G1 any thoughts?

[aj55]

Advertisement (gone after registration)

Anybody thoughts on the Panasonic G1 micro 4/3??

I saw that Steve Gandy is planning a lens adapter for use with M lenses!

[Advertisement]

The Leica Q3 is available for pre-order at B&H Photo Video and Adorama

[enboe]

I applaud Steve's innovations in offering an M adapter for the G1. This will give world-class lens options to that platform.

 

That being said, I did look at the G1 in the store and was not swayed by the new EVF. It is still an EVF and not an optical finder. I would recommend you looking through one first and make the decision for yourself.

 

I am spoiled by the view through an optical rangefinder as offered by the M series, the Voigtlanders, Zeiss Ikons, Rollei RFs, Epsons, etc.

 

Eric

[fotografr]

I'll wait until it comes in purple.

 

ps--M8 forum?

[Guest stnami]

Some of the images taken with home made adapters look promising, if can can shove a m mount lens on it successfully it will be bought by many a m owner ...............

[4season]

The current $1500 rebates have brought the USA price of a new M8 down below $4K for the first time ever, and it's a pretty safe bet that prices on used ones will be falling accordingly

 

I haven't seen the G1 in person, but at the moment, it doesn't particularly excite or interest me.

[scho]

So far I have only used the G1 with the supplied 14-45 kit lens, but even with this lens image quality is superb. Looking forward to using the G1 with my M mount lenses as soon as I receive the adapter from Stephen.

 

Panasonic DMC-G1 Photo Gallery by Carl Schofield at pbase.com

[whertha]

Advertisement (gone after registration)

I have recently purchased a G1 and a Leica D Summilux 25mm / F1.4. This is an upgrade from a DLux 3. I've had the combination for just a couple of days and am quite happy with it. The kit lens is slower than I would have liked but for many of the applications I have it is quite satisfactory. If I had known that there would be an adapter for the M series of lenses I would have waited. This may offer a path to an eventual upgrade of the body to an M series.

 

My only serious complaint at this time is the lack of RAW support from Apple Aperture. Time will tell if other concerns emerge, but my needs are fairly simple.

[peterb]

I have the D2 and just purchased the G1. My quick verdict? I love it.

 

I've been looking for a good little shooter for some time and the G1 seemed to fill the bill nicely. I had been eyeing a Nikon or Pentax DSLR (the M8 for the moment is simply not in the cards at the moment) with the idea of possibly getting the Nikkor 14-24 along with some Zeiss prime lenses. But the bulk of these things proved too much. And I just couldn't see myself lugging it around.

 

Aside from the D2 I'd also been using an LX-1 with its nice Leitz designed zoom but I felt I could only use it at low ISO's as even when shooting RAW the noise just was not good enough.

 

The G1 has a remarkably small body. And I think what won me over was seeing it side by side next to an M8 (it's practically the same thickness). At that moment I thought it was certainly a camera worth exploring.

 

I liked the thinking behind the micro 4/3's concept. Lose the mirror box and see what you can come up with. (Olympus already is coming out with what could be a digital PEN like their remarkable little SLR of the 60's).

 

As a long time Leitz user, optics were also a consideration. Their stock 14-45mm kit lens (which in 35mm-speak is the equivalent of 28 to 90mm, the sweet spot of my former M6 kit and the range of the D2) is surprisingly superb. Sharp and quite contrasty. With..yes...lotsa nice bokeh wide open (go figure eh?). And seeing the word "Vario" on the barrel would suggest that Leitz may or may not have had a hand in the design of it (and if they didn't I'll bet dollars to donuts that Panasonic, after making a number of these lenses to Leitz spec and seeing what elements you might need must have learned a thing or two about lens design by now from the master).

 

Autofocus is via contrast. And while it may have been slow on some PS cameras, it's blazingly fast here. There's a slight shutter lag but for 98% of my shots, it's insignificant. As is the burst rate. Unless you're a sports photographer who needs to burn electrons, the continuous shooting rate, even with RAW is perfectly adequate in my opinion for 95% of your shots.

 

But my thinking also entertained the possibility of using some of the incredible Zuiko super lenses practically every reviewer has been gushing over. Their lens range which includes such spectacular glass like the 7-14mm f4.0, and unbelievable zooms in the 14-35mm and 35-100mm range at F-freakin' 2.0 that are unreal. Plus they have another 90-250mm f2.8 as well as a 150mm f2.0 and 300mm f2.8 primes. Roughly the equiv. 35mm lens coverage of 14mm - 200mm, 180-500mm, 300 and 600mm. Nothing short of wow. All through the availability of their adapter.

 

While the Zuiko lenses don't currently work autofocus, you can focus them manually as I did when using the D2 in manual mode. A little patch amplifies the section of the scene you're zero-ing in on to help you focus. It was tough using the D2's grainy EVF. But with the G1's uber clear screen it's a whole lot easier. I do wish there was focus confirmation like on the Nikon and Pentax I was considering. I suspect some minor firmware tweaks will enable AF with these mothers though.

 

One caveat, with the 4/3s adpater, using those lenses could prove unwieldy as they have some mighty weighty glass and the balance with the tiny sensor holder of a camera body would probably make it feel a little out of whack. I suspect, however, that the good folks at Olympus and Panasonic will be working fast to roll out some respectable zooms and primes in the smaller M4/3's size that will be nothing short of superb.

 

But now, with an adapter the possibility of hooking up with my beloved M lenses (and even some of the Zeiss ZM optics) will also be indeed possible. The 35 Lux or Cron suddenly become an incredible creamy bokeh-esque 70 Lux or 70 Cron. And the 50 in either Cron or Lux form becomes an amazing short 100mm tele. While the Noct would make it the fastest, creamiest tele on earth. And, the 90 ASPH would surpass anyone else's 180 by a long shot.

 

At the short end, the Tri-elmar could be considered to make a nifty 32mm-36mm-42mm equiv. but I might consider the 15mm f2.8 or 18mm f4.0 Zeiss's to have a prime top notch primes for the equiv. of 30mm and 36mm;

 

Optics aside, I like the clean layout of the camera. It's not too fussy with some nice features. For one, the articulating LCD that can be tucked away face inward or reversed like a typical DSLR. Plus the articulation allows you flexibility in odd shooting situations like ground level or over the tops of crowds.

 

The menus aren't too labored. And seem to cover all the basics. While there is a potpourri of 'films' to choose from, the folks at Panasonic have wisely allowed you to shoot as un-processed as you'd like.

 

The kit comes with Silky Pix, the not too intuitive RAW software that really does a nice job. Processing RAW yields files that are 30Mb capable of some VERY large image areas. It's not the easiest software in the world but the results are quite impressive. But now Adobe has a filter so you can use Elements or CS or Capture 1 now. Noise wise, the camera isn't too shabby either. For the most part good images can be had up to 1600. And if processing RAW you can achieve that classic grainlike quality that is actually kinda nice. (My how spoiled we've become as we complain about the noise at ISO's above 400 in the digital era!)

 

The nicest thing is just going out and shooting.While I see others with their huge boulder-like DSLR's sticking out like some paparazzi, I'm out and about with my relatively miniscule unobtrusive, non-descript DSLR-like camera snapping away with just a little shluck shluck shluck of the shutter.

 

Sorry to go on and on. But I'm very satisfied with this whole format and the tantalizing possibilities of the images one can make with it.

 

Peter

[peterb]

You might also check out some of the images on Flickr

 

Flickr: Panasonic G1

[Guest stnami]

Adapters:  SLR to RF

[Ruhayat]

I'm wondering about how an R lens would perform on the G1, given that you need to use two adapters (M4/3-to-4/3, and then R-to-4/3). Would there be any problems? Anyone know?

[peterb]

I'm wondering about how an R lens would perform on the G1, given that you need to use two adapters (M4/3-to-4/3, and then R-to-4/3). Would there be any problems? Anyone know?

 

My guess is it would work. Since the adapter for the R to 4/3 would work it would seem that the adapter to the adapter would have no problem. All the extenders and adapters do is make up for the missing distance between lens flange and the sensor surface. And the 2x rule would apply. So a 15mm f2.8 would act like a 30mm f2.8.

[veraikon]

I was yesterday at Foto Brenner (a photo dealer) house fair . There the Novoflex rep announced that delivery of te µFT/M adapter starts in (european) week 50 (for America: tomorrow] Order code ist MFT/LEM, Price 149€

There was also the possibility to test a G1 with a Summarit 2.5/50. It was no problem to focus it (zoom loupe), even with my adapted 1.2/ 35 on it was possible to focus sharp and quickly wide open. In my opinion the time I needed to focus wasn´t much longer than with a traditional rangefinder.

[tofsla]

from other forum. New G1 lenses.. Photos of micro 4/3 lenses 20/1.7, 7-14, 14-140: Panasonic Talk Forum: Digital Photography Review

 

20 1.7 IS SMALL and look sweet!

[doubledan]

Had my first look at the G1 today, at B&H, but wasn't inspired to buy. The EVF is remarkable -- but still a long way from feeling as natural as the view through either a rangefinder or SLR. Also, I found the body awkward to hold in my Frankenstein hands, with its betwixt-and-between size and shape. Oddly, I have a hunch that the even smaller Olympus m4/3 prototype, if fitted with a grip similar to the Leica M grip, might be more comfortable.

 

Like many others in this forum, I'd really like to attach M-mount lenses to a nifty little digital camera, but for now, I'll await further developments. Or given in and buy a used M8.

 

An additional thought, though: there's been some discussion here about using Leica R lenses on the G1, and I must say, I don't see the point. The G1 body itself is only marginally smaller than the Oly E 420, and actually a bit heavier; for that matter, the E 520is also very light and agile. Both are cheaper than G1, and although their viewfinders do suffer from that annoying tunnel effect, they are greatly improved by the affordable eyepiece magnifier -- enough so that I can manually focus a 25mm lens with perfect accuracy. (I know this opinion of the magnifier is not universally shared, but the thing has made a world of difference to me.)

[Ruhayat]

Re. using R lenses on G1 versus Olympus E-420/520 -- there are a few areas that make the G1 a good compromise between the Oly E-420 and E-520:

 

1. The E-420 does not have Live View. The E-520 has Live View, but the screen is fixed. The G1 has Live View on a swivelling screen -- for some types of macro photography, this is incredibly useful. I never thought much of the feature myself, but after one session with a friend's compact that had the feature, I'm hooked.

 

2. Similarly, no in-body anti-shake in the E-420. The E-520 has it, but it is appreciably bigger, so if you want a tiny camera with anti-shake, the G1 is it.

 

3. The G1 is about the size of the E-420, but has a grip like the E-520's. Personally, I much prefer the ergonomics of the E-520 compared to the E-420 -- easier to hold and more comfortable.

 

4. Both the E-420 and E-520 have a loud shutter compared to the G1. The cracking sound of the newer cameras was one of the primary reasons why I sought out an "antiquated" Oly E-1 instead (the other main reason was the Kodak sensor; the weather-sealed body was just a bonus and pretty irrelevant anyway when you don't use weather-sealed Oly pro lenses).

 

The Oly E-1 with 50mm Cron-R has worked out fantastically well for me. I might just pick up a G1 to marry my 28mm Elmarit-R to for a compact walkaround combo.

[mreddington]

Just for info, I contacted Novoflex in Germany and they said the adapters should be available next week. I have ordered one. It isn't yet on the web site but I was able to order by email.

[veraikon]

Just for info, I contacted Novoflex in Germany and they said the adapters should be available next week. I have ordered one. It isn't yet on the web site but I was able to order by email.

I spoke last week with someone from Novoflex at a fair and they told me delivering will start this week - perhaps a delay. There was also a leaflet about the new adapter and it was able to handle with a Summarit 2.5/50 adapted on a G1

The order code is MFT/LEM.

 

For people who understand german the press release:

Novoflex koppelt MFT-Kameras + Leica-M-Objektive | photoscala

[Advertisement]

Hallo,

Look here: Interesting Leica gear

[doubledan]

re: G1 vs. Olympus 420/520

 

Okay, I see your logic, but a minor point: are you sure the G1 has in-body stabilization? My impression has been it's the lenses that have this feature (mega-ois), rather than the G1 body. In other words, like the Lumix dslrs.

[elgenper]

re: G1 vs. Olympus 420/520

 

Okay, I see your logic, but a minor point: are you sure the G1 has in-body stabilization? My impression has been it's the lenses that have this feature (mega-ois), rather than the G1 body. In other words, like the Lumix dslrs.

 

Correct. I own the camera (and like it a lot). But IS is in the kit lens, not in the camera body.