Panasonic announced their latest GF camera this week, the Lumix DMC-GF6. The new model is based around a slightly thicker body and offers direct access to manual controls. The camera is mirrorless and will target a niche audience.

The GF6 measures 111.2mm x 64.8 mm x 38.4mm and it weighs 323 grams (including battery, SD card).

This camera is the excellent wireless capabilities, including Wi-Fi connectivity with NFC technology. You can simply push a button to connect this camera to a smartphone or tablet.

The specifications are good too, it has a 16 MP Micro Four Thirds sensor, up from 12 megapixels in the GF5. We haven't seen demo photos yet, so its hard to see how it handles noise in poor lighting conditions. The company are keen to point out however that the new Venus Engine image processor has a two step noise reduction system to deliver excellent images with plenty of fine detail.

The ISO range is 160 to 3200 and it can be expanded to 25,600. This seems very high, but Panasonic are claiming good results.

The GF6 can handle burst speed shooting rates up to 4.2 fps with AFS. Full HD video is supported – 1920×1080 60i/50i in AVCHD.

Panasonic say this is the first ‘interchangeable lens camera with NFC'. The direct connection with an iOS or ANDROID tablet or smartphone are one of the key selling points. Apps available will allow the camera to be used as a 30 frames per second monitor with remote shooting capabilities. The touch LCD supports 1040k dot resolution.

Pricing with a 14-42mm F3.5-5.6 II kit lens will be around the $700 mark. No UK pricing as yet.

Kitguru says: This should prove popular with the enthusiast audience.

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