Announced in mid-2015, the pocketable Panasonic GF7 was the entry-level reincarnation of the high-end GM5. It lacked the electronic viewfinder but with similar compact dimensions, a handy tilting screen and a reasonable price tag, it was one of the more appealing options within the Micro Four Thirds line-up for beginners.
Today Panasonic announced the Panasonic Lumix GF8, the successor to the entry-level GF7, but before anyone gets too excited, let me say upfront that there are very few differences between the two models.
In addition to having an identical design, the two cameras share the same 16MP Micro Four Thirds sensor, 1080/60p video, autofocus modes, and WiFi capabilities. They are both available in four different colours: silver, brown, pink and orange.
The selfie-related features also remain unchanged. Both have a 3-inch 1.04 million dot touchscreen that tilts upward 180 degrees. Tilting the LCD activates a Self Shot Mode that makes it possible to take selfies in a number of different ways, such as pressing the shutter release, touching the screen, putting your head close to that of another person (Buddy Shutter) or waving your hand in front of your face (Face Shutter).
So, what has changed? It all comes down to the extra beauty modes.
In addition to all the beauty modes found on the GF7, including Soft Skin, Defocusing and Slimming, the GF8 offers a new Beauty Retouch mode. In Aesthetic Retouch, effects can be applied to the face such as clearing the skin texture, lifting the face, and whitening the teeth. In Make-up Retouch, users can choose the colour of their foundation, lips, cheeks or eye-shadow after the fact.
For now, it looks as if the GF8 will only be sold in Asia and Australia. It is unknown whether it will arrive in Europe or the USA at some point.