Thoughts from a DSLR to Micro4/3 Convert

Back in September 2009, I’ve sold off my Nikon D300 DSLR, and slowly sold off most of the DX lenses as well. After going without a DSLR for about 6 months, I have decided to settle down with the Panasonic Lumix GF1 (have it since Feb 2010). Now that I have used it extensively for about a year, I like to pen down my thoughts about my switch from DSLR to the Micro4/3 system. Just a little background, I’m not a professional photographer and are into photography as a hobby. I done quite a bit of wedding back in 2008 as favours for friends and acquaintances, but that’s about as professional as I gets. So my opinion would come at the angle of an photography enthusiast.

Panasonic Lumix GF1 with the 20mm f1.7 pancake lens

Thought you're happy with the LX3?

My decision to abandon DSLR pushed me to take LX3 more seriously. The result in this change of mind-set yield some interesting result (in street photography and a wedding). So I have good appreciation on how a compact camera can be as competent as DSLR in certain shooting situations. The GF1 comes about at a right time when I'm about to go on a family trip. As the date of the trip came close, I decided that I need a camera that can do more than my trusty LX3. Don’t get me wrong, LX3 is a versatile little camera and is a good tool for specific kind of shots, but I do miss a few features such as shallow DOF, better noise control and dynamic range, just to name a few that is on the top of cravings. However, I will never, ever bring a bulky DSLR again for family trips. It defeats the meaning of holiday when you need to worry about your gears when you’re on the move. Moreover, it’ll turns the trip to a photography trip instead of a family trip. So, staying true to the mantra of using the right tool for the job and getting what you can afford at the time when you need it, I bought the GF1. I had just 2 months before the trip to get accustomed to it.

Shallow DOF at about minimum focus distance of the 20mm lens

 

Ok, but why Micro4/3 and why not Olympus?

My #1 criteria is that the camera must be small and light. Even with the smallest DSLR in the market at that time, it still quite bulky due in part of the size of lenses. So that ruled out DSLR. Other potential candidates are the Sigma DP2 and the Leica X1. Both of them in the right size and weight, but reviews of the DP2 states the performance is sluggish, and the X1 is, well, way over my pay cheque. That leaves us to Micro4/3. Narrowing down further, Panasonic’s G1 and GH1 are out as well, since they were built like a DSLR too. So that leaves me with Olympus E-P2 and Panasonic GF1.

Initially, I kind of like the the Olympus E-P2 . It has stylish design, in-body image stabilizer, great out-of-camera jpegs, just to name a few. But Panasonic was the one that hit the right spot with the excellent 20mm f1.7 pancake prime lens. I know I will not want to use the kit lens from Olympus, as I read that it's build quality and resultant image wasn't that spectacular. Moreover, I don’t think in-body stabilization is that critical for my style of shooting. Motion from your subject still cannot be fixed by any form of stabilization. I prefer bumping up the ISO instead even if that means I get more noise in my images. Also, I’m a post processing person so out-of-camera jpegs wouldn’t mean too much to me, at least not at this time. There’s also a few more nitpicks, like there’s no built-in flash, and the body is slightly heavier than the GF1.

As for GF1, I’ve read good reviews about it (especially from Craig Mod). And since I have been using LX3 for quite sometime. So picking up GF1 would be pretty easy since the handling and menu system is very similar. The LCD screen resolution is also much higher than those found on E-PL2 (I’m spoiled by the D300 920k pixel LCD). And finally, the 20mm f1.7 lens is sold as a kit lens together with GF1, which makes buying it easier for me and my pocket.

 

So how does it feel in the hand?

The GF1 is a marvel that sits in between LX3 and a DSLR. Handling is quite like a compact camera, like the LX3. I view this as a positive point as it keeps weight and bulk at the minimum. The overall weight is well distributed so it doesn't feel lopsided. The metal finish of the body is similar to LX3, which gives an impression of a solid build.The right thumb position has a groove that ensure a good grip on the camera, while the vertical groove at the front helps as well.

There are ample buttons and switches outside to keep the camera menu away most of the time. I'll just mention a few note-worthy ones. The video recording button is something very new in digital cameras, and the GF1 has it just beside the shutter release. This is a well-placed position which encourage shooting of video spontaneously. In front of the mode dial is a switch for changing the shutter release mode (single, burst, bracket and timer). This is a great addition to the camera, and is a feature found only in higher end compacts and mid-range DSLR. The delete button also act as a DOF-preview button during shooting mode, another feature mostly found only in mid-range DSLR. I don’t use it very often but nevertheless a nice to have feature.

Other than buttons, love the high-res 3" LCD, which is sharp enough for confirming focus, and great for instance gratification too. Still not good for viewing under bright sunlight but no camera does at this time anyway. The pop-up flash is very cool with the way it extends out, and definitely a should-have item for some low light situations (E-P2 doesn't have built-in flash).

If I want to nitpick, a better hand grip like those in E-PL1 would have been great. Lighter and smaller body depth would be nice too, but I guess that will come later with newer models (as seen in the recently launched GF2 which became smaller).

My GF1 and LX3

 

How well does it handle?

Biggest change in shooting would be the use of live view LCD instead of the DSLR viewfinder. Though for the 1st month I occasionally put the GF1 up to my face, I adapted very soon after. Composing with the LCD has it’s merits. You can immediately see roughly how the pictures will look like since the live view actually produce the picture base on settings, such as white balance, film mode etc. It also allow your live subjects to actually see your face while composing, which I think brings your subject closer to you, instead of you hiding behind a brick, err, I mean DSLR. Composing with the LCD means you don’t have to stick it to your face to compose, giving you more flexibility in changing the angle of view. For instance, I could still compose a shot while holding it up overhead, or beneath my waist length. I also got myself the EVF for GF1, but I find that its low resolution and washed-out colour gets in the way of the photographer, so I don’t really like to use it that much unless I have problem composing my shot with LCD under bright sunlight.

The 20mm itself which makes shooting with GF1 a lot of fun. The I find the 40mm equivalent field of view is just right for most situations, and are narrow enough for getting a nice 1/2 body portrait with nice bokeh. Occasionally though I wish it’s a bit wider so that I can take a group of 2-3 person across a small coffee table. The characteristic of the lens is also quite interesting. When shooting at foliage's, the tree twigs which are out of focus has some interesting bokeh. It also produce some interesting ghosting when shooting at a bright light (flares as well but I don’t fancy it), though might be due to the UV filter that I slap on it.

Notice the twigs at the top right corner? GF1 with 20mm f1.7 pancake lens.

 

Ghosting from a spotlight. GF1 with 20mm f1.7 pancake lens.

The shutter release is at 3 frames per second, which are not as fast as my previous D300 (5 FPS, 8 FPS with battery grip). On top of that, the buffer memory seems to get filled up rather quickly. So shooting too many frames within seconds means a long waiting time before I can shoot again. I have to accommodate this limitation by improving my anticipation of moments and timing. So it kind of pushed me to be better photographer instead being a trigger-happy paparazzi. Moreover, GF1 wasn’t built for D300 level of speed anyway (BTW, Lumix GH2 already match D300’s 5 FPS, and has a 40 FPS low-res mode).

Focusing speed with the 20mm lens is ok, with focus typically achieved around 1/2s. If the focusing point is already close to where the lens is focusing at, the time to achieve focus can be quite instantaneous. More difficult situations will require the focus to hunt and that could take up to a second. The focusing is done using contrast detection, so the lens actually hunts for the focus back and forth rather quickly. So, no, it’s not as fast as DSLR, but good enough in most situations. When used on a zoon lens however, focus is achieved almost as fast as DSLR’s phase-detection. I don’t own the 14-45mm kit lens, but I got myself the 45-200mm zoom, which does focus a lot faster than the 20mm.

One interesting focusing mode that GF1 has is the AF Tracking mode. This mode, allow focus lock on a subject, and continues to track it as the subject moves. Tracking does not stop even after shutter release, and even if the subject moved out of frame momentarily. However, it is no where as good as the focus tracking ability of the Nikon D300 that I used before. the D300 has 51-point focusing point, and base on a particular 3D-tracking mode, can perform tracking of a locked subject as well. Base on my memory, the 3D tracking on D300 is much more accurate in tracking the locked subject. Moreover, I understand that Nikon even have algorithm to continue to adjust the focus point during the shutter lag time (time between shutter button pressed to the point the sensor is exposed to capture the shot). Don’t think Panasonic goes that far yet.

Auto focusing aside, micro4/3 cameras are good candidates to use almost any type of lens with the right lens mount adapter, due to its smaller sensor size. Doing so, we have to rely on the LCD or the optional EVF for manual focusing. With a manual focus lens attached, the thumb wheel button now acts as a magnification switch. Pressing it will magnify the center of the frame, so that it allows easier judgement of focus. While magnified, turning the thumb wheel will change the magnification (2 settings only). The focus mode button on the D-pad also changed to allow setting of the magnification size (2 settings only too). I recently acquired the 26mm f1.4 Toy Lens from SLR Magic via eBay, and are having lots of fun using this little lens.

Interesting swirl from the Toy Lens 26mm f1.4. 1/25s, ISO400, probably at f1.8.

Back when I’m using the D300, I would have to clean the sensor rather often due to dusts. Blowing it might help, but occasionally sensor swab is called for, and that’s a hassle. Now with the GF1, although the sensor is pretty exposed when switching lens, I have not perform any manual sensor cleaning for my past 1 year of use. Probably due to the excellent sensor cleaning ability. This means I don’t have to worry about cleaning the sensor while on a trip, and less gears to carry. Excellent!

Shortcomings would be the used of the LCD itself, as the LCD is susceptible to glare, especially when viewed at an angle or from out door. The EVF doesn’t help much either, since the EVF resolution is very low. It helps with composition at out door, but definitely not much help with focusing. Another issue is the sound that it produce when taking a shot. Although there’s no mirror slapping sound, the sensor still has a mechanical shutter, which closes, opens and closes to expose for the shot, then opens again for live view when capturing a shot. This sound is loud enough to have heads turning at you in a silent room.

GF1 also comes with a hot shoe for compatible external flash units. It’s definitely useful when shooting indoor events, where lighting is inadequate. It’s a pity that Panasonic did not implement wireless flash system such as Nikon CLS. I guess the rational behind this omission is that the camera is meant to be portable, so adding a flash would defeat the size advantage. Also, there are other ways to achieve wireless flash with 3rd party triggers.

GF1 with 20mm. Freeze-motion with Nikon SB800 Speedlight, set in A mode, bounced to ceiling.

How about the images?

The pictures have some impressive detail that can even compete with those from DSLR. This can be attributed to the excellent performance of the 20mm pancake. However, I have also tested it on other lenses such as the Nikon AF-D 50mm f1.8 with the F-mount adapter, and the Lumix 45-200mm zoom. Safe to say it's not just because of the optics that I get good images.

From what I've read and seen online, Olympus PEN seems to produce better out of camera jpegs. I think I agree with that. The jpegs out of the GF1 has a cool look, just like LX3. However, I so used to post-process my photos as part of my workflow, I mostly set the camera to shoot raw only. So it doesn't affect me that much, but this definitely affects photographers upgrading from compact cameras.

Still there are areas where even post processing can't help. The dynamic range and noise control wasn't as good as the APS-C size sensors on the DSLRs (or in the recent Sony NEX and Ricoh GXR 50mm module). That's the short coming of a smaller sensor size. Therefore, I tend to set a -1/3  exposure compensation most of the time, so I can save the highlight in post processing if I need to. But, it is still great leap from compact cameras. Few years back, even APS-C sensor doesn't give any better DR and noise control. The Nikon D70s I used previously have worse DR and noise than the GF1. So I bet technology will catch up very soon in these two short comings. Moreover, I'm not sure how the lenses can be kept as small as it is now  should a larger sensor was selected as the micro4/3 standard. So I have no real qualms accommodating these short comings for now and compensate it with more thought before taking the shot, and a little bit more effort in post processing.

Speaking of post processing, I had enough experience in the past few years so I don't need a lot of effort to post process the shots from GF1 for the look that I want. I mostly make changes to exposure, white balance and contrast. Occasionally I will adjust the vibrance/saturation for better colour, and apply software art filters for a quick fix on the overall feel of the shots. Moreover, post processing software has improved up to a level where great result can be achieved in shorter time.

Below is an example, bright sunlight on the Flinder Street station of Melbourne city, GF1 with 20mm f1.7 pancake lens. Some simple post processing done with adjustments on exposure, fill light, contrast, sharpness and noise reduction to reduce noise at the shaded area. I chose not to adjust the colour tone so you can see that the colour of GF1 is tend to be cooler. The 2nd image is cropped at 100% at the clock.

 

In Summary

So, after a year of owning the GF1, I find myself happy with the decision, both for selling of my DSLR gears, and adopting the Micro4/3 GF1 camera. With the DSLR system, each trip or event that requires a camera would have me fussing over what lens to bring, should I bring a flash or two, tripod, and which bags to carry them all. And when considering all that, carrying all these weight makes me an unhappy photographer. And, unhappy photographer does not produce better images.

Now with GF1, I feel liberated from the previous pains, and actually noticed that I have improved in my images. Perhaps I have improved as a photographer since then? Maybe. Perhaps I’m more suited with a small camera? You bet! I still have a lot more to share about my experience with the GF1, so I will write more later with more specific topics. With that, I’ll end this post with some of the images I like during my family trip. Click for a larger view. All images are shot with the 20mm pancake lens, except for the last one with the bird, which is shot with the Panasonic 45-200mm at 200mm.