[Toad]

I wanted to show you this photo that took during the Olympics crush in downtown Vancouver a few weeks ago - not because it is a good photo - it is not, but because I am amazed at how invisible I become when I use the GF1. Everybody in this photo sees my camera - and nobody cares. I have a hard time believing that my DSLR and zoom lens would be so unobtrusive in a crowd. Invisible is a good thing for candids.

[shuttertalk]

Nice.. I guess camera phones, and compact cameras are so commonplace these days, only DSLRs stand out.

[Irma]

I have experimented this when I go with G and he brings the G9. People is not bothered by him taking pictures. When they see me with my camera normally they turned their faces or look down.

[Zig]

Very good points. Yes, I can see that this is pretty excellent for street invisbility even if one wants to get up close and personal; there is certainly the benefit of point-and-shoot ubiquity that maybe draws the perceptual blinds down for the subject. The only minus-side of this is that, like the "telephoto voyeurism" phenomenon, perhaps, is one helped by having less of a challenge to forge a "relationship" with the subject, potentially?
This might be a daft addition by me here but I found that when "street photoing" in a local city once, I made sure I carried some extra cigarettes and change, slinging the camera(a highly visible Nikon F4S, about as big as the Canon) visibly out of the way(but still visible). I then just bought a coffee, sat down either on the floor or on a seat..and waited for the attention.
After parting with conversation, a bit of change, a cigarette, the street folks always have a tale to tell: listening itself then generated their enquiry about the camera, and after asking permission, forward came the camera. The prize inclusion then was the wide end: up nice and close AND pointing the camera off-subject, they were still looking at the camera/me but not spooked by the lens being perceived as pointing at them. Result= wideangle street portrait with intimacy and without scurrying about(sadly, as these were on 35mm film, I can't post any examples...but might get the courage to nip out one Saturday morning and try it out.
I'm convinced(and wondering if Toad will agree?) that having a decent fixed-length prime really ensures that one is prepared more to use feet and voice to move about and also interact...I'm also pretty sure that the standard of work and the self-confidence are given a decided boost...and so I wonder if this also touches on Matthew's point about the "experience" of m4/3?
I have to say again: I realise that(or rather am guessing) highlights appear to be quite quickly blown in this format...but also that dynamic range seems really quite wide: that detail despite its contre-jour nature is really quite impressive. Do users(I'm thinking of Matthew and Toad here) find they have to lay off the exposure compensation at all...?
A really fascinating shot, in terms of all its implications.
Gosh, aren't cameras fun!

[Toad]

Excellent point about getting people to pose - and a solid technique.

I can't speak to the merits of this photo exposure, dynamic range, highlights or any other way. It was just a quick shot that I show to make a point about invisibility. As for exposure compensation - I haven't done much with it yet - but its the early days.

I find zooming with my feet both liberating and limiting - but the quality of the lens and the small size of the camera goes a long way towards negating this criticism for me...

[matthew]

I have to say again: I realise that(or rather am guessing) highlights appear to be quite quickly blown in this format...but also that dynamic range seems really quite wide: that detail despite its contre-jour nature is really quite impressive. Do users(I'm thinking of Matthew and Toad here) find they have to lay off the exposure compensation at all...?

I actually find that I'll increase the exposure by a third to a full stop, and can still bump the exposure up in Lightroom. I haven't done any controlled or repeatable tests, but I find the files are fairly robust and can take a lot more adjustment than my E-3 images. They absolutely smoke my older E-510, which I bought three years ago for about what the GF1 costs today. It's no D700, of course, but then very few cameras are.