Secaucus, NJ—Panasonic’s new DMC-GF6 mirrorless compact system camera is now the most compact of the Lumix G family, yet its 16 megapixel Live MOS sensor captures both high-resolution and high-sensitivity images and video. The Venus engine was newly developed for the GF6 to attain high-performance signal processing and noise reduction, achieving a maximum ISO 25,600 for low-light performance.
The interchangeable-lens camera is being billed as “a creative magic box full of features,” but beyond its creative benefits, the GF6 offers Wi-Fi connectivity with NFC (near field communication) technology. This enables users to connect the camera to a smartphone/tablet anywhere by bumping them together, and setup is quick and easy, without any connection procedures.
Using its instant transfer function, the camera will send photo data to a designated electronic device automatically when the shutter is released. In playback mode, users can touch the image displayed on the camera to transfer it directly to the smartphone/tablet. It’s also possible to tag the location information to the image by utilizing the GPS log of the smartphone or tablet.
Plus, both images and video can be archived to registered digital equipment, such as a PC, automatically via a wireless home network router. Also, with Panasonic’s cloud service, Lumix Club, the GF6 can automatically synchronize images via the Internet with the designated devices and Facebook, Flickr, Picasa, Twitter or YouTube.
It’s also possible to use a smartphone/tablet as a remote shutter with a monitor for photo and video shooting. Not only the shutter release, but also zooming, focusing and setting the shutter speed, aperture and exposure compensation can be controlled via the smartphone/tablet. All these functions are made possible by using the Panasonic Image app for iOS/Android smartphones/tablets.
The camera’s new creative features include self shot, creative panorama and stop motion animation, in addition to the creative control mode that now boasts 19 filter effects (such as old days, sunshine, bleach bypass and fantasy). Stop motion animation delivers stop motion video, while a clear retouch function gives users the ability to erase unwanted parts of a picture after shooting. In self shot mode, users can shoot self-portraits by stretching an arm to hold the camera out with the rear monitor flipped 180° vertically to frame the shot. Creative control options also can be applied on self-portraits.
Other benefits include a high-speed “Light Speed AF” (autofocus) system with full-time AF and tracking AF, which is also available for video recording. New low-light AF was added to enable accurate focusing on the subject even in dimly lit conditions.
Video features include Full HD 1,920×1,080 recording at 60i (60 Hz) in AVCHD with stereo sound, and the PASM mode is available for more expressive creation of motion picture footage. Videos can also be recorded in the MP4 format for easy playback on a PC or other portable electronic devices without having to convert the files.
Plus, the GF6 boasts a 3.0-inch, 1040k-dot high-res, 180°-tiltable LCD monitor with touch control. With full-area touch AF, it’s possible to set focus on any point in the field of view for quick focusing operation with free frame composition. In addition, touch AE (autoexposure) allows users to set focus and exposure with a single touch on the subject displayed on the monitor.
Other features include: 0.5-sec shooting after start-up; a built-in flash; iA (intelligent auto) mode that supports capturing images with various shooting-assist functions, including AF tracking, intelligent D-range control, intelligent scene selector, face recognition and intelligent ISO control, without changing settings; iA plus mode, which lets users adjust the defocusing area in the background, exposure compensation and white balance for more control; and a scene guide that offers 23 sample pictures shot by pros that users can choose from to best match their scene and have the camera pick the optimum parameters automatically. Pricing to be announced. panasonic.com
