Good deal – The Panasonic Lumix G7 14-42mm camera body at €599.94 (-14%)

Accustomed to renewing its Lumix Gs every year, or even a little less, Panasonic has calmed down a bit and took the time to breathe and think before replacing the good (but banal) Lumix G6 with a G7. Much good it took: by taking over many attributes of the big brother GH4, darling of many videographers, the Lumix G7 pulls up a G line that was beginning to run out of steam and lose interest. The Lumix Gs are dead, long live the Lumix G7, 4K video, Oled viewfinders and touch screens. But besides, what is in this Lumix G7?

Let’s not be afraid of words: with its Lumix G7, Panasonic has a practically perfect hybrid for the greatest number. Well built, relatively compact and light, very fast, capable of very beautiful images, gifted in video (it films in 4K/UHD!), highly customizable. His flaw? He wants to do everything well so much that sometimes he does a little too much…

Strong points

• Comfortable Oled viewfinder.
• Adjustable and multitouch screen.
• Pleasant grip and double wheel system.
• Excellent responsiveness in all circumstances.
• Image quality up to ISO 3200.
• Great customization possibilities.
• UHD video.
• Lots of video settings.
• Good battery life (500 views) and supplied with a mains charger.

Weak points

• Still too many buttons everywhere.
• Menus sometimes too complex.
• No headphone jack.
• Sensor not stabilized.

NB: The reported price drop is calculated by comparing the lowest price of the day with the average of the lowest prices charged by all merchants for the product last month, with security rules to exclude prices from shops whose the VAT policy is not clear (known as “grey” shops, typically in the case of imports from China).

Alternatively

Case after case, Panasonic continues to improve its recipe for the ideal hybrid: small, light, resistant, fast, stabilized, gifted in both photo and video. The Lumix G80 can now add the “record autonomy” badge to its list of winners since it knocks down the main fault of hybrids with an algorithm. In a word: impressive!