Panasonic DMC-GF1

	Video: Low Light Performance Summary
Comprehensive video testing and analysis by Jeremy Stamas and the staff of
• Low light sensitivity wasn't very good—even compared to some of the other below-average video-DSLRs. • Color accuracy was good in low light and the colors remained vivid and strong in our testing. • Noise levels weren't bad, but they were higher than some of the other video-capable DSLRs.
	Video: Motion & Sharpness	Page 14 of 21	Video Features

Video: Low Light Sensitivity (0.66)

Low light sensitivity is not one of the Panasonic GF1's strengths. The camera needed 25 lux of light to reach 50 IRE on our waveform monitor when we shot using its 30p frame rate (MJPEG compression), and it required 29 lux of light to reach the same levels when shooting at 60p (AVCHD Lite compression). These numbers aren't that much worse than what we've seen from other video-DSLRs, but they are worse nonetheless. Click here for more on how CamcorderInfo.com tests low light sensitivity.

Video: Required Illumination *

* the lower the lux required, the better the performance

A lot of factors go into determining low light sensitivity—ISO settings, lens specs, sensor size, and pixel count just to name a few. The GF1 has a fairly fast, f/1.7 lens, which is why we're surprised to see it have such a poor low light sensitivity in video mode. In video mode the camera sets ISO and shutter speed automatically, so you cannot use a slow shutter to boost performance in low light.

Video: Low Light Color Performance (7.91)

Despite its sub par performance in our sensitivity testing, the GF1 did quite well with low light color accuracy. The camcorder earned a color error of 4.52 in our low light testing, with an excellent saturation level of 93.29%. We got these numbers by testing the camcorder using its 30p MJPEG mode. Using the AVCHD Lite 60p record setting, the GF1 had worse color accuracy (5.4 color error), but the same saturation level (93.29%). Click here for more on how CamcorderInfo.com tests low light color performance.

Video: Low Light Color Performance
Color Test Chart (above), Color Error Map (right)
The Panasonic GF1 produced a color error of 4.52 and a saturation level of 93.02% in our low light video testing. (The map on the right is a diagram of the color error. The length and direction of each line indicates how the camera processed each particular color while capturing video.)

As we saw in our bright light testing, the GF1 produced a very similar image to the Panasonic GH1. Both cameras had strong, saturated colors, and the two earned nearly identical color error scores. All the cameras shown below did relatively well with this test, with none outperforming the rest by a significant margin. As you can see, the Nikon D5000 produced the brightest image, which means its auto exposure system is calibrated a bit differently than the rest of these models.

Video: Low Light Comparison
Panasonic GF1	Olympus E-P1
Panasonic GH1	Nikon D5000

Video: Low Light Color Score Comparison

Video: Low Light Noise Performance (9.25)

The Panasonic GF1 averaged 1.2775% noise in our low light testing. This is a pretty low amount of noise, but both the Nikon D5000 and Panasonic GH1 did even better in this test. The Olympus E-P1, on the other hand, had a lot of noise in its low light image (2.2775%). The Panasonic GF1 produced slightly less noise when we shot using its AVCHD Lite 60p setting. Using that mode it managed 0.9575% noise—a roughly 0.3% reduction from our MJPEG 30p testing. Click here for more on how CamcorderInfo.com tests low light noise performance.

Video: Noise at 60 lux Auto
Panasonic GF1 100% Crop	Olympus E-P1 100% Crop	Panasonic GH1 100% Crop	Nikon D5000 100% Crop

Notice how much cleaner the GH1's image looks compared to the GF1 in the crops above. The GF1 has more noise and some patches of discoloration, while the GH1 offers a sharper, more pristine image. The crop from the Olympus E-P1 shows off its noise issues quite clearly as well.

Video: Low Light Noise Score Comparison