Recently, I decided to leave my Nikon D80 kit aside, well actually, its gone, gone with the wind. A couple of weeks ago, I had gone to Metro Zoo and I generally had a great time shooting alonside my 18-105mm lens except for one fact. After 3.5 hours of straight shooting my hand literally felt like I had axed down a redwood.
I remember voicing my concerns to my brother, a diehard Nikonian, who could not really relate. Nonetheless, at that time I knew I had to shoot with something else. Plus, I have to say that ever since acquiring the Ricoh GRD III, the Nikon kit had not seen much action, again not because of the IQ but because its a bulky setup and quite honestly, very tedious to carry and spend time with me, again, at least for yours truly.
"Little Havana" Lumix G1 + Hexanon 28mm
So the question, now is, what do I switch to. I don’t really like the term “switching” as it implies a certain level of jumping around things haphazardly, and that’s not the case whatsoever.
I began analyzing my style of shooting and the things I like to photograph and my choice was quite evident after arriving at those conclusions – m4/3.
Now that the decision had been made, I made a rubric and wrote down the things I absolutely need for the said style of photography – street photography.
1. Comparable IQ to a full blown APS-C sensor
2. Relative speed of autofocus
3. Size, size, size
4. A competent viewfinder
5. Lens choices
6. An articulated screen for those hard to get shots
So with these aforementioned criteria I began to research and that search led me to the Panasonic G1(I should have started with the G2,G3 but I had read it had a touch sensitive menu style which I later found out could be turn off, silly me).
As an extra bonus which I had not really thought about were the use of legacy lenses which I would be able to use and boy, what a sweet surprise it has been.
Anyway, this is my first frame with the Panasonic G1 and the famous Hexanon 28mm. How did I do it? I used a hyperfocal setup and with the aid of the zoom to manual focus, basically set my aperture to f/5.6 and began my photowalk as usual. I must say I very very happy with this setup. So happy, that I’m even considering acquiring an Oly E-P2 or one of the Pens so that all images have the same consistant IQ across whether its Panny or Oly. In the end, the camera is just a tool to create but I’m a firm believer that I must feel totally, 100% at comfortable with such a tool.
Thanks for reading.
Ledesma Photography 
Excellent composition. The reflection of the car in the window is a great touch. The viewer looks at the subject seated on the steps and then the second level becomes apparent as we realise what he is observing on the street.
Great shot!
[http://www.flickr.com/photos/anthonyleungkc] Thanks Anthony, its good to be in this family. Cheers.
Welcome to m43 family! The heavy weight of dslr is really a burden for street photography and m43 system is good choice for you, enjoy it 🙂
[http://www.flickr.com/photos/dangoorevitch] Thanks Dan.
[http://www.flickr.com/photos/jgredline] Thank you sir, it was just there I just grab it lol.
[http://www.flickr.com/photos/jayt74] Thanks Jay, magical apps no doubt.
Great street shot. Love the treatment.
Yes….This is a ”Courageous Street Photography” worthy capture….I like it Jorge !
Interesting. A lot of local contrast. The figure looks quite warm compared to the ground.
Its unbelievable how awesome the Lumix G series digicams are with manual focusing, its truly delightful. So much, that I today I received my Olympus 17mm f/2.8 and I liked focus with the Hexanon way better.
I won’t pass judgement so soon, as I have yet to try the Oly on the field but I do know it comes highly regarded for its great FOV at 35mm.
[http://www.flickr.com/photos/simonwallerstedt] [http://www.flickr.com/photos/37947599@N05] [http://www.flickr.com/photos/jlcernadas] [http://www.flickr.com/photos/jotaemebede] Thanks for your kind words.
[http://www.flickr.com/photos/jordipj] En verdad que es tremendo barrio, muy colorido y verdaderamente un mina para street photography
[http://www.flickr.com/photos/aizatk] You’ll love it, I do 🙂
[http://www.flickr.com/photos/no1nos] thanks I appreciate it.
[http://www.flickr.com/photos/slorenzi] [http://www.flickr.com/photos/oakt] Thanks guys
[http://www.flickr.com/photos/frowert] muy agradecido por tus palabras.
[http://www.flickr.com/photos/geoffmahood] Thanks Geoff
Terrific gritty textures around this man.
Very nicely photographed and excellent PP. I hope you enjoy your G1 as much as I am.
Can’t wait to see more from your m4/3 cameras.
muy bien tratado ese B&W
excellent processing
Great shot Jorge. I absolutely love the range of tones in this, there is such luminosity especially with the main subject.
I like the result, both the photo and its treatment. Congrats.
Vu sur Mordus de photos Monochrome
I’m in the same boat as you are..I’m switching to m4/3 soon from a Canon DSLR world. I tried street photography with a DSLR and it just not feel right. I’m using Lumix LX5 now and it has bring wonders to me 🙂
great b/w work!
Gran foto Jorge, me quedo siempre sorprendido con tus decisiones de disparos fotagraficos y sus posterior post-producción. Te ha quedado genial, comentas que es Little Habana de Miami, yo he estado en dos ocasiones en este barrio, me resulto curioso e interesante pero me provoco una ligera tristeza. Hasta luego y saludos desde Barcelona.
Looks good man!