The Panasonic G1 — Is this the beginning of a new direction in compact cameras?

Back when I was rabbiting on about what camera to buy, I mentioned that “The best camera is the one you have with you…” and that “any compact digital camera with more mega pixels than [8] is nearly always going to result in a poorer quality picture”. These two assumptions were key to my choices for a powerful carry around camera, which is currently a Canon G7. Today’s announcement of the Panasonic G1, the first camera based on the Micro Four Thirds standard may be about to fundamentally alter these assumptions..

The main issue with compact cameras is that their imaging chip is tiny, and the corresponding individual pixels are nano sized. This adversely affects it’s ability to collect the light falling on it, and hence the final quality of the image. For a details discussion of pixels, and imaging chip sizes, you could do worse than read this excellent overview on www.cambridgeincolour.com, or this website devoted to advocating 6mp compact cameras. For a visual comparison, check out this diagram:

Digital Camera Imaging Sensor Sizes

As you can see, an 8mp compact camera and an 8mp full frame SLR are not created equal.

So where does the G1 come in?

• Well its chip size is approx 50% of that of a Full Frame SLR, and at 12mp, it’s not excessive.
• Pixel size should be roughly 9 times greater than an equivalent 12mp compact camera, meaning that image quality and noise should be vastly superior.
• By removing the mirror / optical viewfinder, and using a digital viewfinder, size has been kept to a minimum.

By comparison to the Canon G9, body only, it is not substantially bigger, nor substantially heavier (about 100 grams). With the standard kit lens, the relative sizes are as follows:

Size matters: Panasonic G1 versus the Canon G9

How would I have done the G1 differently? I think a fixed fast(ish) lens, somewhere in the 28mm to 50mm equivalent would have been ideal. IT is early days yet for the Micro Four Thirds standard, so we will have to wait and see what slot in the market place this fits into.

Off course, the price will still probably be a rip off here in Ireland

Some other links to Panasonic G1 coverage:

• DPreview
• Engadget