Never miss a moment with the Lumix G7 lightweight and compact DSLM camera

I participated in an Ambassador Program on behalf of Influence Central for Panasonic. I received product samples as well as a promotional item to thank me for my participation.” As someone who has a camera with me at all times, the struggle is always between whether I want quality pictures or I want lightweight options, because up until now there was no real compromise in my eyes. That means I typically end up going the DSLR route because I need to have good pictures for blog posts and for capturing all those important milestones with the kids, but I hate that I end up carting around bags of gear as well as all the stuff we need on our adventures.

In my never-ending search for a lighter weight camera, I earmarked the Panasonic Lumix G7 because it has interchangeable lenses as well as being mirrorless {which is quite possibly my favorite advance in cameras in the recent years}. The fact that it has a touch-enabled screen so it is really user-friendly was the tipping point. But it wasn’t until I tried it that I truly fell in love.

The Lumix totally blew me away in the DSLM (M= Mirrorless) category and it has proven to be the perfect compromise of losing the bulk and weight of traditional DSLRs without sacrificing image quality. In fact, it has so many features that I adore that it’s now my most-used camera. This is because it can do basically everything I need but can fit easily in my purse or diaper bag for days out so I can capture gems like this one I snapped last night while berry picking.

While I officially have too many things I adore about the Lumix G7 to possibly fit in one post, I'm going to talk about my absolute favorite feature of the camera: the 4K shooting modes. Ironically, this wasn't one of the reasons I was drawn to the Lumix G7 in the first place, and every time I saw it on a camera comparison site, I just assumed it was a video mode and disregarded it since I don't shoot a ton of video.

So, imagine my surprise when the 4K shooting modes became my favorite new tool to help capture all those amazing moments. Their 4K shooting modes allow you to shoot Ultra HD Video taken at up to 30 frames-per-second in three different modes {4K Pre-Burst, 4K Start/Stop, and 4K} depending on whether you will know approximately when the moment will happen or if you have no clue at all.  But, that's where it gets really awesome. Once you have your 4K file taken, you can extract individual frames like the one below of my daughter running through a fountain in Seattle and save them as an 8-megapixel still image right from the back of the camera so you never miss that perfect moment.Whether it’s the look of elation and surprise on my son face during his first-ever roller coaster ride… … or it's catching the kids just being their goofy selves… …or it's the split second both kids finally looked at the camera while doing a photo shoot {clearly, we're still working on the baby looking at the right time}. I will admit I had become very skilled at head swapping and other advanced editing in Photoshop because it's so hard to get a good picture where everyone is actually looking pleasant, let alone smiling. But, now with the 4K mode, I can take all the guesswork out of timing the perfect photo and let the camera record a series of shots that I can pick between on the go, without having to use special programs or even hooking up to a computer.  I no longer worry that I'm going to miss the first solo bike ride sans training wheels because all I have to do is press a button and the Lumix G7 does all the thinking for me. That means I don't even have to worry about timing and instead I can concentrate on not sobbing while I watch my sweet boy pedal off for the first time. While I'm looking forward to touching on all the other details of the Panasonic Lumix G7 that I adore in future posts, the 4K setting would have to be my favorite feature I didn't know I was missing. It is basically the coolest thing that could happen to a mom of three active little ones and it allows me to really capture all the adventures we go on as a family. It may not actually freeze time for me, but it comes pretty darn close.

Click though the link to find out more about the Panasonic Lumix G7, and be sure to follow Panasonic on Twitter, Facebook, and Instagram so you can see all the amazing things this little camera can do.