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I had to order the all black version from Hong Kong at a premium. I believe Panasonic is trying to differentiate their product from the rest of the high end compact offerings in the U.S. with their stylish two tone scheme, but I worried about the silver coating wearing over the years. I take meticulous care of my tools and want them to stay looking good.
In retrospect and with respect to the commenter Charles I changed "silver paint" above to "silver coating" and will add that I had read somewhere that the lens was constructed with plastic. I had visions of a silver paint scratched off a plastic lens.
I needn't have worried. The part of the lens that would get most of the wear is definitely metal and the extensions may be a tough composite or may be magnesium... they are a different temperature than the other metal when cool.
So, if you like the two tone, I would say the silver finish should be plenty durable.
I am not going to address Image Quality in this quick review as the other sites have already affirmed that the Image Quality is nearly identical to the acclaimed Panasonic GX7, in a word, remarkable!
Instead I want to address the usability, the User Interface is why I have been using Panasonic cameras since the GF1.
The build quality of the GM1 is good, but very lightweight, it feels like a toy.
Comparing this camera to my GX1, it is a obviously a lot smaller but also feels much less dense.
While the GX1 has a button for every control imaginable, the GM1 has very few buttons.
I bought this camera on faith because I love the Panasonic GUI. I hoped that even with the very slimmed down controls I would be able to customize the camera to do what I wanted with a minimum of menu diving. (I hated the the Canon S95 I bought and quickly traded it for an LX5). I was counting on selling my GX1, and just keeping the GM1 and Nikon D800e.
So, is the GM1 a GX7 in an LX5 (RX100) body?
There is one physical programmable Function Button which I programmed to bring up the ISO settings. This gives me most of the controls I want since there is already a White Balance button.
There are six programmable software Function Buttons located on a sidebar tab on the touch screen and a customizable Quick Menu for control of many settings depending on the Mode Dial. So far I set one of my Function Buttons to Silent mode for taking photos of my reticent seven year old!
Some of the Q. Menu settings available are:
1) Photo Style. (Film Mode) which is a set of jpeg processing algorithms. You can choose from one of Panasonic's many pre-configured styles or customize your own. In Intelligent Auto or Intelligent Auto Plus your only choices are Standard or Monochrome (Black and White).
2) Picture Setting. A combination of Aspect Ratio and file size (Pixel Count) and Quality, where your choices are Raw and/or JPEG Fine or Standard. I always choose Raw and fine although this takes up the most space on my SD card. Usually the jpeg is fine but I have a RAW file to adjust if needed.
3) Sensitivity. (ISO) In P and A you have choices of Auto ISO and Intelligent Auto or choosing ISO from the base of 200 all the way up to 25600.
When in M mode there is no access to Auto or Intelligent Auto ISO, which I believe is an important oversight. I like to be able to control everything but let the camera set the ISO up to a maximum I set like my Nikons.
In S mode you still have access to Auto ISO but not Intelligent Auto because IAISO can vary the shutter speed.
In Intelligent Auto and Intelligent Auto Plus you are locked out of the ISO settings unfortunately. The camera will pick an ISO setting for you all the way up to 3200 (1600 when the flash is active). I would prefer to be able to set an upper limit while in I.A. Hopefully Panasonic will fix both of these important ISO quirks in a future Firmware Update? Panasonic? Are you listening?
4) Metering Mode. Multi, Center Weighted and Spot. Not available in the I.A. settings, where I presume the Multi-Metering mode is used. I usually prefer Spot Metering when using the "Focus (meter) and Recompose" method of shooting.
5) Flash Mode. Only available in the Custom Settings. Your options here are Forced Flash On, Forced On/Red-Eye, Slow Sync. and Slow Sync./Red Eye.
6) Various Movie Modes.
7) Auto Focus. Single or Flexible, where Flexible will follow focus when the shutter is halfway pressed.
Other Q. Menu settings available in the Custom Setting Modes are: Exposure Compensation and White Balance, though there are dedicated buttons on the outside of the camera for these functions.
The lack of physical buttons and the plethora of controls make for a steep learning curve. I am going to need a few days for this camera to become second nature...
The camera is much smaller than even the Panasonic GX1, which is what I was looking for and the manual controls are there for the finding. The files look good as promised and the flash and white balance are very nicely handled.
The tiny 12-32mm lens is nice though really light and plasticky feeling. I do appreciate the lack of zoom motor. I really hated the lack of zoom ring on the 14-42mm PZ! I sure do wish the 12-32 had a focus ring though.
Manual focusing is a little strange. I believe there is a typo in the PDF manual. To use the Manual Focus on the 12-32mm lens you first switch the top lever/switch to MF, then press Left on the scroll wheel on the back of the camera.
This will pull up your manual focus screen with a magnified box enclosed in a yellow rectangle with arrows on the outside. This box can be dragged around the screen or moved up, down, left, or right by pushing on the respective sides of the scroll wheel.
Rotating the Scroll Wheel (Control Dial) changes the size of this Focus Subject Box.
Here is where the manual is misleading. To actually adjust the focus you need to push the Menu/Set button or press the "Set" button displayed on the right bottom of the screen.
This brings up a scroll bar which works ok but I changed it to work with the scroll wheel through Menu, Custom Settings, Lens W/O Focus Ring, Control Dial. You can choose to use the Control Dial to change the Focus or Magnification Level of the focus box. There is also a separate static magnification level also under the Lens W/O Focus Ring setting.
Thankfully the much touted Focus Peaking actually works, and works well! I tested the Manual Focus with Peaking on the text of a book in low light at a distance of several feet and was astounded at the accuracy!
The auto focus "touch to focus" works well and very quickly, though you have to touch your focus point, then half press the shutter which is a little clunky. I would like it to focus on the fly.
I have found the "Silent Shutter" to actually work very well. My son has developed an aversion to my many photographs of him. Using the silent shutter has allowed me to photograph him successfully. This mode disables the physical shutter and just uses the electronic shutter. It also disables the Focus Assist Light, but the camera seemed to have no problem finding focus in less than ideal conditions.
Apparently when in Intelligent Auto or Intelligent Auto Plus (I.A. with some adjustment possible) you have no ability to set the maximum ISO the camera uses. It will pick it's own ISO up to 3200. I wanted to limit it to 1600 and spent quite some time trying before finding the following info on page 158 of the PDF manual. Hopefully this will be addressed in a firmware update!
Setting the Auto ISO limit is available in P A S M and Movie Mode: Go into; Menu, Record, then Sensitivity and it will give you two Auto ISO options, with the Intelligent Auto supposedly allowing for movement of the subject, by default the camera will pick an ISO up to 3200.
You can set the upper limit on the ISO when in P A and S (but not in M) similarly by going into Menu, Record, ISO Limit Set. I use 1600 because that setting gave me very usable captures on my GX1.
The Artificial Horizon or Digital Level, which Panasonic calls the Tilt Sensor and is very handy is easily found by pressing the Disp. button.
I tried unsuccessfully for an hour or so to get the camera to connect to my Samsung Galaxy S4 via Wi-Fi. It would occasionally connect but wouldn't transfer photos or let me control the camera via phone. I'll keep trying.
Battery life is pretty poor, another trade-off for the size I guess. In fact I went through a full battery just referring to the menu for this review. Hopefully there will be some aftermarket batteries available soon!
This is the camera I have been waiting for! Truly pocketable with a large sensor and full manual controls!
Its a great, tiny camera that actually fits in a shirt pocket, though it does make an unsightly bulge! The collapsible 12-32mm lens does not disappear into the body of the camera like that on the LX7 or RX100 so it's not as slim but it's pretty tiny!
I did sell my GX1, but only because I also have a DSLR. I think the GM1 is a perfect walk around camera for someone who has a DSLR and doesn't want to compromise on Image Quality.
If I was to recommend a single camera for a consumer who only wanted one however, it would be the GX1. The image quality is stellar and IMO the GX7 is too large, though I admit I have not held one.
With all the external controls and the removable viewfinder the GX1 is a lot of camera! Especially at the current price!
I will probably end up buying another one.
But really the beauty of this camera is it's size, and I've resigned myself to using my D800e (sob) for planned outings.
I kept the awesome Panasonic 14-45mm zoom lens (not the 14-42mm or the Power Zoom) and tried it on the GM1. It works great! It only overlaps the body by a few mm. It is pretty long, but it felt fine, not out of balance and I love the ergonomics of the lens, with the full zoom ring and an (admittedly small) actual focus ring!
Focus Peaking works with the 14-45 but on Manual Focus, only the focus ring works to adjust focus. I have the Control Dial set to "Focus" when in Manual Focus and it reverted to changing the Magnification of the "Focus Box" when used with the 14-45mm lens.
If this camera had the external controls of my GX1 and was this same size well... bring on the GM7!
In fact I am withholding one star because I feel that Panasonic could add the extra controls and hotshoe we want and save us some of the menu diving. I feel like they are holding out for the next iteration or two, but I'm not waiting! They've got my money!
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