Travel Photography - GF1 or D40?

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MikeHowarth

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Hi guys

Wondering what peoples thoughts were with regards to the Panasonic GF1 when compared to the Nikon D40.

I've had a D40 for around 2 years and have been really happy with it as a camera, got the 18-55 and the 55-200 lenses to start with and had been toying with the idea of having a bit of a change round lens wise. Something like the 50mm 1.4 and potentially something a bit more wide angle for the landscape stuff I'm interested in.

One of the original reasons for buying the D40 was its low bulk when compared to other DSLR's and from that point of view I've been very happy with it, taking it on a good few trips - mountaineering, sea kayaking, cycle touring and lots of travelling.

I'm in the early stages of planning a round the world cycling trip where both bulk and weight are going to be at a premium and I wonder whether the D40 is actually the camera for the job.

I've recently come across the GF1 and read some very favourable reviews courteousy of Craig Mod's Himalaya Field Test and also Cass Gilbert and am pretty much to the point of buying one.

Optically I appreciate that the GF1 may be slightly more constrained than the D40, but obviously there is a pay off when considering weight and bulk.

That said I do have to ask myself whether moving to the GF1 over the D40 is actually going to offer that much more, is it really just a sideways step?

Any thoughts?
 
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Well i absolutely love my gf1, and use it for taking pics when I'm away on business or just travelling.

In decent light conditions, I found it hard to differentiate between that and my old d90.

My only complaint is that in direct sunlight it's difficult to see the LCD screen on the back. For portability I find it hard to beat with an very acceptable image quality.
 
Yeah I had heard a few criticisms about the LCD screen but I guess you could go for the EVF - it certainly doesn't look cheap though!

Out of interest what lens(es) do you have?

Thinking of going for the 20mm to kick off with and then add from here, not looking to head off on my tour until the start of next year so I have plenty of time to save some pennies.
 
I have a D700 with 28-70 and 70-200 which are great, but just too big for travelling and holidays. I use my GF1 under these circumstances with no problems. I use it with a 14-45mm lens and a 20mm pancake lens and I also have the EVF, which I find is really useful. I also carry with me a Panasonic flash gun and all of this packs neatly into a small Domke shoulder bag. All in all a great travel/holiday kit.
 
Have you checked the 4/3 thread here?

GF1's may be getting hard to find now but I have one :love:

One thing that I do find a little hard to understand is the comment that the screen can be hard to see in sunlight. I've specifically looked for this myself while on a beach one day and even with strong sunshine shining directly onto the screen I could still use mine so I do wonder why others have problems.

Another comment I've read many times is that the GF1 and similar cameras are good in good light, whilst I agree I do wonder what people are worried about as I use mine in any lighting and after a little noise reduction images are fine, for me. There are plenty of high ISO examples in the 4/3 thread.

http://www.talkphotography.co.uk/forums/showthread.php?t=262800&page=44
 
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MikeHowarth said:
Yeah I had heard a few criticisms about the LCD screen but I guess you could go for the EVF - it certainly doesn't look cheap though!

Out of interest what lens(es) do you have?

Thinking of going for the 20mm to kick off with and then add from here, not looking to head off on my tour until the start of next year so I have plenty of time to save some pennies.
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I have the 14-45 kit lens, the 14mm pancake lens and also the 20 mm pancake lens.

Loving the 14mm pancake at the minute for some reason, but I can't really justify having both pancake lenses. Just can't decide which I want to get rid of!
 
Only just seen the 4/3 thread thanks for pointing me at this.

Damn you guys I half expected you to talk me out of the decision, not egg me on.

Had a quick look round tonight but as you say looks as though the GF1 are in demand. I wonder why....

This is also an interesting read in terms of accessories if anyone else is in the market: http://havecamerawilltravel.com/photographer/tags/panasonic-lumix-dmc-gf1/

Will keep my eyes peeled over the next couple of weeks.
 
I recently sold a Canon 1DmkIV because I just couldn't justify the cost compared to what I was using it for, ie mainly travel, landscape, the odd bit of aviation.
I was going to replace it with a Canon 7D for my trip to Mallorca a few weeks back. Due to there being very little stock of 7Ds I decided I would get a GF2 kit as my local shop has a good price on it. I intended to sell it on ebay when I got back and only lose a hundred or so.
Here is the thing though - After editing my photos I have been so blown away by the quality of the GF2 that I don't think I will bother replacing my DSLR at all! Yes really I am that impressed with the GF2. I think unless you are a pro and making serious money from you photography then M4/3 has very little drawbacks, especially if you travel a lot.
My friend was also impressed with the shots and says he will get on and sell his Nikon DSLR.
 
Thats the thing I never intend on making money from photography, I'm purely doing it for my own enjoyment and documenting trips away so in all honesty thats part of the reason the GF1 appeals.

From the reading round I've been doing then the GF1 is the one I've honed in on, and many of the reviews seem a bit luke warm about the GF2.

What are peoples thoughts on GF2 in comparision to the GF1?
 
MikeHowarth said:
Thats the thing I never intend on making money from photography, I'm purely doing it for my own enjoyment and documenting trips away so in all honesty thats part of the reason the GF1 appeals.

From the reading round I've been doing then the GF1 is the one I've honed in on, and many of the reviews seem a bit luke warm about the GF2.

What are peoples thoughts on GF2 in comparision to the GF1?
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Nice to have an even more pocketable body, but for me I really couldn't get on with the laggy touchscreen interface. I'm strictly a dials and switches kind of guy. If you've never used the GF1 before testing the GF2, you might think differently.

The battery is also reported to be worse than the GF1 also, and for me the GF1 battery is fine (not stellar) and I wouldn't have wanted to have any worse battery performance. I think it helps me as I pretty much exclusively use the pancake lenses, so no power sapping OIS.

I think they took away bulb mode inthe GF2 as well. Although I never use it, it may be a consideration for you.

HTH.
 
Mike I was the other way around. I was trying to start a photography business but I have decided it's not for me. As a result I no longer need top of the range gear. In all honesty the images off the GF2 compared side by side in Lightroom with the ones off the 1DmkIV ,even at 100%, are pretty hard to tell apart in good light and after some touching up.

For GF2 vs GF1 see my post of a few minutes ago and Joe's earlier ones in the G-Series thread.

EDIT - One thing I don't like on the GF2 is the touchscreen but ONLY in regards to image playback. Supposedly you can swipe your finger to scroll through but it's pretty crappy and temperamental. Certainly nowhere as nice as doing the same on my iPhone.
 
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I have a gf1 and a g1 and find them both great to use. I to had read alot of the Luke warm reviews on the net about the gf2 so went into jessops for a play with my SD card. I found the touch screen fine to use and the pics I took still had the same pop to them that I got from the old one(same sensor I think). It was very nice in the hand and still had a quality feel to it. It has lost the remote plug which is a shame. I also liked that when you pop the flash you can hold it back for a bit of bounce lighting.
 
Well guys I think my mind is made up. GF1 for me.

Now I need to find one for a reasonable price.....
 
MikeHowarth said:
Well guys I think my mind is made up. GF1 for me.

Now I need to find one for a reasonable price.....
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...and then decide on which pancake lens you want, lol!

Oh the joys of buying kit :-)
 
I have been killing my self over a similar decision for ever and here is where I have pretty much ended up:

If you do not care about a viewfinder and you do not plan on getting a bunch of lenses for the GF1 then sure go for it and also check the EPL2 better sensor,built in image stabilisation and it will work find with the excellent 20mm Pana one.

However if you have any doubts about framing on an LCD screen, and you are after the flexibility of a couple of good quality zooms then the D40 is the better and maybe even the cheaper option.

I still believe that if you are ok with the lack of viewfinder a high end compact is the way to go and now you have too many choices of those too.
 
Given that my main criteria for buying a GF1 is low weight and bulk I can't really see me going for more than 2 lenses at most.

I'll see how I fair with the LCD screen if I'm really struggling then I'll buy the EVF and see how I go with it.

The EPL2 does look good especially price wise however some of the reviews I've read seem to suggest its perhaps not as well built as the GF1 though.

Whichever way no camera I but will get an easy life, it will be shoved in the top of my rucksack, stashed under bungees on a kayak and rattled to pieces on my bike so durability is definitely fairly high up on the list.
 
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Is it the EPL2 that's being advertised pretty extensively on Sky?

Looks nice, but the finger swiping to change DoF puts me off a bit.
 
Well looks like I've managed to source a second hand GF1 with 14-45 lens for a fairly reasonable price, just on the hunt for a pancake lens now.

One of the things I've been meaning to add to my photography setup for a while are filters.

I'm not looking to throw loads of money at this at the moment otherwise I'd be going for the Lee filters which I've heard alot about.

Do you guys have any suggestions for this? Probably looking at a UV Filter, Circular Polarizer and some ND filters.

Also given that the two lenses are different sizes I'm guessing it would be more cost effective to get a step down ring from 52mm to 46mm?
 
I have some hitech grads that are great. Good value too. I have the 85mm fit ones. I don't think you will need a UV filter but a CP is a good idea. I have a dirt cheap second hand jessops one that worked quite well in Cyprus recently but am thinking of getting a better quiality one that doesn't take up quite so many stops of light!
 
The Lee holder and Hi Tech filters sounds like a fairly decent way to go in the interim. Can't quite bring myself to spend the cash on the Lee filters at the moment.

Team Photo seem to be doing a ND Filter Kit and ND Grad Filter kit for £100 which seems to be pretty good value for money. Just not quite sure whether to go for the hard or soft option?

What would be the best option for landscape photography with either the 20mm or 14-45 on the GF1?

Also can anyone give me a steer with regard to how the circular polarizer works with the Lee holder?
 
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MikeHowarth said:
The Lee holder and Hi Tech filters sounds like a fairly decent way to go in the interim. Can't quite bring myself to spend the cash on the Lee filters at the moment.

Team Photo seem to be doing a ND Filter Kit and ND Grad Filter kit for £100 which seems to be pretty good value for money. Just not quite sure whether to go for the hard or soft option?

What would be the best option for landscape photography with either the 20mm or 14-45 on the GF1?

Also can anyone give me a steer with regard to how the circular polarizer works with the Lee holder?
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I have the 85 filters rather than the 100s that fit the Lee holder, so am not sure about how you fit the polariser. I have hard and soft filters but use the soft most. The hard ones are only really useful when the horizon doesn't have lumps and bumps such as seascapes but you can use the sorts for this anyway, so I would go soft to start!
 
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