Nick De Marco Posted March 19, 2010 Share #1 Posted March 19, 2010 Advertisement (gone after registration) I'm certainly not trolling or flaming here. I loved my M8. Took some great photos in Cuba with it especially. But the image quality was not quite good enough to justify the cost, the battery life not long enough, and more than once it stalled when using. So I sold it and bought the 5D Mk II. Fantastic image quality, and great with Leica or Contax or Olympus lenses. But it is a DSLR, and for street shooting I like small. Since October 2008 I have been using the Panny GF1 as my main digital camera (the 5D II comes out for specialist stuff). Took a while to get used to but I have to say it is the digital camera I have enjoyed the most. The image quality is great, for me matches the M8 - but not as good as the 5D II. It small. Even smaler with the 20 f1.7 pankae lens. Now I love Leica M lenses so much my mortgage suffers, but the 20/1.7 is as good, for me, as a good 35-50mm Leica M lens. And it has quick AF which is sometimes great for street shooting. If I want to use an M or LTM lens, I put it on my adapter on the GF1. I recently got the Panny 7-14mm f4 wide zoom. It is superb, giving me a 14-28mm wide equivilent. Although I would lurve to be given a M9, I still think I would use the GF1 more. Especially for travel it is a spuerb all purpose little camera. I am using film a lot more these days. The M6 is still my favourite 35mm camera, but I am using medium format a lot more - mainly Mamiya M7 and now M6 (the size thing again). A GF1 and a Mam 6 in your bag covers most of what I would when travelling. Like I said I am not trying to start a row here. I do still love the M8, and Leica film RFs and M lenses are the best 35mm equipment I have ever used, and the most enjoyable to use. But if you are an M8 user and haven't yet tried it, I can't help evangelising to you about the GF1. And here, a photo of my current favourite film camera taken with my favourite digital (the GF1) Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Advertisement Posted March 19, 2010 Posted March 19, 2010 Hi Nick De Marco, Take a look here GF1 v M8. I'm sure you'll find what you were looking for!
erl Posted March 19, 2010 Share #2 Posted March 19, 2010 Nick, i won't argue with your personal choices of camera, although I do disagree. It's a personal thing a we all know. My intervention here is about your posted pic. You have have been a forum member long enough to know only Leica content images may be posted here. So please educate this ignorant luddite. Does the GF1 have any Leica content? If not, you know it must be deleted. Apologies for the intervention. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Johnny_Johnson Posted March 19, 2010 Share #3 Posted March 19, 2010 Hey erl, take a closer look. The camera in the picture has Leica written all over it. Later, Johnny Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nick De Marco Posted March 19, 2010 Author Share #4 Posted March 19, 2010 Indeed, and the text sought a comparison with a Leica Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
erl Posted March 19, 2010 Share #5 Posted March 19, 2010 Hey erl, take a closer look. The camera in the picture has Leica written all over it. Later, Johnny I see that Johhny, but the question is: The camera used to take the posted pic must have Leica content. I still don't know if it has. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
erl Posted March 19, 2010 Share #6 Posted March 19, 2010 Indeed, and the text sought a comparison with a Leica Nick, the only question is: does the taking camera have Leica content? The content of the pic is immaterial. If the cam has a Leica designed lens, as some Japanese cameras do, then problem solved. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nick De Marco Posted March 19, 2010 Author Share #7 Posted March 19, 2010 Advertisement (gone after registration) No it isn't Erl, it's a GF1, with the Panny 20mm lens. Although as you know there was a Panasoinc link with Leica, this particular Panny lens, which is the best one on a 4/3rds camera in my opinion is not taken by a Leica lens. But it is of a Leica camera. When I had my lovely M8 I posted pics of it. They were taken with a 5D as I did not have another digital camera. I don't recall a complaint. I think there are more importnat things in life and photography than to get worked up about such things. But each to their own. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
ho_co Posted March 19, 2010 Share #8 Posted March 19, 2010 Hey, Erl! I thought the question was whether in food shots the food shown is available at the Leica commissary. And remember, the only reason the word "Leica" isn't on this lens is that Leica doesn't allow its use on interchangeable lenses where software corrects lens flaws after the fact.... Nick--didn't you say you used a Leica-branded SD card for that picture? Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
GFONG Posted March 19, 2010 Share #9 Posted March 19, 2010 People buying Leica is because of the image quality. If you think GF1's image quality is better than Leica, then use your GF1. No point to pay the preimun to something you do not appreciate. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
erl Posted March 19, 2010 Share #10 Posted March 19, 2010 No it isn't Erl, it's a GF1, with the Panny 20mm lens. Although as you know there was a Panasoinc link with Leica, this particular Panny lens, which is the best one on a 4/3rds camera in my opinion is not taken by a Leica lens. But it is of a Leica camera. When I had my lovely M8 I posted pics of it. They were taken with a 5D as I did not have another digital camera. I don't recall a complaint. I think there are more importnat things in life and photography than to get worked up about such things. But each to their own. Nick, I am having a terrible day! My choice is to fill out an extensive insurance claim form, or respond to tedious complaints on the forum. Either way I lose. I wish you hadn't stated which camera took that pic. Fortunately, I understand, your SD card is a Leica original. Probably the small one that came with the M8, right. Frankly I don't give a damn, as Rhett Butler said. We mods do have to be careful not to allow precedent regarding pics from 'foreign' sources. It's the rules you know. We just administer them. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Logic108 Posted March 19, 2010 Share #11 Posted March 19, 2010 Do you really think the GF1's image quality is the equal of the M8s'? Most reviews I've read put the IQ as inferior. The GF1 certainly is a compelling camera. Perhaps the extra resolution over the M8 makes up the difference. I'm interested in your opinion. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
plasticman Posted March 19, 2010 Share #12 Posted March 19, 2010 Frankly I'm more interested in how it's going with film. (Once again contemplating an M6) Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Box Brownie Posted March 19, 2010 Share #13 Posted March 19, 2010 It is really interesting how people perceive cameras and photo quality differently. I had a GF1 but I was very disappointed with it and sold it only a few weeks after purchase. The IQ was OK, but I found it needed a lot of PP to get any "life" to the pictures. The small sensor was an issue as well - getting narrow DOF becomes a lot harder. I am surprised that the OP prefers it to an M8. While not an M8 owner, I am really impressed by the picture quality from M8 images on this forum - way, way better than the GF1 in my opinion. Still, each to their own. Enjoy your photography. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
4X5B&W Posted March 19, 2010 Share #14 Posted March 19, 2010 I have tried 4/3 cameras, and while the image quality is good, DNG's from my M8 are just at another level. I would like a M9 at some point but my M8 is still exciting to me (even though I have had it for 2 1/2 years). A smaller package would always be nice, but a M8 with one of the many smaller lenses, is a pretty compact outfit. I really think the 4/3 format is too limiting, regardless of the make or model. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nick De Marco Posted March 19, 2010 Author Share #15 Posted March 19, 2010 Sorry about having a bad day Erl. I hope today is better. Logic and Box Borwnie, I am not sure I said the IQ of the GF1 is better than the M8, I don't think it is. I think the IQ of the M8 is slightly, but not enourmously, better than the GF1. I expect the IQ of the M9 is even better, and I certainly think that the IQ of the 5D II, and particular its high ISO ability, is substantialy better than either the M8 or the 5D II. Nevertheless the GF1 is my digital camera of choice to use over the 5D2 as well as the M8 for most things. Everey camera is a compromise. Sure, if I wanted to make a very large landscape print, use a camera for action, use the camera in the studio, or shoot at very high ISOs, I would take the 5D2. For anything else the size and conveneience, as well as very acceptable IQ of the GF1 will suffice for me - particularly if you are printing at up to A4 and shooting at ISOs up to 400 - so for street shooting/travel camera etc. I did not think the M8 was nice above 400 ISO, it also had a cropped sensor (albeit less than the GF1), and the same number of MPs, it had a shorter battery life and was prine to suddenly dieing if you shoot fast. So even though the image quality is better than the GF1, it is note so much better, or significantly better, IMO to justify the additional cost. I would love to still own an M8, love an M9 even more. But I believe even if I had one I would end up taking the GF1 out more often than any other digital camera. That to me is the best test. I started the same thread on the RF forum, and was interested to see than many owners of the M8, 5D, Nikons and even M9 found they used a 4/3rds camera more: http://www.rangefinderforum.com/forums/showthread.php?t=87539 I have to admit Box Brownie, you ae the first person I have heard who has actually bought and used a GF1 and gone back. As you sa (and thankfully) we each prefer different cameras for different reasons. But as someone who appreciates using lots of different cameras (will be taking a Rollei TLR for a spin this weekend) I am after nearly 6 months still finding the GF1 to be a wonderful and liberating tool. Finally, just so you don't think it is about size over quality, I did used to have a LX3 (ie DLUX 4). I enjoyed it but it would never be the main camera I took out, the IQ was nowhere near good enough for me, and high ISOs were a bit of a joke. The GF1 with 20/1.7 is only slightly bigger, but the quality is more than a step up. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
lct Posted March 19, 2010 Share #16 Posted March 19, 2010 How do you rate the clip-on EVF Nick? Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nick De Marco Posted March 19, 2010 Author Share #17 Posted March 19, 2010 Yes I do lct, and I can tell you it is a waste of money. One of my few gripes about the GF1. The only reason I wanted it was to assist with manual focussing my M and other lenses, instead of having to enlarge on the back screen. I had tried the new Oly E2 with its VF2 finder in HK and was very impressed,. I could focus my Canon 50mm f1.2 LTM without enlargeing in the finder. I nearly bougfht the EP2 just to get it! Instead I bought the EVF for the GF1, and the resolution is so much worse that you can hardly focus anything without making it 10 times the size, and even then it is not as clear as using the scree on the back of the camera. So it is a bit pointless for me really. I hope Panny make a better one next time or I shall end up getting the EP2 to sue for manula lenses and keep the Panny for AF lenses (as one of the Panny's advantages over the EP2 is it has faster AF). Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
lct Posted March 19, 2010 Share #18 Posted March 19, 2010 That's what i suspected a bit. Thanks for warning. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
archi4 Posted March 19, 2010 Share #19 Posted March 19, 2010 Nick (and all) Interesting site for this subject I have admired his photography with many camera's. http://www.boxedlight.com/index.htm Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rick Posted March 21, 2010 Share #20 Posted March 21, 2010 I have the M8 and just bought the GF1. I sold my 5D2 today. I have a pretty good idea how these cameras all shake out. Basically, the GF1 is really a cool little camera and it is the very best PAS I've owned. But, it still has that look of small sensor image quality you see in most PAS cameras. Noise at base ISO. But, a great little camera and it does a lot right. I like it. The M8 is just sublime. Great images and they hold up and can be printed very large. I have a 44" HP Z3200 and it amazes me what the M8 can do. The 5D2 is much like the M8 except better detail in larger prints (as you would expect). But, the M8 still produces files that I like better than the 5D2 in some ways. Can't wait to get the M9... Oh, the EVF on the GF1 is crap, drives me nuts. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
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