I just returned home from a trip to Vegas where my only camera was the pleasingly small and light Panasonic LX3. This is a camera that I really don't mind carrying around at all, it is never in the way and is surprisingly responsive despite lacking a much wished for viewfinder. My only complaints would be that I wish for slightly more zoom without giving up the really good wide angle and ISO 400 is noisy noisy noisy compared to a DSLR of any quality.
Having said all that I was very interested upon returning home to learn that Panasonic had released a new firmware update that had included several very nice feature enhancements. It wasn't long after this release that I heard a complaint from a user that the camera already had enough features and more were not needed. I found myself scratching my head and thinking 'so don't use them' and if this camera is too feature rich for you, maybe it was the wrong choice Mr. Point and Shoot.
Then Panasonic pulled the firmware update, I'm assuming because there were bugs in the release. And more criticism came about shoddy products. Well, honestly I applaud them for quickly admitting a problem existed and pulling the update and promising a new fix. How many times do companies pump out firmware fixes with bugs and refuse to acknowledge them? People seem to like to complain.
The Panasonic L1 dslr that I own had a really good firmware update one time that pretty much introduced enough features to make it a new and interesting camera all over again, and this one seems no different for the LX3. While I'm sad that the L1 didn't take off (Panasonic's own fault really with head scratching pricing) as I loved the design of the camera body, I am glad to have products from a company that doesn't seem shy about improving them through updates. Really, people seem to complain mostly just to hear themselves talk.
I just finished my first full wedding season, and while I'm feeling relief at being caught up on my post processing, I definately also find that I'm itching for the next wedding to come! To all the photographers that hate weddings, I say you are missing something pure, exciting and challenging, but thank-you for passing on your clients to me! I am shopping for a full-frame camera for next season. It will probably be the 5D mkII but if the 1Ds MkIII continues to drop in price I may opt for that instead as the slow focus and response of the 5D has me anxious and I'm in no need for video.
Speaking of video. I just did a job for a large company that changed the job from photography to mostly videography at the last minute. I agreed to do it, but through that job realized that I really don't like video. I don't like it clogging up my hard drive, don't like editing it (it's like pulling teeth) and I'm not excited about the end result. So despite for me that there is a huge convergence going on between video and photography right now, I personally plan on pairing up with a videographer to hire out the video work to them for shared projects. They are, to me, different skill sets and without the love of your art you will absolutely not produce a good product. If you happen to live on Vancouver Island and are a dedicated videographer, I'd love to hear from you!
Lastly, the Olympus successor to the E3 is rumored to come out this month. I'm hopeful. If so, bet on hearing about it here just as soon as I recieve the camera in my hands.
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