I bought a Lumix G1 for $50 — here’s how the world’s first mirrorless camera fares 18 years after launch
Like many photographers, filmmakers and tech journalists, I’ve picked up a Lumix camera at various times in the 25 years since Panasonic started making cameras.
I’ve reviewed countless Lumix cameras and lenses down the years, and decided to part with my own cash for a Lumix GH5 to level up my video quality just before moving to East Africa in 2015.
I’ve used that camera for multiple video projects, and 10 years on, paired with a 12-60mm f/2.8-4 Leica lens, it’s still my go-to camera for my product photos, which you can see in my reviews and other articles on TechRadar.
To commemorate 25 years of Lumix cameras in my own small way, I decided to buy another model, the Lumix G1, which was in fact the very first mirrorless camera ever made — at 18 years old, it even predates TechRadar, and this is our first proper write-up about it!
The Lumix G1 was a true innovation, marking a new era of cameras that would eventually replace the best DSLRs, and which dominate the market today. Was it easy to find one? Surprisingly enough, it was.
A vintage bargain
My original idea to mark 25 years of Lumix was to buy the very first Lumix camera, the DMC-LC5 compact. However, after many hours of fruitless searching I diverted my attention to the OG mirrorless camera.
I quickly found a secondhand Lumix G1 for just £41 at MBP (about $50 / AU$90), or double that with an original 14-45mm kit lens. If I was willing to pay a little extra, I could get the camera in what I’d describe as a dark shade of red instead of the original black.
Given that these cameras are 18 years old, there are very few excellent-condition models still available, so I settled for a ‘well-loved’ version.
I wanted the authentic experience rather than using my own 12-60mm Leica lens, so I bought the camera with the original kit lens. A few days later, the gear arrived in an original box with all the original accessories — there was even the user manual on a CD.
Back when the Lumix G1 was launched, proper plug-in battery chargers came as standard — and the original charger was in the box too, which was a novelty, because these days you don’t typically get a charger with USB-C-ready cameras. And I got all of this — camera, lens, charger and all original items — for just £80. Bargain.
Once the battery was charged and inserted, I connected the camera and lens, and got a feel for the DSLR-style body. The immediate downside to a camera of this age and design is that the exterior was sticky and peeling in parts — not a particularly pleasant experience.
On turning the camera on, I was greeted with an old-school white background menu with vintage typeface and a time / date set page, with the year set to 2008 — yes, the Lumix G1 is a full 18 years old! Numerous hits of the D-pad later, with the correct time and date set, I was ready to go.
Despite its age, there’s a familiarity about the way the Lumix G1 feels and handles, though there are exterior controls that feel somewhat quirky 18 years later, but which offer an insight into what features were all the rage of that time — for example, there’s a ‘film mode’ button for color profiles aped today by Fujifilm, and an autofocus mode dial. That said, camera design really hasn’t moved on that much, and I felt immediately at home handling the G1.
They don’t make ‘em like they used to
So what about the technology inside?
What Panasonic did well when it started out making micro four thirds mirrorless cameras was to give us compact-sized models that made the most of the ‘half-size’ sensor format.
With its DSLR-style design (read: viewfinder hump), the Lumix G1 was larger than other Lumix models such as the GF series and legendary GM1, but nonetheless it feels small, and the pronounced grip fits in the hand comfortably.
The range evolved over the years, and quite literally grew in size as more features were added, and the Lumix G1 better realizes the micro four thirds concept than, say the Lumix GH7.
The electronic viewfinder is understandably quite small and basic, but it’s still what I like to use to compose images in bright light. The vari-angle screen is not touch-sensitive, which certainly makes the Lumix G1 feel somewhat primitive in 2026.
Menus, therefore, need to be navigated using the camera’s buttons, including the function button for the quick menu. I might have missed a trick, but by my reckoning it takes a four-step process of tapping different buttons to access exposure compensation, which became tedious after prolonged use.
Thankfully, for the most part, the menus in the Lumix G1 are refreshingly simple. I suppose that’s because it has less going on versus the feature-rich Lumix cameras of recent years. But in a way, it’s feature set is not so different.
You might expect autofocus speed to be archaic, but honestly the contrast detection-based AF still felt pretty snappy in good light, easily latching on to most subjects, and it was decent enough even in low light.
Sure, there are fewer autofocus points, and the percentage coverage across the frame is smaller compared to today’s models, but autofocus was generally reliable.
And get this: there’s human subject-detection autofocus, and it works pretty well. Leading brands are still tinkering with advanced subject-detection autofocus 18 years later, throwing ‘AI’ into the mix covering pose recognition for humans, animals, and more, but the truth is that the foundation for this tech has been around for many years — and the Lumix G1 is proof of that. It’s autofocus is simpler than today’s mirrorless cameras, but sufficient for everyday photography.
Enough for the everyday
The camera packs a 12MP micro four thirds sensor (aka MFT / M43), a megapixel count which 18 years later is more than doubled by flagship cameras in this format — the top micro four thirds cameras like the Lumix G9 II offer 26MP, and a high-res mode that can quadruple that resolution.
Picture quality isn’t just about pixels, though, and the Lumix G1’s sensor is also pretty dated in terms of low-light performance, with an ISO sensitivity range of just ISO 100-3200 — yes, it tops out at ISO 3200.
Low-light quality is the main drawback of the micro four thirds format versus full-frame mirrorless models which came several years later (but were predated by full-frame DSLRs), especially in earlier models such as the Lumix G1.
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Still, a pop-up flash is handy at a pinch for party portraits, with manual exposure control for attractive fill-flash effects. And I dig the overall quality — many of today’s cameras recreate vintage effects with various color profiles, whereas here every photo as a dated look to it.
Burst-shooting speeds are understandably much slower than the latest cameras, and I’m not about to take the Lumix G1 to my kid’s sports day. Its top speed is just 3fps, a rate that the camera can sustain when shooting JPEGs until the card is full. Add RAW format into the mix, however, and the camera slows up after just a couple of seconds.
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After using the 14-45mm lens exclusively, I decided to throw my cheap Olympus 45mm f/1.8 portrait lens into the mix — after all, lens choice and cross-brand compatibility was and is the beauty of the micro four thirds system, even if you don’t always get the full suite of features when mixing and matching brands.
The 45mm f/1.8 was typically the second lens that Olympus (now OM System) users would purchase, and it leveled up the quality of my portraits and other shots with its improved light-gathering capabilities. Aesthetically, the camera and lens pairing still look the part too.
Are old cameras worth it?
For me, cameras are a bit like cars. Vintage models, such as the Lumix G1, have a certain rough-around-the-edges charm about them that has been lost with modern design and increased capabilities.
Sure, the Lumix G1’s capabilities pale in comparison to, say, the Lumix G9 II, which is the latest version in the series. That camera has an incredible suite of features, including Panasonic’s hybrid phase-detection autofocus and blazing-fast performance.
For all the Lumix G9 II’s excellence, however, I’m charmed by the original model. Of course, I wouldn’t use it for serious work or once-in-a-lifetime trips like I would the current day model. But for photographing the everyday, I’ve enjoyed reaching for the Lumix G1, and I’ve been loving taking photos just for the fun of it.
The Lumix G1 is still a decent beginner camera all these years later — and it’s available secondhand for a ridiculously low price. So, in the spirit of celebrating 25 years of Lumix, I toast Panasonic for producing the mirrorless camera that started it all, and for all the cameras it has given us down the years.
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