Since the much-loved Olympus E-P1 came out, I’ve been a fervent fan of the Micro Four Thirds system. The E-P1 (and EP2/GF1) struck the perfect balance between capability and portability. In fact, there’s very little a full-sized DSLR (5D-caliber) can do that an u43 can’t: mainly sport and extreme low-light/high ISO photography. That said, even the E-P1 was a bit heavy for me on extended summer hikes* so when Santa (me) found the Panasonic DMC GF3 /w 14mm f2.5 on sale for a mere $350, I was ecstatic!
First of all, this camera is TINY. It’s also very cute (dare I say feminine**) and very, very fast. The japanese-made, aluminium body is solid and slick. Yes, it is a much simplified version of the GF1 but other than the hotshoe (which I thought I needed but didn’t) it doesn’t lose any of the core capabilities. Most of the things that a DSLR can do, this cutie pie can too. Most importantly, the GF3 does not get in the way.
I’m not a purist (what a condescending word!) so the transfer of external functions (that I don’t use anyway) to internal menus doesn’t bother me. All I require is to be able to change the aperture and exposure compensation QUICKLY under Aperture Priority and with GF3, it’s a simple matter of spinning the thumb wheel. There’s also a touch screen if you’re into that kind of stuff. The “touch-to-focus” function is surprisingly useful and eliminates the “focus-and-recompose” focusing error common when using fast lenses with razor-thin depth-of-field.
Santa Approved. Merry Christmas everyone!
* …and a pussy when it comes to schlepping heavy gear around. Meow.
** it’s 2012 gentlemen, embrace you inner femininity.
Thanks for the insights.
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