 was a clear winner for us.

Quality:
The DMC-GF1 has greatly increased the quality of our photos, especially the low light (but high action) ones inside the house. We use the automatic setting most of the time, but sometimes select a scene, such as portrait or (more likely) sports. It is ready to take pictures almost the instant it is turned on. It can take pictures quickly with very little lag from the the time we press the button to the time the actual photo is captured. For those of you using point and shoot cameras, this will be a huge improvement.

Video:
Videos look great on our 52" screen. There is a small button on top of this camera that is easy to locate. It lets us immediately take a video of the photo shot we were trying to take. Research showed that the GF1's micro-four-thirds system allows it to better focus while taking video compared to the canon and nikon because the 4/3's system does not have a mirror that has to be moved or dealt with while filming.

Size:
We bought the 20mm lens and tend to use it more than the larger 14mm-45mm lens. The GF1 is not small and portable (by our standards) with the 14-56 lens, but it fits into a large pocket with the 20mm lens attached. There is no zoom on the 20mm lens (except our feet), but the picture quality is so good that we can easily crop photos when necessary using iPhoto and still have great quality for blown up printout, such as in family calendars...

Easy Automatic Settings:
The camera's automatic settings are doing what they are supposed to do: allowing us to capture great moments by automatically selecting good settings. I don't want to mess with it. Light still matters, but photos that our phones and point-and-shoot cameras are incapable of catching or incapable of rendering without lots of blurry noise look good. Yes, our kids can still do things at high speed in the darkest corners, resulting in noisy, blurry pictures, but the while subjects (kids) and settings (house) have not changed, the number of throw away shots of otherwise great moments has plummeted. We leave the camera on automatic for most shots, but sometimes turn on the flash or select a scene from the easy to use menu. (Turning on the flash is very easy, just press the button on the back of the camera (right behind the flash) and it will pop up, ready to do its thing).

It's not perfect for us, but it's great. Ideally, it would be even smaller, cheaper, with a powerful zoom, and would never miss a shot. Still, we feel it was the best value for our money, and we have been delighted with the photos.

Perfect For Moving Up From A Compact (5.0)

I am by no means an advanced photographer (intermediate at best), but ready to move up from a pocket camera. The GF1 is an excellent entry point into the kit camera range. There are plenty of ways to control a photo ... manual shutter, aperture, focus and ISO settings, along with a healthy variety of filters. Plus plenty of auto settings. With its large sensor (compared to any compact), photos without a flash are amazing in light conditions which used to be hopeless for me. Indoor photos without flash seem to come out brighter than what I see with my eyes. Right after I received this camera a couple weeks ago, I field-tested it on a business trip to Tampa and was very pleased. I've uploaded a few of those "customer images" to Amazon that were taken in several challenging lighting conditions. Judge for yourself.

I've only shot 2 video clips so far but don't really have an opinion about quality yet, although it's pretty easy to use.

Build quality is first class. Rock solid with controls and fittings that feel like they should last forever.

I bought the kit with the 14-45mm lens which has a very smooth zoom but seems especially large on its body. I tested the lens with its Optical Image Stabilization switched off, and it does make a noticeable difference. Sometime this year, I'm going to get the 20mm pancake lens that the critics are raving about. Hopefully by then, I'll have mastered how to choose the setting or combo for each effect I want. I'm really looking forward to learning how to take much better photos, and I now know for sure that this camera will teach me.

The most negative thing that I can say about the GF1 is its price. Fortunately, I managed to get it for "only" $849 from a very reliable retailer on Amazon the day after Christmas. That deal seems to be long gone. But it's still an excellent camera for anyone who wants to take their photo skills to the next level beyond point-and-shoot.

Great photo camera (4.0)

Very good picture quality even at low light. I like the Pancake Lens, makes it very portable. I'll probably end up buying the viewfinder for video shooting.