Micro Four Thirds or Another DSLR/More kit

ic0n - Panasonic are (apparently) going to announce the GF1 replacement at the end of this month. I'm not really fussed whether the new one is significantly better, if it is I'll get the new model, if not I'll hopefully be able to pick up a GF1 at sale/end of line prices. Winner all round. :)
 
I picked my GF1 up for £360 with the 14-45 lens :) End of line out of town store and complete unmarked as it'd been locked away. At that price it was hard to look at the high end compacts :)
 
This is the dilemma I have. Cart my 30D and lenses around or buy a GF1, 20mm and the Oly 9-18.

I am going to Nepal to trek to Everest Base Camp and at those altitudes travelling light is king. A 30d and Tokina 12-24 would probably feel like a 1 tonne weight around my neck.
 
Rich said:
This is the dilemma I have. Cart my 30D and lenses around or buy a GF1, 20mm and the Oly 9-18.

I am going to Nepal to trek to Everest Base Camp and at those altitudes travelling light is king. A 30d and Tokina 12-24 would probably feel like a 1 tonne weight around my neck.
Click to expand...

Take the 30D IMO

If you're not acclimatised properly then you'll be screwed anyway and if you are acclimatised properly then you'll be just a little light headed/short of breath at that altitude - adding the weight of an SLR to whatever you're carrying isn't going to make much difference in terms of requiring more physical exertion on your part just as it wouldn't at sea level - the shortness of breath/light headed feeling will still be there with or without the DSLR.
 
Thanks yer i was wondering if an update to the GF1 was in the works as well its seams to be have been around a while. I will hold out for the update and then pick up the new one or the older one on the cheap :-D

thanks for all the help guys.
 
Rich said:
This is the dilemma I have. Cart my 30D and lenses around or buy a GF1, 20mm and the Oly 9-18.

I am going to Nepal to trek to Everest Base Camp and at those altitudes travelling light is king. A 30d and Tokina 12-24 would probably feel like a 1 tonne weight around my neck.
Click to expand...

For me, 30D + 12-24 without a seconds thought.

Altitude is a real female dog if you are not used to it, but the difference in camera weight wont make any difference unless you are trying to sprint up to 8000m. Dehydration is one of the biggest problems, so you will have to carry several liters of water, by the time you are packed with all necessities (water + clothing), the difference in weight is meaningless.

My advice is to get fit (but this means CV, muscles will only drag you down and burn oxygen, if you are a gym rat then stop weight lifting). Try and get some acclimatisation trips in. For starters, a few weeks before get a cheap flight to lyon/annecy/geneva and get your self to Chamonix, up the Aiguille de midi and spend a night or 2 at the cabane cosmiques and do some light CV work. When you arrive in Nepal see if you can get a head start on some high altitude trekking

I wouldn't want 18mm FF equivalent in the Himalayas for starters.


If I was doing such a trip I would upgrade to FF immediately and/or buy a small point and shoot. You will only notice the weight saving when going down to a 200g lumix type thing.
 
dowie said:
Take the 30D IMO

If you're not acclimatised properly then you'll be screwed anyway and if you are acclimatised properly then you'll be just a little light headed/short of breath at that altitude - adding the weight of an SLR to whatever you're carrying isn't going to make much difference in terms of requiring more physical exertion on your part just as it wouldn't at sea level - the shortness of breath/light headed feeling will still be there with or without the DSLR.
Click to expand...

Should have read your post, I agree 100%.

weight doesn't make the difference, acclimatisation is all you can do.
 
D.P. said:
For me, 30D + 12-24 without a seconds thought.

Altitude is a real female dog if you are not used to it, but the difference in camera weight wont make any difference unless you are trying to sprint up to 8000m. Dehydration is one of the biggest problems, so you will have to carry several liters of water, by the time you are packed with all necessities (water + clothing), the difference in weight is meaningless.

My advice is to get fit (but this means CV, muscles will only drag you down and burn oxygen, if you are a gym rat then stop weight lifting). Try and get some acclimatisation trips in. For starters, a few weeks before get a cheap flight to lyon/annecy/geneva and get your self to Chamonix, up the Aiguille de midi and spend a night or 2 at the cabane cosmiques and do some light CV work. When you arrive in Nepal see if you can get a head start on some high altitude trekking

I wouldn't want 18mm FF equivalent in the Himalayas for starters.


If I was doing such a trip I would upgrade to FF immediately and/or buy a small point and shoot. You will only notice the weight saving when going down to a 200g lumix type thing.
Click to expand...

Already running 10k every other day. No room for any sort of acclimatisation before the trip, either in Europe or Nepal. Will all be done on-route.
I think having a DSLR around my neck for up to 9 hours a day will be a killer.
It hasnt stopped me having unhealthy thoughts about spending the money on a 24-70L to compliment the 12-24. FF isn't really an option, the 12-24 wouldn't work properly on a 5d2 and that means more lens expense.

I have seen the GF1 in Nepal review before, thanks anyway though :)

Many thanks for the advice guys, it isn't falling on deaf ears.
 
Last edited:
Another thing actually. I am in real danger of making this trip about photography, and it isn't. Don't get me wrong, I want to come back with great photos but I don't want the photography to dictate my enjoyment of the trip.

I toured around europe for a little while and was always gutted when the weather wasn't the best for photography, even when stood in some Alpine paradise sucking in the fresh air. I think the GF1 might allow me to put Photography in the back seat and just enjoy the trip of a lifetime. Probably deluding myself there though hah!
 
I know exactly what you mean, last year made a special photography trip to the canadian Rockies and for the most part the weather was useless for photography so I got very disappointed. I think the cure is to take just a small point and shoot and not worry about quality.

As soon as you add some manual control, lens choices and the capability to take artistically orientated decisions on camera parameters then you will stress too much about conditions and even worse, may get annoyed that the EVIl cameras are too limiting and you wish you had your full 30D outfit.

This comes from my opinion of compromise solutions giving you generally the worst of both worlds rather than the best of both. I quote Star Wars: "You do or you do not, there is no try".
 
I went against the grain and opted for the GF1. So far I am finding it to be a pretty special little camera really, there is something quite liberating about having a camera this small that takes such great photos.

Will it be the right decision in Nepal? Guess I will only be able to tell when I get back. My gut is telling me that I will get shots that I wouldn't have with a DSLR but will also miss a DSLR in some circumstances too. 50/50 on that front I guess.

I have only quickly taken a few shots so far and took it to the zoo.

Things I Like:

Discrete
Manual Controls are really easily accessed.
Depth of field is nice.
Sharpness (20mm Kit lens).
Construction.
Live histogram (seriously very cool when you don't have a proper viewfinder)
Shutter lag - There isn't any that I can see.


I can see it taking a little bit of practice to get focus spot on in some scenarios but thats all part of the learning curve. I was taking shots in the butterfly house at the time which is always tricky, even with an optical view finder.
I also keep holding it up to my eye at first when I go to take a shot. Look a right muppet hah!

It just feels right at the moment. Will be interesting to see if the new toy affect wears off after 3 weeks in the Himalaya with it. I will either love it or loathe it by then I guess.
 
I was at V Festival last weekend and I took my Canon EOS 7D + Sigma 17-70 & canon EF 70-300 IS USM lens.
I only used the 70-300 lens all weekend, though I took the 17-70, as I would sooner have it and not use it rater need it and not have it.
Any way, it was a lot to carry around for the weekend and I did get into the dense crowd for some of the acts. Having a big heavy DSLR in such an environment require some care in keeping away from flying bottles, showers of beer been thrown around and people pushing pass you in the tightly packed crowd, oh while people are jumping up and down !
If I had a NEX 5, then that would be the best option to take. As I can carry it easily enough and it has the reach when fitted with the right lens.
I am waiting for the NEX 7, as I think that will be the one to have. Also there is the replacement for the GF1 to look at as well.
For those events the small form factors are the best to have. For holiday I really need the quality so the 7D all the time. Unless I go hand luggage only !
 
Well my GF1 died :( and they couldn't get me another one so ended up getting a refund.

So after much looking around and playing I've ended up with the Samsung NX10 system with all 3 lenses, 30mm, 18-55mm OIS and 50-200mm OIS for about 625 after cashback :)

So far very pleased image quality is superb, the AMOLED screen is very good and the EVF is also very good as well. Shame about the GF1 but am pleased with the NX10.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top Bottom