A year and a half ago I decided to upgrade from my trusty Canon point-and-shoot camera to something with a bit more flexibility…something that would give me the ability to play with manual settings, learn more about photography basics, and yet still take a great photo on automatic. And one that would fit in my travel bag.

I opted for the Panasonic Lumix GF series (a GF1 in fact, but there are only newer models now on the market). I’m a normal person, have no formal photography training and present this camera review as just that: a regular traveler looking for a great travel camera!

The short story on this camera? Great depth of field, super compact, and really durable (it even survived a motorbike accident in Laos, getting soaked at Songkran in Thailand, and the windy red sands in Bagan, Myanmar). The technology for micro-four thirds cameras is progressing rapidly and these cameras are increasingly popular because they so gracefully bridge the gap between professional camera gear (DSLRs) and simple point and shoots.

Why I Upgraded My Camera?

Now, while I am far from a professional photographer, the photos I took over the past year and a half with my Micro Four Thirds (MFT) camera are the some of the best photos I’ve ever taken in my life. Since leaving in late 2008, I have taken bucket-loads of photos. No joke, I uploaded thousands upon thousands of photos into my travel photo galleries (and if isn’t classified as a right-proper “bucket-load” then color me miffed!). Each of those photos represents a pulse of life now long forgotten, or a rare and beautiful vista I captured forever in my lens, and still others function like a time machine, propelling me right back into the midst of some sort of existential conversation about life-family-humanity-politics-love with a friend met on the road.

My photos eloquently tell the story of my years on the road (and sometimes far better than my words if you happened to catch my writing in those early months). This blog has chronicled my journey and my handy point-and-shoot Canon camera served nicely as a pocket-sized, go-anywhere way to document each new place.

But a year and a half ago I upgraded my gear and invested in a right-proper camera with interchangeable lenses, full manual mode, and some other bells and whistles. Which camera to pick was tricky and my internal “devil/angel” conversation between Obstinate Shannon and Reasonable Shannon went something like this:

OS: I want a full-on DSLR with a paparazzi lens, that hood-thing on top, and five other lenses to sit in my bag…then I will be an awesome photographer.

RS: That’s expensive, you don’t know how to use one of those cameras, learning skills will make you a better photographer, and there’s only one Shannon to carry all this gear around.

OS: Fine, yes, that’s true. I want lenses though; I want to learn photography as I travel now, not just tinker.

And thus the bar was set—no multi-thousand dollar cameras and lenses until I actually learn how to shoot.

So, I researched and happened upon a professional photographer’s review of this new-fangled type of camera, the Panasonic Lumix MFT. His review is stellar because he has the fancy ones, but still loved aspects of the new technology (and took gorgeous photos).

Let’s get down to the meat of this review now and start with my overall opinion:

This just is one of the best travel cameras on the market if you want a bit more power and flexibility than a point-and-shoot but a camera light enough to carry everywhere.

What I Love About My Lumix

• The cameras depth of field from my 20mm pancake kit lens; this lens took my food photography to the next level of drool-worthiness.
• The 20mm kit lens is versatile and took every single photo on this site since August 2010.
• The camera is small and sturdy and kind of retro looking (people actually often think it’s old-school film!).
• I take it everywhere because it’s light and compact (thanks to the micro four thirds technology).
• The price was just right; although the GF1 is no longer on the market, the newer versions in the GF series are in the same price bracket (generally less than $800 for the body and one lens).

Drawbacks to My Micro Four-Thirds

The main difference between a MFT camera and the large, professional DSLR lies in the mirrors. The MFT manages to forgo some of the mirrors inside the camera body, and thus shrunk in size much closer to the pocket cameras, but still supports interchangeable lenses, captures RAW images, and takes a fantastic photo. Without the mirror though, and with the lighter weight moving the camera, there are some issues.

1) It borders on craptastic in low-light situations. That is noted in just about every review of this type of camera because of the technology needed to make it so compact (Jodi at LegalNomads has the Olympus PEN micro four thirds and reports the same!) On the flip side though, I took all the photos from Loy Krathong in Thailand last fall with the GF1, and they turned out beautifully, so it’s still not fully terrible.

2) Limited number of lenses available since it’s a relatively new line of cameras. It’s worth noting though that the Olympus micro four thirds lenses are interchangeable with the Panasonic line of lenses. As the technology becomes more popular, however, the companies are increasingly releasing more and more lenses for this product line!

3) No viewfinder, just a LCD screen. This makes it harder to use in mid-day sun and I have to shade it with my other hand sometimes.

4) You have to switch lenses. A professional will laugh at this comment, but if you love the ease of a point-and-shoot, the 20mm lens has no built-in zoom, so you have to switch over to a different lens, often in dusty, dirty travel situations, and it’s more work (not a problem yet for me though, because I haven’t splurged on the zoom lens yet!).

The Physical Side of My Camera

I love the weight of the camera (about 10 ounces with the 20mm pancake lens), and how it feels in my hand when shooting. All of the buttons are easily pressed with just my right hand, and the dial on the top rotates easily to switch between the different modes (now done on the touch-screen of the latest release, the Lumix GF3).

This is what my GF1 looks like, the different buttons, and my lens so you can get a feel for the small and compact camera. Note that the newest models look similar, but have fewer buttons and a touch-screen LCD panel. Every button I need to quickly change controls is simple with just my right hand in most cases, and that little red dot near the shutter-button quickly activates video so I can rapidly catch special moments as they happen!

Why the Micro-Four-Thirds is Great for this Traveler

• Photography fascinates me and I love learning new things. With this camera I have the ability to sit in a pretty spot and play with composition, exposure, shutter-speed, aperture, and all sorts of different modes to craft a photo that accurately reflects what I see in front of me.
• It’s opened me up to the art of photography, the crafting of an image as opposed to the more mindless act of documenting with a quick snapshot in each place.
• It fits in my purse and I rarely groan about “how heavy it is” or wonder “if I should leave it behind for the day.” (In fact, with the pancake lens on, it fits inside a zoom-lens case I found at Ritz camera and this is where it has lived for a year and a half).
• The camera takes beautiful portraits, landscapes, and close-up food photos—that covers 85 percent of what I take when traveling.
• It was affordable, I paid less than USD $600 for my GF1, and the Lumix GF2 is under $400 now.

I bought my Panasonic GF1 in August 2010 and there was a learning curve (heck, who am I kidding, there is still a learning curve!) but I love that it truly does make a bridge between the point-and-shoot cameras and a full (read: expensive) DSLR—when I’m flustered by the manual mode settings it’s a quick flip of the button into auto mode and it’s petite and light. It’s worth noting that I also now consistently use Lightroom and do post-editing, and that has made a big difference in photo-quality. But even still, if I ever upgrade, it may well be a newer version of the Panasonic micro four thirds series.

I invested in this camera because I fell in love with photography over the past three and a half years on the road—without much theatre, acting, and dance in my life, photography slowly filled its place on the road. One day in the future, I may upgrade my camera to a full DSLR if my photography skills ever call for it, but right now this camera is serving exactly the role I need on my travels and I still consider it a solid investment.

Do you have a micro four thirds? Thoughts on traveling with it? Any other travel sized cameras you particularly love?