Forgot to check Amazon reviews before buying this, but glad I didn't because the camera is quite good for my needs and I might not have bought it based on the mixed and sparse reviews on Amazon. I did look at "professional" reviews on photographyblog and dpreview, which were much more positive.

I was deciding between the new Olympus Pen Mini E-PM1, Sony NEX C3, and GF3. Tried out the Olympus and GF3, and decided on the GF3. I got a better price on the GF3 than I could for the Pen Mini, but that was just icing on the cake, because the features on the GF3 meet my needs better.

Similarities between GF3 and E-PM1:
--body size about the same
--similar price range
--Micro Four-Thirds sensor
--both are the budget, easy-to-use version of their respective camera families
--instant-record movie button
--kit zoom lens 14-42mm
--neckstrap
--to my layman eyes the photo quality was about the same, as was auto-focus speed, though E-PM1... Read more

I think how you feel about this camera is really going to depend on where you're coming from. If you're a DSLR shooter and are looking for a portable body you're likely going to be frustrated by the lack of control points on this camera.

On the other hand, for those upgrading from a point and shoot camera like myself, this camera can be ideal. I came from a Canon S90, which I purchased a couple of years ago looking for a camera that does a better job in low light than the typical point and shoot. The S95 was definitely a step up from what I had before, but more recently I've become frustrated with the limitations of the sensor and was also interested in exploring the world of interchangeable lenses.

What I didn't want, however, was to get a full DSLR. Portability is extremely important to me, any camera that can't be slipped into a coat pocket or small bag is simply useless to me. No, the GF3 can't fit into a pants pocket like my S95 did, but it's still massively... Read more

I got this kit about a week ago at Target. It was a deal I couldn't pass up: $400 with a free $75 Target gift card. I'd been obsessively researching system cameras for a few months, and I thought I had narrowed it down to either the Canon T2i or the Nikon D3100. I wanted something that could do full HD as well as sophisticated focus pulling. I was pretty sure I wanted something that could shoot at 24 fps, but this deal got me rethinking that. The more I read, the more I realized that you don't really need 24 fps to get that film look, that there are other factors that go into profession looking shots. I wanted to be able to achieve the rack focus effect of pulling the focus from the background to the foreground or between different subjects in the frame. With the touchscreen and the crazy-fast autofocus on the GF3, all you have to do is point where you want to focus. It makes it so simple, and if you want more controll, you can still focus manually. The mic is mono, but I... Read more