Snap Happy

Since I returned to SA, I've really let one of my hobbies really slip. I've been busy of late and have not had a chance to get out and really start photographing SA in all its glory.

Over the past few weeks the gear hog in me has begun to rear its head. I've started looking at acquiring a new camera. Mind you, I currently have a Pentax DSLR which is getting up there in age, but it has served me well over the years, and I have a wonderful set of prime and zoom lenses that I have acquired for it. I also have a Canon G9 which I picked up before I arrived in SA, and it has been my primary camera for the last 10 months. But here's the issue, I need something that is small as the G9 but allows me to slap on lenses as I please.

Enter the Panasonic GF-1. Now, I'm not going to provide a technical overview of this camera. These links do a great job of that; http://www.stevehuffphotos.com/Steve_Huff_Photos/THE_PANASONIC_GF1_REVIEW.html
http://www.luminous-landscape.com/reviews/cameras/gf1.shtml

I'm looking to explore why this camera is what I need, for now :) It comes down to 2 things. Nostalgia and the Germans.

Hmmm, firstly nostalgia. My first memories of a camera was the little rangefinder that my dad had in 1970's. I cannot remember the brand, but I do remember the nifty brown leather case that it was housed in, and the fact that it was kept out of reach of us kids in the top cupboard of the wardrobe. The GF-1 reminds me of that little camera. And I'm sure that is why manufactures are now starting to rekindle the rangefinder look on the new "pocket-able" cameras. To coax people like me, who remember the old rangefinders, to buy their product.

Secondly, the Germans. Now it goes with out saying that the Germans have made some amazing cameras & lenses over the years. Leica, Voigtlander and Zeiss are the names that immediately come to mind. The primary reason why I want this camera is because it rivals the $7000 Leica M9, in image quality. In fact, Panasonic has been working with Leica for the last couple years developing cameras, and the GF 1 is the height of that collaboration. The fact that you can, with an adapter, use Leica lenses on this camera is amazing, oh and did I mention that it's image quality rivals the Leica M9.

So there, that's why I need this camera. Or maybe, I should heed the advice of a wise man who once said to me that," its not the camera, but the eye on the person operating the camera that really counts ".