Panasonic DMC-GH1

	Design & Layout
	Hardware	Page 4 of 8	Modes

Design & Appearance

We like the looks of the Lumix GH1. Yes, Panasonic might have invested a few bucks in coming up with a body that had enough visible difference from its less-expensive predecessor to give new buyers some bragging rights, but the lines are pleasing, there's a nice curvy flow to the edges, and other than that odd metal stripe on the grip, nothing that could possibly be called showy. Even the colors (in addition to black, the camera comes in gold and red) are muted and classy instead of brash and bold.

Size & Handling

The GH1 measures 4.88 x 3.29 x 1.78 inches (124 x 89.6 x 45.2mm) and weighs approximately 13.58 oz. (385g) for the body alone. This is just a skinch taller than the Lumix G1, but the difference is small enough that it could potentially be due to a different person writing the spec sheet. 

Your trusty reviewer is blessed with large hands, which has been known to make small cameras difficult to manage. In this case, though, the grip is deep enough to accommodate even longish fingers comfortably, with enough space between grip and lens not to feel cramped. 

The one poorly placed control is the wheel on the front of the grip. Like most SLRs, this wheel is used to adjust aperture and shutter speed in manual modes and navigate on-screen lists quickly, but it's also a push-button that provides a shortcut to exposure compensation settings. Once pushed, brushing the wheel changes your exposure settings. Great if you meant to push the button, not so much if you accidentally pressed it while maneuvering a small camera with big hands, which we did frequently.
 

The small camera body is comfortable for hands of many spans.

Menu

Beyond the traditional on-screen menu system used to enter settings that don't change much, the easy way to manage shooting settings is the nicely designed Quick Menu. The Live View display toggles to three different displays: a blank screen, one with basic shooting info, or the full information display shown below. While this display is up, pressing the QUICK MENU button on top of the camera turns this into a navigable control panel for changing whtie balance, ISO, autofocus mode, metering, dynamic range optimization, flash mode, picture size and quality, image stabilization and film mode, plus exposure compensation setting. It's a lot of information on a single screen, but it's organized for speed and clarity and works like a charm when shooting using the excellent electronic viewfinder.
 

The Quick Menu screen makes accessing key settings fast and efficient.

The standard menu system is broken into five sections: Record, Custom Menu, Setup, My Menu and Playback. My Menu offers fast access to the five most recent menu items you've utilized.
 
Ease of Use

TThere are a lot of options available here, including film mode and white balance settings that can be micro-managed effectively by sophisticated shooters, but may intimidate the less intense photographers. That said, the camera works fine in auto mode as a point-and-shoot device, all the controls are easily managed and screen displays are bright, clear and legible.