Portraits....G1 EVF sucks

[user237428934]

So far I liked the G1. Size, weight, EVF is not so bad. Except for portrait shots. Had two portrait sessions recently where I mainly used my CV 1.4/35mm and off camera flash. I noticed, that it's problematic to time the shot correctly between eye blinks because those details are just not perfectly visible under difficult lighting conditions. Had to control every shot on the display and was really surprised what I got sometimes. Never experienced this with a RF or SLR.
I believe that another part of the problem is that manual focussing is rather slow with the G1 and so it's difficult for the model to keep eyes open so long.

Anyone else with a similar experience?

 

[Keith]

Why do I keep geting the feeling that this 4/3 phase of digital photography is just that ... a phase!

The aspect ratio is unpopular (for me and many others) , the cameras are dinky IMO and EVF's have a long way to go obviously!

 

[user237428934]

Why do I keep geting the feeling that this 4/3 phase of digital photography is just that ... a phase!

The aspect ratio is unpopular (for me and many others) , the cameras are dinky IMO and EVF's have a long way to go obviously!

With the Panasonics you get 3:2 aspect ratio in the raw files if you want to. I like that the viewfinder adjusts to the aspect ratio. But you are absolutely right about the quality of the EVF.

 

[Keith]

I hadn't realised the Pany had that feature ... good idea but must reduce the file size I gather?

 

[user237428934]

I hadn't realised the Pany had that feature ... good idea but must reduce the file size I gather?

4:3 is 4000x3000, 3:2 is 4000x2672 (that is not exactly 3:2. Can't they calculate correctly in Japan?).

 

[shadowfox]

Why do I keep geting the feeling that this 4/3 phase of digital photography is just that ... a phase!

The aspect ratio is unpopular (for me and many others) , the cameras are dinky IMO and EVF's have a long way to go obviously!

Keith, it's just you 🙂

Have you ever used a 4/3rd system?

 

[jlw]

Why do I keep geting the feeling that this 4/3 phase of digital photography is just that ... a phase!

All of digital photography is a phase. So is that film stuff.

Once photographers learn to appreciate the technical and aesthetic advantages of coating your own emulsion onto glass plates, they'll stop fooling around with these silly distractions and get back to making real photographs. If it was good enough for William Henry Jackson, it should be good enough for us!

 

[Keith]

Keith, it's just you 🙂

Have you ever used a 4/3rd system?

Perhaps it is just me? 😛

I like the idea of a small high quality digital and have always fancied the idea of a DP-1 or 2 or maybe a GRD but for using a variety of manual focus lenses on a digital body I'd rather have a DSLR with adapters.

I'm hard to please I know! 😀

 

[jlw]

So far I liked the G1. Size, weight, EVF is not so bad. Except for portrait shots. Had two portrait sessions recently where I mainly used my CV 1.4/35mm and off camera flash. I noticed, that it's problematic to time the shot correctly between eye blinks because those details are just not perfectly visible under difficult lighting conditions. Had to control every shot on the display and was really surprised what I got sometimes. Never experienced this with a RF or SLR.
I believe that another part of the problem is that manual focussing is rather slow with the G1 and so it's difficult for the model to keep eyes open so long.

Anyone else with a similar experience?

I've been using the G1 ever since they came out, and I find the EVF to be very detailed. One thing to keep in mind is that the diopter adjustment seems to be very touchy -- there's a huge difference in clarity between "almost right" and "really right."

As to manual focus being slow, or not, it depends a lot on what lens you use; I find I can focus my 50/1.5 Nokton very quickly and positively, even without turning on the magnification feature (IF I've got the diopter adjustment set correctly as noted above.) A 35 might be a bit tougher because of the lower image magnification.

Agreed, if you have to engage the magnification feature, this slows down the process considerably...although you wind up with really accurate focus! (That may be one reason it takes so long -- it's so excruciatingly precise that you keep struggling for "exact" focus, whereas with an RF or SLR camera you'd already have settled for "close enough.")

For your third issue, though, I definitely agree that it doesn't feel as responsive as my other cameras -- I need to "lead" it a bit more to catch the exact action I want, which could be difficult with non-rhythmic actions such as eye blinks. Mind you, the lag isn't huge, it's just more than what I'm used to. Along with the G1, the other two cameras I use regularly are an Epson R-D 1 and a Nikon D300. Relatively speaking, the Epson seems to have nearly instant response; the Nikon requires just a tiny bit of "lead"; and the G1 needs noticeably more "lead." Subjectively, it feels about like shooting with a Nikon D80, which I still keep as a backup camera.

You can definitely shoot responsively with the G1, though; it just requires some practice to "groove" your timing (as seems to be the case for me with any unfamiliar camera.) Of course, if you have the option, you may want to forgo practicing and simply shoot with a different camera that responds better for you... but the G1 can be made to work.

 

[JoeV]

Electronic Delay

Electronic Delay

I love my G1's EVF. Composition is important to me in a photograph; the more subtle the composition, the better. You just can't achieve critically subtle compositional adjustments in-camera with a rangefinder, or even an SLR that covers only, say, 90% of the film frame.

I also love the immediate feedback the camera gives. I have the auto-review set to the 1 second mode, long enough to tell if you got the shot yet short enough so as not to interfere with the flow of the shooting. This feedback is especially important for checking tonal range in the captured image.

The one area where all electronic display cameras will fail, and the G1 does fail in this regard, is what the OP alluded to with missing the subject's eye blinks. It's just the physics of processing an electronic signal through circuitry, there's a time delay involved. In this regard I have learned to use my alternate (left) eye (the one not looking through the EVF) and actually time the exposure by looking at the subject directly.

In this regard perhaps an external optical viewfinder, attached to the hotshoe, may become a needed accessory when doing these sorts of assignments.

~Joe

 

[Dwig]

I hadn't realised the Pany had that feature ... good idea but must reduce the file size I gather?

It does with the G-1 and the other 4/3rds and m4/3 models with the exception of the GH-1.

The GH-1 is a horse of a different color. It has an "oversized" sensor and when you select any of the available aspect ratios it maintains the same diagonal length by altering both dimensions of the image rather than just trimming. As a result the images have the same total number of pixels regardless of aspect ration and, when using 3:2 or 16:9 lenses are slightly wider angle than they would be on other models.

 

[srtiwari]

I tend to agree with jlw and joev. Although far from perfect, the EVF is useful , particularly in bright light when the LCD becomes unusable.
The camera, overall, makes a decent tool for the moment, and future models will hopefully iron out the issues. If so, it will make it even less necessary to buy an X1 or an M9, unless of course, their prices drop significantly.