Panasonic GF1 - is this the right camera for me?

[Leanne76]

Hi

I have only ever had a P&S camera. I want to upgrade and wanted some advice.

In terms of the kind of camera I want / pictures I want to take:

- I want it to be portable therefore not too bulky or heavy as I know I will never take it out if it is (with two small children I already have enough to carry! )

- I mostly take pictures of people, mainly my children and would like the pictures to have the soft, blurry background

My main concern over the GF1 is the zoom as I am thinking of buying it with the 20mm pancake lens. I know I can purchase the 14-45mm zoom lens at a later date if I want to but wondered whether this is the right camera for me.

Thanks

[inkista]

If you can afford it, I think the GF-1 might be a great choice for you. Low-light capability, more bokeh than a P&S, certainly, especially with the 20mm pancake, and no discernible shutter lag are going to help you with all your goals.

The few things you want to keep in mind are:

1) It's not a pocketable small camera. You're still going to have to carry it around in a bag. If you wanted pocketable portability, a P&S camera might still be the way to go. I'd highly recommend getting your hands on one before purchasing, just so you can judge if the size is going to work for you. A lot of the reviews you're reading about how small and tiny and compact it is are written by folks used to lugging about pro SLRs, not bridge cams or P&S cameras.

2) It's going to cost roughly the same amount as an entry-level SLR. SLRs still have fuller systems, and still have larger sensors and even better low light and background blurring capabilities. You're essentially paying just as much for a more limited, but smaller, system. You are specifically limited in the range of lens selection and price points. If you're ok with this, then go for it. Maybe you're like Henri Cartier-Bresson, and you can shoot everything with that 20mm pancake. The situation will only get better as years go by and Panasonic and Olympus come out with more lenses. But right now, the best wide-angle lens for micro four-thirds is the amazing Panasonic 7-14. It costs $1100. And you have no other choices to cover that focal length range.

3) You're going to have to relearn how to take and process pictures if you want to take full advantage of the camera. Point-and-shoot will work just fine. But controlling your iso, aperture, and shutter speed are no possible, and you'll want to take advantage of that, as well as the capability of post-processing. Also, you're likely to be losing things you're used to having with a P&S camera: zooming, macro, and telephoto focal lengths being the main ones. This isn't a bad thing, btw. It's a good one. But a lot of folks get surprised by the fact that what they thought was going to be "an upgrade" turns out to have a learning curve, and that their photos start out by being worse, rather than fantastically better right away. Technique, composition, and post processing have a ton to do with how a photo appears--it's not just the camera.

For example, if you want a blurred background, that means you also have to learn how to focus accurately. With one of these larger-sensored cameras, because you can now get things out of focus--that's how you can blur the background.

This isn't going to be a straight forward upgrade from a P&S camera, although it's sold and spoken of that way. This is a paradigm switch to a different type of tool.

[KevPeden]

Hi Leanne76. Inkista is absolutely correct. It will be a whole new learning curve, but what you get is exceptional results from a fairly compact tool and that's why I carry a GF1 + 20mm pancake lens with me at all times when I'm out and about and not carrying my usual Nikon gear. About it being pocketable, as your user name is Leanne76 I'm assuming you are female so this is not a problem (if I'm wrong please don't take offence) as you probably carry a hand bag of some kind and the 14-45mm lens is small enough to carry as well. When I'm out without pockets I allow my wife to carry it for me in her hand bag, sorry, only joking about the allow bit, I can feel the bruises coming on now. Go try it at your local dealer, if it fits with your needs go home and look on the net as THERE ARE SOME GOOD DEALS ON THE WEB FOR THE BODY + 20MM + 14-45 MM ZOOM BUNDLE. An alternative could be the Panasonic LX3 OR THE NEW LX5, but you are back to a compact but a quality compact. Hope this helps.
Regards
KP

[Leanne76]

Thanks for your advice.

A few questions they throw up... (oh and yes I am female and no offence taken!)

I am not likely to go buying lots and lots of different lenses so think I am comfortable with it as it stands. I may well invest in the 14-45mm zoom at a later stage but not go OTT.

I have started reading up on the triangle but think I need the camera in my hands to really get my head round it!

What do you recommend for post processing?

I've managed to find the camera plus 20mm lens for £549 so think that's the best I am going to get!

Thanks again

[inkista]

Originally Posted by Leanne76

I am not likely to go buying lots and lots of different lenses so think I am comfortable with it as it stands. I may well invest in the 14-45mm zoom at a later stage but not go OTT.

I said that same thing, about $8,000 ago...

I have started reading up on the triangle but think I need the camera in my hands to really get my head round it!

That's not unusual. One book that's becoming a sort of standard text on this is Bryan Peterson's Understanding Exposure.

What do you recommend for post processing?

I spend more than I should on this hobby, but I like Adobe's Lightroom. There's a free 30-day trial version you can download from the Adobe website to try out. It's kind of like Picasa or iPhoto on steroids. It's built around the photographer's workflow. Most importantly, it can handle RAW files directly.

[animafoto]

I just got this camera 6 months ago and I love it! However, I truly agree that it's not a P&S and there is SO much learning to do with it - SO much. At least for me, since I'm quite new to all of this. I also have 2 other lens for this which are amazing - but again, LOTS of learning. The photos that have come from this camera thus far - for a "newbie" - are quite nice, when I finally get a "good" shot!