Vancouver, Part II

In September I had the privilege of working in Vancouver for a week and a half and met some really cool people. It was a growth experience doing something I hadn’t done before, in a place I hadn’t been before.

And now I’ve found out that I get to work in Vancouver during the Olympics.

I’m renting an apartment smack dab downtown, close to work as well as a lot of the action. It’s going to be nuts, and a really good opportunity for taking photographs. I haven’t shot anything since New Year’s, and the cost of film and processing (not to mention the time) started to take away from the enjoyment of it. Now, heading to what will be a once-in-a-lifetime experience, I don’t want to have to worry about those things. So I want a digital camera.

I had been looking at getting a second-hand D40 or similar entry-level DLSR and a ~20mm prime lens to go with it. I’ve loved the 28mm on my AE-1. But I like the size of the Trip 35. It fits in any bag I have, and in a jacket pocket if need be. Well, I bought the Panasonic GF-1 with the 20mm lens.

It was sort of a tough decision going with the brand new Four Thirds system. A D3000 with a 35mm lens was less money and I knew I would be happy with it, whereas the GF-1 was a completely different form factor for a DSLR with a more limited selection of lenses and accessories. But reading reviews like this and watching videos like this made it an easy choice. This thing fits in a large jacket pocket, and it’s a lot less to sling over my shoulder (let alone the consumer-looking factor for theft and security in Van) The lens is fantastic too, f/1.7 and a nice focal length (40mm equivalent) that I’m used to. Plus, it’ll do the same image quality as the previous-generation DSLRs I was considering anyways and shoot 720p video.

Here goes.