"Panasonic G series" Owners Thread

I had noticed the lack of external controls and hot shoe of the GF5 compared to the GX1. Just hoping I can get my D7000 and lens sold if not I might end up keeping it.
 
If you can afford it go for he GX1 over the GF5, its definitely the better camera. I don't think there is a massive difference in price between the two though.
I've got the GF5 which I only bought because it was an absolute steal at the time. It was second hand, but unused and I paid only £110 body only. I then sold on the GF3 I had been using for £110 as well so ended up with a better camera for the cost of posting the GF3 on.
I'm very happy with it, but I don't mind not having a viewfinder and I don't do any indoors shooting. Obviously that's not the same for everyone though and you need to think about what type of shooting you do and whether you need a hotshoe.
 
I recently came back to Panasonic when I picked up a GF5 on a good deal, it is a very nice little camera and works very well with the power zoom. It is a very compact package that can deliver excellent results. This week I added a GX1 which is also very nice, I prefer the controls on it but haven't done any comparisons on IQ. If you want compact then go for the GF5 for better controls and ergonomics get the GX1.
 
matt b said:
You could of added a viewfinder.
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I could have but IMVHO it makes the camera bulkier and more awkward than the SLR styled cameras and it's less pracrtical too (IMVHO) as I fear a camera fitted with VF would be much less robust than the SLR style as I fear the VF would catch in bags/pockets and become detached or break.

I own a LX5 and a couple of compacts but I hardly use them and to be honest I can't see myself buying an even half serious camera without a built in VF again.

Rant time... I keep trying to love MFT... but I had the opportunity to shoot just after 10pm tonight and after just one shot I was cursing the EVF to Hell (the light output being so high that it caused eye strain after taking just one shot despite being adjusted for best effect.)

In the past most of my shots were taken in dingy venues and although I don't do that now the fact that I find EVF's impossible to use for low light shooting bugs the T&*ts off me :thumbsdown: :bang:
 
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Did you pay the eight quid entrance to Lowther?
Bloomin liberty!
We went there (someone else paid) but I didn't get any decent pics.
 
Ulfric M Douglas said:
Did you pay the eight quid entrance to Lowther?
Bloomin liberty!
We went there (someone else paid) but I didn't get any decent pics.
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We did indeed, and enjoyed a fantastic 5 hours wandering around the grounds in the sun, followed by a very nice cream tea. It was worth the entrance fee alone to find somewhere relatively quiet on what was an extremely busy weekend in the lakes :)

Cheers,

Simon.
 
Do generic batteries work now with panasonic cameras? They never used to. I've been seriously looking at clicking the buy button on a G6 and I've been looking at spare batteries. I realise they wont hold their charge or last as long but as a back up a generic one will be fine for me. But will it work?
 
rugeyes said:
Do generic batteries work now with panasonic cameras? They never used to. I've been seriously looking at clicking the buy button on a G6 and I've been looking at spare batteries. I realise they wont hold their charge or last as long but as a back up a generic one will be fine for me. But will it work?
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I have generics for a GF2, best bet is check Amazon and see if they list compatibles.
 
I used a generic one in my GF3 and it was actually better than the Panasonic one. It took longer to charge, but I got around 200 extra shots out of it. I can't remember what brand it was though as I sold it on with the camera last month. I've only got Panasonic ones with my GF5 because they came with it.
 
Thanks guys

It seems that they don't register how much power is remaining in the battery but at £55 versus £10 for a generic one i can live with that as a spare
 
rugeyes said:
Thanks guys

It seems that they don't register how much power is remaining in the battery but at £55 versus £10 for a generic one i can live with that as a spare
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I've used Maxsima in the past, and it seems they work as they should on the G5.

From the reviews:
Before I ordered two of these, I spoke to the supplier and he told me if the battery level does not show up in the G5, he would refund my order and return postage.

The batteries came today. I put one on charge, and the battery meter showed full; after recording continuous video for a long time, it showed 2/3 and then 1/3 full.

So, I am very pleased to report these battery do show their level in the G5, and this is the only supplier that I have found that provides a cheap battery with this feature for my G5.
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£10.75 at http://www.amazon.co.uk/Maxsima-Pan...TF8&qid=1374051874&sr=1-1&keywords=g5+battery
 
Is anyone using some older lens on Pana body here? Like some older f/1.2 lens?
I was wondering what options do I have on G series with f<1.7 (excluding pana 25mm 1.4)
 
I have a number of f1.8, 1.7 and 1.4 legacy lenses and a modern Voigtlander 25mm f0.95.

If you are willing to use manual focus there are quite a few optins available. I have Olympus Zuiko and Minoilta Rokkor and mainly use the latter.
 
woof woof said:
I have a number of f1.8, 1.7 and 1.4 legacy lenses and a modern Voigtlander 25mm f0.95.

If you are willing to use manual focus there are quite a few optins available. I have Olympus Zuiko and Minoilta Rokkor and mainly use the latter.
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I guess I could be ok with manual focus. 1.4 or 1.2 is sth I would be after - are those lens expensive? And what kind of adapter would I need for them?
 
phinix said:
I guess I could be ok with manual focus. 1.4 or 1.2 is sth I would be after - are those lens expensive? And what kind of adapter would I need for them?
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You could start under £10 with something like a Helios m42 lens, you then just need an adapter from whatever fitting the lens is to m4/3rds. The most popular seem to be Olympus OM, Canon FD, and Minolta SR/MD.
 
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The modern fast lenses tend to be expensive... but the legacy ones can be quite cheap. A 50mm f1.7 or f1.8 can be had for about £15-20 and an adapter will cost you another £10-15.

Faster than f1.7 50mm lenses such as f1.4 are a little more expensive but maybe you'll get one at something between £40-60.

If you want to go wider than 50mm 28mm f2.8's are available and 24mm f2.8's crop up now and again. Faster lenses at this length are rarer but do crop up. I have a 28mm f1.9. Another interesting length is 35mm and I have both f2.8 and f1.8's. I also have a 85mm f2 and f1.7's are available too.

Adapters are available on ebay from £10 and up. They're described as lens to mount so an Olympus to MFT would be OM-M4/3 and a Minolta would be MD-M4/3. Note that the MD is confusing as both MC and MD use the same mount which is actually SR.

PS. I went for a f1.4 instead of a f1.2 basically because some of the f1.2's don't exactly get rave reviews and I didn't want to end up paying more for a bigger fatter lens when a f1.4 may be more usable, smaller, lighter and cheaper. My 50mm f1.4 is I think as good at f1.4 as my f1.7 is at f1.7 plus it has additional stops at the wide end, my f1.4 goes f1.4, 2, something... then f2.8 whilst my f1.7 goes from f1.7 straight to f2.8.

Note also that in good light you may well need an ND to shoot at wide apertures.
 
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Dave1 said:
You could start under £10 with something like a Helios m42 lens, you then just need an adapter from whatever fitting the lens is to m4/3rds. The most popular seem to be Olympus OM, Canon FD, and Minolta SR/MD.
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Helios m42? Is that Minolta mount? What would I lose using adapter? Only auto focus?

woof woof said:
The modern fast lenses tend to be expensive... but the legacy ones can be quite cheap. A 50mm f1.7 or f1.8 can be had for about £15-20 and an adapter will cost you another £10-15.

Faster than f1.7 50mm lenses such as f1.4 are a little more expensive but maybe you'll get one at something between £40-60.

If you want to go wider than 50mm 28mm f2.8's are available and 24mm f2.8's crop up now and again. Faster lenses at this length are rarer but do crop up. I have a 28mm f1.9. Another interesting length is 35mm and I have both f2.8 and f1.8's. I also have a 85mm f2 and f1.7's are available too.

Adapters are available on ebay from £10 and up. They're described as lens to mount so an Olympus to MFT would be OM-M4/3 and a Minolta would be MD-M4/3. Note that the MD is confusing as both MC and MD use the same mount which is actually SR.

PS. I went for a f1.4 instead of a f1.2 basically because some of the f1.2's don't exactly get rave reviews and I didn't want to end up paying more for a bigger fatter lens when a f1.4 may be more usable, smaller, lighter and cheaper. My 50mm f1.4 is I think as good at f1.4 as my f1.7 is at f1.7 plus it has additional stops at the wide end, my f1.4 goes f1.4, 2, something... then f2.8 whilst my f1.7 goes from f1.7 straight to f2.8.

Note also that in good light you may well need an ND to shoot at wide apertures.
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What kind of 1.4 do you have? How much would this kind of lens cost?
All I can find on ebay are strange brand names for above £100....:(
 
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Dave1 said:
M42 is a mount in its own right.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/M42_lens_mount

For example, this one on eBay, a Helios 58mm f2
http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Helios-44...=UK_Lenses_Filters_Lenses&hash=item3f27270590

It's MF and also stop down aperture (so you need to manually set the apeture).
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manual aperture? Is this same with all older lens? Except focus I would need to set aperture?
Are there lens that I wouldn't have to set aperture, just manual focus?
I already have panas 20mm 1.7, wanted to see 1.4 or 1.2 lens for better bokeh.
 
phinix said:
manual aperture? Is this same with all older lens? Except focus I would need to set aperture?
Are there lens that I wouldn't have to set aperture, just manual focus?
I already have panas 20mm 1.7, wanted to see 1.4 or 1.2 lens for better bokeh.
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There is no aperture linkage, so unfortunately it is focus whilst wide open and then stop down to take the photo (unless you want to shoot everything wide open ;)).
 
phinix said:
What kind of 1.4 do you have? How much would this kind of lens cost? All I can find on ebay are strange brand names for above £100....:(
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I have a Minolta MD 50mm f1.4. You can get them at something like £30-50. Here's one...

http://www.ffordes.com/product/13071216195581

If you keep an eye on this place they have them quite often and will very probably be cheaper than the above...

http://www.rockycameras.com/minolta-minolta-md-minoltasony-af-23-c.asp

Just on focusing wide open and stopping down to take the shot... Personally that's not the way I do it. Personally I set the aperture I think I want to shoot at and compose and take the shot adjusting the aperture for DoF if required. If you want to focus wide open that's fine but you'll have to keep an eye on your shutter speed and/or ISO as obviously these could change as you stop down. Personally I'd only consider focusing wide open and stopping down to take the shot in low light but even then I'd probably be shooting with a wide aperture anyway. I suppose focusing and then stopping down could be useful when using a tripod though.
 
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phinix said:
manual aperture? Is this same with all older lens? Except focus I would need to set aperture?
Are there lens that I wouldn't have to set aperture, just manual focus?
I already have panas 20mm 1.7, wanted to see 1.4 or 1.2 lens for better bokeh.
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The bokeh on old lenses differs alot from lens to lens. Some will even produce what you want at f2.8 or f3.5 depending on the length of the lens and distances to subjext and background.

Before diving in I'd have a look on Flickr at different old glass and see if it is for you. Have a look at canon fd, takumar (pentax, who were on really big back in the olden days), olympus and minolta just to me a few. I have a couple of tair lenses that produce some wild bokeh. The results generally from old lenses are very different to modern ones with reagrds to colour and general IQ.

By setting the camera to aperture priority then selecting the aperture on the lens the shutter speed sets itself. If nothing else using them will teach you about aperture and shutter speed
 
If you go back a few pages in this thread, you'll find Allan's advice to me regarding legacy manual focus lenses, all of which was very helpful. I'm very happy with my Minolta Rokkor 50mm f1.7 (£16 off eBay). I forgot I was watching a 28mm f2.8 last night, and it went for £20 :(

If you go the eBay route, if you navigate to their lenses category, you can set a filter on the left-hand side to the mount you're looking for. (Minolta MD in my case).

The adaptor I bought was this

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/370620409322?ssPageName=STRK:MEWNX:IT&_trksid=p3984.m1439.l2649

Seems perfectly fine for the money, and it arrived very quickly.
 
rugeyes said:
By setting the camera to aperture priority then selecting the aperture on the lens the shutter speed sets itself. If nothing else using them will teach you about aperture and shutter speed
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Good point to mention, it is the way I do it as well, I find focussing at f8 or f11 difficult which is why I focus and then stop down, Alan must have better eyesight than me ;).
 
Thanks guys for all you comments and hints.
Looks like if I want to play with old lens I need to learn how to use them with aperture settings etc.;)
If I want something working straight from beginning with all the options, looks like Panasonic 25mm f/1.4 is the only option, is that correct?
Is there any other m4/3 1.4 or smaller lens? I believe I can use Oly lens on Panasonic cameras without problems?
 
Dave1 said:
Good point to mention, it is the way I do it as well, I find focussing at f8 or f11 difficult which is why I focus and then stop down, Alan must have better eyesight than me ;).
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I never used anything in the middle of the aperture range till I got some manual lenses and had to think about what i wanted to shoot and find the sweet spot. DSLR's are great but they do take away some of the thought process of the mechanics of taking pictures.
 
phinix said:
Thanks guys for all you comments and hints.
Looks like if I want to play with old lens I need to learn how to use them with aperture settings etc.;)
If I want something working straight from beginning with all the options, looks like Panasonic 25mm f/1.4 is the only option, is that correct?
Is there any other m4/3 1.4 or smaller lens? I believe I can use Oly lens on Panasonic cameras without problems?
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You can use Olympus lenses on panny bodies so for example the 45mm? There are a couple of sigma mft lenses too.

The aperture thing is easy enough but manual lenses can be quite faffy.
 
rugeyes said:
The aperture thing is easy enough but manual lenses can be quite faffy.
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Maybe but on the other hand manual lenses are nicer to use than no feel no marking fly by wire lenses although obviously this is a matter of opinion.

For example you can set a manual lens to infinity or to a distance in a second for hyperfocal, Merklinger method or zone focusing and it'll stay there or you can set it to a distance so that focusing is almost there and then accurately focus thus reducing focus time.
 
matt b said:
What is it you don't like about the 20mm?
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It's that I don't like it, it's just wanted to see what better bokeh/DOF I can get on other lens.
I saw 25mm 1.4 samples and bokeh is a nicer than my 20mm, all smooth and misty:) Of course it depends on background distance but I saw some comparable samples and 1.4 makes a difference. Obviously 25mm leica is too expensive for me - £400 is a max I spend on body (I'm selling my GF1 and getting G5 this week or so).
 
My own little experiments between 20mm at f1.7 and 25mm at f1.4 (in my case with a voigtlander f0.95) showed me that there's very little DoF difference between the two focal lengths at the same camera to subject distance and that they can be largely equalised by cropping the 20mm shot or by altering the camera to subject distance.

Personally I see little real world difference between wider apertures DoF wise until you get to maybe f2.8 or so. The character of the bokeh is a different matter.

Of course if you're happier with either the 20 or 25mm FoV that'll make a difference.

20mm f1.7 shot from a few years ago...

 
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phinix said:
It's that I don't like it, it's just wanted to see what better bokeh/DOF I can get on other lens.
I saw 25mm 1.4 samples and bokeh is a nicer than my 20mm, all smooth and misty...
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You keep mentioning apertures of F1.4, F1.2 ... but aren't you missing the obvious point that increasing the focal length will give you your sought-for blurriness at less 'expensive' apertures.
For a £-per-blurry-niceness-all-automatic you can't really beat the mZuiko 45mm at £230-ish.

However, bite the manual-aperture manual-focus bullet, buy a 50mmF1.8 and a £15 adapter ... do it. DO IT.
 
Thanks for samples. Looks like focal length also makes difference.
 
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