Panasonic Lumix DMC G1 | Digital Camera Review | Storage and Energy
Secure Digital has been generally accepted for digital cameras for years now. Even digital SLR cameras are being equipped with an SD/SDHC card slot more and more often, which raises this format memory card to a standard. Nowadays, comprehensive storage capacities are available, even 32GB. Yet, this is not the end figure, it seems like the boundaries will soon expand once again. A few months ago, Panasonic revealed new plans during one of the press events, to enhance the storage capacity to an astonishing 64 and even 128GB. Whether or not these memory cards will be part of the SDHC platform is unknown so far. The Panasonic LUMIX DMC-G1 supports SD and SDHC memory cards, which means a most varied offer of cards is available to the user.
Panasonic G1 responses swiftly to all actions The Panasonic LUMIX G1 is a fast camera in this class. It wasn't until the introduction of the Panasonic G1 that I found out the camera applies AF on the basis of contrast detection, a method that is quite logical for this concept however, it does not guarantee speed. That explains my surprise when I found out how fast the Panasonic LUMIX DMC-G1 responds. Not that it can compete with a fast DSLR, no, but it does put on a more than valiant effort. Whilst shooting in practice, you will never encounter any annoying delays. The shutter lag is measurable, however, not noticeable in practice. It comes down to the G1 being a camera with swift response to all actions, excellent!
SanDisk Extreme III SDHC 8GB card recommended The Panasonic G1 is able to shoot at a speed of approximately 3.5 fps. In order to obtain this speed, it is important to select the correct memory card. I'd say a fast memory card is advisable, preventing the card from becoming the bottleneck in the form of a decrease in performance. Whilst testing, I generally use a fast SanDisk memory card. For the Panasonic DMC-G1 I used a SanDisk Extreme III SDHC 8GB 30MB/sec card. Keeping in mind the resolution of 12.1 megapixels with a maximum file size of around 15MB (RAW) a minimum of 4GB is required and preferably 8GB of storage capacity.
Fast USB 2.0 Hi-Speed interface The Panasonic Lumix DMC-G1 has been equipped with a fast USB 2.0 Hi-Speed interface. It transfers pictures at a high speed. The speed of the Panasonic G1 is stable and fast. If you want to make things simple for yourself, and don't want the hassle of working with a cable all the time, you might want to purchase a fast USB 2.0 High Speed card reader, which does not require connecting the camera. It's fast, easy and saves battery capacity.
Panasonic DMW-BLB13E Lithium-Ion battery The Panasonic DMC-G1 obtains its energy from a DMW-BLB13E Lithium-Ion battery with a capacity of 1250mAh. Charging of the battery using the standard included battery charger takes around 155 minutes. If we consider the measurements that have been carried out according to CIPA standard, a fully charged battery should deliver approximately 330 pictures or offer capturing for 165 minutes. CIPA is short for Camera & Imaging Products Association and carries out standardized measurements. In practice, test circumstances will not be similar, so count with fewer pictures on one charge. Usually; the more time there is in between taking pictures, the fewer pictures can be made with a fully loaded battery. If you are not able to recharge the battery in between shooting, you might want to consider purchasing a second battery.
