Panasonic Lumix DMC-GF3: Video and Image Quality

Video Quality
The GF3 records 1920 x 1080i HD video at 60 fps. The sample video that accompanies this review was shot on a blisteringly hot day in the late afternoon - the video is fluid, color correct, and the resolution is excellent.

Download Sample Video

Image Quality
Default images show very good color, balanced contrast, and impressive sharpness. Overall image quality (with the 14mm kit zoom) is dependably excellent outdoors in good light and slightly better than average indoors - although indoor images seem a bit darker than they ought to be. Shadow detail capture is better than expected and highlight detail capture is noticeably better than average.

There is some very slight chromatic aberration (purple fringing) visible at full size, but CA is remarkably well controlled with the 14mm prime lens. The GF3's intelligent auto mode is substantially better than average and makes taking very good to excellent images simple, even for beginners, but there is a slight tendency toward minor underexposure.

White Balance options include Auto mode, Daylight, Cloudy, Shade, Halogen, Flash, Custom 1 and 2, and Kelvin Temperature (2500 to 10000 K in 100K steps), but no fluorescent WB option. The GF3's auto white balance setting does a reliably good job outdoors. Indoors, the GF3 (in Auto WB mode) sometimes struggles to get difficult hues (like purple) just right. Default colors are bold and bright and just barely cooler than real world colors.

Auto White Balance, 5500k fluorescent light

The GF3 provides an acceptable range of sensitivity options including Auto and user set options from ISO 160 to ISO 6400. Image noise levels are below average at all ISO settings. Images shot at lower ISOs show very low noise levels, vibrant color, sharp resolution, slightly hard native contrast, acceptable highlight detail and decent shadow detail. Visible (but very negligible) noise/graininess (at full size) begins to show at the ISO 400 setting and get progressively worse from that point upward.

ISO 160	ISO 160, 100% crop
ISO 200	ISO 200, 100% crop
ISO 400	ISO 400, 100% crop
ISO 800	ISO 800, 100% crop
ISO 1600	ISO 1600, 100% crop
ISO 3200	ISO 3200, 100% crop
ISO 6400	ISO 6400, 100% crop

Additional Sample Images