The Panasonic Lumix DMC-GF7 is the latest entry level mirrorless camera from Panasonic, and along with a redesigned body, features a 16 megapixel sensor, 3inch tilting touch screen and built in Wi-Fi. It's available with the new compact 12-32mm f/3.5-5.6 lens with Mega optical image stabilisation, and updates the GF6 which will stay on the market.

Panasonic Lumix GF7 Features

The Panasonic Lumix GF7 updates the Panasonic Lumix GF6, and is a new, more compact camera with 16 megapixel sensor from the GX7, as well a high resolution 3 inch tilting touch screen on the rear. Other upgrades include a new Venus image processing engine, improved AF performance, with low-light focus down to -4EV. There are 22 filter effects, as well as a panoramic shooting mode, with the option of applying filters to the panoramic shot.

The GF7 comes as a kit with the new compact 12-32mm pancake lens, making the camera much more pocketable, as well as being easier to carry around with you thanks to a lightweight camera body made out of a combination of metal and plastic. 

Wi-Fi is built in to allow setup of Wi-Fi connections with smartphones. The smartphone can be used as a remote shutter control, or setup for instant transfer so that photos will automatically transfer to the smartphone after shooting. Wi-Fi can also be used to setup auto backup of photos and video to your computer. 

The GF7 has a 180 degrees tilting monitor, along with face shutter, buddy shutter, and beauty effect, all designed to make taking the "perfect selfie" possible. In addition the Wi-Fi button can be used as a shutter button in selfie mode. The camera has a new shutter mode, called face shutter where you simply wave your hand in front of your face and the camera will automatically take the photo when it detects your face. The buddy shutter mode automatically takes a photo when you put two faces together in front of the camera. Another new feature is called jump snap, when used in combination with a smartphone, when you jump the smartphone detects the movement and the camera takes photo. Beauty effect functions include defocus, soft skin, slimming mode, and these options become available when shooting with the screen facing forwards.

Key Features

• 16 megapixel Live MOS Micro Four Thirds sensor
• 3inch tilting 1040k dot "selfie" touch-screen
• 22 filter effects, Panoramic shooting
• Full HD Video, stereo sound
• ISO100 - 25600 (extended)
• 1/16000 electronic shutter
• 5.8fps continuous shooting, 5fps with C-AF
• Wi-Fi connectivity, QR Code
• Retouch mode
• Available in black and silver, or silver and tan

Panasonic Lumix GF7 Handling

The top of the camera is where you'll find the mode dial, which should make selecting modes easy, as well as the sweep panoramic mode, that will automatically stitch the photos together as you pan the camera. Surrounding the shutter release button is the on / off switch. At the front is a textured leather effect, which gives a slightly grippy surface to hold on to as well as making the camera look good.

On the left is the Fn (function) button, which can also be used as a shutter release button when using the camera in "Selfie" mode. The camera is more compact than the GF6, and weighs 266g with battery and memory card.

On the rear the camera has a thumb grip, as well as the video, playback, display, scroll wheel, menu/set, Q Menu and delete buttons and the tilting touch screen, which features a 1040k dot resolution and tilts to 180 degrees. The 4-way controller gives quick access to exposure, WB, focus area and drive mode. The camera also features improved AF performance that can focus in low light down to -4EV. The camera also includes eye and face detection AF, focus peaking, and pinpoint AF (PIP display), as well as touch AF. The camera uses an electronic shutter over 1/500s, which is worth noting when shooting in artificial light. The screen is very clear and has good viewing angles

Underneath the camera has the usual metal tripod socket and battery / memory compartment, and battery life is rated at 230 shots according to Panasonic / CIPA standards, which is lower than most mirrorless cameras, so a spare battery is recommended. The GF7 uses the same battery as the GM1 and GM5.

Wi-Fi - The built in Wi-Fi gives the Panasonic Lumix GF7 a number of features, including the ability to connect it to a smartphone or tablet running Android or iOS. First you need to install the Panasonic Image App from the app store, and then you're able to connect to the camera via Wi-Fi, or a QR Code. The app gives three main modes of operation, the first as a remote control for the camera, giving you access to a number of options and settings, including the Q. menu, touch focus and shutter release, as well as stop motion animation. The second mode, is playback, lets you can view images, as well as transfer them to the phone or delete them. The third mode is the GPS logging option, to let you record your location, and then it's possible to add GPS location information to photos.

Apart from the Panasonic Image App, there are also a number of other Wi-Fi features built in to the camera, letting you automatically transfer images to the smartphone after shooting, backup to your computer, or share to social network sites. Although sharing to social network sites requires setup of the Lumix gateway account, which does require some PC use to then enable the Facebook (or other social media website) connection.

Speed - We took a number of shots to test the camera's responsiveness, from switch on to first photo, shot to shot, focusing speed etc. We take a number of shots and then use the average to ensure accurate and consistent tests, making it easy to compare with other cameras.

Continuous shooting is decent at 5.8fps, with up to 13 shots possible before slowdown when shooting JPEG images. Focus and shutter response is excellent and shot to shot times are particularly impressive. Tested with the 12-32mm lens.

Panasonic Lumix GF7 Performance

The performance section is where we look at the image quality performance of the camera. Additional sample photos and product shots are available in the Equipment Database, where you can add your own review, photos and product ratings.

Panasonic Lumix GF7 Sample Photos

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Low Light | 1/25 sec | f/5.6 | 32.0 mm | ISO 6400
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Sample Photos - The camera has reliable exposure, and to extend dynamic range you can use the iDynamic or HDR options. There is a good level of detail in photos, and when using flash for portrait shots, there are minimal signs of red-eye. The selfie features are good, with the blurred background feature being particularly good, creating a blurred effect around the subjects face. Buddy mode automatically takes a photo when two faces are detected next to each other. 

Panasonic Lumix GF7 Lens test images

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Wide | 1/1000 sec | f/3.5 | 12.0 mm | ISO 200
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Lens Performance -  The compact 12-32mm f/3.5-5.6 lens performs well and is capable of recording high levels of detail, even into the corners of the image when shooting wide-angle or with zoom, and you can read our full review of the lens here. There is a slight hint of vignetting in the corners, which can be corrected in camera by switching on shading compensation, and purple fringing and chromatic aberrations are very low with the camera automatically correcting for these problems. 

Macro performance of the kit lens is a weakness, with the closest focusing distance 20cm from the lens, and for any more serious macro photography a different lens is recommended. When shooting with the sun in the frame it is possible to see some lens flare, however this wasn't a huge issue the majority of the time.

Panasonic Lumix GF7 ISO test images

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0.3 sec | f/8.0 | 32.0 mm | ISO 100
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ISO Noise Performance - ISO ranges from ISO100 up to ISO25600. Noise is low at ISO100, up to ISO400. There is a slight drop in detail at ISO800, although noise is still low. At ISO1600 and ISO3200 there is another drop in detail, and noise becomes more obvious. At ISO6400 noise is quite strong, and when viewing images at full size it's easy to see that images lack detail, although these could provide usable images if resized. ISO12800 images are soft, but again may provide usable images if resized. ISO25600 shows the most noise, and least detail, so this setting is best avoided - it's also possible to see banding from the use of the electronic shutter which will become visible when shooting under artificial lighting.

Panasonic Lumix GF7 White-balance test images

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AWB Tungsten | 1/8 sec | f/8.0 | 18.0 mm | ISO 200