Hi from Vancouver - another micro 4/3 expat

summerkl

Veteran
Location
Vancouver, Canada
Name
Kevin
The e-pl1 re-kindled my interest in photography and I converted from the DSLR world. Like many, I was amazed by the quality of the jpegs, the versatility of interchangeable lenses in a compact, and the joy of manual lenses.

But while surfing this site I read about the Sony NEX line and I began another journey of conversion. I just took it on a 2 week vacation and thoroughly enjoyed it. Learning to use the new technology in this camera will take me a while.

Also because of these related forums, I picked up a Panasonic LX3 (with some skepticism though). Once again, the leading members of these forums were right - one of the best P&S cameras out there. I have been trying to see in B&W and the Dynamic B&W setting has been the fascinating first step.

I'm also trying to learn Lightroom 3 - what a powerful streamlined tool - I had tired of Photoshop Elements with its feature overload.

Enough yapping and time to post some photos.

Cheers,

Kevin
 
LR is definitely worth the effort of learning. I have elements but never use it now. As well as the abundance of online resources I can recommend Martin Evening's Adobe Photoshop Lightroom 3 book - it's a bit pricy but it covers everything there is to cover on LR. I can also recommend David DuChemin's recent book Vision and Voice. This complements Evening's book perfectly. DuChemin outlines the key features of LR and them presents a series of his own images and explains how he processed them in Lightroom.
 
Kevin, glad to see you here this morning! I'll be looking forward to seeing some of your NEX photos very soon.

I'm another convert to LR...it came upon me as though a light from above when I bought my Leica X1.:th_salute:
 
Thanks everyone - I'm glad I found this forum as I was feeling a mild sense of loneliness once I sold my m43 equipment.

Olli, thanks for the recommendations - as a reference I will be using "Lightroom 3: Streamlining Your Digital Photography Process by Nat Coalson" - the reviews indicate that it is written with a more directed approach. I look forward to reading the DuChemin books - I just reserved them from my local library.

BTW - I quite liked your photos. I especially liked the blog. With so many photos out there, I am thinking the phrase for the 21st century should be "A picture needs a hundred words" :)
 
Okay, I'll admit it. It's occurred to me to pick up a Sony NEX too.

With a GF1 (crop factor of 2), a NEX (crop factor 1.5), a Leica M8 (crop factor 1.33), and a Leica M9 (full frame), I could get four very different looks from the same Leica lens.

I'd rather have the Ms though, and it's just something kicking around in my brain.
 
Hi Deirdre,

Having used the NEX quite a bit over the last few months, I am glad to say I don't regret leaving m4/3 behind. The only thing I miss is the lens selection which is something that will be resolved over time and in-body IBIS for using legacy lenses. The NEX isn't bad without IBIS as it is much better with higher ISO but it could be fantastic!

The Leica yearning and your post about your day at the Leika Academy didn't help curb that desire :) However, I am starting to understand the Leica look and have seen that the NEX combined with Leica glass can be a close second. Here's a link to a photographer who uses Leica glass with NEX with great results. Nex-5 + Leica - a set on Flickr

I appreciate there is a lot of skill by the photographer but I can see a purchase progression towards Leica rather than a $5,000 to $10,000 outlay to get started.

FWIW I am a casual shooter leaning towards indoor family shots. As such, m43 with 2x crop on legacy lenses and relatively poor high ISO performance led to my switch towards NEX.
 
Talk about dangerous posts! That link you just gave us to the NEX-5 and Leica, that is one, for sure! Talk about image quality, let alone the pictures themselves. Wow. Uh oh, it's a good thing my wallet is locked up.
 
you guys are scaring me!!! I feel like I just got into my m43 and although very new, I thought it might last more than a couple of seasons. My wallet (and my wife) will kill me if I switch systems already. Thanks for your posts though. Very well thought out and helpful to anyone deciding to buy into m43.

My only issues with 43 is AF speed and lack of VF. I should probably by the EVF and 20mm panasonic but more $$$.
FWIF, I have found that the image quality and high ISO photos look great even though the sensor is small (olympus epl1).

p.s. forgot the most important part, Welcome Kevin!
 
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