Hands on with the Panasonic Lumix G5 and LX7

The new range of Panasonic Lumix cameras was launched in Australia with a shooting tour of various sights on the NSW Central Coast.

New models include the Lumix DMC-G5, an interchangeable lens camera, as well as the high-end advanced compact DMC-LX7. Click through the gallery for some photos and videos, as well as our first impressions.

All photos and videos appear as shot straight out of the camera as JPEGs. No post-processing, apart from cropping and/or resizing, has been done.

Lexy Savvides travelled to the Central Coast as a guest of Panasonic.

Sunrise over the Skillion rocks in Terrigal is the best time to capture the glowing red effect from the rock face. This was shot on the LX7 using a tripod and an exposure of around 8 seconds.

Another long exposure perspective using the LX7. The camera has a control ring around the front of the lens, which can be used to manually close down or open up the aperture. Each stop clicks into place firmly, and it makes for a much more intuitive experience than just using the rear dial when shooting manual or aperture-priority exposures.

The LX7 shoots full 1080/50p video in AVCHD format. Below is a sample of footage from the camera:

Like a number of other Lumix cameras, the LX7 has a variety of colour modes available, on top of dedicated filters found under the "Creative Control" menu. The effect used in the photo was the vivid colour mode.

The LX7 will be available from September 2012 for AU$649.

There's a built-in Neutral Density (ND) filter in the LX7, which is actually a physical internal filter. It is the equivalent of a three stop ND filter that you might normally place in front of the camera lens, and lets you reduce the amount of light in order to use a slower shutter speed.

The photo above uses the ND filter to achieve an 8-second exposure.

Over at Glenworth Valley, the morning horse muster gets underway. Switching over to the G5 means a slightly bigger camera body, but more importantly, the benefit of interchangeable lenses. This shot was taken using the 14-42mm power zoom.

The G5 will be available from September 2012 for AU$999 body only, AU$1099 with a 14-42mm f/3.5-5.6 lens, and AU$1299 with the 14-42mm and 45-150mm f/4-5.6 from October 2012.

The G5 can shoot at 6 frames per second using the mechanical shutter, with autofocus fixed from the first frame. This slows to 3.5 frames per second when using tracking autofocus.

The biggest change in the G5 compared to previous G-series cameras is the high-resolution touchscreen. It swivels and tilts out from the camera body, and boasts a resolution of 920,000 dots.

Photographers can also look through the electronic viewfinder and simultaneously adjust the autofocus with a feature called touchpad AF.

The photo above is Biscuit the horse, contemplating the next move for the day.

Test shots taken with the G5 look to have excellent dynamic range and colour rendition on JPEG images, though we'll be able to assess this fully when RAW converters are made available.

Panasonic also announced the arrival of the 12-35mm f/2.8 lens, which will retail for AU$1599. It's a particularly useful focal length, given the crop factor on Micro Four Thirds cameras makes it roughly equivalent to a 24-70mm lens. From preliminary use, build quality, sharpness and clarity from edge-to-edge looks great — just be prepared to fork out a pretty penny for one of these.

The horse bros check out the lens. Or just pose like a movie poster — that works too.

Another shot in the series of "Contemplative Horses", with the 12-35mm lens.

Moving back to the LX7 and some picturesque waterfalls, once more. There's a couple of different image sizes available, such as 1:1, 4:3 and the wider aspect 16:9, as pictured above.

While the mid-morning light doesn't always make for the best photos, attaching a warming filter to the front of the new 45-150mm f/4-5.6 lens on the G5, makes all the difference.

Adorable alert. Baby wombat!

Up close and personal with a koala and the 25mm f/1.4 lens, which produces some excellent creamy bokeh.

Aladdin, the posing chameleon.

A group of pelicans flock for fish at The Entrance.

The 45-150mm lens is able to resolve a lot of detail, with water droplets well-defined on the pelican's feathers.