One of the problems I see with GX1 has been that the default JPEG output is so “flat” and it’s not my taste, especially when compared to the GF1. After a bunch of trial and errors, also with reviews on kakaku and 2ch, here’s something I came up with.

Feel free to cargo cult it, but don’t blame me for bad JPEG rendering because of that.

Mostly used with Summilux 25mm f/1.4. Some settings might not be appropriate when used with other lenses.

Before doing this, don’t forget to apply the firmware Version 1.1 update. It fixes the AWB performance and it’s really important.

• Photo Style: Custom (STD) / Contrast +2 / Sharpness +1 / 彩度 -2 / NR -1
• Aspect ratio: 3:2
• Resolution: L 14M
• Quality: RAW + Super Fine
• Intelligent Resolution 超解像: Weak 弱
• iD Range Control: Weak 弱
• ISO high limit: 800 (might not appropriate if you use the zoom lens) This setting makes a personally satisfying JPEG rendering, and the auto white balance seems more appropriate than Lightroom in many cases with the firmware update. (Lightroom tends to color things more warm and make it look like more dramatic)

Yet, if you take shots in a dark room, shooting with RAW will probably get you a better white balance and exposure adjustments. See my photo gallery for samples — those with .JPG (uppercase) are GX1 auto JPEG and .jpg (lowercase) are published from Adobe lightroom 4 beta.

I will mostly use JPEG and only render from RAW for such underlight photos or failed shots with over/under exposure.

Oh by the way, if you render from RAW, you can still make geotagging work, if your software supports the XMP sidecar files. You still have to transfer from Eye-Fi to your computer wirelessly, instead of reading directly from the SD card though.