More images from my night walk around Port Townsend! If you followed us during ART, you know food is a big part of the PT experience and it’s no coincidence that the WWPW will start at Better Living Coffee and end at Undertown. You might be interested to know that these images were made with my brother-in-law’s Panasonic GF1. I borrowed it to learn more about micro 4/3 cameras and why some people love them.
Time to admit a real rookie mistake with these (hey this is the chronicles of learning photography!). I forgot to check all the camera settings and didn’t realize that it was set to shoot only jpgs. I should have known to review the file format because my brother-in-law never shoots in RAW. Notwithstanding this error, I have to say how much I enjoyed this little camera. It came with the standard 14-45mm zoom lens (28-90mm equivalent because of the size of the sensor) and was very light and easy to use. Compared to dragging around my D700 with a 24-70mm lens, it felt much more like toting around my iPhone. It allowed me to respond spontaneously and I feel the images reflect this.
Because I was photographing in such low light, I cranked up my ISO and you can see in some of the images that the lens was slow in responding. The results were not as sharp as I would have liked them but the images have the same feeling I strive for and I hope they are recognizable as “me”. To really test the camera, Ray has suggested I take it out during the day and set it to the lowest ISO and see if I like it as much or even more perhaps. The other thing I would like to try are some of the other lenses that fit on this body. Ray was using a 14mm prime lens I will try next time as I think it would be much faster and sharper.
Do you have a micro 4/3 camera? How do you find it compared to your other bodies? If you don’t own one, would you consider getting either the Panasonic GF-3 or the Olympus EP-3 or any other brand? I’d love to know!
I am definitely considering the micro 4/3rds but it will have to wait for now. When these ones first came out it seemed like the GF1 was ahead of the Olympus EP-1. I know Bruce Percy made some beautiful landscape images with the GF1. But now the roles seem to be reversed and from everything I’ve seen I’d get the EP-3 over the GF3. It certainly seems a great medium and size camera for getting the images you did and for general street photography.
I’ve read the reviews and it does seem the EP3 has advantages over the GF3. You mention street photography! I am wondering how you would have fared in Buenos Aires with a 4/3rds as opposed to your larger camera body. What do you think?
I don’t think it would have made any difference. The key there was to engage with the people, let them know you wanted to photograph them and why, and then stay with them long enough to get comfortable with you. For that I don’t think a full frame dSLR vs a micro 4/3rds would have made a difference. However, for travel or street photography where you want to blend in more and be discreet to be able to photograph the overall scene or a particular person or image without disturbing them it could definitely be less threatening. I even find my smaller 35mm film SLR seems to attract less attention.
I’m going to leave the geekery about different camera formats to others but your point about light and easy to work with is definitely helped me breakthrough recently with my photography. Getting and iPhone and dragging out my “old” D40 reconnected me with my love of taking photographs which for a while became all too serious and hard work with my D300s DSLR. Love the atmosphere you’re created on this night walk. Although the importance that food played in your ART!
I don’t often do geek speak here so this is a slight departure for me, Julie. The iPhone has been very good for me in exactly the same way…not taking myself too seriously as with my D700. We shall see where the 4/3rds fits into all of this but Iza asked good questions below and I hope my thinking makes sense–if not to everyone but to me.
I am a little surprised that you test the micro 4/3rds. You just upgraded your DSLR an shoot a lot with iPhone. Are you looking for a perfect tool? What is wrong with those you have? Do you think your style lays in a camera you use? Sorry, those questions were jus coming to my mind when I was reading this post… I’m curious.
Really great questions, Iza. I borrowed the 4/3rds because my brother-in-law wants to sell it and I was just testing it to see why someone would want to buy it. To tell you the truth, I didn’t understand why he bought it in the first place (he had a D90 at the time). So it was more out of curiosity that I was using it.
There is nothing wrong with what I am using now although here are a few things I’ve noticed since using my iPhone. The D700 with a 70-200mm gets in the way of connecting with people. All they see is a camera with a long lens and they think I’m a professional. It sets me up for a different kind of conversation with them. With a 50mm lens, it is much better. The iPhone is on the other end of the spectrum. It is great for me to just photograph without thinking–almost no interaction with people. The 4/3rds seems to work as an “in between” in that the sensor allows me to get a longer reach but the lenses are smaller, more compact. People won’t get intimidated when they see a smaller camera. I have to try it in more situations to see if this is true.
It’s not that style lies within the camera I use because to me style is more like technique. It’s more like I am seeing what tools make sense for me to say what I’d like to say with my images. I’m not sure if this makes sense (especially as I’m still thinking my way through this). I guess I would summarize by saying, I was curious and I’m exploring.
I’m still waiting for Nikon to make an x100 equivalent – or rather, a DLSR sized sensor with a smaller body that my Nikon primes will fit on. After being given the Canon G11 I have to say the performance (or lack thereof) bothered me a lot. Not being too much of a gadget geek, I’d be really happy if any one of my present bodies shrank to about half their size without losing any of their performance or ergonomics, or if Nikon came up with their own version of the Magic Wand.
Don’t ask for much, do i?
I LOVED my E3 with 4/3rds lens. Loved. Except the the camera did not do well in low light. I’m getting used to the Nikon system, but miss my Olympus.
Will go Olympus micro 4/3rd for sure when I can.