Hands on with the Panasonic GF3

At the annual PMA expo in Sydney, Panasonic showed off its latest interchangeable lens camera, the teeny-tiny GF3. We spent some time with the camera, and have pictures and initial thoughts to share.

The GF3 will retail for AU$899 for the 14mm kit, AU$899 with the 14-42mm lens and AU$1049 for the 14mm and 14-42mm lenses.

The GF3 is really very small. Although there's nothing much to compare it with here, apart from a park bench, it takes the best bits of the earlier GF2 (with which it will sit alongside in the Panasonic range) and adds lots more curves.

Seen from the top down, the controls have been simplified — there is no mode dial or accessory port for an electronic viewfinder, just a small hump that reveals the pop-up flash.

At the back, you get a 3-inch touchscreen with more simplified controls than the GF2. You do, however, get full manual controls, should you so desire. Panasonic clearly made out that this camera will appeal much more to point-and-shooters, rather than those aiming for a digital SLR replacement.

As you can see, the screen isn't the easiest to see in direct sunlight, and, unfortunately, as there's no accessory port, the option of using an electronic viewfinder is all but gone.

The Leica 25mm f/1.4 lens has been on our wishlist ever since the announcement came out. Here it sits rather nicely on the GF3, complete with a gorgeous wide maximum aperture and nano coating to reduce flare and ghosting.

All the images from here on in were taken with the GF3. A tricky situation for any camera, backlighting, but the GF3 copes well.

There's also a range of colour modes and filters for all to enjoy, with miniature mode being one of them. We tried it out on one of the most "iconic" spots at Sydney's Darling Harbour.

Playing around with the depth of field options on the 14mm pancake lens that comes with the camera.

The GF3 also comes in stormtrooper white. We'll take it!