"Panasonic G series" Owners Thread

What you actually said was Canon / Nikon mount and I was simply pointing out the reason :D

Of course in Canon / Nikon made a MFT camera...
 
If the Zeiss lenses are better or give you more options then go for it.

I personally would probably have drop kicked my MFT kit over a hedge if it wasn't for the f0.95 coming along.
 
Well I have the lens (and some other bits and pieces) because my Video camera is a Panasonic AF101 which is a MFT mount. So I got the GF3 camera to share lenses.

But now I'm going to be upgrading the video camera so need lenses that will work with everything (via adapters).
 
Changing tack somewhat, had a play with a GX1 yesterday and was less than impressed by the "feel" of the camera. For a premium product it felt pretty flimsy and certainly not on par with the GF1 build quality. I'm sure it's great in other respects but I didn't feel the love:crying:.
 
I have to go and play with a GF1 because there are plenty of people that have said the same thing as you do, GX1 not as well built as the GF1. When I tried it out I really liked but then I cannot compare to the GF1 as I never really owned one.
 
Guys do you think I would be silly to buy a GH2 at now considering it's getting on a bit and maybe there will be a GH3 soon?
I really want it for a very small still camera but also with the hack for video it is likely to give almost as good results as my Canon XF100 video camera and a fraction of the size.



davek said:
Changing tack somewhat, had a play with a GX1 yesterday and was less than impressed by the "feel" of the camera. For a premium product it felt pretty flimsy and certainly not on par with the GF1 build quality. I'm sure it's great in other respects but I didn't feel the love:crying:.
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I made a post a few pages back to the same effect. The GX1 to me didn't feel as well built as my GF2. I did like the added rubber hand grip though.
 
EMA747 said:
Guys do you think I would be silly to buy a GH2 at now considering it's getting on a bit and maybe there will be a GH3 soon?
I really want it for a very small still camera but also with the hack for video it is likely to give almost as good results as my Canon XF100 video camera and a fraction of the size.




I made a post a few pages back to the same effect. The GX1 to me didn't feel as well built as my GF2. I did like the added rubber hand grip though.
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The GH2 is still about as good as you can get in MFT format and superb for video. I don't think Panasonic rush replacements on their top end cameras as the GH1 was around for quite a while. I sold my GH2 to go back to a 'proper' DSLR and to be honest regret it now
 
I have been thinking the very same thing for a while (as I mostly work in video) but in the end I decided they would be a lot cheaper in a couple of months, PLUS the video coming out of the GF3 is actually surprising good for a tiny compact so that would work as a B-camera for me for now, especially as it was £228 on ebay brand new and fits in the pocket :)

Forget that it is awful shakey camerawork and I still didn't know what any of the buttons did on the camera yet, here's a tiny test I did with the video on the GF3 over Christmas - http://vimeo.com/34124638 (password: grace)
 
Gotta agree, when I received my 14mm I was like OMG, and people rave how small and light the Canon 50mm f/1.8 II is :D
 
I think this is why I've never got on with a fifty on crop, it might be fast but its just too long for me, the 14mm is perfick for me... Unless nikon ever make my dream 16mm f1.2 DX, that costs a hundred quid and is the size of a hockey puck.

I can dream ;)
 
BTW: Trey Ratcliff (who I've been following for years, due to my love of HDR) has caused a bit of a stir with his recent post about DSLRs being a dying breed and CSC's being the future. Even going so far as to say he'll not be buying any more Nikon gear, although he's not switching to any mirrorless format now, he his saying the time is coming.

Take a look for yourself...
http://www.stuckincustoms.com/2012/01/04/dslrs-are-a-dying-breed-3rd-gen-cameras-are-the-future/

Not sure I agree with his term of '3rd gen' cameras but nice controversial post from a respected photographer......
 
ShrubMonkey said:
I purchased one in the past week for use on my G3 and G1, not had much chance to use it yet. But seems very nice addition to my m4/3 gear slotting in above my 14mm, 20mm. I also purchased a 100-300 to complete my lens lineup

One of the first shots with my new Olympus 45mm f/18 lens mounted on G3
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anthonys said:
The Olympus 45mm 1.8 is meant to be one of the sharpest lenses available but you get no IS on Panasonic bodies, though I've read mixed reviews about how useful that actually is..

For about the same price you can get the new Panasonic 45-175mm, it's still reasonable sharp but not as fast, though does feature OIS.

I'm slightly torn between which I'd use more, the faster 45mm or the length the 45-175mm offers.
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Danny_Two said:
I have it on my G1. It's perfect, it's as every bit as good as the 20mm, imo.
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TCR4x4 said:
Got my eye on the oly 45mm next!
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Thank you all for your feedback. It's on my shopping list now.(y)
 
ShrubMonkey said:
BTW: Trey Ratcliff (who I've been following for years, due to my love of HDR) has caused a bit of a stir with his recent post about DSLRs being a dying breed and CSC's being the future. Even going so far as to say he'll not be buying any more Nikon gear, although he's not switching to any mirrorless format now, he his saying the time is coming.

Take a look for yourself...
http://www.stuckincustoms.com/2012/01/04/dslrs-are-a-dying-breed-3rd-gen-cameras-are-the-future/

Not sure I agree with his term of '3rd gen' cameras but nice controversial post from a respected photographer......
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Interesting read and I have to agree with him on most of his points. Smaller camera imo are almost certainly the future. Most things technology wise have shrunk over the years. Massive room size computers to desktops to laptops to ipads/iphones. As Trey says why would you carry around heavy gear if you don't have to.
When I was in Switzerland this week I was actually glad I didn't have my 1DmkIV and only had my little GF2. I got better photos because I used the camera more than I would with a DSLR and as a result ended up capturing better shots.
 
When you think about a DSLR and the mechanical aspect of the mirror, it does seem kind of old fashioned with it's roots back in the days of film.

As you say Andy (and I left a comment of the same on Treys blog), its just evolution it will happen without doubt.
 
Smaller camera and lens packages are what interest me as a DSLR plus a digital lens is a big fat beast.

The MFT format could be my main format but it's hobbled by a crap lens line up (all IMVHO, of course) and ridiculously overcrowded sensor. Give me a nice small camera and a range of wide aperture lenses and limit the mp count to something that'll give a nice clean output and I'd never look at a DSLR again but the sad truth is that I don't think that either Panny or Oly will ever offer what I want.
 
woof woof said:
Smaller camera and lens packages are what interest me as a DSLR plus a digital lens is a big fat beast.

The MFT format could be my main format but it's hobbled by a crap lens line up (all IMVHO, of course) and ridiculously overcrowded sensor. Give me a nice small camera and a range of wide aperture lenses and limit the mp count to something that'll give a nice clean output and I'd never look at a DSLR again but the sad truth is that I don't think that either Panny or Oly will ever offer what I want.
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Crap lens line up, no way!
 
I sort of agree about the crap line up, the lenses there tht are available are good but a wider range of AF lenses would be nice. That said there is enough to tempt me to want to buy more lenses... The 14 f2.8 and the 45 f1.8 are both calling me. It's a bad idea for me to look at websites selling lenses when feeling down as I'm more likely to 'accidentally' order one!
 
I think there are enough quality lenses for most folks, agree there could be more, we could always have more
 
woof woof said:
Smaller camera and lens packages are what interest me as a DSLR plus a digital lens is a big fat beast.

The MFT format could be my main format but it's hobbled by a crap lens line up (all IMVHO, of course) and ridiculously overcrowded sensor. Give me a nice small camera and a range of wide aperture lenses and limit the mp count to something that'll give a nice clean output and I'd never look at a DSLR again but the sad truth is that I don't think that either Panny or Oly will ever offer what I want.
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I'm with you on this, the MP count needs to be stripped back (D40 - 6MP - nice images!), but there just isn't the choice with lenses. However I'm sure that'll be resolved soon.

One of the big divisions between the m43 contenders is (IMHO!) the difference between in-body and lens-based stabilization, once Olly and Panny get serious with glass they could well become the new Canikon ;)
 
ShrubMonkey said:
I think there are enough quality lenses for most folks, agree there could be more, we could always have more
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I just love the toys and can think of a few things I'd like to see... A fast long prime could be great, something like a 300 f4 (though the 100-300 is a very good lens). A nice long (100mm) macro could be fun too, or some AF extension tubes...

I recently got a m42 adapter so a playing with sold of my old lenses which has been fun. Might have to get a Canon EOS adapter too.
 
Yes for sure, need more lenses, the these camera systems are in their infancy compared canon and Nikon, it's going to take some time. I'm sure they are coming, sigma have a 30mm on the way.

I find it refreshing to have a nice selection of lenses, and not be constantly lusting after more gear I don't really need like I've done with my canon gear. Anyway thats just me :)
 
ShrubMonkey said:
Crap lens line up, no way!
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Let me explain a little.

I like to shoot a lot of wide aperture shots and with MFT you're limited by both what lenses are available and the "crop" which means that to get the framing I want I need to use wider lenses and wider apertures than I'd be using on APS-C or FF and they're about as common as hens teeth. Plus there's the AF technology Panny use which makes manual focusing and pre focusing if not actually measurably more difficult then (in my case) more annoying.

As I've said before, if it wasn't for the Voigtlander 25mm f0.95 (a manual lens made by someone other than Panny or Oly) I'd have given up on MFT after my initial excitement over the GF1+20mm f1.7 wore off and gave way to irritation.

And then there's the issue of the teeny tiny MFT pixels. Bigger is better IMVHO and I'd be very happy to see fewer but bigger pixels and an overall better image quality.

I personally don't see much of a future for Panny or Oly if they carry on down the current road they're on and I hope that instead Sony can get it's act together and offer a range of smaller and wider aperture lenses for their APS-C mirrorless cameras.

To me the future lies in getting bigger sensors into smaller form bodies and overcoming the need to have such massive big fat lenses.
 
ronnus said:
I'm with you on this, the MP count needs to be stripped back (D40 - 6MP - nice images!), but there just isn't the choice with lenses. However I'm sure that'll be resolved soon.

One of the big divisions between the m43 contenders is (IMHO!) the difference between in-body and lens-based stabilization, once Olly and Panny get serious with glass they could well become the new Canikon ;)
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Sadly the marketing departments have persuaded the great unwashed that a big mp count = a better camera and I just can't see anyone bringing out a 6mp camera.

The biggest print I've ever done is A3 and I'm not into macro or heavy cropping and I don't believe that any of my shots will ever be printed the size of an office block so a much lower mp count would do me fine.

With the x2 crop to get the same image as my DSLR's I'd need a much wider lens and a much wider aperture, and what do we mostly get from Panny? An endless stream of f3.5-5.6 kit lenses.
 
Agree with you on a number of points, the marketing of high pixel counts as progress, but I think this will change as it is in the DSLR world.

On the kit lenses, hell yeah, when I first got my G3 with kit zoom, I was really disappointed. And didn't use it that much at all, horrible flat images. But then I got the 20mm, I just love it and that made the difference for me.
 
I'm just hard to please.

I see Panny missing an opportunity to wipe the floor with Canon and Nikon by making smaller form cameras and lenses a real replacement for DSLR's and I just wish they'd try harder to satisfy those who want more than a kit lens, and who want to move fully over from the big fat DSLR+lens.
 
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I know M4/3 has been around a bit now but I think in time they will get round to really tackling those of using wanting to ditch the DSLR but still have a serious camera.
For me personally I think it's at the point where am ready to move over to M4/3 only with probably the GH2 and wait and see how it progresses. At the moment the bodies and lens line up is not quite as good as high-end Canon and Nikon stuff but for 95% of my use it would be just fine. When (if) a more advanced M4/3 camera comes out I would probably go for it.

At the end of the day M4/3 is still a relatively new format compared to SLRs and DSLRs but I think (hope) it will head in the right direction to please both beginners and more experienced togs. If they do that then I can't see the DSLR format lasting.
 
woof woof said:
The MFT format could be my main format but it's hobbled by a crap lens line up (all IMVHO, of course) and ridiculously overcrowded sensor. Give me a nice small camera and a range of wide aperture lenses and limit the mp count to something that'll give a nice clean output and I'd never look at a DSLR again but the sad truth is that I don't think that either Panny or Oly will ever offer what I want.
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Change the record, you trot out the same rant in every thread relating to mft, yet strangely you still own one.
If you don't like it sell it and get something else.

:shrug:
 
Received my Lowepro 140aw classified bag today. Bit disappointed at first over the size, smaller than I thought, top quality product throughout. Then I rearranged some of the dividers, so Its able hold my G1, G3, 14mm, 20mm, 45mm, 100-300mm. Looks great wanted a bag that didn't scream 'camera bag!'. So a can carry all my m4/3 gear in one small bag, fantastic!!!
 
Having watched Bert Stephani do a shoot with a GF1 and a cheap flash I'm seriously thinking of getting one. Camera in one pocket flash in the other and umbrella in hand - seems ideal for some urban style shoots where you don't really want to be sporting a couple of grands worth of gear.

I accept the quality isn't going to be the same but as long as you're not pixel peeping I would have thought it's a reasonable trade off.

Also need a decent travel/holiday camera anyway.

What's everyone's view on the various options GF1/2/3?

Some reviews seem to think the GF1 is more of a "photographers" camera with the GF2 being a move towards the high end compact market.

Would be interested in your opinions
 
ShrubMonkey said:
Received my Lowepro 140aw classified bag today. Bit disappointed at first over the size, smaller than I thought, top quality product throughout. Then I rearranged some of the dividers, so Its able hold my G1, G3, 14mm, 20mm, 45mm, 100-300mm. Looks great wanted a bag that didn't scream 'camera bag!'. So a can carry all my m4/3 gear in one small bag, fantastic!!!
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This post is no good without pics ;)
 
woof woof said:
I'm just hard to please.

I see Panny missing an opportunity to wipe the floor with Canon and Nikon by making smaller form cameras and lenses a real replacement for DSLR's and I just wish they'd try harder to satisfy those who want more than a kit lens, and who want to move fully over from the big fat DSLR+lens.
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I reckon from reading your previous posts, mft just isn't the system for you. No one is going to make the lenses you are after specifically for m43 with manual markings and the trend is for more pixels on m43 sensors ( was 12 now 16)
If you want less crowded large sensors on a smallish body with a range of specialist manual lenses, then you should be looking at a large sensor manual camera (Leica m9 comes to mind) or just use what is available. Lots of people do and are very happy.
Panny and Olympus are high volume high sales companies. They wonk be interested in making specialist lenses the masses can't afford
My 2c!
Allan
 
Im slowly falling more and more in love with this gear.
Took the dog for a walk, and that usually means no photos, as I just cant carry all my DSLR stuff and control him at the same time..
Well today was a revelation.. I took just the GF1 and 14mm lens and was pretty happy with the results.


P1050926 by TCR4x4, on Flickr


P1050951 by TCR4x4, on Flickr


P1050946 by TCR4x4, on Flickr​
 
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