Unveiled: The Selfie-Centric Panasonic LUMIX DMC-GF7 Mirrorless Camera

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Sleek and stylish, yet delivering on the imaging goods, Panasonic's new LUMIX DMC-GF7 is a mirrorless Micro Four Thirds camera designed to capture your daily experiences, be they distant landscapes or up-close selfies. The compact form factor pairs well with a retro-inspired body design, available in both Pink and Black, and when the camera is bundled with the LUMIX G VARIO 12-32mm f/3.5-5.6 ASPH. MEGA O.I.S. kit lens, you have a svelte kit to accompany you on all your adventures. Beyond the attractive exterior of the camera are a 16MP Live MOS sensor, Venus Engine image processor, and a slew of features designed for easier taking and sharing of photos and movies.

The 3.0" 1.04m-dot LCD monitor features a touchscreen design for intuitive control and can tilt forward 180° for front-facing selfie compositions. The GF7's penchant for selfies doesn't stop here, however; for easier one-handed picture-taking, and those right-handers who aren't quite so ambidextrous, both the conventional shutter-release button and the opposite-sided Fn1/Wi-Fi button can be used to release the shutter with the screen tilted up. Or for even easier, hands-free shooting, you can simply wave to release the shutter or bring you and your friends' faces close together to automatically shoot a photo as well.

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Further extending the remote shooting capabilities is a seamless smartphone-connect method in which you can pair devices using the Fn1/Wi-Fi button or by taking a photo of a QR code on the rear of the camera with your mobile device. Once linked, the Panasonic Image App can be used to release the shutter, zoom, and focus remotely. Imagery can be transferred to your phone for instant sharing online, too, and the phone's location data can be embedded into the image files for geo-tagging. Finally, marrying the smartphone's wireless capabilities with the set of selfie-oriented features, the Jump Snap function is designed to capture photos of yourself jumping, and the smartphone will automatically trigger the shutter while you're in midair, at the highest point of your jump.

In regard to the imaging capabilities, the 16MP Live MOS Micro Four Thirds sensor and Venus Engine combine to afford sensitivity to ISO 25600, continuous shooting up to 5.8 fps with single-shot autofocus, or Super High continuous shooting at 40 fps using the electronic shutter function. The electronic shutter can also be used in conjunction with the Silent mode to damp all sounds and lights from the camera for more inconspicuous shooting. Besides its quick performance, the Contrast AF system is also especially notable due to its -4 EV sensitivity for working in low-light conditions with maintained accuracy.

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Full HD 1080p/60 movie recording is supported, as well, in both AVCHD and MP4 formats, and a built-in stereo microphone with an integrated wind cut filter is available for clear audio recording. A Snap Movie mode allows you to record 2, 4, 6, or 8-second clips and do your own editing on the fly with the Panasonic Image App, which gives you the control to sequence your clips, add background music, and quickly share with others. Also, a dedicated Time-Lapse mode records sequential images at user-selected intervals, and then automatically compiles them into a single movie file for playback.

Rounding out the feature set of the GF7 is a host of creative shooting modes and tools to adjust the look of your photos in-camera. Three beauty modes can be used on your portraits, and include a Soft Skin mode to brighten and smooth skin, a Slimming mode to shape and sharpen facial lines, and a Defocusing mode that maintains clear focus on your main subject while softly blurring the background. An iA (Intelligent Auto) mode can be used to automatically select exposure and camera settings for ideal results; 23 different Scene Guides may also be employed for matching your camera settings to the scene at hand.