The new Panasonic announcements on micro four-thirds look pretty good. The new 14-140mm lens and those small bodies (G1 & GH1) add up to a pretty versatile package. The G1 got a good write-up at Luminous Landscape.
For me, this could be good. At present, my hiking, travel and cycling set-up is pretty heavy.
Currently I carry an EOS 20D, the 17-55IS and either a 70-200 f/4 or 70-300 DO for cycling & travel. I could also use my 40D. Great pictures but a lot of camera. Weighs in at around 2250g.
The G1 & 14-140 weighs around 840g+battery. The equivalent Canon set-up (EOS 450D & 18-200) weighs 1075g+battery. That's a whole lens of difference.
If I could be getting comparable results from a G1 as I get from the 20D, this is an attractive option. If the 20mm f/1.7 materialises then there is a useful low-light, evening lens which might supplant the Zeiss Ikon on some of my travels, too.
I'll be watching this micro four-thirds closely over the coming months: I can see a potential trade-in of some of the Canon gear for something like a G1 outfit.
Thursday, 5 March 2009
An ideal travel camera?
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
Posts
I have been folloging the micro 4/3 system since it was published, and the biggest drawback seems to be the lenses (or the lack of them).
ReplyDeleteThe 14-140 (28-280 mm equiv.) seems good, but I would like to have a 10 mm f/2.8 or similar, and the 20 mm f/1.7 of course. And a macro lens would be of interest also.
The Samsung NX system look quite interesting also, but in theory at least Panasonic and Olympus can take the wind from Samsung if they manage to release better and improved micro 4/3 cameras and lenses to the market.
I'd be quite happy mounting Voigtlander M-mount lenses with an adaptor. For me, 20mm-e (the 100mm) would be far too wide anyway.
ReplyDelete