Perfect Vacation Camera
Mar 21 2010
I’m not a camera geek. I don’t enjoy talking specs. I don’t follow the latest gear. But recently I got another camera that refreshed my interest in photography.
I was really excited when I got the Nikon D70 back in the day. When they say a camera doesn’t make a better photographer it’s usually true, but I felt a visible improvement after I moved from the digital pocket cameras to the amateur DSLR world. I invested considerable cash and I was willing to learn a bit what I’m doing (one disadvantage of Free software is that people don’t feel the need to invest any effort to get familiar with a package when they got it so cheap and effortlessly).
The best camera is the one you have with you, and with the GF1 you get almost all the good from an SLR without the weight and sweaty back from a camera backpack. The controls are great (especially with the latest firmware which adds a few useful hacks), the response quick and the f1.7 20mm pancake lens is surprisingly versatile.
Obviously nothing’s black and white (pun intended) and there are some drawbacks. There’s no landscape/portrait sensor or image stabilisation on the body. The 2x crop factor is not a friend to us wide angle lovers. Although some wide angle options are shaping up (but not cheap). And for a camera that has face detection and recognition (that actually works and is useful with an f1.7 lens) I would have dreamed for a GPS module.
A friend thought I spoke about a new girlfriend when I mentioned GF[1]. I think it is, just don’t tell my wife.
- [Complete set