Back in the (non-digital) days when I used an Olympus OM4 camera, this was a very portable film SLR with great build quality and simple controls. I wished for a digital camera with similar specs and size, and I can’t understand the trend that Canon and Nikon were driving, which was about improving technology but not decreasing size. Seems that the assumption was that anyone who wanted (semi) professional quality photos also wanted a brick of a camera.
Enter Panasonic GF1, a little gem of an interchangeable lens digital camera:
It has a quality sensor, micro four thirds which is about 30-40% smaller than typical aps DSLR sensor, but much bigger than the typical small point and shoot.
- It has a fast focus, on par with a DSLR.
- Sensible controls that don’t require more than one to two clicks to get to an important camera feature.
- Build quality is excellent, feels very solid.
- There is a 20mm pancake lens that is excellent in low light (stops down to 1.7f) and does not stick out like a sore thumb.
A direct competitor is the Olympus EP1, with a very similar feature set and arguably better jpeg quality, but the auto-focus on this sexy looking camera is way too slow compared to the Panasonic and this put me off buying it.
This little camera has re-vitalised my interest in photography; I can finally take a camera, pop it in my pocket and expect good results without breaking my back. DPreview.com has an extensive review.
Panasonic gf1 system
Some sample shots (they are quite large, so might take some time to load if you click on them):
Jamons in Madrid's Spanish Market
Spanish market muffins
Ana Banana
djlime
drbiba
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