Panasonic Lumix DMC-G5

The Panasonic Lumix DMC-G5 is a compact Micro Four Thirds mirrorless camera from the early 2010s, with proper interchangeable lenses, a built-in electronic viewfinder and plenty of hands-on control.

At its heart is a 16MP Live MOS sensor, paired with the Micro Four Thirds lens mount. That gives you access to a huge range of Panasonic, Olympus and third-party lenses, from tiny everyday primes through to longer zooms.

There's a fully articulated 3-inch touchscreen, electronic viewfinder, built-in flash and RAW shooting, along with manual exposure controls when you want to take over from the camera. It'll also shoot Full HD video and manage continuous stills at up to 6 frames per second.

It's an older digital camera, but still a very usable way into interchangeable-lens photography, especially at this price.

This is a vintage item, so please use the supplied photographs to assess its condition and check what is included before purchasing.

Best for

• Learning photography
• Everyday shooting
• Travel
• Street photography
• Portraits
• Trying Micro Four Thirds
• Manual photography
• Using vintage adapted lenses
• Someone moving beyond a basic point and shoot
• An inexpensive interchangeable-lens digital setup

What to expect

The G5 sits somewhere between a compact camera and a traditional DSLR in use. You get a proper grip, electronic viewfinder and physical controls, but the Micro Four Thirds body remains relatively compact.

The fully articulated touchscreen is particularly useful for shooting from high or low angles, while the EVF means you're not dependent on the rear screen outdoors. Panasonic also included an eye sensor to automatically switch between the two.

Its 16MP sensor, RAW capture and interchangeable lenses give you considerably more photographic control than a simple digital point and shoot.

It is, however, a 2012-generation digital camera. There's no built-in Wi-Fi or modern smartphone connectivity, and its autofocus, high-ISO performance and video features shouldn't be expected to behave like a current mirrorless camera.

Developing

No developing required.

Photos are recorded digitally to SD, SDHC or SDXC memory cards in JPEG or RAW format. Video can be recorded in AVCHD or MP4.