Panasonic Lumix DMC-G2

Noise Reduction (6.93)

On the G2, there is no simple setting to turn high-ISO noise reduction off, so we tweaked the options for custom Film Modes to select varying levels of noise reduction. (-1, +1, +2, and 0). The results you’ll see in the chart below are far less dramatic than those of last year’s G-series models from Panasonic, which measured up to nearly 5% noise at some settings. The G2 manages to keep noise under 2%, even at ISO 3200 with noise reduction set to -1.

At the lower ISOs, there’s a big difference between blue and green noise, but at 800 and above, it’s pretty much all the same. More on how we test noise.

As we’ve come to expect from Micro Four Thirds cameras, the G2 produces a noisier image than larger-format cameras. This is a trend we’ve seen since these cameras were released: compact size comes at a heavy price if noise-free photos are important to you. Even with bright illumination, the G2 records an undesirable level of speckling and artifacts. The G2 did, however, hang with the best of the Micro Four Thirds cameras, turning in very similar results to the Samsung NX10 and Sony NEX-5. It also bested the noise performance of 2009’s Panasonic GF1 and GH1.

The Olympus E-P1 really struggles above 800, as does the Panasonic GF1. Panasonic clearly improved things with the G2, as noise remains relatively low across all ISOs. The G2, Samsung NX10, and Sony NEX-5 all produced very similar results.

With noise reduction turned up as high as possible, the cameras had much more divergent results. Neither Panasonic camera seems to exhibit particularly good noise reduction, although the G2 is better than last year’s GF1. At the higher ISOs, noise reduction actually seems to worsen the noise on the G2.

As was clear nearly across the board in noise testing, the Olympus E-P1 and Panasonic GF1 are of a lower tier than the other three cameras in this comparison group. This may simply be a sign of manufacturers improving noise performance across the board, as the E-P1 and GF1 are both 2009 cameras.

ISO Options

The G2 offers settings from ISO 100-6400. If you prefer finer control, you can set ISO increments to 1/3 stop in the recording menu.

You can set the ISO manually or choose from two different automatic ISO settings: standard Auto ISO (based on the scene’s light level) and Intelligent ISO (factors in subject movement to boost ISO and shutter speed when needed). There is also an ISO limit set, which allows the user to cap ISO at 200, 400, 600, 800, or 1600. The limit can be used in conjunction with either Auto ISO or Intelligent ISO.

The following same-size crops are taken from photos of our standard still life, taken in aperture-priority mode with automatic white balance.

ISO Comparisons
Panasonic Lumix DMC-G2	Olympus PEN E-P1	Samsung NX10	Sony Alpha NEX-5	Panasonic Lumix DMC-GF1
ISO Low
ISO 100	ISO 100	ISO 100		ISO 100
ISO 100	ISO 100	ISO 100		ISO 100
Panasonic Lumix DMC-G2	Olympus PEN E-P1	Samsung NX10	Sony Alpha NEX-5	Panasonic Lumix DMC-GF1
ISO 200
Panasonic Lumix DMC-G2	Olympus PEN E-P1	Samsung NX10	Sony Alpha NEX-5	Panasonic Lumix DMC-GF1
ISO 400
Panasonic Lumix DMC-G2	Olympus PEN E-P1	Samsung NX10	Sony Alpha NEX-5	Panasonic Lumix DMC-GF1
ISO 800
Panasonic Lumix DMC-G2	Olympus PEN E-P1	Samsung NX10	Sony Alpha NEX-5	Panasonic Lumix DMC-GF1
ISO 1600
Panasonic Lumix DMC-G2	Olympus PEN E-P1	Samsung NX10	Sony Alpha NEX-5	Panasonic Lumix DMC-GF1
ISO 3200
Panasonic Lumix DMC-G2	Olympus PEN E-P1	Samsung NX10	Sony Alpha NEX-5	Panasonic Lumix DMC-GF1
ISO 6400
Panasonic Lumix DMC-G2	Olympus PEN E-P1	Samsung NX10	Sony Alpha NEX-5	Panasonic Lumix DMC-GF1
ISO 12800
Panasonic Lumix DMC-G2	Olympus PEN E-P1	Samsung NX10	Sony Alpha NEX-5	Panasonic Lumix DMC-GF1

NOTE: The images above are not used in our testing or scoring, but are included here to show real-world examples of the differences between cameras at the various ISO settings.