Panasonic Lumix G100 is a compact mirrorless camera made for vloggers and content creators. It offers close competition to Canon M50 and Sony ZV-1 for the best vlogging cameras. The Sony ZV-1 lacks an interchangeable lens which both Lumix G100 and Canon M50 have.
Panasonic Lumix G100 boasts of 20MP micro four thirds CMOS sensor which records videos upto to 4K resolution. This makes the camera ideal for content creators who want higher quality videos compared to a regular smartphone.
Overview of Panasonic Lumix G100 Key Features
Apart from a big sensor on a tiny camera, these are the key features in the Panasonic Lumix G100;
- Multi-Directional audio
- 3” 1.84M-dot fully articulating LCD panel
- 3.68M-dot Electronic Viewfinder
- Electronic Image stabilisation
- 4K/30p and upto 1080/120p video quality
Body & Build Quality
Straight from the box, Panasonic Lumix G100 takes after the traditional DSLR. The camera is however small in size, almost the same size as a smartphone. At the centre of the camera is an electronic viewfinder, pop-up flash and a hotshoe. There is a hand grip on the right side with a thumb rest at the back.
Panasonic pairs the Lumix G100 with a 12-32mm F3.5-5.6 kit lens with image stabilisation. The kit lens is also compact and collapses when not in use to make the camera easily fit in a large pocket. This makes the camera ideal not only for vloggers but also for travel photographers. Being an interchangeable lens mirrorless camera, the Lumix G100 is compatible with a wide range of micro four thirds lenses from Leica and Olympus.
There are minimal and direct dials on the camera considering it also has a 3-inch touch sensitive screen. The shutter button is surrounded by a command dial and a rear wheel that surrounds exposure settings dials and the menu.
Although the Panasonic Lumix G100 is quite small, the plastic material used, the hand grip and thumb rest make the camera feel solid at hand. Eitherway, you can opt for a handgrip which also doubles as a mini-tripod for easier handling.
Performance
Panasonic Lumix G100 offers exactly what creatives are looking for in a professional camera at lower cost. The camera boasts of amazing features that will set vloggers and content creators from smartphone users.
Audio Quality
Panasonic has worked really hard to make the audio of the Lumix G100 top notch. They have collaborated with Nokia to feature their OZO VR audio technology in the compact camera.
Panasonic Lumix G100 has three inbuilt microphones which can simultaneously or individually pick sound depending on the settings. The camera can pick sound from the front, back or from all directions. With audio tracking mode on, the camera recognizes the face and uses the microphone closest to the direction of the face. The Lumix G100 will automatically use the front microphone when you flip out the screen (selfie mode) no matter the audio settings.
Video Quality
Panasonic Lumix G100 wins the hearts of most content creators when it comes to video quality and features. The camera borrows some features from high end Panasonic cameras such as the GH5. These include the 20.3MP micro four thirds sensor and V-log L profile. For starters, V-log profile is a feature in Panasonic cinema cameras that record flat contrast videos in low saturation. You can later adjust the video to the saturation and contrast you desire in an editing software such as lightroom.
You can record UHD (4K) videos using the Panasonic Lumix G100 or opt for 1080p to avoid cropping. Videos in either formats (HD or UHD) will also suffer cropping when you turn on the electronic image stabilisation (EIS). The camera can also crop videos to an aspect ratio best for social media content. While in this mode, the action you want to share should be within the framing guides. You can also tilt the camera to record vertical videos.
Image Quality
Panasonic understands that even videography content creators need high quality photos for their thumbnails. With the big sensor in Panasonic Lumix G100 and an electronic viewfinder, the camera qualifies to take still photos.
The camera confidently captures detailed JPEGs even in low light conditions by just setting the camera to Auto mode. This means the user doesn’t have to be a professional photographer to take great photos with this camera. However, I would recommend upgrading your lens if you want better autofocus from your Lumix G100.
Battery Life
Being a very compact mirrorless camera comes with its bucket of disadvantages. One being the absence of a physical image stabilisation which leads to cropping. The battery issue comes next.
A smaller camera means you do not have a lot of space to fit a battery. It is therefore understandable that the Panasonic Lumix G100 is not the most reliable camera for long videos. It has a CIPA battery life rating of 250 shots per full charge. This translates to about 90 minutes of recording 1080p videos. The battery life is much shorter when recording in 4K.
Connectivity
You can easily transfer your videos and photos to your mobile phone using the WI-FI or Bluetooth connectivity available to Panasonic Lumix G100. This makes it easy for content creators to upload the content recorded with the vlogging camera.
In terms of ports, there is a HDMI port for video output, a USB 2.0 which can be used to charge the camera or connect to the hand grip and a 3.5mm microphone socket. Unfortunately there is no headphone jack to monitor the audio.
Check out this video review by Wex Photo Video;
Final Verdict
I would recommend the Panasonic Lumix G100 to creative beginners who want a camera that serves both videography and photography needs. Although the Lumix G100 was designed to meet the needs of content creators, I have no doubt that it will be ideal for photography enthusiasts who want to grow into professional levels.
