Disclaimer: I’m not a photographer. I’m just some dude with a camera.
I’ve been shooting with a Nikon DSLR for a little over two years now. In that time, I’ve captured a little under twelve thousand images. Right now I’ve got a D90 with a Sigma 30mm f/1.4 lens. The combination is magic. The super-wide aperture of the Sigma with the sensitivity of the D90 gets me usable images in near darkness. It’s pretty amazing.
I’ve been becoming more dissatisfied with the camera for non-technical reasons, though. First of all, it’s just heavy. It takes a toll on my shoulder. Second, there’s a good number of people that don’t like having a huge piece of glass pointed at their face. I’ve only began to notice this discomfort in New York. At first I thought it was a regional thing, but then I realized in Virginia I was mostly taking pictures of close friends, while here it’s branched out to friends of friends. My Virginia friends had become accustomed to it.
I actually never wanted to own a DSLR. All I’ve wanted is a close to normal perspective camera with a fast lens and a large sensor. The Nikon was a necessary evil to get the pictures I wanted, and over the last two years, I forgot about my desire for a less conspicuous camera. A few months ago, though, it was rekindled when the new Micro Four Thirds cameras from Olympus and Panasonic were announced. They won’t fit in your pocket, but they’re still much smaller than my Nikon. More importantly, they look like a point-and-shoot. They are just far less intimidating cameras. After months of conversations with Phoebe, we each ordered a Panasonic GF-1.
Physically, the camera is perfect. It’s built like a tank and the controls are intuitive. The 20mm f/1.7 lens takes gorgeous pictures. Unfortunately, though, it simply does not have the low-light performance of the D90/Sigma combination. While I knew it wouldn’t be as good, I was hoping it would at least be good enough. I guess I’ve been spoiled, because I decided I couldn’t make the tradeoff. The camera’s going back.
It’s too bad, because it’s definitely a camera I could’ve fallen in love with. Some day my dream camera will arrive. In the meantime, I’m going to invest in a padded strap.