Anyone Using the Panasonic G1 ??

DNG

DNG

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I am thinking about selling my Pentax K20D and all lenses (see Sig, + BG-2 grip), and getting a G2 with a 14-42, and 45-150 Maybe the Oly ZD versions). and a m4/3>M adapter. I had a E-510 a few years ago, so I familiar with the format. and I'm hoping ISO 800 is more usable than the E-510..

your views are important. I just don't use the Pentax that much, and would prefer a more compact Interchangeable Digital + plus I own some nice glass in M mount I could use on it.. Ummmmm a 180mm f/2 Summicron...Or a 100mm f/1.1 Nokton... or a 70mm f/1.4 SC Nokton... or a 56mm f/2 Ultron 😎
 
DNG said:
I am thinking about selling my Pentax K20D and all lenses (see Sig, + BG-2 grip), and getting a G2 with a 14-42, and 45-150 Maybe the Oly ZD versions). and a m4/3>M adapter. I had a E-510 a few years ago, so I familiar with the format. and I'm hoping ISO 800 is more usable than the E-510..

your views are important. I just don't use the Pentax that much, and would prefer a more compact Interchangeable Digital + plus I own some nice glass in M mount I could use on it.. Ummmmm a 180mm f/2 Summicron...Or a 100mm f/1.1 Nokton... or a 70mm f/1.4 SC Nokton... or a 56mm f/2 Ultron 😎
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looks like Panasinics are a bit scarce here! 😉
 
The G1 is a great camera. For m4/3, I'm sticking with the G1/G2 form factor (as opposed to the GF1). It's not as stylish as the GF1 or the Oly (some say ugly), but it's small and light and has the tilt/swivel LCD and the EVF. The handling is great; and the grip is excellent. The camera always feels very secure. For the G2, Panasonic has made some minor tweaks (improvements) to the button and dial locations.

I've never found the Panasonic UI to be a problem. Some here do have issues with it. I owned the LX3 before the G1, so maybe that helped (?). However, I also own Nikon and Canon digitals.

I use the M-mount and the F-mount adapters. I like to use my Nokton 40/1.4 and my wide Nikkors on the camera. The 2x crop factor is a bit much, but the m4/3 lenses are really very good (especially the Panasonic 20/1.7). I own the 20 and the 14-45,

I'm planning on getting the G2, preferably a body-only option (although, I haven't seen that offered here in the U.S). I'm stoked about the touchscreen AF. I think it's going to be a very useful feature.

BTW, you can probably find a LOT of threads on the G1 here on RFF in the forum archives.



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I am very happy with my G1.

I tend to keep my cameras for a long time, and manage to avoid upgrade-itis 🙂. My main digital was a 7 year old Nikon D100, that I've been using extensively until now.

After extensive research and pondering, I jumped into M4/3 with both feet, and I found a used G1 w/14-45mm for a good price over a month ago. I have since added the Lumix 20mm f1.7 (really excellent!), and adapters for Nikkor and Leica M mounts.

I chose the G1 for its long list of features that I wanted (including an excellent EVF built-in which I use 99.9% of the time). I have no interest in video, so that eliminated the GH-1, and I'm not interested in a touch screen interface, so I won't be upgrading to a G2 for a while, if ever.

On my last two extended photo outings, my most used lenses were the Lumix 20mm f1.7, and an adapted Nikkor 85mm f2.0 manual focus lens.

My next M4/3 body will probably be a compact body, either a GF-1 or Oly E-PL1 that I will use with a prime, probably the 20mm, to give me a more portable option when needed.

I shot a few test shots with my 50mm Elmar M which turned out fine. I have not had an opportunity to use it extensively yet, but I will soon.

--Warren
 
Warren T. said:
and I'm not interested in a touch screen interface, so I won't be upgrading to a G2 for a while, if ever.

--Warren
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I thought the same, Warren, primarily because I also use the EVF a lot. However, I have found myself using the LCD at ground level, above my head, and in other positions where using the EVF would not be very comfortable. In those situations, the ability to manage AF by touching the screen sounds like a very useful feature. Otherwise, I would be content with sticking with the G1.


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RayPA said:
I thought the same, Warren, primarily because I also use the EVF a lot. However, I have found myself using the LCD at ground level, above my head, and in other positions where using the EVF would not be very comfortable. In those situations, the ability to manage AF by touching the screen sounds like a very useful feature. Otherwise, I would be content with sticking with the G1.


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Ray, I will be very interested to know how that works out for you in actual practice. Of course, there are other reasons to upgrade to the G2 besides the touch screen. I think one of them would be that the G2 offers slightly better high-ISO performance over the G1. And the relocation of some of the controls might be interesting too. No! Stop it!!! ... must... resist... GAS...:bang:😀

--Warren
 
My wife traded a K20D three lens outfit for a G1 with 14-45 and 45-200 and she is very happy with the G1. IQ appears to be at least comparable if not better and she's lost about a pound and a half of dead weight. The EVF, while possibly the best that there is, is not a match or the optical finder, but she has adapted and no longer complains.

The swiveling LCD is great.
 
Heads up for UK buyers - the G1 with zoom is now priced at around £349 with cash back in several major dealers, I believe including Curry's, Jessops etc (I got my GF1 form McDonalds in Tottenham Court Road and suspect their prices are even lower).

It's a fantastic camera for the price, especially when compared with, for example, the Canon G10.
 
I was very tempted to get the G2 but my 135/2.8 Elmarit-M goggle would get in the way of the grip. The large grip was paricularly attractive to me due to the bulk of some of the bigger adapted M lenses. I wound up with the E-P2 and VF-2 EVF. Better noise control at high ISO's and an inbody IS with Leica lenses are very nice advantages over the Panasonic G1, GF-1. A small accessory Promaster TTL flash can be had for about $70 to fit the Olympus cameras that's more powerful than any built-n flash.
 
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Like many here, I love my G1 ! I also bought an adapter for M from cameraquest, but was disappointed. The images from the 20/1.7 (and even the kit lens) are very nice, and the manual lenses do not add anything to it. I am considering the 45/2.8 lens, largely for its macro capabilities.
I have wondered whether the uninspiring performance from the manual (Leica and ZM) lenses was a function of the adapter tolerances etc., but do not know. Perhaps someone else can comment on this..
 
I am waiting for a good native wide angle prime lens, but until one comes out, I'll use the 14-45mm kit lens for the wide view. On the telephoto side, I have had success using my Nikkor primes (50mm, 85mm, 105mm, and even a 500mm reflex). I am raising cash to buy a native tele-zoom like the Lumix 45-200mm to take care of the telephoto coverage.

Someone correct me if this is inaccurate, but I believe that the native lenses are good partly because the M4/3 specification uses in-camera software to correct for lens faults (such as barrel/pincushion distortion, fringing, and other things) where adapted lenses do not have the benefit of software corrections.

--Warren
 
Warren T. said:
Someone correct me if this is inaccurate, but I believe that the native lenses are good partly because the M4/3 specification uses in-camera software to correct for lens faults (such as barrel/pincushion distortion, fringing, and other things) where adapted lenses do not have the benefit of software corrections.

--Warren
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Yes, I believe that is true - plus in lens software. BTW the 45 ~ 200 lens is great!
 
I found performance of lenses 35 and longer are fine but shorter focal lengths are smeary at the edge due to the fact they are not telecentric designs. Also, a 12 MP sensor will not resolve detail anywhere near as well as film, so don't expect much on big crops.
 
I use cv 12mm and 21mm lenses on my E-P1. I have not noticed any "smearing" at the edges of the frame. I have printed beautiful 16x20 prints from images taken with both of those lenses. I don't see any great difference between the print quality at that size between my E-P1 and my 35mm film cameras.
 
I use a G1 as my take-it-with-me-everywhere-I-go camera. I use the 20/1.7 LUMIX lens 90% of the time. I set the camera on manual focus and use A priority. I compose, zoom focus (nudge the focus ring), touch the shutter (back to full frame), recompose, and then hold the shutter down for three bracketed exposures. AF works well, but I enjoy using MF mode.

I use the EVF 95% of the time. I only shoot RAW.

The G1 is light and easy to use. I occasionally carry the 14-45 kit lens. Sometimes I use gaffers' tape to "lock" the zoom at 14 mm in order to have a FOV simiar to my old Color Skopar 28/3.5. I find ISO 400 performs well. ISO 800 can be ok for color if one exposes carefully. I do think ISO 800 has a nice look to it for B&W. RAW from my D200 is a definately better than the G1's and RAW from the D300 is much much better.

The 20/1.7 lens is wonderful. I thought I'd be interested in legacy lenses, but I decided it's not worth the trouble for my style of photography. However my Nikkor 35/2 gives lovely results with the G1.

I hope this helps you decide.

I have a bunch of G1 photos on FLICKR.
 
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