Olympus E-P1 vs Panasonic GF-1

Olympus E-P1 vs Panasonic GF-1

  • Olympus E-P1

    Votes: 180 36.6%
  • Panasonic GF-1

    Votes: 312 63.4%

  • Total voters
    492
  • Poll closed .
When using an adapter, metering is done in aperture priority. It works well at all apertures. Manual exposure can also be used.
 
That is correct. 2x factor due to the sensor size.

Gary

Sorry, don't mean to be slow on the uptake, but if I understand you correctly you are saying that when a lens for the original PEN is labeled '35mm', that means that it has the field of view of a 35mm in fullframe format (x2).

So, the PEN 35mm really is a 17.5mm that due to the 'crop factor (x2)' of the half frame format has a FOV of a 35mm in FF.
 
Sorry, don't mean to be slow on the uptake, but if I understand you correctly you are saying that when a lens for the original PEN is labeled '35mm', that means that it has the field of view of a 35mm in fullframe format (x2).

So, the PEN 35mm really is a 17.5mm that due to the 'crop factor (x2)' of the half frame format has a FOV of a 35mm in FF.
It is confusing, but I believe the labelled focal lengths are at full frame.

So the Pen 35mm acts like a 70mm on the 4/3 camera, just like any other 35mm lens, apart from the fact it's smaller, and would hence vignette on a 'full size' camera.
 
So, the PEN 35mm really is a 17.5mm that due to the 'crop factor (x2)' of the half frame format has a FOV of a 35mm in FF.

No, it's a 35mm lens and give an angle of view of a 70mm lens on the Pen, with the same depth of field and subject-to-background distance characteristics of a 35mm lens.
 
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Sorry, don't mean to be slow on the uptake, but if I understand you correctly you are saying that when a lens for the original PEN is labeled '35mm', that means that it has the field of view of a 35mm in fullframe format (x2).

So, the PEN 35mm really is a 17.5mm that due to the 'crop factor (x2)' of the half frame format has a FOV of a 35mm in FF.

Sorry about the confusion here...

What I meant was that you are correct. A 35mm used on m43 would end up a 70mm (this is the 2x i was talking about) because of the size difference between the m43 sensor and the size of a 35mm film frame.

Gary
 
It's not so much an issue of how fast the AF is, but that AF is not really the right tool for street photography.

Scale or zone focusing is infinitely faster than any AF system out there and you don't need to center the subject to get focus. With AF you need to focus, recompose and then hit the shutter release. With scale focusing you compose and shoot. Much, much faster.


Harry, maybe you don't think AF is not the right tool for you, but I don't have any problems street shooting with the GF1's autofocus at all. I don't even think about it. I press the shutter and it takes the image whether the subject is centered or not. I even have it set to face recognition. What works for me might not work for you, and I have no problems whatsoever.

Thanks.
 
Harry, maybe you don't think AF is not the right tool for you, but I don't have any problems street shooting with the GF1's autofocus at all. I don't even think about it. I press the shutter and it takes the image whether the subject is centered or not. I even have it set to face recognition. What works for me might not work for you, and I have no problems whatsoever.

Thanks.

Reviewing my last batch of film from my manual focus CL shows me that at 54 I'm no longer able to get reasonable focus all the time with manual focus cameras. I'm therefor sure that it is time for me to move to autofocus cameras, unless I'm shooting at infinity...
 
I think the only thing that's better about EP-1 is how damn good it looks.

Otherwise GF1 all the way for me.
 
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Better IQ and IBIS for all my MF and AF glass

Better IQ and IBIS for all my MF and AF glass

Need I say more?

Only a Pro Digital PEN will complement my E-P1. Classics like these are never replaced.
 
Harry, maybe you don't think AF is not the right tool for you, but I don't have any problems street shooting with the GF1's autofocus at all. I don't even think about it. I press the shutter and it takes the image whether the subject is centered or not. I even have it set to face recognition. What works for me might not work for you, and I have no problems whatsoever.

Thanks.

Personal preference is obviously of importance, but in this case it is also a matter of fact.

If you can work at a reasonable f-stop (between f5.6 - f22 in full format) you can shoot far faster than would be possible with any AF system. That's something that has been known for 20-30 years.

As an example take a 28mm lens on something like an M-body.

At f16 with focus set to approximately 1.5m, everything between .9m and infinity should be in reasonable focus.

At f8 with focus set to 3m you should have everything between 1.5m and infinity in focus.

It is only a matter of raising the camera to your eye, composing and taking the shot as fast as humanly possible. This is far faster than any AF system can hope to be, because with AF at some point you need to aim, focus, let the camera do it's thing, possible reframe and then trip the shutter.

Keep in mind that the x2 crop factor of M4/3rd would also work in your favor. To get the FOV of a 28mm lens in 135 format, you would need to use a 14mm, which delivers an incredible amount of deep focus at any given stop.

If you haven't already tried it, I would recommend investigating scale/zone focusing. You may be surprised just how powerful a tool it is for street photography.

Take a look at how fast someone like Winogrand can shoot with this technique. I've used AF extensively and there is no way you could shoot this fast.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eitfGxc6vbw

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Tl4f-QFCUek

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-Zk1nkZ3-kE&feature=related
 
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The GF1 rocks so much I got rid of my M6 for it. :D (Not totally true, I sold it to a mate who uses it more than I do, but the GF1 still rocks.) One day I might be able to afford an adapter for the thing, right after I save up for a second batterie. Damn things are expensive!
 
The GF1 rocks so much I got rid of my M6 for it. :D (Not totally true, I sold it to a mate who uses it more than I do, but the GF1 still rocks.) One day I might be able to afford an adapter for the thing, right after I save up for a second batterie. Damn things are expensive!

I empathise with that. I sold my M3 for the GF1; I find myself using it in preference to my fave CL a lot, too. With a VF on top, it has a lot of the functionality of that kind of camera.
 
With so many new 4/3 models being announced every week, I'm now thinking to buy the GF1 for a couple of immediate projects, then see how the land lies by the end of the year.
How's the video on the GF1?
 
I played with them both –each with its electronic viewfinder– and found them both woefully inadequate. Image quality is fine, but the handling is far from intuitive. I need controls that fall under your fingers, and straightforward manual exposure, like I can get on a DSLR with two control wheels. Having said that, the EVF on the Olympus is better, the Panasonic fits in the hand better. But neither is for me.
 
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