Panasonic DMC-L1....$799 at amazon

akptc said:
Ah, yes, I forgot to mention that I like the "Dynamic" color setting 🙂.

Well, my "Pentax K-Olympus (3/4) Adapter" from Fotodiox has arrived. I mounted it on the L1, then mounted a Pentax AF lens (the 50-200 D lens) and - nothing. Can't see anything on the LCD or thru the viewfinder (lens cap removed). Do I need to crack open the Manual 😱 to figure this out or is there a simple answer to this? Thanks a bunch.
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My guess is that your problem is that you need to manually open up the lens diaphragm. Could this AF lens automatically default to the smallest aperture? I do not know the Pentax AF lenses so cannot say. If this lens does not have a manual aperture setting (i.e. if it is all controlled thru the Pentax AF body) you may find that it will not work on this camera due to the need to manually set the aperture via a control ring. If your lens does not have on then this would be a problem.

There is one other thing when using manual lenses. In the settings menu (custom settings? - cant recall) you need to change the default setting that came with the camera to prevent its shutter firing when a lens is not mounted. As a manual focus lens has no chip, the camera behaves as if there is no lens and refuses to fire the shutter. This is a simple setting change that mystified me till I woke up to what the problem was.
 
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30mm is like 50 on 35mm full format? Then the DOF would be similar to a 35/1.4 on film. My digicam has a smaller chip and the f/2.8 DOF of a certain angle of view close focus is as large as f/22 with my Mikro-Nikkor... excellent for taking cameras and small stuff...
 
I am very much interested in this camera. So any of you who own it, any type of feedback is much appreciated.

I have reached a point in my life where I want to downsize completely. I have been making money with a camera since I was 16 years old, and I am tired. I want to enjoy photography again and I want to get back to my first love, which is street photography.

I am seriously thinking about selling all of my equipment- pro Nikon DSLR bodies, lenses, studio lighting equipment- everything - and getting out of the photography business. The last few years I have been shooting PJ stuff and events- corporate events, awards banquets and so on.

And this camera looks interesting because of the rangefinder type features and the wonderful lens it comes with. I shot film rangefinders for my personal use for years and years before I went completely digital many years ago.

Do any of you think this would be a good choice for pure street shooting. I will be converting 99% of everything I shoot into B&W.

I might add that the live view feature is something that I would have little use for. I want this camera as a street shooter. I would be relying on the autofocus. It would be very rare for me to have to manually focus the camera.

Thanks in advance to anyone with any insight into this. Rick.
 
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peterm1 said:
My guess is that your problem is that you need to manually open up the lens diaphragm. Could this AF lens automatically default to the smallest aperture? I do not know the Pentax AF lenses so cannot say. If this lens does not have a manual aperture setting (i.e. if it is all controlled thru the Pentax AF body) you may find that it will not work on this camera due to the need to manually set the aperture via a control ring. If your lens does not have on then this would be a problem.

There is one other thing when using manual lenses. In the settings menu (custom settings? - cant recall) you need to change the default setting that came with the camera to prevent its shutter firing when a lens is not mounted. As a manual focus lens has no chip, the camera behaves as if there is no lens and refuses to fire the shutter. This is a simple setting change that mystified me till I woke up to what the problem was.
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Yup, correct on both accounts! I tried a lens with an aperture ring and changed that pesky No Fire setting (last one, I think, on the Menu) and voila! I could take pictures with my Pentax lens on the L1. So far nothing to show but soon, I hope. Thank you again for the pointers.
 
akptc said:
Yup, correct on both accounts! I tried a lens with an aperture ring and changed that pesky No Fire setting (last one, I think, on the Menu) and voila! I could take pictures with my Pentax lens on the L1. So far nothing to show but soon, I hope. Thank you again for the pointers.
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Hey Andy, long time - no see. How are you, my friend. It has literally been years since I last talked to you.

I have not been active on here in many years after I sold all my rangefinders.

The last time we chatted, we were wondering if the both of us were about to be banned here. 😉

What do you think about this camera as a pure street shooter?
 
I've long lusted after this camera...nice to see some folks giving it some good marks. I almost went for the $800 deal...at that price I could try it and decide, and then sell it on ebay for $950! But, I decided to go with the E-1 and picked up a great kit for about the same price. The E-1 is a different design, has no live view, but is also metal and sturdy, and, weatherproof too. Anyway nice to see people embracing 4:3s, also take a look at the E-1 now if you're interested in a great body...since the E-3 came out people who've been hanging on to them for dear life are letting them go...at great bargains!
 
akptc said:
Yup, correct on both accounts! I tried a lens with an aperture ring and changed that pesky No Fire setting (last one, I think, on the Menu) and voila! I could take pictures with my Pentax lens on the L1. So far nothing to show but soon, I hope. Thank you again for the pointers.
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cant wait to see some pics 🙂
 
In regards to a previous post, this camera is excellent for street shots ...but if you're used to more compact street camera's, this one is a little on the big side. BUT, it feels GREAT!! The manual control's have really grown on me and gives me the immediate freedom I like when changing fstops and shutter speeds...I love it!


I'm trying to decide between buying two great Pentax lenses for my L1. Has anyone used the following? I like bokeh, but not too too much, so I'm having a hard time deciding between an f1.4 or f1.7 lens. I've shot with f1.7 on a couple range finders and it's usually fast enough to capture great availalbe light shots, but I"m not sure if f.4 will be a little overkill.

Here's the two lenses:

Pentax-M 50mm f1.7 or Pentax-M 50mm f1.4
 
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mangamonster said:
In regards to a previous post, this camera is excellent for street shots ...but if you're used to more compact street camera's, this one is a little on the big side. BUT, it feels GREAT!! The manual control's have really grown on me and gives me the immediate freedom I like when changing fstops and shutter speeds...I love it!


I'm trying to decide between buying two great Pentax lenses for my L1. Has anyone used the following? I like bokeh, but not too too much, so I'm having a hard time deciding between an f1.4 or f1.7 lens. I've shot with f1.7 on a couple range finders and it's usually fast enough to capture great availalbe light shots, but I"m not sure if f.4 will be a little overkill.

Here's the two lenses:

Pentax-M 50mm f1.7 or Pentax-M 50mm f1.4
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Both have a good possibly great reputation. I have used them (some years ago when I was into M series Pentaxes) and recall that they were sharp and contrasty. I recently saw some photos taken with the 1.7 and they just blew me away. I had forgotten just how good that lens is.
 
mangamonster said:
In regards to a previous post, this camera is excellent for street shots ...but if you're used to more compact street camera's, this one is a little on the big side. BUT, it feels GREAT!! The manual control's have really grown on me and gives me the immediate freedom I like when changing fstops and shutter speeds...I love it!


I'm trying to decide between buying two great Pentax lenses for my L1. Has anyone used the following? I like bokeh, but not too too much, so I'm having a hard time deciding between an f1.4 or f1.7 lens. I've shot with f1.7 on a couple range finders and it's usually fast enough to capture great availalbe light shots, but I"m not sure if f.4 will be a little overkill.

Here's the two lenses:

Pentax-M 50mm f1.7 or Pentax-M 50mm f1.4
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Thanks for the input. I have been shooting street photography the last few years with Nikon D2H and a 12-24 zoom. I think I would get used to the size of this camera right away. 🙂
 
Rick Waldroup said:
Hey Andy, long time - no see. How are you, my friend. It has literally been years since I last talked to you.

I have not been active on here in many years after I sold all my rangefinders.

The last time we chatted, we were wondering if the both of us were about to be banned here. 😉

What do you think about this camera as a pure street shooter?
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Hi Rick, welcome back! I've managed to get banned from many places (bars, mostly) but the RFF powers have been nice to me 🙂 As much as I am beginning to really like this camera, it's too big for me to consider it a street shooter. For that I prefer something that almost vanishes in my hands, like an M7 or an R3A (or even the RD1 but without the case, which ads a lot of bulk to it). Then there is the DP1….
 
akptc said:
Hi Rick, welcome back! I've managed to get banned from many places (bars, mostly) but the RFF powers have been nice to me 🙂 As much as I am beginning to really like this camera, it's too big for me to consider it a street shooter. For that I prefer something that almost vanishes in my hands, like an M7 or an R3A (or even the RD1 but without the case, which ads a lot of bulk to it). Then there is the DP1….
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Andy, I owned the the R3A and regret ever selling it. However, with my eyesight not what it used to be, I feel the need for autofocus. I can still focus with manual cameras, just not quite as fast when I was younger. That becomes a bit frustrating.

I thought about the DP-1 and the Ricoh GRD, but the idea of a Leica zoom is tempting.

It was nice to hear from you, my friend.
 
Rick Waldroup said:
Andy, I owned the the R3A and regret ever selling it. However, with my eyesight not what it used to be, I feel the need for autofocus. I can still focus with manual cameras, just not quite as fast when I was younger. That becomes a bit frustrating.

I thought about the DP-1 and the Ricoh GRD, but the idea of a Leica zoom is tempting.

It was nice to hear from you, my friend.
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One of the unanticipated advantages I have found with this camera (although admittedly it can be a disadvantage too in some circumstances) is that as the zoom is 14-50 it has quite good depth of field, especially at the shorter end of the zoom. So its quick to focus. I suppose that helps its street shooting cred. There is one caveat here. It is NOT quick to focus in poor light. In this respect it is a bit below par compared with some other digitals I have used. But generally it is fast.

Like you my eyes are suffering. I use MF lenses on this camera with adpaters but I take forever to focus them and am finding that relying on AF is an attractive option.

As I have observed else where in this thread you can rely successfully on the in-camera black and white funciton too. It does a surprisingly good job of producing a nice black and white image. I used to shoot in color and convert in PS. But its nice to be able to instantly see what a shot looks like in mono.

PS if you are worried at all about the overall size of the package, you could consider selling the 14-50mm Leica and replacing it with the Leica Summilux 25mm f1.4 which has been made for this camera. The swap over cost would not appear to be great based on eBay pricing but the summilux is newer and does seem to go for a little more than the zoom. Word of warning though, its not THAT much smaller in size so the game may not be worth the prize. Also surprisingly perhaps, the published MTF curves on the zoom look a bit better than those of the Summilux. (See the tabs to the various lenses on the following page.)

http://panasonic.co.jp/pavc/global/lumix/leica_d_lens/fixed_focal_length_lens.html
 
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Here are a couple of black and white shots taken with the L1.

P1010358resized.jpg


P1010338resized.jpg


and a couple tweaked to a sepia tinge just for fun

DSC_1341aq.jpg


DSC_1337ttgg.jpg
 
Ordering Lumix L1 not possible Downunder

Ordering Lumix L1 not possible Downunder

I'd love to order one as the price is nudging A$3000 (not a typo) down here but Amazon does not ship this item to Australia.

Any ideas?

Best wishes to all you who are successful with your ordering and I hope you have lots of fun. I look forward to seeing your work in RF Forum.

Regards,

Gary Haigh

South Australia
 
Tuolumne said:
Exactly what lenses can be fitted via an adaptor to this camera? Any SLR lens? Will it take Leica M lenses with an adapter? I'm a bit confused on this topic.

/T
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From my research it looks like adapters are made for most all SLR camera systems including some old ones like Exacta if you are of a mind to try such a lens on a 4/3 camera. The only significant exception seems to be Canon lenses which appear to have a register distance too close to the 4/3 standard to allow an adapter to fit between. I can confirm that there are Leica R adapters but no Leica M adapters as M mount cameras are not SLRs and hence the register distance is shorter than that of the 4/3 cameras. You could in theory never the less use a Leica M lens but it would not focus to infinity. Assuming of course you can find an adapter. I do not know of any suitable adapters for M lenses to mount on a 4/3 camera but this is not to say they are not made. (I am sure if there is enough demand they will be.)
 
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