"Panasonic G series" Owners Thread

Joe of Loath said:
No, no more lenses! :p My final purchase (Sigma 19mm) arrived today, so I'm all set up now.

I agree with the CCTV lens, it cost me a little less than my 50mm f1.8 Zuiko (£25 for the lens, an OM10 body which I put on ebay immediately, and £10 for the adapter), and it's not anything special, but it's quirky and you can get some good shots with it if you use the quirks to your advantage.

Yeah, that Voigtlander cost 3x more than all my gear put together, I think I'll pass! I almost shied away from spending £10 more on a lens than the body, but I wanted autofocus for quick stuff and action shots.
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Did your CCTV lens come with a "macro adapter"?

Mine came with what I thought was going to be a little magnifying lens but it's just a spacer. I think that the lens actually works best as a pseudo macro lens and there doesn't seem to be anywhere near as much vignetting when used with the adapter until you wind the aperture quite far down. Not too much wrong with this for the price...

 
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Yup, I put the adapter in there when I first put it together, which caused some confusion trying to focus... Not really used it yet, but it does look good.
 
First test shot of my brand new second hand Vivitar 28mm f1.9... Just the box it came in and beyond to have a look at the bokeh.



It looks alright to me and I think I'll enjoy using the lens.

There's quite a bit of blooming at f1.9 but it's sharp enough. This is at 100%.




Another look at bokeh...




And that's enough testing, it's cleared for use :D
 
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This is my latest toy, a Vivitar 28mm f1.9.



I had a quick read up on this lens and people say that it suffers from flare but so far I haven't had a problem on MFT. It's not a stellar performer at f1.9 but the wide aperture is adequate for low light use and at f2.8 it's as good as my other legacy f2.8's.

Here's a couple of 100% crops, one when trying to get some flare and the other a flower shot. Both look impressively sharp on my screen but as here they're via photobucket they may not look as sharp.



 
A couple of shots from my Sigma 50mm f2.8 macro...





And this one is a 100% crop...



I really like these old lenses, who needs new ones? :D
 
On the subject of new lenses...

Really not impressed with my 19mm Sigma. It's blurrier than my 50mm Olympus, and doesn't focus as well, even though it's got autofocus! I've found myself just setting it to manual instead. Is this normal, or do I have a problem somewhere?
 
Joe that sounds like a wrong'un.
I don't have the 19mm but this here Sigma30mm is pretty reliable and blindingly fast autofocusing on ALL my m4/rds bodies. Check you've not got SAF+Manual and are knocking the focus ring after AF, check some static targets on a tripod etc etc.
If the problem is real you need to get that lens exchanged for a properly working one.
 
Hmm, maybe it's all in the mind. Just took some comparison photos and there's not a massive difference. Maybe my issue is that autofocus isn't guessing the correct location when I want it to. Guess I have to scan the manual and work out how to change focus points.
 
Use the middle?
Personally (and this is just me) I use centre focus on each and every camera I try, whatever brand and focusing system.
I've seen too many disappointed users who let the camera guess what it is they're supposed to be focusing on. How can the camera possibly know?
Face-detect is the other option I use sometimes, since it seems to work pretty well.
 
What should I do when I want to focus on something that's not in the middle? Focus it centrally and then move the camera so it's framed properly?
 
Well well, look what I just found in the attic... There's a Minolta 50mm up there too, but I already have a 50mm and the Pentax makes two, so three might me excessive!

Is it worth Spending £25 on adapters to use the pair of these? Had a pile more lenses up there, but they went up the charity shop :(

q5eVlSF.jpg
 
Joe of Loath said:
Well well, look what I just found in the attic... There's a Minolta 50mm up there too, but I already have a 50mm and the Pentax makes two, so three might me excessive!

Is it worth Spending £25 on adapters to use the pair of these? Had a pile more lenses up there, but they went up the charity shop :(
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Can you change aperture on Minolta AF? I would probably sell the Minolta lens (it will work on Sony cameras as well) and put the money to something that is easier to use if you want more MF lenses, like Olympus OM or Minolta MD.
 
Yeah, the adapters you can get have a little lever, but no indicator or clicks.

Is it worth keeping the Pentax considering I already have an Olympus 50mm F1.8 lens?
 
Joe it sounds like your 19mm may be a temperamental one. Mine is pin sharp and focuses very quickly, I've never had a problem with it and its one of my most used lenses.
 
Joe of Loath said:
What should I do when I want to focus on something that's not in the middle? Focus it centrally and then move the camera so it's framed properly?
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Yeah.

In theory there can be a shift of focus, particularly on a tripod in a portrait studio ... but in practice (and with practice) it works well for me every time.

(You can do a similar thing with exposure but that's another story...)
 
Here's a sample image

DBf1fDL.jpg


Is that representative? Handheld at 1/60, can't remember what the aperture was as it was on *gasp* auto.
 
Panasonic DMW-FL220E flash

anyone know the firing voltage of this...i want to fit a vivitar 2500 to my G1 and have been told the voltages are critical so that the 'rogue' flash doesnt trigger at a higher voltage than the camera

cheers
geof
 
Joe of Loath said:
Here's a sample image

Is that representative? Handheld at 1/60, can't remember what the aperture was as it was on *gasp* auto.
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I'm on my iPad so can't see it in high resolution, but it looks ok to me. Focus is on the teddy, I think? I'll have a proper look later when I'm on the PC.
 
mrtoad said:
Panasonic DMW-FL220E flash

anyone know the firing voltage of this...i want to fit a vivitar 2500 to my G1 and have been told the voltages are critical so that the 'rogue' flash doesnt trigger at a higher voltage than the camera

cheers
geof
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.
 
mrtoad said:
Panasonic DMW-FL220E flash

anyone know the firing voltage of this...i want to fit a vivitar 2500 to my G1 and have been told the voltages are critical so that the 'rogue' flash doesnt trigger at a higher voltage than the camera

cheers
geof
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From a quick google

Panasonic Tech Support's answer to the question:
What is the maximum trigger voltage of a flash that the LX3 can tolerate without damage to its electronics?
===================
ANSWER: Thanks for your inquiry. The camera will not be damaged, even with flash units that had up to 90V on the contacts. Our spec is <= 15V.
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I would doubt the G1 has a lower maximum than the LX3.

Having said that, my Nissin Di466 m4/3rds dedicated flash reads 3.4V.
 
Dave1 said:
From a quick google



I would doubt the G1 has a lower maximum than the LX3.

Having said that, my Nissin Di466 m4/3rds dedicated flash reads 3.4V.
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thanks Dave that is a light in the tunnel..100% help!!

cheers
geof
 
Result of my first play with ND filters (ND800) on my G5. Very happy with this making flickr explore today (3rd image on the G5 to make flickr explore in last 7 days)

8961528053_a29fe19aeb_c_d.jpg
 
composition lacks balance

cheers
geof
 
mrtoad said:
thanks Dave that is a light in the tunnel..100% help!!

cheers
geof
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i have emailed panasonic tech help with the question now i know they exist
will let you know the result

hopefully i can get some use of the V2500...if not i may then consider a s/h one especially designed for the G1

if anyone is wondering about this post its to do with 4/3 format lumix...;)
 
ShrubMonkey said:
Thanks a bunch :)
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a too quick comment from me...
what i should have said is your pier could have been more in the shot and less of the sea which you saw as important due to its timelessness.

i think i have seen this on the photo critique section...?

no offence...what is ours is ours...

cheers
geof
 
mrtoad said:
a too quick comment from me...
what i should have said is your pier could have been more in the shot and less of the sea which you saw as important due to its timelessness.

i think i have seen this on the photo critique section...?

no offence...what is ours is ours...

cheers
geof
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Thanks appreciate that :) I do value criticism, rather than 'nice shot' comments (although they are still nice) :)
 
ShrubMonkey said:
Result of my first play with ND filters (ND800) on my G5. Very happy with this making flickr explore today (3rd image on the G5 to make flickr explore in last 7 days)
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Love the effect, its really nice. The only slight dislike I have with it is that the pier sits too high in the frame for me. I'd prefer to see it lower down in the shot and perhaps entering from the side.
 
Has anyone managed to get hold of a GF6 yet? Read some rave reviews of it but struggling to track one down anywhere other than online
 
Hey Joe
Joe of Loath said:
BIG PIC of cuddly toy thing.

Is that representative? Handheld at 1/60, can't remember what the aperture was as it was on *gasp* auto.
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I'm looking at that fullsize, and I see camerashake of some sort, maybe even left-right a bit.
1/60 might be too slow for you at that range, camera+lens might be too lightweight for you and I know that's sometimes an issue.
Try the EXACT same picture on a tripod or cushion with timer delay.
My guess (??) is the result will be sharp.
Hey if its not sharp you know you have a duff lens. Job done.

And please can you find some way of not deleting the EXIF data, or does imgur com do that itself?
 
Now that you mention it, imgur deleted the EXIF data (so people can't be identified by GPS tags etc). I'll use flickr in future.

I'll try take some pictures on a tripod, see what happens. I was a little surprised that the best shutter speed I could get for that photo was 1/60, considering the aperture was wide open and the room wasn't that dark.
 
Oh look, more lenses...

Found Tokina 35-200mm in the attic, originally from the same Minolta that the above 28mm came from. Seems to be in good condition, no fungus or dust inside.

Worth buying an adapter for, or junk?
 
I've never used a legacy zoom on MFT but if you don't have an adapter if may be worth getting one as they're only £10 or so.

Alien looking rosebud...

 
Joe of Loath said:
Oh look, more lenses...

Found Tokina 35-200mm in the attic, originally from the same Minolta that the above 28mm came from. Seems to be in good condition, no fungus or dust inside.

Worth buying an adapter for, or junk?
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For the price of a adapter it's got to be worth a go? It'll be pretty long though (70-400)
 
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