Panasonic has officially announced the successor to LUMIX DMC-G2 Micro Four Thirds camera, named as Panasonic LUMIX DMC-G3, which the company claims as the world’s smallest and lightest digital interchangeable lens camera with a viewfinder. If you’re the owner of LUMIX G2 who considered to upgrade the camera and would like to find the differentiate between both of them, here’s the comparative table between Panasonic LUMIX DMC-G3 and LUMIX G2 for differences in specifications and features at a glance.

Panasonic LUMIX DMC-G3 vs LUMIX G2

Panasonic LUMIX G3 Versus Panasonic LUMIX G2
16-megapixel Live Mos image sensor Image Sensor 12.1MP Live MOS sensor
High-speed Venus Engine FHD image processor CPU Venus Engine HD II processor
Free-angle 3.0-inch touchscreen with touch-control shooting capability Screen Display 3″ free-angle touch screen
Full HD (1920 x1080 pixels) video capture in AVCHD format HD Video Recording 720p HD video capture in the AVCHD Lite format
4 frames per second continuous shooting at full resolution (16MP) Burst Mode 3.2 fps in H mode
Yes Dual Full-time Live View For LCD And LVF Yes
23 Area Auto Focusing Points, plus newly-added Pinpoint AF Focus 23 Area Auto Focusing Points
Yes Dust Reduction System With Supersonic Wave Filter Yes
Panasonic iA Plus, 3D shooting capability and Precision Contrast LightSpeed AF system More New Features
115.2 x 83.6 x 46.7 mm Sizes (W x H x D) 124 x 83.6 x 74 mm
336 grams Weight 371 grams
$699.99 Initial Launch Price (LUMIX G VARIO 14-42mm lens kit) $799.99

From the table above, you can notice that the Panasonic G3 is noticeably lighter and smaller than its predecessor – without compromising the quality and performance. LUMIX G3 adopts higher-resolution image sensor, full HD video recording, dedicated video button for instant switching to video recording, and more advanced features, but still about 25% more compact than LUMIX G2.

One of the most notable new features of the LUMIX G3 is Panasonic’s new iA Plus mode, which enables defocusing control area, exposure compensation and white balance to be adjusted with a simple touch control for achieving better result.

Panasonic LUMIX G3 Compact Systems Camera (CSC) is bundled with the 14-42mm zoom lens will be available in 4 stylish colors – black, white, brown and red, scheduled to hit the market for around $700 beginning June 2011.