GF-1 users: anyone using the 20 and 45 mostly with brightline finders?

[Ken Ford]

I'm considering a GF-1 with 20/1.7 and 45/2.8 lenses. I don't really want the Panasonic EVF (at least in its current incarnation), and I plan on letting the camera control focus the vast majority of the time.

I'm not worried about using the 20 with a brightline finder, but what about the 45? I was always hesitant to trust my Bessa T with 90 Elmar-C and CV brightline back in the day, but having the instant feedback digital provides in tricky cases is a plus. In addition there would be nothing stopping me from composing on the LCD when things get dicey or for close in work including macro.

So, my question is - does anyone here use these two lenses mostly with brightline finders for composition, and how well does it work for you?

 

[back alley]

i had the gf1 and found it impossible to use outdoors in bright light, the screen was useless.
i had the finder and it made it as big as the g1 (which i recommend, btw).

 

[Ken Ford]

Thanks, Joe - but I really don't care for EVFs, they give me a headache and I'd rather just use an SLR if I want to see the TTL image. I'm trying to replicate the shooting style and experience I get with a DV camera.

 

[PCB_RF]

I'm not worried about using the 20 with a brightline finder, but what about the 45?...having the instant feedback digital provides in tricky cases is a plus. In addition there would be nothing stopping me from composing on the LCD when things get dicey or for close in work including macro.

Shooting the 45 with a brightline finder should be just about as approximate as shooting a 90mm w/finder on an M. Maybe even worse, since you don't know exactly what the focus brackets are seeing when you view through the OVF.

Grab shots at medium-far distances in good light shouldn't be too bad, but closer-in, lower light would make it tougher. Macro would be very hit-or-miss.

As Joe noted, many have trouble using the LCD to frame or confirm focus/exposure outdoors in bright light. If you can't see the image well, you won't have useful "instant feedback" and you'll have trouble "composing on the LCD when things get dicey."

You'll have to try for yourself to see how the LCD works for you outdoors. Doesn't work for me, so I use the EVF outdoors.

 

[Ken Ford]

Shooting the 45 with a brightline finder should be just about as approximate as shooting a 90mm w/finder on an M. Maybe even worse, since you don't know exactly what the focus brackets are seeing when you view through the OVF.

I managed to get by with my 90 on a Bessa T, it was the occasional uncertainty that bothered me. Having the LCD for those times would resolve that. My 90mm brightline was tightly framed so small framing errors had no real effect that couldn't be handled in cropping.

As respects the focus issue, I'm willing to do what Mike Johnston recently called "FYYSLC" (Focus Yourself, Ya Stupid Little Camera) and trust the advanced focusing system most of the time.

 

[levo]

The GF1 and 20mm works great with a 35mm viewfinder ( I have the voigtlander one) I set the camera on 3:2 format, so it's the same as 35mm film. They say the 20mm is the equivalent of a 40mm lens, but I find it closer to a 35mm. The auto focus is amazingly accurate ( especially when set to face recognition) so I trust it totally when using the viewfinder alone.

www.davidlevenson.com

 

[Paul T.]

I use the Helios 35mm finder, with the camera on centre focus. It works really well - with the caveat that I get more skewed horizons etc, for some reason.

 

[Ken Ford]

Paul, I wonder if the shoe on your brightline is wonky?

 

[wjlapier]

The GF1 and 20mm works great with a 35mm viewfinder ( I have the voigtlander one) I set the camera on 3:2 format, so it's the same as 35mm film. They say the 20mm is the equivalent of a 40mm lens, but I find it closer to a 35mm. The auto focus is amazingly accurate ( especially when set to face recognition) so I trust it totally when using the viewfinder alone.

www.davidlevenson.com

I use the same finder and thought the same thing about the 20 being closer to 35. In fact, I've looked through the finder and looked at the LCD and both are very similar.

That said, I do use the Voigt 40mm metal finder. I'll be using my 28 finder when I get the new 14/2.5.

 

[biomed]

CV metal 35 finder is great with the 20/1.7. See my avatar.

 

[laptoprob]

I have the small Leica 50mm finder to use with the 20mm. Thus the pic is always bigger than the viewfinder frame. Besides, nothing beats that old finder! Not in size, not in clarity.