G5 - an ideal travel camera

Olympus EPL1 was my first portable DSLR-class camera, but it was not good for video so I switched to a GF2. The GF2 was not good enough for ISO 6400 which is really required for indoor shots with a slow kit lens. Therefore I upgraded to G5 which has been nearly perfect for everything I need a good camera for, at home and on road.

All the following photos and video were shot with G5 with the 14-45mm/f3.5-5.6 kit lens, during a recent trip. No special post processing, all done with the same setting as described here.

Its focus is extremely fast, even under low lighting conditions, won't miss a single exciting moment (all ISO 6400):

If you ever been to the Mystery Spot, you know how dark it is in that cabinet. Do a search on "Mystery Spot" and compare the photos you find with above ones.

When light is good, electronic shutter produces gorgeous shots:

Although 14-45mm seems not so long, cropping extends it:

And here comes to ETC (extended tele conversion) for video, the major reason I pick up Panasonic instead of Sony and Olympus etc. This great feature turns the 14-45mm into 14-162mm (captured from video with and without ETC):

And this is an example video of the scenes and moments that can hardly be illustrated with still images:



So, a Panasonic M43 like the G5 makes the most ideal travel camera, for both photos and video. No more heavy long lens(es) to carry. Just make sure you shoot RAW, use ISO 6400 when light is not enough and use e-shutter whenever possible to avoid shutter-shock.