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Which camera would you take on your honeymoon? GF-1 or XZ-1?

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. . . 30 years ago - We took a cruise and didn't spend much time socializing with the other passengers or anything else except to occasionally eat and drink at the bar. Can't remember most of it but it was great I think.

:)
 
That's photography widow in case your wondering.

You'll have a life time to take photos, but just one chance to make it a honeymoon you both will never forget!

I bet she'd be really happy if you focused on her instead of the sites!

I know, not the answer you wanted, but my answer is to leave the cameras at home this time!

--
Find Your Mind Online!
AM4L.com
Mark
 
AM4L said:
That's photography widow in case your wondering.

You'll have a life time to take photos, but just one chance to make it a honeymoon you both will never forget!

I bet she'd be really happy if you focused on her instead of the sites!

I know, not the answer you wanted, but my answer is to leave the cameras at home this time!
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I appreciate all of the "forgot the camera, it's about your wife" replies. I really, really do understand and appreciate them. :)

But you people don't know my wife... she'd kill me if I left the camera at home. :) As I said in another reply, she'll be using it just as much as me. Taking photos together is just part of the fun of any outing together for us. And we'd both be equally upset if we came home without a couple hundred photos to sort through and process together.

Thanks though. :)
 
My advice:

Take the camera with a good image quality without too much weight burden. I think GF-1 is small enough. Normal zoom lens will be more convenient and versatile. You and your wife will enjoy the trip more and having high quality memorable pictures.

Just my 2 cents.
 
I haven't actually counted, but it looks to me like the "votes" are overwhelmingly in favor of the GF1 & pancake. If you're still on the fence, it can only be because the XZ1 is pulling you strongly in that direction. So buy one already and have a nice honeymoon/vacation/whatever.
--
http://www.pbase.com/morepix
 
Sorry, my English is not so good.

To pleasure yourself and wife may you bring the Oly XZ-1. It will have a big zoom and has a f1.7 lens and IS for low light shots, and can fit in a pant pocket without showing a big bulge in your pants.

And is there any way you can or want to keep the Panty GF-1 and 20mm lens to avoid sellers remorse again?

Or must you sell the GF-1 and 20mm to fund your cerveza?

Enjoy your honeymoon and be careful in Mexico. I have heard the drug cartels are very active these days. Shootings and kidnapping of tourists there.
Mr Sincere said:
Hey all. In about three weeks I'll be leaving on a weeklong honeymoon to Mexico. And as we all know here, THE most important decision before this trip is what camera to bring. :-) So of course, I have to share my OCD lists of pros and cons, in hopes of having my decision justified.

We currently own a GF1 with just the 20mm. I love this combo, and I've been quite pleased with the results. However, I've been finding myself increasingly drawn to the possibility of swapping it out for a XZ-1 for this trip.

Background Info
  • I shoot only RAW, so jpeg output is of no concern.
  • I don't want to carry around anything more than one camera/lens combo.
  • The ability to get some subject isolation through DOF is important to me.
  • Things I'll be taking pictures of:
  1. Portraits of my fiance (at least half the photos, I promise).
  2. Landscape/scenery pics. Ruins, beach, jungle, etc.
  3. Street shots at night.
  4. Bar/club shots even later at night.
Pros for XZ-1

Zoom

I've done alright at using the 20mm for portraits, but know it's far from ideal. The XZ-1 can zoom to good portrait lengths, and it looks like it can actually pull off some subject isolation through narrow-ish DOF. And having something twice as wide as the 20mm would be very nice for scenery, streetscapes, indoor club shots, etc.

Stabilization

Would be very handy for those night street shots, and for the indoor club shots (yes, yes, I know the subjects will still blur).

Size and Weight

It's hardly any smaller than the GF1, but even the GF1 can get a little heavy around the neck after carrying it around in the heat all day (yes, I'm pretty wimpy). And the less conspicuous the camera is 1) the less likely it will be that it gets stolen and 2) the more likely it is I can bring it into a club (and not completely embarrass the fiance).

Cash in my pocket

Not a deciding factor, but I figure we'd have at least $250 more in my pocket to party with in Mexico after selling the GF1 kit. That's a lot of cerveza. Or a nice tour of some ruins.

Pros for GF1

The Sensor

The sensor is more than 4 times as large. No matter how you slice it, that's going to produce a nicer RAW file to work with.

Noise

I've done countless comparisons of RAW files from the two cameras, and my subjective opinion is that the GF1 is about 1.5 stops better. That pretty much offsets the IS in the XZ-1.

Build Quality

The XZ-1 feels nice, but nothing compares to the GF1. That thing is a solid piece of "Made in Japan" steel. The camera, paired with it's strap, could probably be used for self defense.

Ergonomics

The GF1 has perfect ergonomics, for me. I've never brought it up to take a shot and realized I'd accidentally screwed up a setting by bumping a control. Every setting I might need to change has a dedicated button.

The Lens

The 20mm is the sharpest, most contrasty lens I've ever used. I really, really like this lens. The fixed 40mm equiv focal length though is kinda in that "good enough for anything, but not great at anything" range. I can take portrait and landscape shots with it, but they won't be as nicely composed as if I had the range the XZ-1 has. And really, the XZ-1 lens is pretty darn sharp too.

So, guess it really boils down to whether I'd rather have the nicer sensor and perfect ergonomics, or a range of focal lengths and IBIS.

If you can't tell, I'm definitely leaning towards the XZ-1. But I just don't want this to be the second time I've sold a GF1 and later regretted it. :-)

Which would you take, and why?

Thanks!
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--
Like others here, I suffer from chronic GAS.
Gear Acquisition Syndrome.
a few hundred nautical miles SW : 17º 52S, 149º 56W
 
Klarno said:
I love all of the shots you've presented--but these in particular stand out for me.

The second shot reminds me of a phoenix.
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Wow, thank you so much! It's interesting you say it looks like a phoenix, I can see that now. I like that shot because it was taken from the Tokyo Tower, but the street lights look like the Tokyo Tower. I was so happy to get that shot, but then got home and googled 'Tokyo Tower' and found about 50 images almost exactly the same. Gutted!
--
http://dailybento.webs.com/

It wasn't until I stopped trying to be a PRO that my photography really improved.
 
Think about all those movies you've seen when someone has lost love or their loved one has passed away (not that I'm connecting that to you at all) but so many times, they go to a box of photos and start going through them, and reliving the moments. All those yellowed- poorly composed images, one arm around loved one and other arm outstretched trying to take the picture with some of the beach, or ruins, or city in the background. It might feel silly at the time, but it might be a really valuable and romantic memory that the two of you can share in the future. When you've got three kids and a mortgage (if you haven't already) it's going to take a long time before you can build such memories fresh again.
May I be so bold...





--
http://dailybento.webs.com/

It wasn't until I stopped trying to be a PRO that my photography really improved.
 
If I was going on my honey moon, I think I'd probably take the following:

Oly 17mm(already have it)
Kit collapsable zoom(have it)
Oly 14-150(would need to buy)

When I'm traveling, and especially with my significant other, convienence trumps optical quality every time, at least for me.
 
Waimak Stud said:
Think about all those movies you've seen when someone has lost love or their loved one has passed away (not that I'm connecting that to you at all) but so many times, they go to a box of photos and start going through them, and reliving the moments. All those yellowed- poorly composed images, one arm around loved one and other arm outstretched trying to take the picture with some of the beach, or ruins, or city in the background. It might feel silly at the time, but it might be a really valuable and romantic memory that the two of you can share in the future. When you've got three kids and a mortgage (if you haven't already) it's going to take a long time before you can build such memories fresh again.
May I be so bold...





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Click to expand...
Thanks for your post, and thanks even more for sharing the wonderful photo.

I couldn't agree more with your sentiments. Photography, photographing ourselves and each other, has always been a part of any romantic experience for us. I suppose that may sound corny and vain to some here, but we've always had fun with our cameras. In the same corny way that couples have fun in a mall photo booth, for example.

Back to more technical ruminations, I suppose that's why I'm feeling a little more constrained by the 20mm than I normally do with primes. The 20mm is a little tight for taking a good cheesy couple self portrait, and still getting some relevant background in the picture. :-)

Picking up the 17mm is an option, or a second hand 14-42mm. But once I'm carrying around multiple lenses, and worrying about swapping them out, I do start to tread into that dangerous territory of paying more attention to my gear than my wife. :)

Thanks again.
 
again agree 100% with the above. Oly is better camera for what you should want on this trip...however....if you sell the GF1 for anything less than what you think it is worth....you are likely to have seller's remorse later for not having it anymore....as I think it unlikely that your sale will realize as much income from it that you are thinking it will get.
--
Richard Katris aka Chanan
 
Richard Katris said:
again agree 100% with the above. Oly is better camera for what you should want on this trip...however....if you sell the GF1 for anything less than what you think it is worth....you are likely to have seller's remorse later for not having it anymore....as I think it unlikely that your sale will realize as much income from it that you are thinking it will get.
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Agree heavily with you general sentiments about thinking twice about selling the GF1, but my estimates were based on researching the recent selling prices for the body and lens sold separately on eBay. The lens (even used) still goes for crazy amounts on eBay. Body does better than you'd think as well, perhaps because it's discontinued and nobody is too excited about the GF2 or rumored GF3.

But like I said, I'm trying not to let the "money in my pocket" aspect of selling the GF1 for an XZ-1 be a deciding factor (I won't care about that cash difference a month or two from now). But having a little extra cash to enjoy ourselves with is never a bad thing, especially on a once-in-a-lifetime trip.
 
Take a pocket camera that has a built in lens cap. The Samsung EX1 might be a good knock around camera. It has a bright lens, and very good jpgs. Because it isn't one of the big names, you might find a deal out there. read the dpr review.

You want the camera to catch a moment, not be the moment.
 
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