Panasonic Lumix DMC-GF3

With the GF3, Panasonic continues to court the mass-market, with a camera that furthers its trend of simplification and new-user befriending. It’s a gentle refresh of the GF2 but one from which even more controls (as well as size and weight) have been removed. It’s still a 12MP camera but the addition of the latest three-core Venus Engine FHD processor gives it the impressive speed of its G3 and GH2 siblings.Building on the simple touchscreen design of the GF2, the GF3 loses Panasonic’s signature rear click-dial, instead making do instead with a compact camera-style dial around the four-way controller. This and the loss of both the flash hot shoe and rear accessory port underline Panasonic’s determination to keep things small, simple, unthreatening and inexpensive. The stereo mics of its predecessor have also gone, further casualties of the downsizing process.