An Epiphany (Mixed Feelings Part 4!)

The last day of vacation predictably ends with a bang, albeit not the one we would have liked! Is's been raining all day, and silly me for going out taking pictures of wet flowers, using a camera that is anything but waterproof! Luckily my Panasonic DMC-GF3 seems to be working still. But have I stayed outside longer I would have definitely killed the camera, and got pneumonia in the process.

I had another epiphany last night. I have been using the GF3, a micro four-thirds camera, and am really starting to like it. I like my mobility on this camera, being able to carry it without ever noticing the slightest hint of an aching neck. The pictures it produces are great. The raw files survive the normal amount of tweaking on Adobe Photoshop Lightroom 4, and the moderately sized files don't produce a bottle neck on my computer either.

I just might be looking in the wrong direction? I always strive for quality in my photographs, and thought the solution would be a heavy DSLR with equally heavy lenses. It would surely produce high quality images. But going out as often as one can, camera in tow, and to just take photographs, is also a sure way to hone one's photographic skills. Would I have bothered to go out today if I were to carry a heavy DSLR in the pouring rain, and get back home with these lovely flower photographs?

So I am in the midst of getting a Nikon D800 in my hands, and now I am pulling out my hair trying to figure out if I really need one! And pondering it over an MFT camera! I would have preferred the DSLR in a heartbeat had this been 2008. But four years later it seems the MFT system has really come of age. Now they pack the same image quality (at normal ISO), PLUS the smaller and lighter camera body, with the smaller and lighter lenses to boot.

And there is also the question of economy. I CAN afford the D800. But if I were to go for the MFT system, I will be able to get all the lenses I plan to get (fast prime, super tele, macro) in one sweep, and still have a considerable amount of money left. Money which can be used to get out, not just to the botanical gardens several hundred meters away from my apartment, but to actually get on a plane and take pictures of new surroundings, and meet new people, and get fresh impulses in life.

So mobilty, maybe that is the really way to go. Not the big clunky DSLR, but a small capable camera which you can travel the world with and won't bog you down with the weight or the financial cost. Maybe this is really the way for my photography to move forward. Maybe a "life in full-frame" isn't the solution anymore. Technology has paved the way for cameras to be smaller without sacrificing image quality. Maybe it's high time for me to join the revolution?

I guess I will have the next several days to figure it out. Most probably the first shipments of the Nikon D800 will arrive in Norway tomorrow. If any one of those cameras don't have my name on it, then I will probably jump ship, and cancel my preorder.

The weapon of choice will be then much different. I am not yet all to familiar with the MFT system, but is one camera that has caught my fancy. It's the bigger brother of the GF3, the Panasonic DMC-G3. The only major differences are the 4 megapixel boost in resolution, the built-in EVF (which I feel is still a must for composition), and ergonomics more suited for long-term, "enthusiast" usage. It is also relatively cheap at NOK 4285 for the body. I still have to read a few more reviews about this camera. But the few I have read so far have been encouraging.