Soul Sparrow

Panasonic Lumix GF1 w/ 20mm 1.7 Aspherical Pancake Lens

About 4 years ago I went out a bought a Canon Powershot SD600 and absolutely loved it. At the time, it took some amazing shots, it was compact and for the most part it satisfied my amateur photo needs. This December, my wife and I are heading out on a 6-month round-the-world trip and we knew it was time for an upgrade.

We wanted something that was high-quality, durable, scalable and compact enough to travel with. We had toyed with the idea of high-end point and shoots like the Lumix LX5 and others in it’s class but we knew that like the Canon, it would probably be dated in a few years time. I did a ton of research, sought the advice of professional photographer friends and scoured the blogosphere to see what others were saying.

I had a few friends with Lumix cameras who swore by them. Most of their experience had been with the Super Zoom models like the FZ100 but we knew that interchangeable lenses was essential. I came across Craigmod’s GF1 Field Test, an in-depth review by Tokyo-based designer, writer and photographer that opened my eyes to the compact package of pure awesome. I was looking for something that could take a beating, wouldn’t be too heavy to lug around India and would take killer pics even with my limited SLR knowledge. I looked through Flickr pools, photo sites and made a few visits to the local Henry’s but in the end, thanks to all of the great info out there, we went with it. Here’s what we got with our camera:

• Panasonic Lumix GF1 Camera w/ the 20mm 1.7 Aspherical Pancake Lens
• Lumix 45-200mm Micro Four Thirds Telephoto Lens
• 2 Tiffen UV Filters for both lenses.

So far, it’s been amazing. Easy to use, easy to handle and even in automatic the shots are turning out beautifully. I’m finding everyday objects can look pretty amazing through a good camera. More photos, observations and feedback as the weeks go by.

When good friend and great musician Chris Assaad approached me about doing a website for him, I was more than happy to get involved. I’ve always been a fan of the music and like any other musician, Chris was looking for a site refresh that was easy to manage. In the end, we went with a custom site built with wordpress that allowed him to add tour dates, photos, band news and all of the other important things a musician needs to keep giving the fans what they want – content. As the site progresses, we’ll look into adding a fan-area where users can login and gain access to even more great exclusive content but for now, we’re all really happy with the outcome. Visit the site.