Viewfinder (6.25)
The GX-1S's viewfinder is comfortable and bright, bigger and better-looking than other budget-DSLR viewfinders. Since the GX-1S has a pentaprism rather than a less-efficient pentamirror, its viewfinder should also be brighter than those of competing cameras. The display shows two sets of brackets on the screen, indicating the autofocus frame, while the active autofocus point itself lights up. A small central frame shows the spot metering area. Flash status, focus confirmation, exposure mode, exposure compensation, shutter speed, aperture, the number of images left in memory, exposure lock, manual focus, and manual white balance all appear on the display under the screen. The data is easy to read and visible to users who wear glasses.
LCD Screen (7.5)
The GX-1S's LCD screen is a strong point: the 2.5-inch, 210,000-pixel LCD is sharp and bright enough to be readable in sunlight, though not to evaluate images in sun. We found it good enough to evaluate image sharpness at its maximum magnification of 12x. Its weak point is its angle of view: it solarizes significantly when viewed from above or below, and is only slightly better from the sides. Groups of people who want to check out images together shouldn’t use this LCD.
Flash (6.5)
The GX-1S's pop-up flash underexposed by a full stop at its normal setting, and we noted falloff in the corners when the kit lens was at its widest. The flash is rated for lenses down to 28mm, not the 18mm that the kit lens offers. Setting the exposure compensation can fix the flash exposure, but shouldn’t generally be necessary. With the GX-1S, it happened consistently: close-up, far away, light subjects and dark. The maximum range for the flash, with the kit lens and ISO set to auto, seems to be about 16 feet.
Lens (6.0)
The Schneider-Kreuznach D-Xenon f/3.5-5.6 18mm – 55mm kit lens is typical of low-cost kit zoom lenses. We noticed some color fringing and barrel distortion at the wide-angle setting. The mount is not the lightest-weight we've ever seen – the bayonet itself is metal, and the zoom ring is wide and doesn't rattle. All in all, the name doesn't mean all that much; the lens doesn't match those that Schneider-Kreuznach produces for professional cameras.
