As the title of the post says, I may have found a camera!!!
it all started with a photo hunt
This weekend, The Man and a friend of his decided to go photo hunting. There was a lengthy debate about where to go, and we ended up in various lobbies of British heritage, from the British library to the British Museum, passing by St Pancras international with a small detour by the new Central Saint Martins buildings behind the legendary station.
because I had no camera
Why does this matter? Simple. I wanted to partake, but had no camera to take photos with. So this Saturday, a cloudy rainy typical London day, I was handed a Panasonic GH-2. Micro four thirds* sensor at 16.1MP, with a lovely 1:3.5-5.6 14-45 lens. A LOT of buttons. So what happened is… I loved it! It has a manual dial for autofocus vs. manual focus even! It is pure genius! I think I fell in love with the controls and the lens, really. Switching between aperture priority or shutter priority is incredibly easy… It has a viewfinder so I can dive into my shot instead of holding it aloft like an idiot with a camera phone… (my approach to photography since 2004) I love this camera!!
which meant it was time to refine the search
So today, after a bit of prevaricating and exploring the innards of DPreview’s search mechanism to find cameras which match the GH-2’s features, The Man has helped me conclude that the G2 is probably my best bet. The sensor is of the previous generation (compared to the GH-2), and it only stores 12.1MP on each photo. But I could also get my hands on one, with a lens, for about £200, which is genius. I was looking at the G5 (Quite happy to part with £500 if i’m going to get a ridiculously good camera in the bargain), but that damn thing doesn’t have the manual dial for autofocus/manual focus! Why would anyone remove that from a bridge DSLR, I have no idea. Neither does the G3! So I’ve back-pedaled to the G2, from three years ago, and look forward to saving quite a bit and adding some insanely better photos to my collection.
from a 35mm manual, to a G2?
This was a hard choice to make, as my one and only camera is a Rollei 35s. And when you own one of those, it is immensely difficult to choose where to go to next. It is small, very powerful (despite the fixed lens), and has all manual controls. It’s older than me and in mint condition, despite me owning it since the age of 13 (so more than 20 years).
And it was those manual controls (fewer still than I would have liked) of the GH-2 that hooked me. That and the lens. So I’ll be doing it soon. In the next 4 months (one of my best friends is getting married in July), I will be acquiring a lovely G2 to take with me. Although, maybe, given the occasion, The Man will be willing to lend me the original jezebel of this story, his GH-2. 16.1MP will always be better than 12.1MP. To paraphrase Jeremy Clarkson: “Moah pixels!”
the options
The Panasonic series I looked at, using the GH-2 as a benchmark.
* i originally wrote “three quarters” sensor, flipping the fraction. Thank you @hfiguiere for catching me out.
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