"Panasonic G series" Owners Thread

ShrubMonkey said:
Alan , this base ISO and light from EVF seems really important for you, not considered moving away from mft/nex and stick with DSLR?
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I must say that I've thought that as well. There's no such thing as a perfect camera. There's always compromises to be made. Given how vocal you are about these two in particular relative to the advantages that m4/3 brings you, perhaps it is time to look at something completely different.

Having used a NEX-7 for a few months, the brightness of the EVF in low light will give you exactly the same issues using the NEX range as you have previously complained about.
 
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Alan, isn't the real RAW base ISO of the G1 at 200-ish ISO too?
If not, there's a mystery since I always assumed that particular sensor (before the bayer filters, IR filter and AA filer) was identical to the sensor in the E-30, e-620, e-600, e-P1, e-P2, e-pL1, E-5, GF1, G-2
And that's bolstered by my own testing of some of those cameras.
 
To those who've commented on my post...

The G1 has ISO 100.

I bought into this system because I was hoping to find a small format that would enable me to move away from big fat bloated DSLR's but as time has passed that's now looking less not more likely.

I first got into photography with small cameras and shot with them for the thick end of twenty years before buying a SLR and then to even bigger, fatter and heavier DSLR's. I'd love to move back to a smaller camera but I have two problems which MFT is nowhere near solving...

Firstly I can't shoot at wide apertures in good light without ND's. This latest camera doesn't fix that. The low sensitivity will come at some expense and probably wont be included as an auto ISO option and therefore I simply wont use it. That leaves me with ISO 200 as a base and that's unacceptable to me for an enthusiasts camera. I don't want to shoot at f8 all day. Screw that. What's the point in having f0.95 or even f1.4 lenses and being forced to shoot at f2.8+ or place a PITA filter over the lens.

Secondly the EVF technology just isn't up to low light shooting. In low light my EVF fails to show detail which is clearly visible to my eye despite the availability of f0.95 and despite adjustment for best effect the light output is so high that it ruins night vision and causes me sever eye strain, so much so that can only take a shot or two and I then need 15 minutes to recover.

It just beggers me that cameras with small sensors which push you into using wider lenses at wider apertures and which are aimed at enthusiasts don't offer low sensitivities these days.

The choice for me now seems to be Nex. I've been waiting to buy a new body and the Nex 6 will enable me to carry on as now, being irritated by having to use ND's but at least I'll be getting better IQ than I can get from my G1 or indeed any MFT camera AFAIK. I'll wait until the next Nex is announced and I hope that they move to 1/8000 and retain ISO 100 and if not I may grab a close out Nex 6. This option will, as with MFT, mean that I can't shoot in low light but that just doesn't seem possible with todays technology.

I don't really want to go back to DSLR's as my 5D fitted with any lens is a massive heavy lump and just doesn't fit with my lifestyle and how I want to shoot. Cameras and lenses just aren't going in the direction I want them to.

I'll have a think but it looks like I'll probably sell my 25mm f0.95 and possibly the 14-42 and 20mm and G1 too and take my legacy lenses over to a Nex.
 
matt b said:
What is wrong with base 200.
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As MFT uses a small chip to get the same FoV you'd get with FF you need to use wider lenses, same with DoF and to get the same DoF you'd get with FF you need to use very wide apertures and wide apertures = fast shutter speeds.

With a max shutter speed of 1/4000 and a base ISO of 100 I'm limited to f2.8 and sometimes smaller. If I want to use wider apertures I need to fit an ND filter and the disadvantage of that is that I may need to fit it for one shot to stop blowing my highlights and enable a shutter speed of 1/4000 or slower and then take it off for the next shot if my ISO has risen too high or my shutter speed has fallen too low.
 
Alan, have you considered an EOS 100D?

Directly compatible with your Canon gear, small and light, ISO 100, adapters for virtually every mount made for your legacy gear and no EVF to spoil night use.
 
I have thought about a small DSLR but I'd still be stuck with shooting with ND's as Canon's smaller bodies are limited to 1/4000 sec. Plus, I do prefer EVF's with their WYSIWYG and in view histograms when shooting in good light as in difficult to meter conditions my first shot keeper rate is higher with my G1 than with my 5D despite the 5D's higher dynamic range because the G1 has an in view histogram. It'd be difficult for me to go back to DSLR's now even with a small one.

And of course with any DSLR you're stuck with massive bloated lenses. There are a few trimmer DSLR lenses but the general drift is towards big fat lenses. Using manual legacy lenses on DSLR's for anything other than pseudo macro shooting doesn't interest me as I find it too hard to focus.

I'm massively disappointed by the spec of this latest camera but to be honest it's just what I expected and for that reason I haven't invested any significant money in MFT lenses other than the Voigtlander, the 14-42 and 20mm being quite cheap.

I just can't understand this trend for enthusiast cameras with a rising base ISO. Fuji, Oly and Panasonic are doing it and yet these are the companies knocking out lovely wide aperture primes. I can only assume that marketing want an easy to understand number to quote like ISO 25000 and the engineers think that wide aperture primes are for night time shooting... assuming you can shoot with a torch shining directly into your eye.

I haven't decided what to do yet. I'm so p****d off with FBW lenses, EVF's shining a torch in my eye and rising ISO's that I have thought about just giving up and returning to photography in 5 years time if/when the technology improves. Returning to a DSLR as my camera of choice isn't an option for me as I hate the weight and bulk and being stared at by people who think I'm a P****.
 
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I've not used a NEX, but I was under the impression it is tiny body with standard DSLR size lenses attached?

Are the nex lenses that much smaller than a similarly priced/spec'ed APS-C lens?
 
There seems to be a lot of talk about that but the Nex compat lenses I've looked at don't seem that bad.

For example...
Sony 35mm f1.8 - D63xL45mm
Panasonic 25mm f1.4 - D63xL55mm

So here the Sony lens is smaller than the Panasonic whilst the Sigma 50mm f1.4 I use on my 5D is a behemoth. Anyway, I'd probably mostly still use my legacy lenses.
 
Alan,

I sold my NEX-7 after only a couple of months. The output was good, but the ergonomics for me were terrible with the offset EVF and rear screen that only tilted. Something else to be aware of and check out (assuming you haven't done so already) if you can before you buy.

Simon.
 
GX7 announced. Base ISO 200 (it has ISO 125 extended) and 1/8000th shutter (flash sync @ 1/320th) and priced £819 (WEX preorder). Available in Silver or black.

Also Leica Nocticron 42.5 f/1.2 announced. Has manual aperture ring and IS. No news on availability or price.
 
£819. Guys, do you remember what was a release price for G5? Was it £700?
Just trying to figure out what will be the price for GX7 in a year. G5 dropped to £400 for body after a year. Do you think GX7 will drop that much too?

This articulating lcd would have been nice on GX7...
Maybe in a year there will be GX8 released, 20MP and with articulating screen and ISO 100 for Alan ! ;)

P.S.
42.5 f/1.2 - Leica - I'm guessing £600 :(
 
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phinix said:
This articulating lcd would have been nice on GX7...
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Nah. Tilting screen is much better for street photography.

phptoqhvn.jpg
 
srhmoto said:
Alan,

I sold my NEX-7 after only a couple of months. The output was good, but the ergonomics for me were terrible with the offset EVF and rear screen that only tilted. Something else to be aware of and check out (assuming you haven't done so already) if you can before you buy.

Simon.
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I've tried a Nex 6 and it was ok.

Yet again I know I'll be in a minority of one over this but having slept on it and thinking about the issues a base of 200 brings and the possible compromises of the derived 125 I'm just as certain that the GX7 just isn't for me. Not when a Nex is a fraction of the cost, has a base ISO of 100 and will probably beat it on IQ too. I would say that the GX7 is a massive disappointment but really it's exactly what I expected from Panasonic :thumbsdown:

I'm out.
 
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furq said:
Nah. Tilting screen is much better for street photography.

phptoqhvn.jpg
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tilt is fine, but it good to be able to flip it to the front, so you targets gonna see where its gonna hit them:)
 
This intrigued me ;
woof woof said:
The G1 has ISO 100.
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So I did a little test with G1, e-P2 & G3 in wide-open overbright daylight
All manual, BASE ISO (indicated 100 100 160) shutter 1/2000
mZuiko45mm at F1,8
Bright sunny sky above hillside, RAW only. Previews showed WHITE blank sky of course.
These were overexposed as you might expect, but in terms of recovery in ACR I rated the G1 worst (hardly any sky detail)
e-P2 not good (some sky detail recovered)
G3 rather good. Lots of sky cloud detail recovered
This despite the G3 advertising Base ISO of 160, and despite the e-P2's ISO100 generally claimed to be a fake pull from the ISO200 data.
So it's more to do with dynamic range what you can recover, and the new breed of bodies might just be ideal for you Woof Woof!
Good eh? (y)
 
No, no sale :thumbsdown:

What this camera does is increase the shutter speed to 1/8000 whilst increasing the ISO to 200. The reduced 125 doesn't really interest me as I can shoot at 200 and apply my own curves. The net gain seems to equal ZERO for me over a new camera shooting at ISO 100 and 1/4000.


So, I'm left wondering what a GX7 offers at ISO 200 and 1/8000 over a Nex 6 at 100 and 1/4000 and at the moment I think that the Sony will comfortably beat the Panasonic for image quality and I'll be surprised if that's not the case.

Of course the GX7 offers in body IS but I don't feel that I want to reward such a FUBAR as giving 1/8000 and taking away the advantage with ISO 200.

I can sort of understand sacrificing low sensitivity image quality for better higher ISO performance as I suppose many people will shoot with f4-5.6 lenses in green square mode but for someone who likes to shoot with wide apertures in good light this camera seems not to move the game on.

It's not for me.
 
No.

I have no brand loyalty and I've resisted investing too much in MFT so I'll look at other brands but at the moment the Nex 6 seems to be the only option to improve significantly on my G1.

I may carry on with my G1 until something that suits me comes along and if in two or three years that happens to be a Panasonic or Olympus then fair enough but I have no plans at the moment to sink the thick end of £1k into a camera that I know I wont be happy with and that rules out every Panasonic, Olympus and Fuji currently on sale.
 
This weekend I will break from the norm on this thread and actually take some shots with my G5 and post them in here :) anyone else going to join in?
 
I must have posted a hundred shots in this thread and most at ISO 100. That's something lots of you guys wont be able to do in the future :LOL:

Street parking.



On the beach.



Both Minolta 24mm f2.8.
 
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woof woof said:
I must have posted a hundred shots in this thread and most at ISO 100. That's something lots of you guys wont be able to do in the future :LOL:
.
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Who cares? I will still enjoy using my camera rather than going on a forum to moan about it.
 
CJS said:
How about that for a sky . . . ? thundering as I took it, 'grab shot' from my back door, grabed the TZ30, not confident enough with the G5, no time to fiddle, used ISO 100 . . .

http://[URL=http://s617.photobucket.com/user/CliffStone/media/100Thundercloudsrw_zpsb63111ec.jpg.html][/URL]

CJS
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Were you in Colchester when you took that?
 
No Mate, I live in the west of Ipswich, sky gone flat, more thunder, lightening and started raining now :shrug:

CJS
 
a few from my new G6

9419372750_cd89e62884_c.jpg

shot with a takumar 50mm macro

9419370450_254972615d_c.jpg

20mm f1.7

9419352824_6c0086f7af_c.jpg

20mm f1.7

9270024855_0178e2394c_c.jpg

the old G1 with Takumar 50mm macro
 
CJS said:
How about that for a sky . . . ? thundering as I took it, 'grab shot' from my back door, grabed the TZ30, not confident enough with the G5, no time to fiddle, used ISO 100 . . . [/URL]

CJS
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wow, apocalyptic!
 
Nice carps.. Christmas is coming:D
 
ShrubMonkey said:
Love the peas in the pod, great clarity
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Thanks.

The 50mm macro is incredibly sharp and needs little or no tweaking in LR. In a really childish way it gives me the wow factor everytime I use it! The colour balance is really good on it too. Focus peaking on the G6 has made it and my other takumar's so much easier to use
 
Beagletorque said:
What about Pentax Q10? 100 iso, 1/8000 (in electronic shutter) but at the expense of the 5.5x FLM, not such good news for WA!
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What I really want to do is be able to shoot at f1.4 in good light.

I'd like a smaller system as I don't like carting my 5D about and I'm hoping for a MFT or APS-C or even a FF Nex.

I'll probably give it a few months and see what comes to market but as camera shops are rare these days once I settle on a make and model I may buy one off the net as I believe that distance selling regs give you the right to return goods even if there's nothing wrong with them.

I've held off doing this in the past as I think it's rather immoral but I just don't want to get stuck with a camera with a base ISO of 200 (be it a Sony, Fuji, Oly or Panasonic) and end up having to use ND's at f5.6.

Tried shooting with my G1 set at 200 again today and I was not impressed. My hands were a blur fitting and removing ND's.
 
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