X

Panasonic Lumix DMC-G6

Panasonic's latest interchangeable lens camera evolves the formula ever so slightly with an OLED viewfinder and fast continuous shooting at 7fps.

Lexy Savvides Principal Video Producer
Lexy is an on-air presenter and award-winning producer who covers consumer tech, including the latest smartphones, wearables and emerging trends like assistive robotics. She's won two Gold Telly Awards for her video series Beta Test. Prior to her career at CNET, she was a magazine editor, radio announcer and DJ. Lexy is based in San Francisco.
Expertise Wearables, smartwatches, mobile phones, photography, health tech, assistive robotics Credentials
  • Webby Award honoree, 2x Gold Telly Award winner
See full bio
Lexy Savvides
2 min read

First impressions

Plenty of photographers are looking for an interchangeable lens camera (ILC) solution that gives them more flexibility than an equivalent SLR. Panasonic has just announced the G6, a successor to previous generations of G-series models, including the G5, which might just answer the calls of these buyers.

The G6 sits in an interesting position in Panasonic's ILC range. It's not the flagship model reserved for videographers and film-makers — that's the GH3 — nor is it the compact GF6, which fits in the palm of the hand. With a design more reminiscent of a small SLR, the G6 is targeted towards photographers who want a little more than an entry-level ILC.

In line with many other 2013 camera releases, particularly those from Panasonic, the G6 comes equipped with built-in Wi-Fi and NFC. At the back of the camera sits a 3-inch touchscreen that rotates, while an all-new 1.44-million dot OLED viewfinder should offer plenty of resolution for even the most precise focusing needs. While the G6 is not a revolution in the G-series range, it does evolve the formula by offering fast autofocus thanks to the Light Speed AF system and a start-up time of 0.5 second. The touchscreen provides access to features many photographers are very familiar with, including touch to focus and touch to change exposure. A bonus is focus peaking, which highlights the area of the image in sharp focus in a different colour.

Continuous shooting now maxes out at 7 frames per second using the mechanical shutter, or 40fps with the electronic one.

Video users haven't been forgotten, with 1080/50p video recording in AVCHD Progressive or 1080/24p in AVCHD. There are also creative filters for adding effects to photos, which Panasonic calls Creative Control mode.

Alongside the G6, Panasonic has also announced a new 14-140mm f/3.5-f/5.6 Power OIS (optical image stabilisation) lens. Both the G6 and 14-140mm lens will be available in Australia from July. Local pricing has not yet been made available.