Serious Compacts contributor Wouter Brandsma has posted his extended use impressions of the Ricoh GR Digital III over at his personal blog.  Be sure to have a read to get his insights about this exciting camera and see some great photographs!

Link: Wouter photoblog - 'My final Ricoh GR Digital III impressions'

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As cameras get progressively loaded with new features, there will naturally be some push back from the old-fashioned types who enjoy the "authentic" photographic experience of manually controlling everything. Face detection may best exemplify the new wave of features which so many of us have smugly dismissed as useless. However, as Björn Utpott recently suggested, it's difficult to argue against the usefulness of face detection when one has experienced a good implementation of it.

Here's a simple example. I mounted the Zuiko 17mm lens on the Panasonic GH1 in 'P' mode and snapped four photos, two in 'Dynamic B&W' mode and two in 'Standard' (color). All were in camera JPEGs with automatic exposure. On the left, you can see the results using face detection. On the right are the results using center point AF to focus on my wife, followed by recomposition.



Sure, the same can be easily accomplished the same without face detection. One can judge the lighting and dial in exposure compensation on just about any camera. Some cameras will allow spot metering, which can accomplish much the same, and still others allow customization in how metering is linked to focus points. However, there is a beautiful simplicity to having the camera automatically properly expose any detected faces in the frame.

I'm not yet sure where features like face detection fit for me. I'll always enjoy the fully manual experience, but new features like face detection have their place. I expect that DVIL (direct view interchangeable lens) cameras will continue to lead the way in implementing these technologies.

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DPReview has published their review of the Lumix 20mm f/1.7, which is arguably one of the most important lens releases ever for any camera system. It is one of DPR's finest lens reviews yet in my opinion. Check it out here.

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While browsing the 'Buy and Sell' forum at Fred Miranda, I came across a thread which began, "Due to my never ending quest for the perfect hiking / mountaineering camera I am selling my GH1 in anticipation of my new GF1 and the recent acquiring of an Olympus EP1". After seeing the photographs in that thread started by Vern Dewit, I went and had a look at his Zenfolio gallery and asked to feature his work on Serious Compacts.

Vern lives in Calgary, Alberta, Canada, and enjoys spending time outdoors in the Rocky Mountains west of the city. Looking at his photography, it's easy to see why. A few of his recent photographs, all taken with the GH1 (and various Micro Four Thirds kit lenses) are shown below. Click a photo to view a larger version.








You can see more of Vern Dewit's photography at http://verndewit.com. If you'd like to buy his GH1, which was used to make most of the photographs in his '2009 Favorites' collection, see the Fred Miranda thread here.

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For bokeh (out-of-focus blur rendering) tests, I usually like to have a second lens for comparison. However, I currently lack another 40mm equivalent lens to compare with the DP2 lens, so I'll just provide some bokeh samples to give an idea of how the DP2 lens renders out-of-focus blurred areas. Unlike lens sharpness, one can get a sense of bokeh from images resized for the web. I'll point out a few other concerns in specific examples.

F/2.8:



While the DP2 lens has decent flare resistance, it flares more than the DP1 lens in my experience. The above photo shows flare with a stong off-axis light source. The hood was employed, and no filter was present. You can also see a blue-green discoloration on the wall in the upper right aspect of the frame.





F/4:



F/2.8:



F/4:



Looking at the right side of the frame, you can see how points of light are rendered sharply as heptagons at this aperture. Some blue-green discoloration is also evident in periphery on the wall.

F/5.6:



There is the occasional doubling of elements, but overall I find the DP2 bokeh to be neutral and generally pleasing.

The issue of blue-green drift in the corners/periphery was present with the DP1 and effectively addressed in a Sigma Photo Pro update. As of yet, the issue persists with DP2 files but is rarely a major issue and can be addressed in postprocessing. A few examples of color in DP2 photos from a recent day out with the family are shown below (click to enlarge).

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