Count me in as another person who is quite excited about the MFT movement (if you can call it that). I am a wedding photographer who shoots with D3\'s and very heavy Nikon lenses (14-24/2.8, 24-70/2.8, 70-200/2.8, 28/1.4, 85/1.4, 200/2). So when I first heard that I could potentially get decent image quality in a lightweight kit, especially for traveling (I am tired of schlepping my Nikon gear overseas on personal trips), I was quite excited at the prospect.
I have been looking for the perfect travel camera for some time now - I had a Fuji F30 and Canon G10 - very good compact cameras, but they always fell short with regard to image quality (they were good at low ISO but I also missed the functionality of my SLRs when using these compacts).
I just picked up the GF1 and 20/1.7 pancake ... I can\'t remember the last time I had so much fun playing with a new camera. It reminds me of when I got my first (film) SLR over 30 years ago and a fast 50mm lens. That\'s all I used to shoot with for a few years (until I could afford a couple more primes) and I loved it. I feel like the GF1 (and the pancake lens) is helping me \"rediscover\" photography again. It is so liberating working with such a compact, functional and quasi-minimalist camera (especially since the 20/1.7 is the only MFT lens I currently own).
I am really, really impressed with how the GF1/20mm combo performs. No - it won\'t replace my D3\'s for work ... they are in a class of their own, image quality (and handling) wise. However, for the size of the GF1/20mm package, the image quality is very, very good. I am also impressed by how the GF1 handles.
I applaud Panasonic and Olympus for their foray into the MFT market. I think it was a ballsy move and they\'ve successfully targeted a niche area between the compact and DSLR markets. I do believe that they will be very successful with this system. As much as I love my Nikons (and Canon is very good too), I really want someone else to give them a run for their money. I really want a MFT player to be the #3 (or even top 1 or 2) camera player in the market.
I look forward to seeing more lenses (especially the Panny 14mm pancake and the new 45mm Leica/Panny Macro coming out) and seeing this system expand. I have to believe it will only get better over time - with regard to selection of lenses, improvements in camera functionality and image quality.
My 0.02 (Canadian, eh)
Oct 14, 2009 at 08:34 PM
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