Panasonic Lumix DMC-GF3X 12.1 MP Micro Four Thirds Compact System Camera with 3-Inch Touch-Screen LCD and LUMIX G X Vario PZ 14-42mm/F3.5-5.6 Lens (Red)

Micro four thirds (MFT) format and the other mirrorless DSLR replacement cameras have been around for a while, but until this 14-42 X series lens came along, the size reduction promised by the MFT format has not been realized. Sony's NEX-series (APS-C sized sensor), Samsung's NX-series (APS-C sized sensor), Panasonix G-series (MFT size sensor), and Olympus E-series (MFT size sensor) all give a HUGE improvment in image quality (IQ) over compact cameras that have much smaller sensors (1/2.5" etc). All 4 have their strengths and weaknesses. But all are still too big, frankly, to carry in your pocket with a zoom lens.(Sure, with a pancake fixed focal length lens, each is pocketable, but NOT with a zoom)For day to day, catching kids in action, shooting people with cool backgrounds, etc. stuff, you usually want to carry a ZOOM as your main lens, something in the 20s, zoom out to 70s or 80s, or you will just miss a lot of stuff.This is the first camera-lens combination that has the much higher IQ of the mirrorless cameras above, combined with the compact cameras, AND a usable zoom lens (14-42, but 28-84 equivalent), that you could legitimately drop into a coat pocket and forget you put it there. Or put in a large purse and forget you put it there. The price of $750 may seem high, and it will probably drop later, but this little thing is gorgeous, and much smaller than you'd imagine from the pictures.The controls are very easy to use, and the camera is FAST to startup, VERY FAST to focus and shoot. It's just a very, very cute, and very, very capable little camera.As for precise details on how IQ compares to other cameras, that is something I'm not the person to judge. My blowups look great to me. I think there will be plenty of experts who can chime in on that on the official camera review sites like steve's digicams and dpreview in the coming weeks. But I can comment on the sheer usability, convenience and functional capability of this camera. You will take this camera where bigger cameras are simply too much of a pain to haul with you, and it will power up/focus/shoot fast enough so that you won't miss any shots.Oh, and it shoots HD video (1080i), AND because there's a zoom switch on the left upper side of the lens, it's actually by far the steadiest, most smooth, "CINEMATIC" zoom for shooting that I've yet to see on a "not a videocam" camera. When you normally shoot HD video, you still hold the camera with your right hand and you naturally steady the lens with your left... which puts your left index finger right by the zoom switch. Much, much smoother, professional looking videos, and the autofocus is very fast and solid.I think this thing will sell very, very well. Got ours in "white/silver", with a similar color lens, and I love the color. Also comes in black & red I think.I've heard that the image stabilization on the lens has some potential issue affecting sharpness at certain shutter speeds and focal lengths, but I've not encountered that yet at all.If you are interested in a camera with more easy access manual controls that a "serious" photographer would like, the Panasonic GX1 is coming out in December, and has the same form factor, a full range of manual controls, a higher pixel count (and I believe a superior sensor), and its built in flash unit actually can be flipped up to bounce flash off the ceiling, which is a great feature. I think it's gonna be about $200 more. I would have considered holding out for that one, but having a camera both my wife and I can easily use, AND having the camera now for Thanksgiving trumped that.And no, I'm not a panasonic rep or anything. I just love this form factor (I've been WAITING for this form factor), the first "legit" detachable lens & camera that I don't have to think twice about taking with me going ANYWHERE, including just out for dinner or a hike anywhere.-ADDENDUM: Returned the camera after I downloaded all the images at home. Didn't like the way the flash got cut off on certain shots, the lens seemed to give me "soft" images at the higher zoom length at 42 mm and slow shutter speeds (and then I read that some image stabilization problem might be the reason for this happening to not just me). Overall, I was still happy about it, but given that the compact 14-42X lens was one of the biggest reasons I got it, and that seemed to be having issues, I chose to return the camera and wait till they get these issues sorted out.

Just got the camera a couple of days ago and still fiddling around with it. Basically all the good things people say about the camera is true: it's small, easy to use, great features (especially like face recognition) and takes great pictures and videos. It also does not have the best low light capabilities. Mostly fine for still objects, but not for fast moving kids. But it has a built-in flash, which makes up for it unless you want to get artsy with your indoor, low-light pictures of moving objects.The PZ 14-42X lens is clear and sharp. Makes the depth of the camera 2 3/8 inches with lens cap on and 2 1/4 with it off (that's about 6cm for the rest of the world). I have to say I am not that impressed with the zoom range. Might have made more sense to go with the 14mm or 20mm pancakes to get better IQ and low light sensitivity, and then just crop as needed. But I got a too-good-to-pass-up deal on this through an amazon third party seller.I know there have been some problems reported with this lens towards the 42mm focal distance between 1/60 and 1/200 shutter speed. I was apprehensive but confirmed a 2 week return policy with the seller, so I decided to go for it. Happy I did. I did some extensive testing on the lens based on forum discussions on dpreview and didn't find any problems with it -- at least none that I could detect. The zoom works smoothly and plenty fast. The location of the zoom level feels a bit awkward to me, but partly that's because I am not used to holding the lens while I take pictures, so my finger reaches from holding the camera body to the lens itself.I was deciding between the GF3, the EP-1 mini and the NEX C3. I wanted a small, pocketable, affordable camera -- I don't need the latest technology. I decided against the EP-1 mini due to problems with stability of video (I saw some samples and it made me nauseous). I have small kids and the ability to take good videos is important. I was about to go with a NEX C3 for the low light and overall better image quality. But then I saw this deal and couldn't pass it up. It was slightly cheaper than the going Amazon price for just a new PZ 14-42 lens itself!I am giving it 5 stars since 'I love it.' But there are some drawbacks I've noticed so far:1. Relatively limited low light capability. Again built-in flash makes up for it. Though I've noticed that the auto and i-auto modes do not engage the flash automatically unless you've opened it up.2. Oversaturated red tones (to my eyes), though I am pretty sure there is a solution to this -- I just have to figure it out.3. Relatively limited zoom. This is of course based on my expectations. Fine I guess if you know what you're getting.4. Camera makes a pretty loud clicking noise when snapping picks. It's a not a quick, zippy noise but a slow, clunky, chunky noise that is almost sounds like two clicks.5. I updated the camera and lens firmware as soon as I got it. My main issue here is that it's actually kind of hard to figure out from the panasonic website where to find the firmware updates. But pretty straightforward from there.But it's easy to nitpick. Great little camera. Can't wait to really start using it.