Panasonic has introduced its Lumix DMC-GF8 compact system camera, decked out with a 180-degree touchscreen monitor for capturing selfies, due to land in the Australian market in March.Once the DMC-GF8’s LCD monitor is flipped up, Self Shot Mode is automatically triggered, which Panasonic states allows for the capture of “shots of yourself and friends that would usually be out of arm’s reach”.
Self Shot Mode capabilities include Face Shutter, triggering the shutter after the user waves their hand in front of their face, and Buddy Shutter, triggering the shutter when the camera detects two faces next to each other, with users able to select between a 3-second or a 10-second countdown.
Meanwhile, in Self Shot Mode, either the normal shutter button or the Fn1 button can be selected to take a shot, making it equally easy for the user to user their left or right hand.
By pressing the Wi-Fi button, and starting the Panasonic Image app on a tablet or smartphone, the user can control almost every setting remotely, and can also check the results of their shot with Remote View.
The DMC-GF8 is equipped with a 16 MP Digital Live MOS sensor and Venus Engine, with Panasonic stating
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that “even images shot in low-light situations are stunningly sharp”, with users able to dial the ISO setting as high as 25,600.
Light Speed AF provides for the camera and lens exchanging the digital signal at a maximum 240 fps, with high-speed burst shooting at 5.8 fps (AFS)/5 fps (AFC, 1-area AF) in 16 MP and at a maximum 40 fps using an electronic shutter.
AF Tracking enables consecutive shooting, capturing moving subjects at around 4.0 fps, while electronic shutter speed is available at up to 1/16000 second.
The DMC-GF8 is capable of recording full-HD 1920 x 1080 50p videos in AVCHD or MP4 (MPEG-4/H.264) format with stereo sound, and also supports 1080/24p native mode with 24 Mbps in AVCHD format.
There are 20 different scene modes, with the most commonly used added to the mode dial for easy access, while the Creative Control mode provides 22 filter options.
The DMC-GF8 single lens kit, 12-32 mm lens, will be priced at $699 RRP.
