Traveling Light with Panasonic's GH3 - Guest Post by Pat Fournier and Brian Malloy

Intro by Skip Cohen

I've written several posts about Panasonic's LUMIX system, along with a lot of great information from their Luminaries in Luminary Corner. This is a little different spin on the GH3, when good friends Pat Fournier and Brian Malloy had a chance to put it to the test on a maternity shoot that was anything but traditional. This is one of those cameras that every time somebody uses it they seem to find one more advantage in the design and versatility.

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Recently we had the opportunity to test out the Lumix GH3.  When we picked up the Lumix GH3 our first impression was “WOW, it’s so light, how can something this small stack up against our big trusty DSLR’s?” The camera is a dream to hold and shoot. What it lacks in weight, it makes up for in maneuverability and image quality.

Asssignment: Maternity shoot on the beach and in the water.

My partner Pat and I had clients who wanted to create some memorable images just before the birth of their twin daughters. Normally we would shoot with at least a couple of DSLR’s and an array of lenses. This time, though, the only thing we grabbed from our camera bag was the GH3 and a reflector and headed off to the beach. Talk about being FREE! No weight, no bag, no OCF, just a lightweight body, a 2.8 lens and a flip screen that let us create shots that would have been difficult to capture with a traditional DSLR.

Shooting with the GH3 is effortless. The one feature we absolutely loved was having the swivel touch screen monitor. By having a monitor that swivels out, we were able to shoot at angles that would have had us lying in the water up to our shoulders, not something you’d want to do with a DSLR. Using the flip out screen, we were able to compose and see what we ordinarily wouldn’t have seen with our faces squeezed up to a traditional viewfinder. It was a welcome relief to shoot with a camera that was so lightweight and responsive.

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We found we were able to make more of a connection with our clients , since we weren’t hiding behind a big DSLR. This is a feature we hadn’t anticipated having any impact on the shoot, however it turned out to be one of the most important features of the camera.

All of these images are from the shoot. Next up, is the GH3 and our experience of shooting with the GH3 at a wedding! What an amazing piece of gear this camera is!

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Images Copyright Fournier & Malloy Photography