My New Panasonic GF3 Camera – Micro Four Thirds

I need to work out the low light issues I am having with this camera. Can’t seem to figure out how to get more light without using the flash indoors as well as outdoors. I have not loaded the manual yet thought I could figure this out on my own. I will be enrolling in a 3 hour class as soon as I can to learn more about this new camera and how to work it better as well as just take awesome pictures. I am in no way a photographer but I am at the point in my life I really want to learn more. I will never be great because I lack patience and artistic flare but I can learn to improve. (SLIDE SHOW BELOW)

The Micro Four Thirds system (MFT) is an open standard created by Olympus and Panasonic, and announced on August 5, 2008,^[1] for mirrorless interchangeable lens digital cameras and camcorders^[2] design and development. However, unlike the preceding Four Thirds System, it is not an open standard.

MFT shares the original image sensor size and specification with the Four Thirds system, designed for DSLRs. Unlike Four Thirds, the MFT system design specification does not provide space for a mirror box and a pentaprism, allowing smaller bodies to be designed, and a shorter flange focal distance and hence smaller lenses to be designed. Virtually any lens can be used on MFT camera bodies using the proper adapter. For instance, Four Third lenses can be used with auto focus using the adapters designed by Olympus and Panasonic.

I love to take pictures especially while we are on the road with our bikes. I love doing ride reports and after reading so many other adventure riders and how they portray their stories with great quality pictures I am motivated. Here are my first couple of pictures (slide show) that I have taken with the GF3. This camera will be used when we can stop and take our time with pictures. I will always have on board with me my Panasonic TS3 for on the fly pictures plus that camera is H20 proof and durable. Easy to pull in and out of my pocket. This camera will be for pics while off the bikes.

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Specifications

Body type
Body type	Rangefinder-style mirrorless
Sensor
Max resolution	4000 x 3000	?
Other resolutions	4000 x 3000, 4000 x 2672, 4000 x 2248, 2992 x 2992, 2816 x 2112, 2816 x 1880, 2816 x 1584, 2112 x 2112, 2048 x 1536, 2048 x 1360, 1920 x 1080, 1600 x 1200, 1600 x 1064, 1600 x 904, 1504 x 1504	?
Image ratio w:h	1:1, 4:3, 3:2, 16:9	?
Effective pixels	12.1 megapixels	?
Sensor photo detectors	13.1 megapixels	?
Sensor size	Four Thirds (17.3 x 13 mm)	?
Sensor type	CMOS	?
Processor	Venus Engine FHD
Image
ISO	Auto, 160, 200, 400, 800, 1600, 3200, 6400	?
White balance presets	5	?
Custom white balance	Yes (2)	?
Image stabilization	No	?
JPEG quality levels	Fine, Standard	?
Optics & Focus
Autofocus	Contrast Detect (sensor) Multi-area Selective single-point Tracking Single Continuous Touch Face Detection Live View	?
Digital zoom	Yes (2x, 4x)
Manual focus	Yes	?
Number of focus points	23
Lens mount	Micro 4/3 Lens Mount
Focal length multiplier	2×	?
Screen / viewfinder
Articulated LCD	Fixed	?
Screen size	3″	?
Screen dots	460,000	?
Touch screen	Yes
Screen type	TFT Color LCD with wide-viewing angle
Live view	Yes	?
Viewfinder type	None	?
Photography features
Minimum shutter speed	60 sec	?
Maximum shutter speed	1/4000 sec	?
Aperture priority	Yes	?
Shutter priority	Yes	?
Manual exposure mode	Yes
Subject / scene modes	Yes
Built-in flash	Yes (Pop-up)
Flash range	6.3 m
External flash	No
Flash modes	Auto, On, Off, Red-Eye, Slow Sync
Continuous drive	Yes (3.2, 2.6 or 2 fps)	?
Self-timer	Yes (2 or 10 sec, 10 sec (3 images))
Metering modes	Multi Center-weighted Spot
Exposure compensation	±3 EV (at 1/3 EV steps)	?
AE Bracketing	±2 (3, 5 frames at 1/3 EV, 2/3 EV steps)
WB Bracketing	Yes (3 frames in either blue/amber or magenta/green axis)	?
Videography features
Format	AVCHD Motion JPEG
Microphone	Mono
Resolutions	1920 x 1080 (60 fps), 1280 x 720p (60, 30 fps), 640 x 480 (30 fps), 320 x 240 (30 fps)
Storage
Storage types	SD/SDHC/SDXC	?
Storage included	None	?
Connectivity
USB	USB 2.0 (480Mbit/sec)	?
HDMI	Yes (mini HDMI TypeC)	?
Wireless	None	?
Remote control	No
Physical
Environmentally sealed	No
Battery	Battery Pack	?
Battery description	Lithium-Ion rechargeable battery & charger	?
Battery Life (CIPA)	300	?
Weight (inc. batteries)	264 g (0.58 lb / 9.31 oz)
Dimensions	108 x 67 x 32 mm (4.25 x 2.64 x 1.26″)
Other features
Orientation sensor	No
Timelapse recording	No	?
GPS	None

2 responses to “My New Panasonic GF3 Camera – Micro Four Thirds”

AlanI

February 5, 2012 at 9:09 am

First of check that the ISO value is not set to Auto as then the camera is taking control rather than you. Forget about ISO 160 as this is not a true ISO value (too deep to explain to a non photographer 🙂 ) and start off with a value of 200. Further increasing this value can introduce noise in low light conditions but can be useful where the capturing the shot counts more than obtaining 100% quality.

A good FREE noise reducing application is the Community Edition here http://www.imagenomic.com/download_nwsa.aspx and is really simple to use. Could be useful to have on your computer for those shots that are nice but could be a lot better were it not for the noise. By the way, if you don’t already know, noise is that less than smooth effect that you often see in low light images and presents itself in large areas such as the sky.

After upping the ISO value depress the shutter half-way to which both locks focus on the area chosen as well as obtains exposure information. For hand held photography the shutter speed reading should always be greater than the aperture value. For instance – your camera indicates an exposure reading of f/8 and a shutter value of 1/60. Disregarding the ‘6’ then you see that the shutter speed value of 6 is lower than the exposure value of 8. In this case you have the choice of increasing the exposure value to something like f/5.6 and recheck to see what a shutter speed value you now get. If it’s something like f/5.6 @ 1/100 you’re good to go. As a general rule, for hand-held photography you should always aim for a shutter speed of above 1/60 to avoid camera shake unless you’ve got very good shake-free hands. Increasing ISO also increases sensitivity and will also bring the numbers up but, as mentioned earlier, at the expense of possibly introducing noise into the image.

In short, f stops and shutter speed = exposure and are directly related to each other. Image if you will an empty bucket which will contain 5 litres of water. If you use a watering can to pour water into the bucket that has an opening size of ‘x’ millimetres then it will take a certain amount of time to completely fill the bucket. Now, if you double the size of the watering cans nozzle the time to fill the bucket will be halved. As you can hopefully see – one is directly related to the other.

Also remember, that the chosen ‘f’ number will determine depth of field (DOF) i.e. how much of your image is in focus. There is a certain distance (the depth) both behind and in front of the focused point that will be sharp. Rather than bore you with all the ins and outs of this, if you’re really interested how this can affect your images then there’s more to read here http://www.dofmaster.com/ . There is also a DOF calculator app available for the iPhone from that site.

Bit long this post I know but that’s because photography has been an interest of mine for more years than I care to remember. 🙂 Anyway, anything you’re not sure of and would like further explanation/advice don’t be afraid to PM me over on the other side………you know where.

Enjoy the camera and for goodness sake……..read the manual. 🙂

advgrrls

February 5, 2012 at 4:13 pm

you are so helpful Alan…and yeah I will read the manual..but I am much better at active learning and I will still take a class so \i can really understand what you are saying…. 😉

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