Photography: "Mirrorless Mark" - The Magic of a One-Inch Sensor

Image copyright Mark Toal. All rights reserved.

LUMIX 4K Digital Camera LX10 with 20 Megapixel 1-inch Sensor, 3X 24-72mm F/1.4-2.8 LEICA DC VARIO-SUMMILUX Lens - Click for more info

Intro by Skip Cohen

It's another Mirrorless Mark Monday, and my buddy Mark Toal is back with one of my favorite reminders in this series to date - "...it's more important to get the photo."

He's shooting with a little LX-10, which is an excellent reminder that as good as cell phones get at capturing an image, a small "real" camera gives you the potential for a better photograph with more control over the creative process. There's no excuse to not have a small camera with you, and yes I recognize the convenience of your phone, but I've got more than a few images of sunsets on the beach that I wish I had taken a camera with me.

I also love Mark's background with larger format cameras, especially with my Hasselblad history and his parallel to today and larger sensors. But bigger isn't always better when you're trading off convenience and having a camera with you versus no camera at all.

​Follow the LUMIX Ambassadors and the latest news about mirrorless photography with a visit to their Facebook page. And, check out more of Mark's support to help you grow as an artist with a visit to his website. 

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by Mark Toal
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Photographers have always lusted after cameras that take larger format film or have a larger digital sensor. When I started shooting film, I could only afford a 35mm camera, but I couldn’t wait to get my first medium format camera. The only problem was that it was heavy and slightly awkward to use, so I used the 35mm camera most of the time. The larger negative gave me a better image, but I wasn’t out shooting, so it didn’t matter that much that it was sharper or had less grain.
 
Fast forward several decades and the same thing is happening in digital photography. Everybody’s talking about full frame or the new medium format digital cameras as if you can’t get a good photo without one. I mostly shoot with Lumix 4/3rd’s cameras, but I find that I’m taking a smaller one-inch sensor camera with me more often. These cameras look like point and shoot cameras which makes it possible to carry one with you all the time and take incredible quality images that I can print easily up to 16x20 inches.
 
My now beat up, carry everywhere camera is the Panasonic Lumix LX10 with its f/1.4 Leica lens. If I’m going for a walk in the neighborhood or walking around a new city the LX10 is always with me. Do I still envy the larger sensor camera? Of course, I do, but it’s more important to me to get the photo.