I went out for a brief walk, quite literally around the (very long) block, yesterday at lunch time. I thought I would see how it felt to be limited to the GF3’s paltry 28-84 effective focal lengths. I didn’t mind it that much, although I was immediately faced with a shot that would have benefitted from some reach.
But I am ahead of myself.
The Flyer Force has been around, I notice as I step to the edge of my large step form the porch to the walkway.
panasonic gf3 + 14-42 pz vario power ois @24mm 160iso f/4.9 1/160 -1/3ev
I heard a small plane going over my head, and by the time I got the zoom and focus established, it was vanishing. This is not a strength of contrast detect auto focus (CDAF) as used in mirrorless cameras. CDAF requires a bit of time to confirm focus that phase detect auto focus (PDAF) in mirrored systems and some newer mirrorless systems (e.g. Nikon 1) can use to go directly to perfect focus.
Anyway, I snapped it and thought it was too late. And remember, 84mm is very slight magnification … not even 2x, so the plane is tiny. This is a 100% crop, pixel for pixel sensor to screen, and I am fairly impressed by how clean the image came out. This sensor is quite old, but still has the chops for some purposes.
panasonic gf3 + 14-42 pz vario power ois @42mm 160iso f/5.6 1/1000 -1/3ev
And then, right across the street, a pair of black squirrels were running around and fighting over nuts or something :-) … so I grabbed a snap shot. This is again a very strong crop, yet the detail is pretty magnificent. I surely cannot complain about the little camera …
panasonic gf3 + 14-42 pz vario power ois @42mm 160iso f/5.6 1/1000 -1/3ev
Wandering along, I was pleased to see that some flowers are still blooming as we approach October. Very nice …
panasonic gf3 + 14-42 pz vario power ois @42mm 320iso f/5.6 1/80 -1/3ev
Next door, they appear to have a rather unusual lawn gnome :-)
panasonic gf3 + 14-42 pz vario power ois @42mm 160iso f/5.6 1/100 -1/3ev
Rounding the end of the block, I see this scene for the second time and I just have to capture it on film …
panasonic gf3 + 14-42 pz vario power ois @14mm 160iso f/3.5 1/2000 -1/3ev
Only one comment …
The fall foliage is just getting into full swing. My neighbourhood is starting to look pretty nice, I must say.
panasonic gf3 + 14-42 pz vario power ois @14mm 160iso f/3.5 1/2500 -1/3ev
panasonic gf3 + 14-42 pz vario power ois @24mm 160iso f/4.8 1/1000 -1/3ev
As I approached these two bushes separating two properties, I thought that they were probably Hansa, or a similar species of native Rose bush. There are a few blooms visible, but what is also visible is how scraggy these plants get over time. Mine is pretty nasty looking, but is buried inside a lot of other large bushes, so I tolerate its eccentricities.
panasonic gf3 + 14-42 pz vario power ois @14mm 160iso f/3.5 1/1600 -1/3ev
A short while later, I notice two large trees on the front yard. They’ve added a Black Maple tree to the original tree. The contrast is lovely, but the crowding is severe and really obvious. What were they thinking?
panasonic gf3 + 14-42 pz vario power ois @14mm 160iso f/3.5 1/320 -1/3ev
Rounding the next corner, my back yard next door neighbour has put a big rock and some stones in the middle of a dead patch in the front yard. I do like the stone garden against the fence and parking area … not sure about this though. We’ll see what happens as the grass starts to fill in.
panasonic gf3 + 14-42 pz vario power ois @14mm 160iso f/3.5 1/640 -1/3ev
Along the side of our property, right at the dividing line, Bell Canada (or a subcontractor more likely) dug a huge hole and did some work. I am hoping that they were laying fiber in preparation to offer us Fibe TV and 50/50 Fibe Internet (balanced 50mbps service, which would be incredible.)
Anyway, they filled in the hole and dumped some seed on it. We got lots of rain and wow … it worked perfectly. Lovely patch of lawn amid the desert that is the side yards. Obviously, it can be done.
panasonic gf3 + 14-42 pz vario power ois @14mm 160iso f/3.5 1/160 -1/3ev
Rounding the last corner, on my own yard, you can see the grub damage. Fatal
panasonic gf3 + 14-42 pz vario power ois @14mm 160iso f/3.5 1/320 -1/3ev
And that’s that. The little GF3 handled itself very nicely. I am really taking a shine to this thing, despite the fact that the J1 had more range and probably had a slightly better lens. Plus, I had the long lens. Still, this thing handles more like a midrange camera, and that’s what is exciting me about it I suppose.
